Going deep vs. slugging it out on the surface

[Friscobay]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

One of the places where the game fails is in the sub vs destroyer gun battle. In real life a destroyer is designed to stay afloat, and he has several guns roughly the equal of yours, plus fairly sophisticated fire-control that allows him to fire all of his guns to a single solution. The submarine is designed to sink, and has no fire-control system at all beyond an iron sight on the gun. If he manages to put one hole in your pressure hull you have lost the only advantage you have, and are now a fairly slow torpedo boat deep in enemy territory. Winning a gun duel with a destroyer, let alone two or more, is about as unrealistic as you can get.

I'll say, especially given the fact that Japanese DDs like the ASASHIO class were not mere tubs or rumrunners. These things packed a whallop with their twin-5's as opposed to a PORPOISE 3'' running on the surface and the DD could bring many more guns to bear. The biggest surface engagements I have had with anything that shoots back have been up against those swift subchaser jobs [ No -13s? ] with their own single deck gun.