not a mod but an interesting point

02-05-06, 02:28 PM

i was trying to explain to my sister who does not play naval games but who was interested in the ones i play, how in SH3 one can use a real targeting system by matching the mast height to the ship recognition manual, when she asked something that kinda shocked me. She asked, "why didn't the Americans and British just randomize the heights of all their masts or make them adjustable in height?" and it hit me that she was right, for a price alot cheaper than building a new ship to replace a destroyed one and retrain a new crew to replace the dead one, the allies could have made most of the ship's silhouette adjustable (at least to the eyes of u-boat captains) making long range torpedo firing almost impossible and forcing the subs to only attempt short range firing. Short range firing was both more dangerous and in the case of u-boat speed, often impossible. Such a simple fix, even with just the mast, would have greatly increased the chances that torpedoes would have missed. i suppose this only goes to prove what the airforce has always said about navy.

HEMISENT · 02-05-06, 03:40 PM

The Marine Corps says the same thing about the Navy only more colorful.

Semper Fi!

LukeFF · 02-05-06, 03:58 PM

Umm, okay. Try posting this in the right forum next time.

Marhkimov · 02-05-06, 03:59 PM

I guess this could possibly fit in a "Mod" workshop.

Redbrow just forgot to ask for a mod.

Letum · 02-05-06, 05:52 PM

Good point, with a pit of ply board you could make a ship look totaly different

02-06-06, 02:27 PM

For a good part of her epic voyage, Kapitan Langsdorff of KMS Graf Spee disguised his ship with a false turret built onto the front of the bridge, and a removable false funnel (or maybe that was one of the commerce raiders). Many ships used disguises to look like what they weren't.

I think the mast idea is a good one; they either decided it wasn't worth the effort, as most U-boat commanders would probably get quite close before firing, or possibly they just never thought of it. That happens sometimes.

lafeeverted · 02-06-06, 04:57 PM

The different mast heights would only alter the distance to target measurements/estimates. That in and of itself would not have any impact on firing solutions(other than torpedo run time) It would not cause misses. A ship can be 500 meters or 5000 meters away, the solution will be the same.(Although it is true that at longer distances, any mistake in calculations will be magnified)Mast height alone would not alter the ship enough to confuse a commander into mistakenly identifying a ship. All in all , probably not worth the effort. A taller mast will make a ship appear closer if only going by measurement of the mast height. Attacks were recommended to take place within 2KM, long range attacks were not used that often, at least not early in the war. I would think that commanders/watch personnel would get pretty good about estimating distances and recognizng ships so at some point the mast height would not be a factor.

02-05-06, 02:28 PM	#1
redbrow Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	not a mod but an interesting point i was trying to explain to my sister who does not play naval games but who was interested in the ones i play, how in SH3 one can use a real targeting system by matching the mast height to the ship recognition manual, when she asked something that kinda shocked me. She asked, "why didn't the Americans and British just randomize the heights of all their masts or make them adjustable in height?" and it hit me that she was right, for a price alot cheaper than building a new ship to replace a destroyed one and retrain a new crew to replace the dead one, the allies could have made most of the ship's silhouette adjustable (at least to the eyes of u-boat captains) making long range torpedo firing almost impossible and forcing the subs to only attempt short range firing. Short range firing was both more dangerous and in the case of u-boat speed, often impossible. Such a simple fix, even with just the mast, would have greatly increased the chances that torpedoes would have missed. i suppose this only goes to prove what the airforce has always said about navy.

02-05-06, 03:40 PM	#2
HEMISENT Ace of the Deep Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northern Illinois Posts: 1,052 Downloads: 135 Uploads: 0	The Marine Corps says the same thing about the Navy only more colorful. Semper Fi! __________________ Nuke 'em till they glow!

02-05-06, 03:59 PM	#4
Marhkimov Admiral Join Date: May 2005 Location: Bay Area, California, USA Posts: 2,377 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I guess this could possibly fit in a "Mod" workshop. Redbrow just forgot to ask for a mod. __________________ It takes two to tango

02-05-06, 05:52 PM	#5
Letum Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: York - UK Posts: 6,079 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	Good point, with a pit of ply board you could make a ship look totaly different __________________

02-05-06, 03:58 PM	#3
LukeFF Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Riverside, California Posts: 3,610 Downloads: 41 Uploads: 5	Umm, okay. Try posting this in the right forum next time.

02-06-06, 02:27 PM	#6
Sailor Steve Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	For a good part of her epic voyage, Kapitan Langsdorff of KMS Graf Spee disguised his ship with a false turret built onto the front of the bridge, and a removable false funnel (or maybe that was one of the commerce raiders). Many ships used disguises to look like what they weren't. I think the mast idea is a good one; they either decided it wasn't worth the effort, as most U-boat commanders would probably get quite close before firing, or possibly they just never thought of it. That happens sometimes.

02-06-06, 04:57 PM	#7
lafeeverted Chief Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 329 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	The different mast heights would only alter the distance to target measurements/estimates. That in and of itself would not have any impact on firing solutions(other than torpedo run time) It would not cause misses. A ship can be 500 meters or 5000 meters away, the solution will be the same.(Although it is true that at longer distances, any mistake in calculations will be magnified)Mast height alone would not alter the ship enough to confuse a commander into mistakenly identifying a ship. All in all , probably not worth the effort. A taller mast will make a ship appear closer if only going by measurement of the mast height. Attacks were recommended to take place within 2KM, long range attacks were not used that often, at least not early in the war. I would think that commanders/watch personnel would get pretty good about estimating distances and recognizng ships so at some point the mast height would not be a factor.