Manual Eyeballs

PortsmouthProwler · 03-13-09, 10:24 PM

Version 1.5 vanilla. 94% realism (I like the Event Camera).

Here's an excerpt from a post of mine way back when:

* So skippers and officers learned ... the most effective attacks were night surface....

* With experience, a knowledgeable officer can eyeball range and speed. AOB can be within 15 degrees, really; it's the least important element. Remember, they had a good idea of LOA and LWL for most vessels [Most merchies are 300' to 400' long. 100yards in one (1) minute is 3 knots within a very small error. 100 YDS/MIN = 3 KTS. IOW, most LOAs of the merchies are close to this, so if you have a merchant that travels her own length in 30 seconds, she's doing 6 knots, more or less. Most merchies are rarely exceeding 9 knots, max. Your liners are faster. Now take sea state into account -I just got thru a manual attack on a Euro Liner - with rough seas, I called it 15 kts. Eyeballed the AOB and used the staditmeter for the range of 1250 yds, which is a long shot for me and was in WWII. Put two right under the keel and finished her later. This the USS S-45 in July '42 off Rabaul.]

* But the single most important consideration is your approach. ... Find the baseline course for that convoy and 'end-around' it, ambush the bastards every time, if you can. Sneak past those escorts and get to less than 1,000 yards, preferably 750. Errors in your estimates matter little at point-blank range.

* Then get the hell out of there. Destroyers aren't really prizes, what you want is the merchants, and capital ships when you encounter a naval task force.

That's about it. Forget trigonometry. Use your tools. Use common sense and nautical knowledge. If you have a merchant with a bow wake, she's at least 7 kts. Also, if you are playing at high realism, you'll see why DD Tag is fruitless. They're too fast and maneuverable, you don't have time for your slide rule, she'll run you over. Sam Dealey got his tin cans on 'set-ups'. If she's down to 12 kts and pinging at 800 yards and waiting to have two in her gunwhale, sure, get 'er, but only if you can get away with it.

As a technical writer, we have a credo: Keep It Simple. Just thought I'd jump in. I don't take any shots more than 1000 yards if I can help it (for heaven's sake, that's half a nautical mile, anyway!).

Oh, and convoys? If you sink three to four or more you're a freakin' hero. By the time you're set up and sinking two targets, you should be having unwelcome guests at your door.

ADDENDUM

Used to know an ex-tin can sailor (1970s for his service). We used to talk about my SH1 experiences. This gets into modelling in the game, but he said that a surface approach in daylight can be effected as close as 4000, 3000 yards. He said that he knows of subs that weren't spotted as close as 2000 yards (a mile away). So...experiment. IRL, Japanese watchkeeping was pretty good, particularly at night (16 power binos), but with little moon and a slim profile, you might get pretty close.

03-13-09, 10:24 PM	#1
PortsmouthProwler Bosun Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 65 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	Manual Eyeballs Version 1.5 vanilla. 94% realism (I like the Event Camera). Here's an excerpt from a post of mine way back when: * So skippers and officers learned ... the most effective attacks were night surface.... * With experience, a knowledgeable officer can eyeball range and speed. AOB can be within 15 degrees, really; it's the least important element. Remember, they had a good idea of LOA and LWL for most vessels [Most merchies are 300' to 400' long. 100yards in one (1) minute is 3 knots within a very small error. 100 YDS/MIN = 3 KTS. IOW, most LOAs of the merchies are close to this, so if you have a merchant that travels her own length in 30 seconds, she's doing 6 knots, more or less. Most merchies are rarely exceeding 9 knots, max. Your liners are faster. Now take sea state into account -I just got thru a manual attack on a Euro Liner - with rough seas, I called it 15 kts. Eyeballed the AOB and used the staditmeter for the range of 1250 yds, which is a long shot for me and was in WWII. Put two right under the keel and finished her later. This the USS S-45 in July '42 off Rabaul.] * But the single most important consideration is your approach. ... Find the baseline course for that convoy and 'end-around' it, ambush the bastards every time, if you can. Sneak past those escorts and get to less than 1,000 yards, preferably 750. Errors in your estimates matter little at point-blank range. * Then get the hell out of there. Destroyers aren't really prizes, what you want is the merchants, and capital ships when you encounter a naval task force. That's about it. Forget trigonometry. Use your tools. Use common sense and nautical knowledge. If you have a merchant with a bow wake, she's at least 7 kts. Also, if you are playing at high realism, you'll see why DD Tag is fruitless. They're too fast and maneuverable, you don't have time for your slide rule, she'll run you over. Sam Dealey got his tin cans on 'set-ups'. If she's down to 12 kts and pinging at 800 yards and waiting to have two in her gunwhale, sure, get 'er, but only if you can get away with it. As a technical writer, we have a credo: Keep It Simple. Just thought I'd jump in. I don't take any shots more than 1000 yards if I can help it (for heaven's sake, that's half a nautical mile, anyway!). Oh, and convoys? If you sink three to four or more you're a freakin' hero. By the time you're set up and sinking two targets, you should be having unwelcome guests at your door. ADDENDUM Used to know an ex-tin can sailor (1970s for his service). We used to talk about my SH1 experiences. This gets into modelling in the game, but he said that a surface approach in daylight can be effected as close as 4000, 3000 yards. He said that he knows of subs that weren't spotted as close as 2000 yards (a mile away). So...experiment. IRL, Japanese watchkeeping was pretty good, particularly at night (16 power binos), but with little moon and a slim profile, you might get pretty close. Last edited by PortsmouthProwler; 03-14-09 at 01:31 AM.