Tell us what you're up to in current campaign (lets get this one going lol)

[Rhodes]

TMO Update BH V2.0+patches

USS Paddle - August/September 1944. 8th Patrol
Destination: Area 8 patrolling and anti-shipping actions.


Summary report (since I already finished last week)


Normal and uneventful travel to destination area. Area 8 didn't produce any kind of shipping during 2 weeks after arriving.
Convoy report out side the area but could not intercept do to distance.



When expanding the patrol route to more SW/SSW waters, a task force was detected, NE course, directly at my SW route.

Fast (18 knots), 6 ships, 2 light cruisers and one heavy; 3 destroyers ate front, port and starboard side.

Intercept: after radar contact, they were a NNE. Still viable attack, intercept course and do to the weather conditions, submerge night attack.

3 fan shot at the heavy cruiser with type 14, distance was not viable for type 18. After, changed course to exit the area and dive to 250 ft, silent running.

2 hits, no immediate sink but it stopped the ship. Escorts did some search patterns but never got me, possible do to the shooting distance.

After all was quite, return submerge and detected the heavy cruiser leaning to starboard. At +/- 1000 yards, near 5 a.m. shot a type 18 and the cruiser was sent to the depths.



After a few days with out any to report, a convoy was detected. 4 columns, 5 ships each; light escorts.

After intercept and going almost inside the port column, decided for a night submerge attack.

2 torpedos each ship of the inner column, and 2 aft torpedos shot at on ship, at 400 yards distance.

2 ships hit, convoy breaks loose. Decided to turn and stay inside the convoy, same original direction.

Escorts never looked inside (lead escort never change course or did ASW actions ?!).

Began to pick up the ships when they crossed my heading, shooting the near ones and reloading. 6 ships (2 tankers and 4 merchants went below)


All torpedoes expended, return to base. 7 ships sunk

Navy Cross and new command, but declined.

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by Rhodes

TMO Update BH V2.0+patches

USS Paddle - August/September 1944. 8th Patrol
Destination: Area 8 patrolling and anti-shipping actions.


Summary report (since I already finished last week)


Normal and uneventful travel to destination area. Area 8 didn't produce any kind of shipping during 2 weeks after arriving.
Convoy report out side the area but could not intercept do to distance.



When expanding the patrol route to more SW/SSW waters, a task force was detected, NE course, directly at my SW route.

Fast (18 knots), 6 ships, 2 light cruisers and one heavy; 3 destroyers ate front, port and starboard side.

Intercept: after radar contact, they were a NNE. Still viable attack, intercept course and do to the weather conditions, submerge night attack.

3 fan shot at the heavy cruiser with type 14, distance was not viable for type 18. After, changed course to exit the area and dive to 250 ft, silent running.

2 hits, no immediate sink but it stopped the ship. Escorts did some search patterns but never got me, possible do to the shooting distance.

After all was quite, return submerge and detected the heavy cruiser leaning to starboard. At +/- 1000 yards, near 5 a.m. shot a type 18 and the cruiser was sent to the depths.



After a few days with out any to report, a convoy was detected. 4 columns, 5 ships each; light escorts.

After intercept and going almost inside the port column, decided for a night submerge attack.

2 torpedos each ship of the inner column, and 2 aft torpedos shot at on ship, at 400 yards distance.

2 ships hit, convoy breaks loose. Decided to turn and stay inside the convoy, same original direction.

Escorts never looked inside (lead escort never change course or did ASW actions ?!).

Began to pick up the ships when they crossed my heading, shooting the near ones and reloading. 6 ships (2 tankers and 4 merchants went below)


All torpedoes expended, return to base. 7 ships sunk

Navy Cross and new command, but declined.

Nice, well done.


Sometimes, the AI gets silly and does not think to look inside the convoy, especially when player is submerged. Many variables play in...one is once they are in alert mode, can they detect your sub with sensors...visual or on passive/active sonar./radar, your relative position/aspect to the escort sensors and skill level of crew. Most cases if you are inside convoy...you will be out of range of their sound gear unless running at full speed and in ideal conditions and out of visual range. Unless one of the merchant spots your periscope etc and "transmits" your position (sometimes they do, sometimes they dont) escorts may not respond. I found this in testing and have encountered it in the mod during campaign. Annoying flaw in the way the AI is designed. Only way found around it is the give the sensors further range but then that presents a problem in it prevents realistic approaches.

For example...although esp for mid to later war escorts I increase the max range and/or sensitivity of sound gear, less likely what you experienced will happen and may response to center of convoy once alerted, as their gear is further enhanced. However, with the increased capabilities, even when in "normal" mode, they can detect a player at a unrealistic distance during a submerged approach, when convoy otherwise is unalerted to presence.

Not being at minimum harassed a little in such a situation is anticlimactic and unrealistic, drives me crazy when it does happen, one of those wish could do a hard code fix to get better performance. To minimize this, work around I have found is in many cases is while I approach target on silent running often times (not realistic as subs were not rigged for silent during approach as key systems had to be active, but its necessary in TMO in most cases). After torpedo impact or point when torpedoes should have impacts, I clear silent running. This makes me noisy enough to pick up for counter attack, esp once AI is alerted by torpedo impact or torpedoes being spotted etc, once have escort on me and its time to go deep, rig for silent running/depth charge, I do so.


Sometimes , the AI is just stupid lol.

[Rhodes]

TMO Update BH V2.0+patches

USS Paddle - Late November/December 1944. 9th Patrol
Destination: Area 11-C for patrolling and anti-shipping operation.


USS Paddle departed from Pearl Harbour on the 20th of Nov. to the patrol area.

Surface travel, with a calm, mirror flat sea. The crew enjoyed the outside time until near the designated area.

At area 11-C, for 2 weeks, no shipping was sighted/detected. Running always on surface, only diving when a few planes were detected and remaining under water until dusk.



After that, ComSubPac ordered to go to the Luzon Straits and conduct patrol operations.

In travel, night, we spoted a destroyer and we changed course to surface attack. When we were about to conduct the latest corrections to the TDC, the destroyer changed course to our direction. Radar...
Ahead full, periscope depth and going for a throat shot.

Error made, not shooting when the target was still going strait, with type18 torpedos. Miss 2 plus the backup 3rd torpedo, type 14, full speed. Passed in front of the bow of the target....

Hard to starbord, crash dive, depth charges - aft compartment damage, torpedos tubes severe to moderate, bulkhead light.

Began the cat and mouse game for 6 hours...


200 feet first, slow speed, damage being repaired. Enemy pinging, 250ft, changing course; rinse and repeat.

After the bulked was repaired and water pumped out, silent running at 300ft.

After a bad judgment, took long to go below, depth charges went closer to comfort and damages to the control tower.

350ft, damage repair. After that, manage to get behind him, and the contact was lost. Destroyer going way, for several minutes, turn to port and go way.

After a few minutes, they detected me again.
Maximum depth was 380ft, the depth charges began to explode far and he lost contact again, escaped...


After the next day at 100 ft, repairing everything, surface at dusk for charging and ventilating the boat.

At the Strait, not much to report, until a large convoy was reported. Far but interpretable, changed course to.



Detected the convoy during the day, reported has ordered. Was ordered to break contact. Didn't understood the last part of message, radio malfunctioned for some reason.

Decided for submerge attack, 2 ships sunk, escorts didn't detected me.



After that, for 2 weeks, no contacts besides airplanes, sea state always 15/m for 3 weeks, decreasing to 11/m. Always clear, no fog or clouds.

During a crash dive, some malfunction happend and the boat went down uncontrolled.

Order back emergency and blow main ballast. Damage to the forward compartment and tubes, boat went to 580ft before stopping and rising.

When levelled, went head flank and and had to blow half the tanks to rise.

My torpedo chief had his morale broken (first time I saw that).
After surfacing, repaired were made and with least of a half a tank of fuel, ordered return home.

Xmas was passed in transit, extra rations for every one.

Not a good patrol for the USS-Paddle.

[Bubblehead1980]

"During a crash dive, some malfunction happened and the boat went down uncontrolled.

Order back emergency and blow main ballast. Damage to the forward compartment and tubes, boat went to 580ft before stopping and rising.

When levelled, went head flank and and had to blow half the tanks to rise.

My torpedo chief had his morale broken (first time I saw that).
After surfacing, repaired were made and with least of a half a tank of fuel, ordered return home."


Interesting. Wondering what caused the uncontrolled dive. Close call for sure.

Did you crash dive for a plane? Did plane drop bombs? Residual damage to dive controls from previous attack perhaps.

You're into a period of campaign now where its tougher to find targets, especially in open waters, traffic shifts to coastal areas. A lot of night surface work ahead for ya lol.

[Rhodes]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead1980

"During a crash dive, some malfunction happened and the boat went down uncontrolled.

Order back emergency and blow main ballast. Damage to the forward compartment and tubes, boat went to 580ft before stopping and rising.

When levelled, went head flank and and had to blow half the tanks to rise.

My torpedo chief had his morale broken (first time I saw that).
After surfacing, repaired were made and with least of a half a tank of fuel, ordered return home."


Interesting. Wondering what caused the uncontrolled dive. Close call for sure.

Did you crash dive for a plane? Did plane drop bombs? Residual damage to dive controls from previous attack perhaps.

You're into a period of campaign now where its tougher to find targets, especially in open waters, traffic shifts to coastal areas. A lot of night surface work ahead for ya lol.

Well, I was at 128x time speed. The drop to 1x was the game, or else. In terms of report, I did add a point or two for narrative.

I crash dive for a plane, but after 100 ft and no bombing, hit time compression.

What I also thought was a mine, since I was near the first islands north of Luzon, in the Luzon Straits.

But I thought that was more cool a uncontrolled dive do to some malfunction. At least added to the atmosphere of a simulation.

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by Rhodes

Well, I was at 128x time speed. The drop to 1x was the game, or else. In terms of report, I did add a point or two for narrative.

I crash dive for a plane, but after 100 ft and no bombing, hit time compression.

What I also thought was a mine, since I was near the first islands north of Luzon, in the Luzon Straits.

But I thought that was more cool a uncontrolled dive do to some malfunction. At least added to the atmosphere of a simulation.

Oh if it were a mine you would have been dead lol. Mines were changed for realism, hit a mine your boat is doomed In testing never survived a mine hit.

Oh yea, malfunctions do add to immersion for sure.

Look forward to hearing about your next patrol, since you will be into 1945.

[Rhodes]

I already started, Fev 1945. Same place, Luzon straits and then freedom of manoeuvre to sink. But where to get targets. Already going near Macau and Hong Kong. Still planes buzzing the sky...