The circles and lines around surface ships

[Al Lowe]

I was wondering if ANYONE can tell me what the different circles around the surface ships are? I have an idea, but I'd like confirmation. I looked all thru the manual, and couldn't find any reference to them.

Thanks,

[CapnScurvy]

The outer most complete circle, (if the ship has it in its equipment inventory) is the Radar range.

The next larger complete circle is the ships Visual range. These two complete circles can be confusing. If there is only one, its the Visual range. If there are two, the Radar is farther out than the Visual.

The next partial circle, that does not cover the stern of the ship, is the Hydrophone (Passive Sonar) range.

The smallest, usually half circle, that extends beyond the bow of the ship is the Sonar (Active Sonar) range.

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Planes will have the first two circles also.

Radar, if so equipped.

Visual, in either a complete circle, or similar to the Hydrophone shape due to the cockpit interference of the over shoulder view.

[Al Lowe]

Thanks, I was wondering about that. The confusing part is, I've seen sonar type circles on merchant ships. Very odd.

[CapnScurvy]

Some mods, and possibly the stock game too, has Sonar on some merchant ships. Far as I know, the Japanese couldn't find their back side with both hands! Least that's what some of the post war investigations found.

[merc4ulfate]

There are circles?

[Warren Peace]

Originally Posted by merc4ulfate

There are circles?

Pretty much what I just did. Circles? What circles?

I guess that's what happens when my default start-up routine is Realism Settings -> Realistic -> Map Contacts back on (I'm calling out info to someone, damnit, he'd better be plotting!)

[Al Lowe]

Yes, there are circles on the maps, if you don't use full realism. Sorry, I like to have more information of what's going on.

[CapnScurvy]

The circles appear on the Navigation Map at the medium zoom levels, when you click on a particular object. "No Map Contact Update" must be unchecked in the GamePlay Options menu.

Here's a Fletcher DD without Radar installed:



Visual range on the outside. Hydrophone next, then Sonar looking like a half pie.

Next to the destroyer is a Omaha CL with only a Visual sensor shown (it's a stock game ship):



The following plane images are of a Betty Bomber and its Visual range ring:



A Zero Fighter with its Visual range obscured to the rear of the aircraft:

[Crannogman]

It's interesting that you can know a contact's sensor info without actually identifying the contact.

[CapnScurvy]

Originally Posted by Crannogman

It's interesting that you can know a contact's sensor info without actually identifying the contact.

As you can see by the above images, the stock game gives you the name of the object, it's figurative speed (if not Stationary), its course. Checking the "No Map Contacts Update" removes that info. Frankly, the stock game allows for a novice or pro to play as they wish (some mods don't give the novice a chance).

[Sniper297]

Many players believe the automatic map updates are unrealistic, but the two things that the game doesn't simulate without it are (1) the officer on the attack team responsible for keeping the plot so the captain doesn't need to do it by himself, and (2) the automatic plotting table linked to the TDC position keeper. The automatic plotter was invented before world war one, by 1930 it was standard equipment on all US and British warships.

Automated fire control began in the navy with the adoption of “director firing,” which controlled all guns on a ship from a centralized location. Before World War I, Arthur Hungerford Pollen designed an early automated plotting system for British ships. In America, the Sperry Gyroscope Company connected instruments that collected observed data about a target into a central plotting room. An automatic plotter drew the paths of both the firing ship and the target ship on paper, from which a gunnery officer could read the range and bearing for the guns to fire. He then electrically transmitted these data to gunners in the turrets. In 1915, Sperry's chief designer, Hannibal Ford, left to start the Ford Instrument Company and introduced the Ford Rangekeeper, which both incorporated British technology and added new mechanisms of Ford design. The Rangekeeper, a mechanical analog computer, estimated the course and speed of a target ship based on repeated observations of range and bearing, continually updating the estimate in accord with new observations. The U.S. Navy enthusiastically adopted the Ford Rangekeeper, at first for battleships and then for destroyers and cruisers. Before World War II, the secret and novel military‐industrial alliance of the Bureau of Ordnance and the Ford Instrument Company, the Arma Engineering Company, and General Electric built nearly all fire control systems for the navy. Ford Rangekeepers, in numerous updates and modifications, directed guns on American warships into the 1990s. Arma also designed the famous Torpedo Data Computer (TDC) for submarines and surface ships. Sperry and another spinoff, Carl Norden Inc., began building bombsights, a technology similar to Rangekeepers that played a critical role in World War II.

[Al Lowe]

That's info that is nice to know.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Sniper297

Automated fire control began in the navy...

We would appreciate it if in the future when you copy and paste part of an article you would only paste the first sentence or two, or give a summary in your own words, in quote brackets, and a link to the article. Full credit should always be given to the source.

[Sniper297]

Short paragraph, didn't think it was important to edit it.

https://books.google.com/books?id=_R...istory&f=false

[Crannogman]

Originally Posted by CapnScurvy

As you can see by the above images, the stock game gives you the name of the object, it's figurative speed (if not Stationary), its course. Checking the "No Map Contacts Update" removes that info. Frankly, the stock game allows for a novice or pro to play as they wish (some mods don't give the novice a chance).

Yes, but it gives the contact's sesnor arc/range info as soon you make radar contact. You had them identified in your screen shots, but that is not necessary