Run Loud, Run Shallow

[John Channing]

Originally Posted by vindex

So I finally saw "Run Silent, Run Deep" this weekend. Is it just me, or is the title a complete irony? It seems like they do the opposite throughout the entire movie.

I will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that the attack sequences, which look like they are taking place during the day, are night attacks. Even so, I've never been able to get within 2000 feet of a convoy on the surface without being sighted and ruining my torpedo solution. Attacking with a deck gun on the surface is one thing, you can just outrun them. My question is, why NOT drop to periscope depth, is there a real advantage to remaining surfaced if you're going to use a torpedo anyway?

Has anyone actually tried the game of chicken with a destroyer? In theory it could work, giving you a bow shot without the TDC inputs. In practice I bet you're toast. The destroyer would almost certainly bracket fire on you by the time you got to 1500 feet (which is when they dived). And even if you had decks awash and could dive quickly, it's not like 20ft of water is going to suddenly stop those shells raining down on you.

Read the book.

While RSRD is the best Hollywood movie on US Subs in the Pacific, they ignored the book and did a Hollywood shoot-em-up.

Ned Beech (the book's author) was not happy with the film and came away under the impression that all they wanted was the title of his best seller, and that they had no intention of doing an accurate drama based on his excellent book.

Did I mention you should read the book?

JCC

ps The book is much better. You should read it.