First time killed in an S boat and in 1942

[Bubblehead1980]

TMO RSRD with Websters S Class mod.

After two successful patrols(for an s boat) in June and August 1942(10000 ton tanker sunk on first off Rabaul, heavy cruiser sunk on August 9 off Savo Island) assigned to patrol slow.Now equipped with SJ radar, S-47 was ready.

After two botched attempts on Tokyo Express(DD's are moving fast, Mark 10's just dont want to hit, kept barely missing) Located another with five torpedoes left.Fired but they missed, we went deep and DD's began making depth charge runs, lot so close ones, a pattern under boat even push us from 150 feet to 138 feet. Minor damage though. Then an air attack began as day broke by US planes, we came to scope depth since DD's were distracted and fired last torpedo, which barely missed, DD was skilled in how it evaded this fish from 900 yards. Soon back at 150 feet, was getting depth charged severely, so went to 165 feet, seemed to help.After two hours battery was pretty low, thinking we may have lost them, pinging starts, intensifies from two directions.Two DD's made runs from opposite directions. A large pattern between two of them breacketed my old boat, damage reports filled in as 10-12 charges exploded near and below me, a couple nearly on top.Deck equipment was destroyed hull damaged, leaks everywhere.Then two more close ones, and finally a loud thump, hull damage reported then sounds of pipes busting, water rushing, we began to sink to 180 feet when hull begans to fail, blow ballast but too late, the boat was lost.

S boats are definitely more fragile(as should be) with this mod, great job webster. First time I think I have been sunk by escorts in 1942 other than when in extremely shallow waters(60 feet or less)

[Rockin Robbins]

Wow! That sounded pretty authentic. You've seen the same thing I have with the DDs. If you shoot from anything outside 500 yards they just do their little dance and evade the torpedoes. And with the little tonnage from sinking them it isn't worth it to bracket them with 3 torpedoes, especially with the limited number of torps in an S-Boat. With your dag-blasted torpedo mod I HAVE started firing two at them.

Makes me want to do another S-Boat career!

[airsangel]

wiw this was intense to read...wish there was a surrender using tmo or om..like blowing ballast and just simulating surrender

[Rockin Robbins]

The Japanese weren't known for gracefully accepting surrenders.

[Dread Knot]

Originally Posted by airsangel

wiw this was intense to read...wish there was a surrender using tmo or om..like blowing ballast and just simulating surrender

I guess there could be an option to surrender your crew. (although it won't be a pleasant experience for them mining copper at the Ashio mines with sadistic Japanese guards)

But always scuttle your boat.

Originally Posted by Bubblehead1980

TMO RSRD with Websters S Class mod.

S boats are definitely more fragile(as should be) with this mod, great job webster. First time I think I have been sunk by escorts in 1942 other than when in extremely shallow waters(60 feet or less)

thanks, I really hated how the stock s-boats were so tough it was like the sub was an armored battleship with endless range

im not known as a realism modder but I do try to make things realistic when I can and that's what I went for to do the s-boat mod

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by Webster

thanks, I really hated how the stock s-boats were so tough it was like the sub was an armored battleship with endless range

im not known as a realism modder but I do try to make things realistic when I can and that's what I went for to do the s-boat mod

I agree.You did a great job on that.I am looking into tweaking the porpoise class a bit, they were riveted hull boats, little more delicate than are in game.Even though some like Pollack made it to 500 feet and survived(forced).

My only question is about the s boat's surface speed. Everything I read had it's surface speed at 12 knots, its 10 with the mod.Was this based on a source or a design decision to make it tougher to use? Trust me, its already cost me a couple of merchants, they were making 10 knots and I couldnt get ahead lol

[Rockin Robbins]

The problem with S-Boats is that they were individuals. Some were rusted through and used anyway, unsafe at any depth. Some weren't so corroded and their depth-keeping abilities were truly unknown. NONE of them had rated strength--they were 30 some years old!

Same with speed. Those motors were flat worn out. Some were good for 12 knots, more were good for 8 to 10 and a few were doing well to make 5. All of them were broken down for a significant fraction of time, reducing maximum speed of the sub to zero. There were A LOT of equipment malfunctions in S-Boats and not one in our game.

We can fuss with it all we want, but can't get it right. Webster's mod is plenty good enough and gives you a good feel for how the Sugar-Boat guys viewed their craft.

I don't like the S-Boat with Webster's mod at all and the real crews didn't like their boats either. I call that effective simulation!

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

The problem with S-Boats is that they were individuals. Some were rusted through and used anyway, unsafe at any depth. Some weren't so corroded and their depth-keeping abilities were truly unknown. NONE of them had rated strength--they were 30 some years old!

Same with speed. Those motors were flat worn out. Some were good for 12 knots, more were good for 8 to 10 and a few were doing well to make 5. All of them were broken down for a significant fraction of time, reducing maximum speed of the sub to zero. There were A LOT of equipment malfunctions in S-Boats and not one in our game.

We can fuss with it all we want, but can't get it right. Webster's mod is plenty good enough and gives you a good feel for how the Sugar-Boat guys viewed their craft.

I don't like the S-Boat with Webster's mod at all and the real crews didn't like their boats either. I call that effective simulation!

Oh I wasnt fussing, I was just asking.

like RR said, they were ww1 boats so they were so old it was a crap shoot for them to just work at all.

with the speed listed at 12 knots that was the speed of the boats when new back in ww1 so add 20+ something years of wear and tear to those engines and then they reasonably shouldn't be able to put out that top speed but I wasn't going to make them un-playably slow so I settled on 10 as a reasonable speed a minority of very well maintained boats might be able to do.

it is realistic that unless the ships came right to you, there was really nothing you could do to attack them if they were not heading in your direction.

the best strategy with s-boats is to ambush like a sniper by hiding and let the target come to you and when he is in the kill zone you rise up and sink them.

almost without exception you are not going to be using your engines as much for setting up your attacks like you do with the fleet boats, its a different way of thinking for your strategy.

think of yourself as a slow moving fragile leaky mobile mine platform and your torps are your mines so you wait in a good spot where shipping will have to come to you then let then fly and drop into a hole somewhere and be very quiet hoping you don't die.

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by Webster

like RR said, they were ww1 boats so they were so old it was a crap shoot for them to just work at all.

with the speed listed at 12 knots that was the speed of the boats when new back in ww1 so add 20+ something years of wear and tear to those engines and then they reasonably shouldn't be able to put out that top speed but I wasn't going to make them un-playably slow so I settled on 10 as a reasonable speed a minority of very well maintained boats might be able to do.

it is realistic that unless the ships came right to you, there was really nothing you could do to attack them if they were not heading in your direction.

the best strategy with s-boats is to ambush like a sniper by hiding and let the target come to you and when he is in the kill zone you rise up and sink them.

almost without exception you are not going to be using your engines as much for setting up your attacks like you do with the fleet boats, its a different way of thinking for your strategy.

think of yourself as a slow moving fragile leaky mobile mine platform and your torps are your mines so you wait in a good spot where shipping will have to come to you then let then fly and drop into a hole somewhere and be very quiet hoping you don't die.

I understand and assumed that, was just wanting clarification. Yep, whole different war in S Boats.

[in_vino_vomitus]

I've never been tempted to try an S boat until I read this

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by in_vino_vomitus

I've never been tempted to try an S boat until I read this

I never used them much but with Webster's S boat mod, they are fun.

[in_vino_vomitus]

Just DL'd the mod - I wonder how long I'll last?