Adventures of a newb on full realism!

[astromattical]

Hello! I have dabbled with SH3 for years and years without getting much further than spitting distance of the shore. The other day I got a sudden urge to dive head first into SH3 and stick with it. Quick research got GWX and SH Commander running in no time at all. Just had to do a quick rollback to fix black clouds.

I went through the academy and started a career in August 1939. I am on full realism without map updates. That's not asking for trouble, is it?

My first mission was a shake down in BF16 if I remember correctly. Entirely uneventful and was able to get used to navigating, utilizing the reference book for ship identification (difficult, and don't get me started on getting close enough to see the flag), and I optimized time compression settings to my liking in Commander.

On the way back I received numerous radio transmissions regarding war between Germany and Poland. After passing just east of Great Britain, we received word that British ships were open to attack. I continued home and prepared for my next patrol.

I set out again with hopes of at least spotting and identifying my first enemy ship. I was tasked to patrol AM19, so I plotted a course up and around Scapa Flow. As I neared the area east of Scapa Flow I was notified of an enemy convoy just NW of me heading ESE. I parked my boat in a spot where I expected the convoy to pass through and waited several hours. My hydrophone operator got a contact just north of me, so I approached and went to periscope depth. A quick glance found a single cargo ship several thousand meters away. I eased closer and worked on making a firing solution...

Which is where I leave you for now. The seas are rough and I am having a very difficult time getting a good range calculation. I'm at work so this first post is lacking in screenshots and details I will provide in future postings. I hope you all will enjoy following a wet-behind-the-ears submariner going all or nothing in SH3!