[IDEA] Aircraft recognition manual

[VONHARRIS]

The title says it all.
We all know the ship recognition manual in SH3.
How is it possible to create an aircraft recognition manual?

I created a new thread because I came up empty handed after a search.
Thank you.

[Wreford-Brown]

I think that's a great idea. Maybe have it as another drop-down chart along the lines of rudewarrior's JFO! mod?

[sublynx]

Yeah a great idea One would need to collect pics like these from the internet and then edit them into tga's where 4-engined planes, twin engined planes, single engined planes would be on their own charts for quick comparison.



Easy to add as a drop down chart. The most worksome part would be to collect pictures of all the necessary planes.

[sublynx]

This Aircraft recognition manual has a nice collection of the relevant pictures:

http://archive.org/details/Fm30-30

Goddamit I've vowed to myself that no more modding for me Would someone else feel energetic enough to do this?

[A6Intruder]

What for?
Nearly everyone knows Friends and Enemies. If you play with outsideview you can find it out by yourself. If you don`t know the plane you know the decals!
If you play without outsideview: How will you use it? Bridge calls FLIEGER, and now you go upstairs, take your binocular, take a book for finding out friend or foe? Not really.
So in my eyes senseless.
Best regards

PS: If you need some kind of training go to the museum.

[sublynx]

The usefulness of a plane recognition manual depends on the level of role play one wants to play with. No outside views of course.

Here's a situation I would find a manual useful:

It's January 1941. My U-boat is some 300 kilometers north of the Faroes. A plane is sighted. We dive while keeping a periscope on the plane. The plane doesn't seem to spot us so we stay at periscope depth. There have been no reports of airplanes in this area yet. I notice it's a single engine airplane. Now is it a carrier borne airplane or a land based airplane? If it is a landbased airplane it means that the enemy is flying from the Faroes and the area is unsafe permanently. If it is a carrier based airplane the area is unsafe for now and there is a task force nearby. I need to identify the plane through the periscope view and to do that a manual would be helpful.

This kind of reconnoitering would be crucial in a real U-boat. The info would help us and other U-boats in the area. As players we know about when Allied airbases are established so in that sense info about the planes is useless. It all depends how much one wants to role play while playing SH3. I like the role play aspect so I try to gather intelligence in a way I guess a real U-boat commander would have.

There was also a phase in the war when BdU ordered U-boats not to dive in certain situations when planes where sighted (desperate as that was) and during that phase one would need some help in recognizing the enemy.

[rudewarrior]

Originally Posted by Wreford-Brown

I think that's a great idea. Maybe have it as another drop-down chart along the lines of rudewarrior's JFO! mod?

Hi everyone,

Just because I have been invoked I will comment here, but I'd like to point out that the drop-down chart is probably more of a sublynx or a makman94 idea. I just don't want to take undeserved credit before I speak. But since sublynx posted here and didn't scold you, I guess he doesn't mind too much.

However, as much as I like looking at pictures of weapons platforms and trying to identify them, I can't help but point out that, IRL, aircraft were exceptionally deadly for a submarine.

Maybe during early stages of the war, when people were still figuring out how to wage war; maybe during times when Kaleun's were asked to engage aircraft on the surface, specifically when engaging convoys; maybe when performing some sort of mission, perhaps spotting for Kriegsmarine aircraft; you might be concerned with aircraft identification. But it was realized pretty quickly by Kaleun's that u-boat interaction with enemy aircraft was a very deadly proposition. So in general, the conclusion was that your best bet was to dive upon sighting of any aircraft!

But, like I said, I like looking at pictures, so I could see this sequence happening very quickly:

WO: Aircraft spotted, sir! Bearing 230 degrees! Long range!

Oh, cool! An airplane! Let me look through my id book/pull down my handy dandy chart and identify which one it is!

/opens manual or pulls down chart

Hey, that one looks cool! Check out that one, too!

WO: Enemy aircraft engaging us, sir!
WO: We're under attack, sir!
WO: We're taking damage, sir!
WO: Men down on the deck!
WO: Meediiiiiic!!!
WO: We have critical flooding, sir!

/deathscreen

So based on my research, I think the real course of action for any Kaleun upon sighting of any aircraft was:

WO: Alaaaaaarm!