Do civilians come after you?

[KDAM]

I recall seeing a thread on here from a while back where a Kapitänleutnant said that while patrolling off the American coast, he encountered a small civilian schooner. He thought nothing of it at first and just ignored the little boat, until he looked up and saw aircraft diving for him. He submerged and tried to escape, but the planes kept coming after him. The Kaleun noticed that this schooner was in fact following him, and appeared to be telling the aircraft where he was.

I would love seeing little things like this as it gives you the feeling that the entire country is at war with you, even their civilians. Can anyone confirm that things like this happen in SHIII (or the others) or in any mods for it?

[Kaptlt.Endrass]

Not sure about following you, but I know for a fact that Allied civilan ships will report your position to any nearby units to vector in on your position.

Out on the open ocean, it isn't always an issue as you would detect a warship prior to surfacing to engage a target with the deck gun, conditions permitting. Neutral vessels will not report your position, unless you sink a certain number of them; you will then be at war with that nation for a 24-hour period (just you, not any other Axis units). That means that their ships will report your position and attack you as any British or American ship might.

[KDAM]

Originally Posted by Kaptlt.Endrass

Not sure about following you, but I know for a fact that Allied civilan ships will report your position to any nearby units to vector in on your position.

Out on the open ocean, it isn't always an issue as you would detect a warship prior to surfacing to engage a target with the deck gun, conditions permitting. Neutral vessels will not report your position, unless you sink a certain number of them; you will then be at war with that nation for a 24-hour period (just you, not any other Axis units). That means that their ships will report your position and attack you as any British or American ship might.

I like that. You'll have to be a lot more careful navigating the coasts. Plenty of Ernest Hemingways are out there and they'd be happy to report your position to the navy

This brings to my mind the Civil Air Patrol, something that I'm not sure has ever been portrayed in SH but would be cool if it was. The CAP was part of the US Civil Defense and used civilian aircraft on U-boat patrols from 5 March 1942 to 31 August 1943.



Most of the planes were J-3 Cubs and Fairchild 24s like this one. They sank two U-boats, damaged ten, and spotted over a hundred.

From Robert E. Neprud's "The Flying Minute Men:"

"After the German surrender, one of Hitler's high-ranking naval officers was asked why the Nazi U-boats had been withdrawn from U.S. coastal waters early in 1943. The answer was exploded in a curt guttural: 'It was because of those damned little red and yellow planes!'"

They'd make for an interesting adversary to encounter when in the voluptuous West Atlantic hunting grounds. Something to make your like a little more miserable when across the pond!