Which method do you use for your hydrophone checks?

SteamWake · 09-05-08, 02:35 PM

Often Ill get a notice that a convoy has been spotted at yadda yadda moving on such and such a course.

Ill do some rough math and steam at an appropriate speed to the proposed intercept location. More often than not Im wrong.

At that point Ill slow to ahead 1/3 and take her down to 80 feet or so and do a couple of sweeps around the dial myself. Often I can pick up distant unresolved contacts that my 'qualified' sonar man doesent. We make a note of the direction of the contact, mark it on the map surface, and steam in that general direction at flank at best guess of distance. By the way if you pick up a several distant contacts close to one another within a few degrees your are golden !

If there is still no sightings I will repeat the dip, listen, mark, surface and scoot. Often the lines of bearing of the distant contact will give me clues to the contacts course and speed. The tale of the tape as it were.

Not exactly scientific and often we miss the convoy outright due to the lost time taken to dip and listen. But often it does work.

For casual patrols Ill travel submerged at ahead slow for a period of a couple of hours typically at around 100 feet or so and leave it up to my soundman to notify me of any contacts.

09-05-08, 02:35 PM	#3
SteamWake Rear Admiral Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 13,224 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Often Ill get a notice that a convoy has been spotted at yadda yadda moving on such and such a course. Ill do some rough math and steam at an appropriate speed to the proposed intercept location. More often than not Im wrong. At that point Ill slow to ahead 1/3 and take her down to 80 feet or so and do a couple of sweeps around the dial myself. Often I can pick up distant unresolved contacts that my 'qualified' sonar man doesent. We make a note of the direction of the contact, mark it on the map surface, and steam in that general direction at flank at best guess of distance. By the way if you pick up a several distant contacts close to one another within a few degrees your are golden ! If there is still no sightings I will repeat the dip, listen, mark, surface and scoot. Often the lines of bearing of the distant contact will give me clues to the contacts course and speed. The tale of the tape as it were. Not exactly scientific and often we miss the convoy outright due to the lost time taken to dip and listen. But often it does work. For casual patrols Ill travel submerged at ahead slow for a period of a couple of hours typically at around 100 feet or so and leave it up to my soundman to notify me of any contacts.