Going Full Real™ :) (please check my process)

[Antiacus]

So it's time to lose my last crutch and turn off automatic map updates.

Firstly... I'm using GWX2, OLC GUI, and Torpedo Damage mods...

The problem... I'm not sure how to go about getting the first exact fix on the target... Once that happens, thanks to OLC's excellent video, i'm all set to get his course & everything else.

I noticed in OLC's video that his watch officer reports not only the targets relative bearing, but also his exact range. Mine (due to experience?) only reports short, medium, or long range... So I need to get the range myself, which is fine really, because years ago as a seaman apprentice I was a special sea detail lookout myself & thus know that irl ranges are "eyeballed" by the lookouts.

So... Here is my plan, please let me know if there is a more elegant or better way:

1. Get set up within 5-6km of the target, id, establish speed, and get his range using the GUI... Then shoot his relative bearing & immediate plot his fix on the map...
2. Get his AOB & update the attack disk to find out his true course...
3. Flank the target.
4. Get into position and shoot a new AOB (also maybe double check speed w/3 minute rule (still not sure how to use the conversion chart ont he map))...
5. Plot the distance using my position against his course line when i want to fire.
6. Wait for close to 0 gyro angle & LOS!

Sound okay?

(btw if you're curious, my shipboard experience was 1993-4 on the USCGC Sweetbrier (buoy tender) in Alaska... I later became a Bosunmate and ran Motor Life Boats out of Oregon)

-Antiacus
GWX2, OLC GUI, Torp Damage Final

[onelifecrisis]

Originally Posted by Antiacus

I noticed in OLC's video that his watch officer reports not only the targets relative bearing, but also his exact range. Mine (due to experience?) only reports short, medium, or long range...

Are you sure about that? :hmm: Cos I'm pretty certain you're asking the wrong officer or something... the WO always gives an exact range regardless of his experience. You should double-check and find out what you're doing wrong.

HTH
OLC

[onelifecrisis]

BTW, please tell me, just how accurately can someone guestimate range with nothing but a pair of binocs?

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

BTW, please tell me, just how accurately can someone guestimate range with nothing but a pair of binocs?

Teleport several decades into the future and pick up a set of laser rangefinder binoculars from your local sporting goods store.

[Antiacus]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

BTW, please tell me, just how accurately can someone guestimate range with nothing but a pair of binocs?

Within a thousand yards or so...

My personal claim to fame was spotting a sea kayak at 12,000 yards from a 37ft flying bridge..

That one earned me special sea detail lookout. The CO happened to be on the bridge.

Maybe i'm mis-remembering the range thing. Maybe it's just the sonar yutz that reports short, medium, long...

[Antiacus]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

Teleport several decades into the future and pick up a set of laser rangefinder binoculars from your local sporting goods store.

Nice for a gimmick... but i doubt they have anywhere near the magnification of our FUJI Big Eyes we had on that boat... Can't remember for certain, but i think the were 40x or so...

If the OOD really wants range to a an object or vessel he can just shoot a quick radar range. As for sea kayaks at 12k yards, i don't think radar nor laser bino's will help.

[Graf Paper]

Antiacus, to answer your confusion about the 3:15 rule of thumb...

You mark your contact on the map. Start stopwatch and count 3 minutes 15 seconds. Immediately mark your contact's new position on the map. Get out the ruler tool and measure the distance between the first and second marks (or bearing lines if you used those instead).

The distance measured will be anywhere from 0.1-0.9 km (usually). Let's say you got a result of 0.5 km from a Large Merchant.

To convert this into knots you simply move the decimal one place to the right. Therefore, 0.5 km become 5 kts!

Of course, things such as the contact "zig-zagging" will make measuring speed this way prone to an error where you will tend to underestimate. In these cases, add 1 kt to your speed measurement of the target. Underestimating a contact's speed is the most common cause for torpedoes missing to the rear of the target.

Obviously, the most accurate way to judge a contact's speed is to parallel her course and match speed while you're at 90 deg. AOB.

The reason for counting 3:15 instead of 3:00 even is due to the difference between the measure of a nautical mile and a kilometer.

1 minute @ 1 kt a ship will travel 102 ft. or 31 meters (I think SH3 rounds this up to 33 meters. Someone correct me if I"m wrong.)

However, the smallest unit used on the SH3 nav map is 100 meters or 0.1 km.

1 nm = 1.15 mi. = 1.85 km

You likely already knew a lot of this from your USCG days, but math and physics in SH3 aren't always the same as in the real world.

Hope this helps you sink enough tonnage for you first 100k patrol on full manual!

[Mil_tera]

Normally I find the 3:15 min rule taking too long since I am very impatient..

I use the scope in combination with the length of the ship to estimate speed which normally takes between 10 and 50 sec...

With this method I have been hitting ships from ~500 untill 2500 meters...

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

BTW, please tell me, just how accurately can someone guestimate range with nothing but a pair of binocs?

The same way your weapons officer can identify a target you can barely see; or worse, one that he can't see at all because you're the one manning the periscope.

[onelifecrisis]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

The same way your weapons officer can identify a target you can barely see; or worse, one that he can't see at all because you're the one manning the periscope.

lol, I get what you're saying Steve, but you misunderstood me... I wanted to know how accurately someone can guess range by visual estimate only IRL. Antiacus answered that one can guess to within 1000 yards without measuring tools, so I think the SH3 WO's abilities in this department are slightly superhuman but not terribly unrealistic. :hmm:

[Sailor Steve]

Sorry, my bad. I just wish the guy made mistakes ocassionaly. Of course when I used his full abilities I still missed sometimes.

I would suppose that even in a game we should get pretty good at judging range by the size of the target after sufficient practice. I would probably suppose wrongly, though.

[Antiacus]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

lol, I get what you're saying Steve, but you misunderstood me... I wanted to know how accurately someone can guess range by visual estimate only IRL. Antiacus answered that one can guess to within 1000 yards without measuring tools, so I think the SH3 WO's abilities in this department are slightly superhuman but not terribly unrealistic. :hmm:

I should qualify that by saying that within 4000 the average is accurate to about 250. Within 6000, to about 500. Within 8000 to about 750. Within 12,000 to about 1k... Anything over that and you're looking at smoke stacks, masts etc.. and it becomes pretty tough, especially if you haven't positively identified what you're looking at.

On occasion the OOD on our ship would test the lookouts abilities against radar ranges, and those numbers pretty much reflect reality. Typically any kind of special sea detail, GQ, etc... has the best or one of the best lookouts assigned. On our boat there were about 25 to choose from though.