Dear Betty, I don't think you can do that in 43.

[Elder-Pirate]

A Japanese bomber in early 1943 flying 915 NM? They must of been all Kamikazes. No way could they return to base ( their base anyway ).



It's 998.00 NM from Tokyo air base to the end of the circle here as I drew it that distance from another Betty ( whom did not make the return trip ) whom turned around at this distance and tried to bomb me.

This is getting a little carried away for the airplanes fuel isn't it? :hmm:

[AVGWarhawk]

They are refueled by C130 air tankers. :rotfl:

Ok, the planes, locations and type needs some work

[Ivan Putski]

The Mitsubishi G4M2 Betty had a range one way of 4,725 kilometers, equal to 2,551.296 nautical miles. Don`t know if this is loaded, or unloaded weight.

[AVGWarhawk]

Well then, there we have it.

[seaniam81]

from my reading the betty had a very large combat range and 1000nm in an airplane isn't really that far if you think about it. say it cruses at 300kts. They would have to fly 3.5 hours to reach you. The betty could hold alot of fuel. And what if the plane came from wake, a lot closer than tokyo, maybe it found you on it's way back. but you are saying look it's on a heading that points back to tokyo. well to that i would point out a search plane doesn't reach the end of its search leg and just turn around they'll fly maybe 100 - 200 miles in another direction befor heading back to base.

[Elder-Pirate]

Ok I stand corrected.
At the Bettys range that means game wise I'll draw my circles out to 1275.643 NM ( 1275 rounded off ) which is half of their fuel. Jeez now I really have to check my batteries.

Ivan Putski

[ElAurens]

That's nothing compared to the range of the H8K "Emily". The big Kawanishi flying boat had a range of 3000+ mi. (4,474mi at max overload weight).

When the first two prototypes undertook "Operation K", the second bombing of Pearl Harbor, they flew from Wotje in the Marshall Islands. Even though they had the range to do the mission non-stop, they refueled from subs at French Frigate Shoals because Combined Fleet did not want to chance losing the 2 very valuable prototypes.

The "Emily" was considered so important to the war effort by the IJN that they were the only aircraft expressly forbidden to undertake Kamikazi missions later in the war.

It was no dog either. When the last flyable H8K was being delivered to the USN for shipment to the US for testing, (which was also the last mission of a Japanese Imperial aircraft flown by a Japanese crew), it had to fly a zig zag pattern because the escorting USN PBY Catalina could not keep up. This aircraft was later returned to Japan and now is on display at the Japanese Maritime Museum in Tokyo.

[Ivan Putski]

You`re welcome Elder -Pirate, thats the range for the standard G4M2 bomber which also came in many models, with various modifications, and different specifications, but the standard is most likely whats used in SHIV. Happy Hunting.

[Sailor Steve]

1) Given range is almost certainly unloaded.

2) The real question is: were Betties used for long-range reconnaissance? If so, what are the odds of you being found by one? It sounds like they're flying right out and attacking, as if they know you're there already.

[-Pv-]

I've long suspected the game sends aircraft which are based within reasonable range to a close proximity to your location as a game "feature" to give the player something to do and add interest. Otherwise, you would only see planes near bases and people would complain they never see a plane.
An alert captain will take note of the proximity of a plane and take evasive action in order to prevent more planes being sent directly at you until you decide to spend a lengthy time below 80ft. SH3 behaved the same and I expect this is the same code base used with little modification.

I know there are unending threads debating the reality of this approach but it is what it is in the stock game. I shure the mods change where and how frequently you will enounter plane-based AI behavior.

Bottom line: If you never let a plane spot you, you will be little troubled by any planes in the game.
-Pv-

[Ivan Putski]

Another interesting Nip bomber G3M3 Nell 1941-1943, long range IJNAF twin engine bomber, responsible for the torpedo attacks on the HMS Prince of Wales, and HMS Repulse:
Max speed 258 mph
Max range full fuel load 800kg. bomb load 6200 km-3853 mi.
armament 1 20mm cannon, 4 7.7 mgs.
crew 5

I suspect pv is right about the a/c in game, myself, I never tangle with aircraft unless it`s a do, or die situation, crash dive, and head deep if able, you`ll more than likely be around the next day.

[Elder-Pirate]

Originally Posted by Ivan Putski

I suspect pv is right about the a/c in game, myself, I never tangle with aircraft unless it`s a do, or die situation, crash dive, and head deep if able, you`ll more than likely be around the next day.

I've found that in the SH4 1.4 stock you do not need to dive deep, just periscope depth, click on 1 KT speed crank up the TC and you can stay down all of the daylight hours. I usually "P" depth 1/2 hour before sunrise, surface 1/2 hour after sunset and never a plane problem, you must study the different sunrise and sunset times though...........or else . The reason for my orig. post was I had thought I was out of plane range ( found out different ) so I deliberately took the pic and shot one of two Bettys down.

Yeah pv is right. I've found him to be right all through SH4 and I ain't gonna argue nary a bit with him.

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

I always have a problem with the flight characteristics of aircraft in SH4. You should see a G4M on a torpedo run. They drop the fish way too close to the target then zoom horizontally. They never heard of stalls before?

[Doolittle81]

Originally Posted by DavyJonesFootlocker

I always have a problem with the flight characteristics of aircraft in SH4. You should see a G4M on a torpedo run. They drop the fish way too close to the target then zoom horizontally. They never heard of stalls before?

I think you meant to say zoom "vertically"...and you are correct that such a maneuver would be nearly impossible as shown in SH4 and definitely very unwise if attempted in real life...
The aircraft in SH4 are totally whacked when it comes to flight characteristics/physics...and AI. I'm not complaining too much, though, since this is a Sub sim after all, not a Flight sim.

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Originally Posted by Elder-Pirate

Ivan Putski

Polish Power!