Distance of spotting ? GWX2.1

Catfish · 04-26-08, 02:50 PM

Hello,
i only tell what i found in Buchheims three photo books, and i say a visual detection of a U-boat or even a small ship by a destroyer, at a range of 30 or even 20 kilometers, and even during calm seas, is not possible.
I do not understand it, when i last played SHIII with a lot of mods it was somehow more realistic. Realistic does not mean for me to make the sim unnecessarily hard, if it does not reflect the real thing.

Some texts:

"One time a destroyer just came straight at us. We thought that was it - but he had not seen us, raced by us, and vanished."
Happened during dawn, no storm.

"A U-boat operating surfaced was almost invisible for the enemy: It towered only a small amount above the surface, and had no conspicuous silhouette if it did not run fast on a parallel course. Downside was the low lookout and thus a narrow field of vision"
No numbers here, but if you see the photos of the calm sea it is even here downright impossible to visually detect a boat, without radar.

"Assuming good weather and a steamer mast height of 40 meters, a rough estimate would be that a ship is sighted at a distance from 12 to 15 miles"
This is the distance a U-boat would get a glimpse of a ship with masts of 40 meters height. If you want to detect a U-boat with some 2-3 meters of elevation above the sea level, 8 miles is the absolute maximum.

If there was a large convoy it will most probably be detected much earlier and at a greater distance, for the plumes of smoke were treacherous. Warships usually did not produce the typical black smoke, if only intentionally for making up a smoke screen.

Thanks and greetings,
Catfish

04-26-08, 02:50 PM	#10
Catfish Dipped Squirrel Operative Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: ..where the ocean meets the sky Posts: 17,767 Downloads: 38 Uploads: 0	Hello, i only tell what i found in Buchheims three photo books, and i say a visual detection of a U-boat or even a small ship by a destroyer, at a range of 30 or even 20 kilometers, and even during calm seas, is not possible. I do not understand it, when i last played SHIII with a lot of mods it was somehow more realistic. Realistic does not mean for me to make the sim unnecessarily hard, if it does not reflect the real thing. Some texts: "One time a destroyer just came straight at us. We thought that was it - but he had not seen us, raced by us, and vanished." Happened during dawn, no storm. "A U-boat operating surfaced was almost invisible for the enemy: It towered only a small amount above the surface, and had no conspicuous silhouette if it did not run fast on a parallel course. Downside was the low lookout and thus a narrow field of vision" No numbers here, but if you see the photos of the calm sea it is even here downright impossible to visually detect a boat, without radar. "Assuming good weather and a steamer mast height of 40 meters, a rough estimate would be that a ship is sighted at a distance from 12 to 15 miles" This is the distance a U-boat would get a glimpse of a ship with masts of 40 meters height. If you want to detect a U-boat with some 2-3 meters of elevation above the sea level, 8 miles is the absolute maximum. If there was a large convoy it will most probably be detected much earlier and at a greater distance, for the plumes of smoke were treacherous. Warships usually did not produce the typical black smoke, if only intentionally for making up a smoke screen. Thanks and greetings, Catfish Last edited by Catfish; 04-26-08 at 03:37 PM. Reason: typos ...