Hunt for Wounded Bear

[Hazelwood]

I usually prefer playing missions I've put together myself but once in awhile give the "canned" ones a go. I have found "Hunt for Wounded Bear" problematic. It's a darn long way from Perth, Australia to the alleged zone of engagement. By the time I am there I am down to 20% or less of diesel. The Shokaku task force never shows up (I have cheated by examining the route with the Mission Editor so know I'm on the right spot). I sit there on the water for days, dodging aircraft and the occasional destroyer but no task force. I have tried relocating my starting position to the first leg of the task force route and, sure enough, they arrive and I sink the Shokaku. Evidently there's nothing broken (?) I'd enjoy hearing from other skippers concerning this mission and their luck with it.

I could try sailing all the way to Japan and greet them there but by then we're down to batteries or even oars.

Cpt. Hazelwood

[propbeanie]

In Stock, I think I've been successful at catching them one time, and that was years ago. I went directly north, through Makassar Strait, Sibutu Passage and into the Sulu Sea and caught them before they went up through the Mindoro Strait west of Panay. They've got a shorter distance to travel than you, but that is the closest point for your paths to cross. Only problem is the multiple routes the ship can take, and you would never know if you were out in front of it, or behind it ~except~ that it will report once every 24 hours where it is - er, sorry, ruined the immersion - the coastwatchers will report it once every 24 hours... You don't need to do Ahead Flank all the way. You'll burn all your fuel, but Ahead Full might be called for. Ahead Standard won't cut it.

[Hazelwood]

Much thanks. Bottom line is that it's just tough so I'll stick with it.

Cpt. Hazelwood.

[propbeanie]

Yes, it can be tough to track them down, just watch your NavMap just after midnight, perhaps a little before, depending upon which clock the game is watching, and you should get your nightly "Ultra" update... :wink: - at least, that's what I pretend it is. The IJN was rather 'regular' in the comms, just like the BdU was, and with the top-secret codebreakers, which very few knew about in the field, the subs were at times dialed into the movements of some of the groups like they were part of the comm group. Early in the war it was FruPac, but I can't remember from my reading if they changed the name, or would just tell the sub to be at a certain set of coordinates at a certain time on a certain date. Major US advantage. Now, in SH4, you see a little text message to the effect of "Enemy Task Force near 138°42'E, 0°52'N, Speed Medium, Heading WNW" or maybe "Heading 284°", can't remember, but I think it's the less refined "WNW", or maybe just "West" in this case... ?? Roughly 24 hours later, you might get another. If you look on your NavMap and zoom to that area, you would generally see a red square box with a tail on it, signifying where it came from, giving you a general idea of it's direction of travel then. "Medium speed" is about nine knots, which is what you'll mostly see from the Wounded Bear. Don't forget now, she's got some tigers escorting her...

[propbeanie]

OK Hazelwood. I did it again! I thought I'd do some screen grabs to show you my approach to the situation, and I really should have "filmed" it... instead, here is a pdf with pictures, and lots of typos to bore you to tears with, but I am rahter proud of myself actually finding them so easily, and then actually sinking the Bear!

The Hunt For Wounded Bear pdf

[Hazelwood]

Owing in part to your good advice I finally pulled this off, ambushing the carrier task force just north of Basilan Island in deep water (intentionally avoiding the numerous shallows in the area where you could easily be confounded by the destroyers). It took them a long, long time to show up. The destroyer screen was unusually compact but we went deep and slow under them. They never caught on and the poor Shokaku was toast. Figuring there'd be no second chance we fired an over-kill of six torpedoes as close together as possible and headed back down for awhile. Although with less than 20% diesel left I decided to do a proper return home - but to Darwin instead of much more distant Perth/Fremantle. At just a few knots it's amazing how long fuel lasts and we slipped into port a few days later, having even dispatched a small task force near Maluku on the way. We were on diesel fumes for sure but still had the electrics in reserve - never needed. I was taken aback at how scenic the Darwin area proved to be - nicely done land graphics.

This is a great patrol. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Cpt. Hazelwood

[propbeanie]

Glad you got 'em too! I did a combination of Ahead Slow (2/3) and Ahead Standard in Stock to get there, which ended up being 12 knots and 17 knots respectively, and had over half a tank left, basically arriving in the neighborhood about 20 hours ahead of time. Trying to avoid being spotted once I was in the area was the most difficult part of the mission, next to the storm and not being able to get any targeting info at all, due to visibility. Since the Gato can't go as deep as the floor in the first level shallower, and I had no qualms about venturing into there, it still being 687 foot deep where I was. If you can get in closer still, the DD and the carrier have troubles trying to maneuver also, and will at times run into each other once the shooting starts...

[Hazelwood]

In the area where I waited for the Shokaku we were bedevilled by lot of enemy air patrols - a real nuisance. It was better just to spend long times submerged. I have found some inconsistency with behavior of the AA gunners. They can be aggressive, accurate and highly useful but at other times they simply won't engage even though I ensure they are "Firing at will" or otherwise enabled and that there are still shells in reserve. I've had to take over myself on occasion. Come to think of it I should be going to crew management and inspect status there as maybe the gunners are asleep or off duty (??)

[propbeanie]

You don't want to engage airplanes, even if you have the best the Navy Department has to offer you for gunners and spotters. The planes "fone home" and will report your position, and the Bear might be on the alert even more, zigging at the most inopportune time. A CV group will "spawn" CAP for itself, and if a fishing boat spots you, and you are within the planes' operating radius, they will send some your way, continually. Not seen, not detected, you might see nothing until sound reports "Warships! Closing!..."

Another thing to do is to keep moving when on the surface, even if only in circles, so that your dive times are reduced. In the FotRSU mod, we have found issues with the airplanes. We have not looked at the Stock game files, but would not be surprised to find similar issues, but what happens in FotRSU, is that if an airplane is not properly configured in all aspects of its weaponry and sensors, then they will often not attack, and conversely, your crew does not attack them either. Very strange behavior, but it did happen in FotRSU until s7rikeback fixed it...

[Hazelwood]

Thanks for that commentary. Yesterday I encountered something a bit alarming. Upon having reloaded a "SAVE"d mission the boat was stopped so I called for "Ahead Slow". There was the message "Cannot Comply". I went to crew management and discovered everyone - and I mean everyone - was asleep except for two guys in the con. I sent them both packing to the engine room and we were underway. About an hour later as the sun came up everyone was back on the job. Time for a pep talk from the captain.

[jimmbbo]

Agree with Kaleun propbeanie... there is no upside to tangling with airplanes which can bring a swarm of them and their DD playmates in the area down on you. FWIW I haven't engaged an airplane in the last four (real time) years and the AA gunners don't see any action.

Occasionally the AI generates what appears to be a storm of Zeros, Bettys et al and I either lower the scope or dive to 70 feet and continue at 2 kt till dark to preserve the battery... If I can dive to 40 ft before entering their search radius I have a high probability of avoiding them.

Early in the war lookouts are the first line of aerial defense making the avoidance of air patrols "sporty". Later in the war with SD radar, life becomes measurably easier.

[propbeanie]

Originally Posted by Hazelwood

Thanks for that commentary. Yesterday I encountered something a bit alarming. Upon having reloaded a "SAVE"d mission the boat was stopped so I called for "Ahead Slow". There was the message "Cannot Comply". I went to crew management and discovered everyone - and I mean everyone - was asleep except for two guys in the con. I sent them both packing to the engine room and we were underway. About an hour later as the sun came up everyone was back on the job. Time for a pep talk from the captain.

Things to look-out for there is, don't keep your crew at Battle Stations unless you have to. At Battle Stations, they do not rotate and sleep, and next thing you know, you have a crew of zombies. Another to look-out for is, do not shell-out to Windows for anything. When you shell-out, Windows releases the game's resources. The game is an old WinXP game, and expects to find all of its data streams at the same address, so when you come back to the game, Windows may or may not give the game its old assets back at the same addresses. That will result in a stuck CO2 meter, zombie crew, graphic anomalies, etc. The way to "cure" that (usually) is to Save the game, exit completely from the game (so that it releases all of its Windows resources), then re-load the game, and load the save you just made.

[Hazelwood]

I had wondered how so often extra aircraft would show up when whomever scripted the mission couldn't possibly know what route I was taking. I did experiment the other day and can confirm if you put a highly experienced crew member on the AA he won't disappoint but, in future, I'll take the advice and avoid engaging altogether.

Right re getting back to Windows and doing a SAVE first. I learned this long ago.

Considering how popular and well regarded this simulation remains, it puzzles my why Ubisoft has abandoned it. You can't purchase it even on their site. Amazon claims to have it but they can't deliver. I spent a lot of time finding the "Gold" and even that source has disappeared. All the big pieces are there. A bit of refreshing and proper compatibility with Windows 10 would be welcome. The AI is generally excellent and graphics live up to today's expectations with only some landward views a bit lame. The sense of place and time is amazing. I've been playing this off and on ever since it was released and am always discovering something new.

Best wishes,
Cpt. Hazelwood