Determining Enemy Course

KingOfNothing22 · 03-13-16, 07:58 PM

Now this may well have been asked before and if it has, I apologise. I've done a fair bit of searching both here and on Google but so far I've not really made any ground. I also apologise in advance if it seems like a stupid question!

Recently I've taken to trying to learn how to and actually do some of the calculations I need to do certain things like calculating an intercept course or getting set up for a shot with an AoB of 90° and the like. Very little trouble there so far despite me and maths generally not getting on at all...

So earlier I was cruising along when I stumbled on a lone merchant. Very calm conditions, clear skies, heading in a similar direction to me and about 9km out when my watch picked him up. No way am I letting this one get away... So I started planning how I'd go about my attack when I thought about working out what their exact course is. Seems strange because I've never thought about it until tonight, I've just made a very rough guess and gone with that. I know it's possible to plot ranges and bearings on the map and then draw a line through them to get a course that way, but when you aren't using map updates and your 1WO is only capable of giving you ranges to the nearest 500m (the joys of LSH3) you still end up with a very rough figure.

Long story short, I spent about two hours trying to work out different calculations that could fit using information I had to hand - my course (284°), AoB (1WO said 131° PRT), their bearing relative to my position (specifically 26° according to my 1WO) - but I couldn't get anything to add up in a way that made sense. The only thing that appeared to come close was just drawing a line based on the bearing out to the range, marking it, then taking the protractor and going from my boat to the mark then plotting out ahead of it until I got 131° - that gave me a line going through 260° which didn't seem too far off given I was on a course of 284°, but the range of the merchant still appeared to change noticeably even after altering to 260°.

If that does actually work and is one of the only (fairly) simple methods of doing it I'd be happy using that, but I was wondering whether or not there were actual formulas I could use to work it out on the fly as I've started doing with setting up attacks and the like. Maybe I'm just over-thinking it. I'd greatly appreciate any responses!

Sorry for the miniature essay,
A Kaleun with a loooot to learn

03-13-16, 07:58 PM	#1
KingOfNothing22 Nub Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 4 Downloads: 175 Uploads: 0	Determining Enemy Course Now this may well have been asked before and if it has, I apologise. I've done a fair bit of searching both here and on Google but so far I've not really made any ground. I also apologise in advance if it seems like a stupid question! Recently I've taken to trying to learn how to and actually do some of the calculations I need to do certain things like calculating an intercept course or getting set up for a shot with an AoB of 90° and the like. Very little trouble there so far despite me and maths generally not getting on at all... So earlier I was cruising along when I stumbled on a lone merchant. Very calm conditions, clear skies, heading in a similar direction to me and about 9km out when my watch picked him up. No way am I letting this one get away... So I started planning how I'd go about my attack when I thought about working out what their exact course is. Seems strange because I've never thought about it until tonight, I've just made a very rough guess and gone with that. I know it's possible to plot ranges and bearings on the map and then draw a line through them to get a course that way, but when you aren't using map updates and your 1WO is only capable of giving you ranges to the nearest 500m (the joys of LSH3) you still end up with a very rough figure. Long story short, I spent about two hours trying to work out different calculations that could fit using information I had to hand - my course (284°), AoB (1WO said 131° PRT), their bearing relative to my position (specifically 26° according to my 1WO) - but I couldn't get anything to add up in a way that made sense. The only thing that appeared to come close was just drawing a line based on the bearing out to the range, marking it, then taking the protractor and going from my boat to the mark then plotting out ahead of it until I got 131° - that gave me a line going through 260° which didn't seem too far off given I was on a course of 284°, but the range of the merchant still appeared to change noticeably even after altering to 260°. If that does actually work and is one of the only (fairly) simple methods of doing it I'd be happy using that, but I was wondering whether or not there were actual formulas I could use to work it out on the fly as I've started doing with setting up attacks and the like. Maybe I'm just over-thinking it. I'd greatly appreciate any responses! Sorry for the miniature essay, A Kaleun with a loooot to learn Last edited by KingOfNothing22; 03-13-16 at 08:15 PM.