A few new ideas

Fidd · 09-25-23, 06:45 PM

52. Sea-gulls in coastal waters (in daylight) as an aid to detections and determining convoy heading:

In UK waters, and I'm sure in the Baltic, a great many sea-gulls will follow any boat, astern, looking for food in the wake. Periodically, they'll land and rest on any moving ship before flying again in its wake.

It occurs to me this could be used in game for a couple of subtle but useful purposes. Firstly that being around the stern of the ship, primarily, they could be used to aid determining if the convoy is heading away or towards the observer. They could also be used to draw the eye towards a periscope too long left up, or to a surfaced u-boat. Whilst no individual gull will be visible at 5km or so, a cloud of them following a ship or u-boat might well be. Finally there's the very evocative noise of their cries adding a bit of atmosphere. At night they usually return to land I believe, or if flat calm, roost on the sea. I'd recommend they be used in the three northern sea areas, but not the Biscay area?

09-25-23, 06:45 PM	#26
Fidd Captain Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 542 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	52. Sea-gulls in coastal waters (in daylight) as an aid to detections and determining convoy heading: In UK waters, and I'm sure in the Baltic, a great many sea-gulls will follow any boat, astern, looking for food in the wake. Periodically, they'll land and rest on any moving ship before flying again in its wake. It occurs to me this could be used in game for a couple of subtle but useful purposes. Firstly that being around the stern of the ship, primarily, they could be used to aid determining if the convoy is heading away or towards the observer. They could also be used to draw the eye towards a periscope too long left up, or to a surfaced u-boat. Whilst no individual gull will be visible at 5km or so, a cloud of them following a ship or u-boat might well be. Finally there's the very evocative noise of their cries adding a bit of atmosphere. At night they usually return to land I believe, or if flat calm, roost on the sea. I'd recommend they be used in the three northern sea areas, but not the Biscay area?