Anyone seen a plane while stalking/engaging a ship or convoy?

[Vaux]

Hi all. It's been a while since I've been on Sub Sim, but I've been playing SH4 pretty regularly. Something occurred to me while playing the other night. While I've sometimes had a second aircraft contact on my radar while tracking another aircraft contact, I can't recall ever getting an aircraft contact while stalking/engaging either a single ship or a convoy. Has this ever happened to anyone?

I'm running SH4 with the U-Boats add on and TMO.

[Armistead]

Yep, it can happen, you'll see it a lot with carrier based TF and if a plane spots you then, you'll be dealing with mass plane attacks from the carrier. Learn what aircraft are on carriers, you spot some, it may clue you in that a carrier TF is nearby.

Other planes spawn from bases and often they'll take paths near shipping lanes, stinks when you're chasing a convoy to have planes approach causing you to dive.

[Admiral Halsey]

Originally Posted by Armistead

Yep, it can happen, you'll see it a lot with carrier based TF and if a plane spots you then, you'll be dealing with mass plane attacks from the carrier. Learn what aircraft are on carriers, you spot some, it may clue you in that a carrier TF is nearby.

Other planes spawn from bases and often they'll take paths near shipping lanes, stinks when you're chasing a convoy to have planes approach causing you to dive.

That reminds me of the time I was waiting for the midway TF. I got caught on the surface by the returning midway strike force and had what seemed like a thousand planes dive on me at once. I was lucky to come out of that alive.(Funny enough it ended up putting me in a better position to attack the TF when it finally arrived and I ended up bagging two carriers and a Kongo.)

[Vaux]

Originally Posted by Armistead

Yep, it can happen, you'll see it a lot with carrier based TF and if a plane spots you then, you'll be dealing with mass plane attacks from the carrier. Learn what aircraft are on carriers, you spot some, it may clue you in that a carrier TF is nearby.

Other planes spawn from bases and often they'll take paths near shipping lanes, stinks when you're chasing a convoy to have planes approach causing you to dive.

Interesting. Admittedly, I've yet to encounter a carrier based TF, but, otherwise, I guess I've just been lucky.

[Snarf]

I had a whole mess of zeros and bettys flying over as i was attacking a convoy just outside of tokyo harbor the other day.

Stock 1.5 btw

[merc4ulfate]

It has happened to me more times than I care to count. There have also been times where I have waited for a ship to sink. I do not like to waste torpedoes so if I can get the ship down to zero knots I will sit submerged and wait for it to sink. Why waste fish I say but if a more than two hours or so has gone by I will notice air cover coming into the area.

Sometimes if the sea state and weather are good they spot me at periscope depth and sometimes not but I have learned that when I see them to just go ahead and fire another fish into the ship then dive deep to avoid any bombs or torpedoes the air craft might desire to send my way.

I have had one to many torpedoes shot at me to wait around that close to the surface after spotting an air craft.

[Armistead]

Yep, mods vary, but there's a contact value timer of sorts that will send ships or planes to come hunt you if you're spotted or attack, plus another on how long they will hunt you, so if you're close enough to a airbase you may have several come hunting you. Travs mod should send many hunting you and they hunt forever.

Playing RSRD with TMO I maneuvered to where the US TF was during Battle of Santa Cruz to watch the attack on the Hornet. To my surprise, the attacking Jap planes diverted to ME since I was surfaced, and I never did see their attacks on the Hornet as I dived to save myself. Thought that was stupid of them to go after a tiny sub instead of a big carrier!

[Admiral Halsey]

Originally Posted by jldjs

Playing RSRD with TMO I maneuvered to where the US TF was during Battle of Santa Cruz to watch the attack on the Hornet. To my surprise, the attacking Jap planes diverted to ME since I was surfaced, and I never did see their attacks on the Hornet as I dived to save myself. Thought that was stupid of them to go after a tiny sub instead of a big carrier!

Welcome to the world of Stupid AI. Where even though a nice fat juicy carrier is right next to you they still go after the player.

[merc4ulfate]

They know AI's are easier to hit so they will get it later.

Came across a two pronged convoy heading into Talugi today. Had a peek and found they were Clemson APD's. Two groups one with five in a column and one with ten in two columns.

Clemson APD look so odd carrying those LCP's.

[TorpX]

Originally Posted by Admiral Halsey

Welcome to the world of Stupid AI. Where even though a nice fat juicy carrier is right next to you they still go after the player.

Maybe someone told them player subs are 10x more dangerous than AI units?

I guess we are not supposed to think of these things too deeply.

[Dread Knot]

Originally Posted by jldjs

Playing RSRD with TMO I maneuvered to where the US TF was during Battle of Santa Cruz to watch the attack on the Hornet. To my surprise, the attacking Jap planes diverted to ME since I was surfaced, and I never did see their attacks on the Hornet as I dived to save myself. Thought that was stupid of them to go after a tiny sub instead of a big carrier!

In the real life maneuvering your sub on the surface into sight of a friendly task force engaged in a battle would have been a gutsy thing to do. They likely would have opened fired upon you too. Subs often had no friends given the fog of war and the "shoot first, ask questions later ", pressures of combat. It wasn't uncommon for jumpy carrier AA gun crews to shoot at their own planes.

SH4 is okay as a sub simulator, but was never meant to be a Pacific War simulator.

[merc4ulfate]

Thankfully we only lost two submarines to friendly fire

Dorado SS-248 and Seawolf SS-197

Although there is good doubt in the friendly fire incident for the Dorado.

[Vaux]

Well, I guess I just had to complain... I was on call for my job last night and had to stay awake and alert for a good portion of last night. I've found that coffee and SH4 is good for that!

So, marathon session last night. I was patrolling a couple of hundred miles off the Bungo Straits. It was a little after midnight, winds were 15, seas were rocking and rolling, and the sky was overcast, but no rain and only medium fog. I get multiple, fast-moving bogeys on my radar and the group's heading is such that I can easily intercept. It turns out to be a TF with 3 Fleet Carriers, 2 Kongo BBs, a Light Cruiser, and a half-dozen destroyer escorts! Obviously, no air ops on this dark stormy night, so I didn't get to experience the fun of getting swarmed by aircraft. The really frustrating part? I was near the end of my patrol, looking for some lone tanker or cargo ship to use my last 3 fish on. I learned that 3 Mk 14s in the side of a Fleet Carrier has about zero effect. In hindsight, I should have gone for one of the DDs.

The very next patrol, I'm offered, and accept, command of the USS Balao. I'm in the strait South of Kyushu and North of the Ryukyu Islands. It's late afternoon, zero wind and zero overcast. I get a slow-moving bogey on the scope and go to investigate. Turns out to be a lone Hakusika Maru. I'm not in a good position to intercept, so I go back outside of visual range and set course to get ahead of her, maintaining radar contact. About 30 minutes into this maneuver, I get an air-search radar contact, moving very fast, and on a heading that will definitely allow it to see me. I have this shiny-new Balao with dual, twin 20mm guns and a 40mm Bofors... the temptation is too great. I stay on the surface and put my best gun guys on the flak guns. The plane is an HK6 Mavis and my crew makes short work of her with no damage to my boat.

So, in my OP in this thread, I lamented that two things had never happened to me... and then they subsequently happened. OK.... let's test this theory. I've never seen the Flying Dutchman, and I've never sunk a carrier during a career. Let's see what happens now.

[merc4ulfate]

Wow I have seen Fleet carriers go down with as few hits as one. Must have been a tough one.