Are you a good sub captain

[SeaQueen]

And usually in the form of escaping launch datums I would guess, if your problem is similar to mine. A slowing moving platform against fast moving hunters...

Part of the problem is solved by moving faster as soon as you launch an ASCM. Once you shoot a cruise missile, they know EXACTLY where you are, so you need to really step out to get away from that point.

The helos actually don't search that smartly. They set up a box around the datum and the area doesn't expand so if you can basically just get a little bit outside of the box, you're home free. As long as you're not overflown, in which case he gets a MAD hit, you should be okay.

I also think it's odd how people use cruise missiles from insanely close distances. Why the heck do people shoot missiles that have a range of tens if not hundreds of miles, at single digit ranges? It makes no sense. Standing off and shooting decreases your vulnerability to counter attack from ASW aircraft by giving you plenty of time to clear the datum. In order to make the weapons effective you shoot lots of them in a salvo. Yeah, sometimes they get shot down... but not all the time and it usually only takes 1 or 2 to put a ship out of action. That's good enough for me.

Originally Posted by SeaQueen

Still, its a poignant reminder that not all captains are created equally... and the top notch of a lot can produce starkingly different results than their less competant peers.

I suspect a lot of it is luck too. So much of the outcome of submarine attacks has to do with one's ability to get into a good position to shoot. That's stuff you can't always control.