airplanes

There is a key on your keyboard you need to learn.
"C"
Use it wisely!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by privateer

There is a key on your keyboard you need to learn.
"C"
Use it wisely!

LOL

[Gargamel]

Early war (39- early 41). do the aircraft run at night? In particular, swordfish? Just got buzzed by some at dusk, and I'm running their back course at speed, trying to find the carrier. Also, what is their range (In game) from a carrier.

Jim, took yoru suggestion and opened the editor... apparently I just missed the Ark Royal crossing my path, unescorted it seems, by a couple days, but right now she's back in harbor.

[kapuhy]

Originally Posted by Gargamel

Early war (39- early 41). do the aircraft run at night?

I've never seen them in pitch black conditions, but they often show up at late evening / early morning, when the sun is below horizon but there's still some light around.

[Gargamel]

Tessa, How are they armed? did you hit him on the surface or submerged? Would their guns cause an Uboat much problems?

[Tessa]

Originally Posted by Gargamel

Tessa, How are they armed? did you hit him on the surface or submerged? Would their guns cause an Uboat much problems?

They are armed, though in my case by the time i got into firing postion the weather had drastically changed. Visibility was poor so there was a good chance I wasn't detected at all; in the other few experiences with flat tops they do shoot back like an armed merchant ship. Since the ship was depleted of planes it wasn't able to launch more attacks on me in the morning; which I imagine would contribute to the carrier's ability to detect where you are and move accordingly.

Their guns aren't a major threat to your boat (relative to the other surface warships), flat tops can travel fast but have poor maneuverability. Long shots are easily done since they can't stop; the hull is pretty much a large rectangular shape which maneuvers horribly. It can't turn fast enough like even a BB to avoid incoming eels. Carrier's themselves are a very weak target, without their planes they don't pose much of threat.

Here's a cap of one of the really nasty sorte's:



3 planes came as a squadron and my gunner nailed all 3 before they got close enough to even drop their bombs. If you look next to the event window you'll see the smoke plume from another downed plane.

By the time the last planes attacked it was getting dark and there was a drastic change in weather. It went from sunny to heavy rain that night, I wasn't able to catch up to the flat top and get into position until later the next morning. As I was travelling at flank most of the night to get ahead of it enough to get a good shot the weather got worse. Several times had to rely on my SO to make sure we were still on the right parrallel course with visibilty at times being only 1500m or so.

I fired the shot from the surface, with the bad weather and poor visibility there's a good chance he wasn't able to detect me, besides the planes the previous day it never fired another shot at me.

When I did finally get into position I sat there lying in wait for it to pass by perpendicular to me to get a perfect 90 shot, and if it missed I still had time to fire another eel at it before having to chase it down again. It was only a little over 1000m when I fired (with the visibility I can only assume he didn't detect me. If I hadn't have know there was a flat top there I wouldn't have been able to spot it with such poor visibility) my 2 torpedo salvo. One went wide and the other was right on the money, it blew up like a tanker full of aviation fuel.



Watching her go down was spectacular.

[Gerald]

Nice Pic,

[Tessa]

Originally Posted by Gargamel

Early war (39- early 41). do the aircraft run at night? In particular, swordfish? Just got buzzed by some at dusk, and I'm running their back course at speed, trying to find the carrier. Also, what is their range (In game) from a carrier.

Jim, took yoru suggestion and opened the editor... apparently I just missed the Ark Royal crossing my path, unescorted it seems, by a couple days, but right now she's back in harbor.

Aircraft don't start attacking at night until 43'ish, you're safe at night until radar gets more refined and becomes standard on all ASW vehicles. Granted you usually encounter a B-17 or B-24 which nail you with saturation bombing instead of the precision strikes you get in the daytime. In the meantime you've got until sundown (general rule of thumb the sun is halfway down the horizon) that they will press the attack.