Avoiding Aircraft

[Admiral8Q]

This has got to be the best advice I've found in awhile. Following the "ice cream cone" strategy, I've never been attacked, nor had to run down my batteries much. I have had to crash dive if the the plane is coming in fast and the "cone" is small. Recently I had three planes all going diferent directions and decided to submerge until night, but overall this has been the greatest advice I have ever seen on avoiding aircraft.

Robbins, I owe you one for your tactics!

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

Bill,

Planes are not a problem if you handle them right. You don't have to and it isn't helpful to stay submerged all day or even for an hour after sighting one. All that does is discharge your batteries so you aren't combat ready.

Remember, a submarine is a surface boat with the unique ability to submerge when absolutely necessary, and to stay submerged for the absolute minimum amount of time. With airplanes, that means about 10 minutes total per plane. Our goal is to have 100% charged batteries available to fight at all times.

Let me explain. First of all, this strategy needs air search radar, a pretty common thing on American submarines. When a plane is first spotted on radar, you have several minutes of decision time. Let's use them! A couple of planes just showed up. What are they up to?

I immediately draw a 5 mile radius circle around my sub. That's my danger zone. If the planes enter that zone, they can possibly see me. My goal is never to be seen by a plane, EVER. That means no John Wayne popgun ineffectually giving away my position so the pilot can call his good buddies to the party and I'm swarmed for several days. I'm not going there. If a plane can possibly see me I'm pulling the plug.

OK, we have the visibility danger circle around the sub. Now, from the position of the plane, draw two lines from the plane(s) to both outsides of the circle (tangent lines).


Not every plane is going to enter your danger zone. If it does not we want to stay on the surface. 100% battery charge at all times you know... With our "ice cream cone" chart, we can easily tell with plenty of time whether this bad guy is going to be a problem. If he stays outside the cone, we're golden. If he crosses the line to the inside it's time to initiate avoidance.

At that point our goal is to be at or below periscope depth when he crosses the circle line of our danger zone. Pick a number below 100', I always just use about 110, your mileage may differ but I haven't had a problem with that and full-blown TMO. As you cross periscope depth, start your stopwatch. When it reaches 5 minutes, press surface ("s"). Do not dawdle around at periscope depth looking for planes. He's gone. No buddies not previously spotted on radar have had time to enter your danger zone. Your combat awareness is 100%. You are safe. Just get up there and resume surface travel.

You haven't been spotted. No little flyboy buddies will be checking you out. Also, I run around at best fuel economy, about 9 knots all the time. during my plane avoidance drill I don't touch the throttle. I submerge normally, none of this crash dive silliness, because you have plenty of time. Planes are not an issue in TMO. They are not a threat. They cannot ever see you.

[Admiral8Q]

You see, it makes me so happy!

[tomoose]

Air Search radar give range AND bearing?????

[SgtSabre]

In real life, no. In the game, the air search radar pin-points the aircraft's location.

[Rockin Robbins]

In real life captains followed a variation of this theory, following the incoming signal until the plane came into vision, staying on the surface. After the plane was sighted, they would then evaluate whether or not the plane was a concern, sometimes slowing down to reduce wake, the most visible sign of a submarine on the surface.

Time after time in the books written by submariners I have read accounts of subs remaining on the surface and observing planes for five or ten minutes, usually just letting them fly off harmlessly. They would only dive if the plane's behavior indicated that they had or would detect the sub.

Since in the game submarines are MUCH more visible than they were in real life (you can almost guarantee that a plane entering the danger radius is going to attack) and because it is a game not reflecting the reality of how a submarine operates anyway, I think it's reasonable to trade knowledge you shouldn't have for knowledge the plane shouldn't have.

Also crews did tricks with the radar antenna to give them some directionality to their detection to have a general idea of the plane's bearing. In practice, range alone was enough information to implement the strategy. In the game we have the choice of knowing range and bearing or flushing both. I believe less harm is done to reality by knowing both.

[Mauser KAR98K]

...but I just fire stingers at em' and no more aircraft. Then I bring out the ice-cream.

[Admiral8Q]

Originally Posted by SgtSabre

In real life, no. In the game, the air search radar pin-points the aircraft's location.

Yes that's very true, but like RR said, the planes are way too good at spotting you also, which is not realistic either. So either you crash dive every single time an air radar contact is made, stay under for awhile, or use this brilliant technique.

Anyways, it saves a lot of game time.