How to survive out of control dives

Armistead · 04-21-12, 01:51 PM

I wrote this on the fly long ago for someone, needs editing, heck, maybe you can understand it, but thought I would offer it back up since I've read that several lately have died not being able to control a dive.

Nothing can be worse than losing control of boat due to flooding and plummeting downward at steep angles, worse, you're usually under attack, surfacing would mean death. Seems many give up and die, but you have several options to buy repair time and control the dive.

Most importantly is to note damage and get critical repairs done ASAP. I assume most understand dealing with damage and repair, so I won't dwell too much on that, however if you're in an out of control dive two repairs are critical, damage to bulkheads and batteries. It's important to note
which compartments are flooded as they effect the down angle of your sub. Obvious if you're stern compartment is flooded you will go down by the stern, bow, you obviously will go down by the bow, but this is important info.

I don't recall stock, but with the supermods if you have cams off a steep angle in the sub can be easily seen.

Take note of the flood meters showing the amount of water and flood and repair times, if one compartment has a repair time of 50 minutes and a flood time of 3 minutes, I will first repair compartments where the repair time is less than flood time. The last thing you want is several flooded
compartments, so I find it best to repair the ones I can the fastest.

Obvious you want battle stations on and your damage control compartment activated, filled with high mechanic ratings. Many will use lower rated crew, but torp men have high repair skills, so I will move high rated mechanics from undamaged compartments to the damage crew. I will also move mechanics from one compartment to the other, if the Con is flooded, I have no problem moving men in that compartment replacing lower rated mechanics with better ones. Main thing is don't worry about who belongs where during damage, move your best crew to damaged compartments after you fill the damage crew slots.

Batteries play an important role in controlling an out of control dive as often higher speeds will maintain a depth, even if your boat is at a steep angle. If you're stuck with severe battery damage, it may be best to repair batteries first and use other tactics to deal with the out of control dive...Not as important, but pumps probably come next on my list, then compressor.

First, if you're fighting a out of control dive, note water depth and damage percentage, even minor hull damage can greatly effect your crush depth. You must decide how deep you can go, mods obviously have great effect, but let's say with TMO a Gato has a 600 ft crush depth, if damage is say 50%, my tactic is not to dive below 300 ft..you do the math, works
for me, although I will try to stay on the safe side.

Much depends on the dive angle of your sub, can be minor to drastic. You can usually stop an out of control dive even at steep angles, but it takes more time, the danger is to give yourself enough time to stop the dive before you pass your estimated crush depth. Remember, you're under attack, your goal is to control the dive, and find a depth zone to manauver in why evading. Again, lets say damage is 50% in my Gato, so my goal is to control my sub between 100-300 feet using correct tactics.

The most important tactic in controlling the dive and evading is yo-yoing in your safe depth zone. If you're down angle is minor the first thing is to use only enough speed to control the dive, almost always more speed will keep you steady, however you're now more vulnerable to being heard by the enemy. My next option is to use the "P" periscope depth key,

for whatever reason if you use the "p" key over setting a shallower depth manually, "P"
will bring you up, for some reason setting manual depth won't.

Depending on how much damage I have, I may choose to remain at silent running and just use the P key to make my sub rise. It's fairly easy to control minor down angles using "P" or a little more speed, but you must consider your options under attack. Generally if an escort is making a run, you're going to go flank so the charges will fall behind you, so speed works. If they're not making runs, better to use "p", but yo-yo, go up some, then set depth back down, when you think you're going too deep, go back up using the "P" key and speed if necessary, just keep yo-yoing in your safe zone alternating "P" and manually going deeper, back
and forth as much as needed.

Before I go any further, as it comes into play more with deep out of control dives, it can happen with minor dives as well. Notice the angle, if you're going down by the bow, forward speed will only send you down quicker, be careful. The most important yo- yo tactic is to go in the opposite direction of your dive, simply if you're going down by the bow, you need to change to reverse. This is critical in severe down angles. Think about it, if you're going down by the bow, reverse engines and try to control the dive with speed and "P" If you're going down by the stern, obvious you want to stay forward. If you pour on any speed going in the direction of the down angle you will find yourself heading for the bottom, often at speeds of 14kts or more and unable to pull out.

The last and in critical cases option is blowing tanks, some suggest in game there is no factor for the enemy to hear you, I'm not sure, but sometimes you have no choice.

So let's sum it up. Say I have two escorts on me that scored hits, my bow torp compartment and control room is totally flooding out with repairs underway. Let's assume I have hull damage of about 30%, so I'll want to stay above about 400 ft. The enemy is looking, so I want to remain silent, save battery power when needed. Even going down by the bow, I can control depth with "P", so I use it , when I get 400 ft to head up, when I'm at 300 ft, I manually set depth back to 400 ft, I do this over and over, unless a escort is making a run, I will pour on speed to evade charges.

Hopefully I can evade and take no more damage, but let's say they score again and now the Con is flooding, my forward dive angle becomes steep, using "P" doesn't work, speed would only take me down faster.....time to
reverse engines with flank reverse speed to pull out and hitting the "P" button. Important to note, don't bang on the "P" key numerous
times, each time you do it uses compressed air, once is enough, it may take time to start to rise...Once you've reversed direction, adjust
and see what speed will hold your depth and back to yo-yoing. Now, let's say I've reversed course, used "P" and even flank reverse speed, but I'm still going down by the bow, now it's time to blow tanks...hopefully you will start rising back up. Often you can head up faster than desired, if you're headed up and not under attack, cut speed, even stop engines, you want to yo-yo up and down as slow as possible when not under attack. If your still headed up after cutting speed, you may have to set engines to forward for a few seconds to head back down. Once headed up, you have to decide how far you want to go, usually based on if you're under attack. I always try to time it where I go up as the enemy makes a run, then I will use speed and blow tanks, usually the charges fall behind and under me. So I evaded, but now I must stop the upward motion, lest I surface, first I will just cut speed and my boat will start heading down, it should, When I get near my safe zone, I will use "P" , needed speed and blowing tanks again stop the dive and head back up, keep repeating as needed., yo-yo up and down in your safe zone, as your boat repairs try different options to see what may hold a steady depth.

Compressed air can become an issue. Your goal is to evade and not head for the deep, again, each time you change depth using "p" , manual depth changes or blowing tanks, you're using precious compressed air.....you run out before you can fix your boat, you may never be able to get to the surface.

The above scenario was going down by the bow, obvious if you're going down by the stern stay forward using yo-yo tactics.

I also check to see if any shallow water is nearby and head for it if I can, better to bang bottom a few times if you feel you will lose control of your boat, maybe the enemy will leave.

If all fails, and you're almost out of compressed air, blow tanks for the last time, shoot what torps you can guessing when you get to about 100 ft and man the guns when you surface....I've even surfaced before, got more air and dived back down before getting sunk, but usually with more damage, just hope it ain't bulkheads.....

04-21-12, 01:51 PM	#1
Armistead Rear Admiral Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: on the Dan Posts: 10,880 Downloads: 364 Uploads: 0	How to survive out of control dives I wrote this on the fly long ago for someone, needs editing, heck, maybe you can understand it, but thought I would offer it back up since I've read that several lately have died not being able to control a dive. Nothing can be worse than losing control of boat due to flooding and plummeting downward at steep angles, worse, you're usually under attack, surfacing would mean death. Seems many give up and die, but you have several options to buy repair time and control the dive. Most importantly is to note damage and get critical repairs done ASAP. I assume most understand dealing with damage and repair, so I won't dwell too much on that, however if you're in an out of control dive two repairs are critical, damage to bulkheads and batteries. It's important to note which compartments are flooded as they effect the down angle of your sub. Obvious if you're stern compartment is flooded you will go down by the stern, bow, you obviously will go down by the bow, but this is important info. I don't recall stock, but with the supermods if you have cams off a steep angle in the sub can be easily seen. Take note of the flood meters showing the amount of water and flood and repair times, if one compartment has a repair time of 50 minutes and a flood time of 3 minutes, I will first repair compartments where the repair time is less than flood time. The last thing you want is several flooded compartments, so I find it best to repair the ones I can the fastest. Obvious you want battle stations on and your damage control compartment activated, filled with high mechanic ratings. Many will use lower rated crew, but torp men have high repair skills, so I will move high rated mechanics from undamaged compartments to the damage crew. I will also move mechanics from one compartment to the other, if the Con is flooded, I have no problem moving men in that compartment replacing lower rated mechanics with better ones. Main thing is don't worry about who belongs where during damage, move your best crew to damaged compartments after you fill the damage crew slots. Batteries play an important role in controlling an out of control dive as often higher speeds will maintain a depth, even if your boat is at a steep angle. If you're stuck with severe battery damage, it may be best to repair batteries first and use other tactics to deal with the out of control dive...Not as important, but pumps probably come next on my list, then compressor. First, if you're fighting a out of control dive, note water depth and damage percentage, even minor hull damage can greatly effect your crush depth. You must decide how deep you can go, mods obviously have great effect, but let's say with TMO a Gato has a 600 ft crush depth, if damage is say 50%, my tactic is not to dive below 300 ft..you do the math, works for me, although I will try to stay on the safe side. Much depends on the dive angle of your sub, can be minor to drastic. You can usually stop an out of control dive even at steep angles, but it takes more time, the danger is to give yourself enough time to stop the dive before you pass your estimated crush depth. Remember, you're under attack, your goal is to control the dive, and find a depth zone to manauver in why evading. Again, lets say damage is 50% in my Gato, so my goal is to control my sub between 100-300 feet using correct tactics. The most important tactic in controlling the dive and evading is yo-yoing in your safe depth zone. If you're down angle is minor the first thing is to use only enough speed to control the dive, almost always more speed will keep you steady, however you're now more vulnerable to being heard by the enemy. My next option is to use the "P" periscope depth key, for whatever reason if you use the "p" key over setting a shallower depth manually, "P" will bring you up, for some reason setting manual depth won't. Depending on how much damage I have, I may choose to remain at silent running and just use the P key to make my sub rise. It's fairly easy to control minor down angles using "P" or a little more speed, but you must consider your options under attack. Generally if an escort is making a run, you're going to go flank so the charges will fall behind you, so speed works. If they're not making runs, better to use "p", but yo-yo, go up some, then set depth back down, when you think you're going too deep, go back up using the "P" key and speed if necessary, just keep yo-yoing in your safe zone alternating "P" and manually going deeper, back and forth as much as needed. Before I go any further, as it comes into play more with deep out of control dives, it can happen with minor dives as well. Notice the angle, if you're going down by the bow, forward speed will only send you down quicker, be careful. The most important yo- yo tactic is to go in the opposite direction of your dive, simply if you're going down by the bow, you need to change to reverse. This is critical in severe down angles. Think about it, if you're going down by the bow, reverse engines and try to control the dive with speed and "P" If you're going down by the stern, obvious you want to stay forward. If you pour on any speed going in the direction of the down angle you will find yourself heading for the bottom, often at speeds of 14kts or more and unable to pull out. The last and in critical cases option is blowing tanks, some suggest in game there is no factor for the enemy to hear you, I'm not sure, but sometimes you have no choice. So let's sum it up. Say I have two escorts on me that scored hits, my bow torp compartment and control room is totally flooding out with repairs underway. Let's assume I have hull damage of about 30%, so I'll want to stay above about 400 ft. The enemy is looking, so I want to remain silent, save battery power when needed. Even going down by the bow, I can control depth with "P", so I use it , when I get 400 ft to head up, when I'm at 300 ft, I manually set depth back to 400 ft, I do this over and over, unless a escort is making a run, I will pour on speed to evade charges. Hopefully I can evade and take no more damage, but let's say they score again and now the Con is flooding, my forward dive angle becomes steep, using "P" doesn't work, speed would only take me down faster.....time to reverse engines with flank reverse speed to pull out and hitting the "P" button. Important to note, don't bang on the "P" key numerous times, each time you do it uses compressed air, once is enough, it may take time to start to rise...Once you've reversed direction, adjust and see what speed will hold your depth and back to yo-yoing. Now, let's say I've reversed course, used "P" and even flank reverse speed, but I'm still going down by the bow, now it's time to blow tanks...hopefully you will start rising back up. Often you can head up faster than desired, if you're headed up and not under attack, cut speed, even stop engines, you want to yo-yo up and down as slow as possible when not under attack. If your still headed up after cutting speed, you may have to set engines to forward for a few seconds to head back down. Once headed up, you have to decide how far you want to go, usually based on if you're under attack. I always try to time it where I go up as the enemy makes a run, then I will use speed and blow tanks, usually the charges fall behind and under me. So I evaded, but now I must stop the upward motion, lest I surface, first I will just cut speed and my boat will start heading down, it should, When I get near my safe zone, I will use "P" , needed speed and blowing tanks again stop the dive and head back up, keep repeating as needed., yo-yo up and down in your safe zone, as your boat repairs try different options to see what may hold a steady depth. Compressed air can become an issue. Your goal is to evade and not head for the deep, again, each time you change depth using "p" , manual depth changes or blowing tanks, you're using precious compressed air.....you run out before you can fix your boat, you may never be able to get to the surface. The above scenario was going down by the bow, obvious if you're going down by the stern stay forward using yo-yo tactics. I also check to see if any shallow water is nearby and head for it if I can, better to bang bottom a few times if you feel you will lose control of your boat, maybe the enemy will leave. If all fails, and you're almost out of compressed air, blow tanks for the last time, shoot what torps you can guessing when you get to about 100 ft and man the guns when you surface....I've even surfaced before, got more air and dived back down before getting sunk, but usually with more damage, just hope it ain't bulkheads..... Last edited by Armistead; 04-21-12 at 02:01 PM.