Zero speed at periscope depth?

[cj95]

I think I read somewhere that it was impossible to remain at zero speed while submerged, but Im trying to clarify.


Its a handy tactic when you arrive at the intercept before your target, but Im trying to keep it real-ish

[Sniper297]

Everything is impossible until the first time it happens.

https://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=2165

Neutral buoyancy and perfect balance is the perfect ideal for a diving officer, since it's NEARLY impossible to achieve the actual goal is "close enough for government work". Sometimes it can happen by accident, you get a good trim that's only slightly heavy, at a dead stop the sub sinks onto a layer with a slightly higher salt density - the sub is just a tiny bit heavier than the water it's in, but lighter than the water below it, so it just stops sinking and "floats" on the saltier layer.

Average US fleet boat displaced 1600 tons on the surface, 2400 tons submerged, so to get as close as possible to neutral buoyancy required 800 tons of ballast. Tweaking 800 tons with a gallon here and a gallon there would give you gray hair in a hurry, so "nearly impossible and not really worth the time and trouble" is probably the most accurate description of neutral buoyancy, so SOP was to get as close as possible with a reasonable amount of time and effort, then use the diving planes at minimum speed to maintain depth.

I don't have SH5, but the previous I through IV don't bother simulating that, you can stop dead in the water at any depth without any rise, sink, or change in pitch. I assume SHV treated the physics of flotation with the same casual attitude.

[finchOU]

I think in SH3 if you stopped you would sink gradually. Depending on our buoyancy IRL you would either rise or sink.....as the post above describes. Tactically speaking, IMHO, stopping completely seems not very realistic. But you can slow down to almost stopped IRL to maintain depth. My technique is to manually set my speed as slow as possible once I'm close to my firing position.... but not too close too soon. Or if I need to update the targets course I'll cross her bow and note her bearing at 0 degrees AOB.... then either position for a stern shot or turn 180 degrees for a bow shot..... but I never completely stop while submerged as my own level of realism/immersion. Sometimes you just have to play your own mind games with SH5. Just because you CAN stop submerged without rising/sinking......does it mean you should?

Kind of along the lines of just because you CAN sink all of the destroyers in a convoy does it mean you should? You have to make your own realism sometimes if the Sim doesn't Simulate.

[cj95]

I've kinda been doing the same thing as Finch when I arrive too early.....cross the 'T' and engage with stern tubes.

I was just wondering IRL what happened. (answer: they planned their intercept better than I do)