U-Boat operation and another dumb question

[von Kinderei]

When U-Boats went out on a patrol how did they operate durin' day-light hours as far as runnin' surfaced

Did they run surfaced until a watchman spotted something or did they run several hours surfaced and then dive for a while then re-surface ?


Also ... how the hell can I be spotted at night submerged ?

I was silent sittin' still in a harbour at night totally undetected and I raised my scope to take a peak and as soon as it broke surface I was fired on

[Raptor]

SHIII is only a simulation, not reality. Mods help a lot, but can't get around hard-coding.

It was written by programmers who either didn't do in-depth research or were not able/allowed to do everything accurately.

Historically, boats ran on the surface as much as possible. They needed to keep their batteries charged, breathable air in the boat, and they needed to be able to search visually for targets. They were also far slower under water; convoys could out-run them over distance.

As ASW efforts became more effective, they spent less and less time surfaced during the day, preferring the cloak of darkness for safety.

[1480]

Depends upon the time frame of the war. Early on, running surfaced during the day and evening when they were out of the range of British planes. Later on, submerged during the day and running up top at night to charge the batteries was the deemed "safest" tactic but that did not matter much when the newer radar systems were installed, night turned into day so to speak and it was almost impossible to spot a plane at night.

Diving and staying submerged was useful to do a sound check with the hydrophones, as sound traveled farther than what they could see.

As for sitting still in a harbor than raising your scope and being detected, well the game was not made perfect. There are many situations where there is no way in he11 that an escort could have picked you up and somehow they do, hard code problem. Though there are conditions with sea water which disturbances upon the water glow (phosphorescence is the name I believe). Rough seas are much worse for detection, crystal smooth waters can be your death.

[von Kinderei]

Thanks for the replies ...

[Mittelwaechter]

Allied harbours were a no go zone. Obviously some players don't play accurately in this simulation -

http://indicatorloops.com/usn_pequot.htm

Originally Posted by Mittelwaechter

Allied harbours were a no go zone. Obviously some players don't play accurately in this simulation -

http://indicatorloops.com/usn_pequot.htm

Not entirely true, there was Prien's sortie into Scapa Flow that netted HMS Royal Oak and Ernst Kals brilliant attack on the port of Fedala in November 1942. There were also a couple of minelaying patrols to British harbours mostly early in the war. Then there was a boat (a snorkel equipped Type VII) that accidently wandered into The Solent (near the Spithead naval base) submerged in late 1944 but escaped without being detected.

Of course many SH3 players make port attacks a specialty, the game facilitates doing so and generally makes it far easier than it was in real life although GWX is like as not to put a mine in your way. And of course SH3 is risk-free.

I tend to avoid ports like the plague; SH4 will occasionally order you to photograph one or lifeguard near a harbour but not SH3.

People play the game their way, one person's realism is another's fantasy.

[Fish In The Water]

Originally Posted by Randomizer

People play the game their way, one person's realism is another's fantasy.

Just as it should be.