"During a crash dive, some malfunction happened and the boat went down uncontrolled.

Order back emergency and blow main ballast. Damage to the forward compartment and tubes, boat went to 580ft before stopping and rising.

When levelled, went head flank and and had to blow half the tanks to rise.

My torpedo chief had his morale broken (first time I saw that).
After surfacing, repaired were made and with least of a half a tank of fuel, ordered return home."


Interesting. Wondering what caused the uncontrolled dive. Close call for sure.

Did you crash dive for a plane? Did plane drop bombs? Residual damage to dive controls from previous attack perhaps.

You're into a period of campaign now where its tougher to find targets, especially in open waters, traffic shifts to coastal areas. A lot of night surface work ahead for ya lol.

Well, I was at 128x time speed. The drop to 1x was the game, or else. In terms of report, I did add a point or two for narrative.

I crash dive for a plane, but after 100 ft and no bombing, hit time compression.

What I also thought was a mine, since I was near the first islands north of Luzon, in the Luzon Straits.

But I thought that was more cool a uncontrolled dive do to some malfunction. At least added to the atmosphere of a simulation. :03:

Oh if it were a mine you would have been dead lol. Mines were changed for realism, hit a mine your boat is doomed In testing never survived a mine hit.

Oh yea, malfunctions do add to immersion for sure.

Look forward to hearing about your next patrol, since you will be into 1945.

I already started, Fev 1945. Same place, Luzon straits and then freedom of manoeuvre to sink. But where to get targets. Already going near Macau and Hong Kong. Still planes buzzing the sky...

Early Feb 45? Did receive any ultras about IJN subs heading for Aparri ? The three subs Batfish sunk over four days in Feb 1945 at in the Luzon Straits appear in the campaign Feb 8-14 or so if I recall.


Yes, for merchant traffic in that area during this time, you will have to get rather close to China coast, sometimes will have to just stay in deeper waters by day then venture into shallows at night, attack on surface, then bust out to deeper waters during daytime to avoid air patrols. Some instances can find patches of "deeper" water 150-200 ft can ambush convoys submerged by day if willing to risk it. Air patrols can get somewhat intense in the area.



This resembles historical the shift of North-South convoy traffic in late 1944. The TAMA(Takao to Manila ) and MATA (Manila to Takao) convoys ceased in December 1944 which cut a lot of the Luzon Straits traffic. The HI convoys (Singapore-Home Islands, Home Islands to Singapore) switched to running close to the China/Indochina coasts. They avoided open oceans to thwart submarine attacks.Convoys would sail in the shallows by day, then anchor in many of the small bays etc along Chinese coast by night to avoid night time surface attacks. A few of the convoys sailing China coast do this in TMO now, but most do not.

Admiral (then CDR) Fluckey on the BARB (SS-220) discovered in January 1945 convoys were doing this, which lead to his epic night surface attack on a convoy anchored in Namkwan Harbor China in Jan 1945. (This can be replicated in the sim) Home Islands and Yellow Sea, the traffic runs close to shore as well.

Of course just because are assigned to what seems to be a dead area does not always mean you should leave it as you are assigned there for a reason...namely a historic contact, something important can be encountered.

One that sticks out is if get assigned to Bungo Suido Area 7, now its overall pretty dead as convoys stopping departing arriving the Bungo Suido, instead making port on the Western side of Kyushu in late 1944 and into 1945. However, if there in April, Yamato and her escorts will depart at appropriate date and time. A lot of these historic type contacts throughout campaign. As said, I reworked patrol objectives so even if its dead and seems pointless, you were assigned there for a reason.

Anyways, plenty of targets in Feb 45, just have to find them in the shallows.

I did, but I was mid voyage. Took more 4 days to get to the area after the Ultra message about the subs. Thought they were long gone.

Lets see what i can fish.

July 1942
 

Just left Pearl on patrol, USS Drum. Had to heave to to avoid a large US Fleet passing Pearl. just got radar.

TMO Update BH V2.0+patches

USS Paddle - Early February/Mid March 1945. 10th Patrol
Destination: Luzon Strait for patrolling and anti-shipping operation with freedom of manoeuvre.



After a calm sea surface voyage, USS Paddle arrived at the patrol area. The sea state changed to high waves, wind 15m/s.

After 15 days inside the patrol area+the south china sea, the sea state remain the same and no contacts so ever.

One day, near Hainan coast, the sonar operator reported a strange sound, like chains... MINES!!!
https://i.ibb.co/hcyKxbs/SH4-Img-202...-49-47-143.png
Full stop and surface and exit the area.


After crossing the sea and already with less a half a tank, decided to go to Manilla, refuel. It's now a USA port, so...
After refuelling, USS Paddle went north, to Formosa, seeing what could pick up. During this events, the sea calmed finally.



Near the port of Hsin-Ying, radar detected several points and decided to went looking. Approached the harbour with caution but no patrol ships detected.

Harbour full of merchants and tankers. Lovely.

Submerged to 55ft and attacked. Night was clear, dawn was coming and didn't want any shore battery to see me.

Several torpedoes expended, 0 kts speed, the way I like my targets! :D
https://i.ibb.co/k9bqT5G/SH4-Img-202...-23-34-207.png

Exit southwest and after the day was over, surfaced and went way.

After reporting to COMSUBPAC, orders were to return base or to patrol any area my choose, no new objectives.



With torpedos left, went south, to Luzon Strait again. Pick up a lone merchant at the area, going slow, 7 kts. Shot the final bow eels and the ship went down.

https://i.ibb.co/hfBMCN0/SH4-Img-202...-34-56-937.png




After that, decided to return. Base changed mid voyage to Guam...Nice to COMSUBPAC to let us know... NOT!!!
But managed to reach the new base.



And the next mission is again to Convoy collage???

Lucky 13th Jan 1942
 

On my previous career Drum saves went POP! Had to start again, so I thought ok, bin it all and re install. On Jan 13th, in Sculpin, I was starting to head back to Java with little success when I spotted a TF heading toward Balikpapan. I was well out of position so decided to shadow it. After nightfall I came across 8 troop carriers, on their own, the main fleet had gone on ahead. A turkey shoot later, no troop carriers left.

I decided to continue the course and came upon the main fleet near Balikpapan. Dived and crept in. Came up not far from an Agana Cruiser and a Mogama. Took them out with the last of my torps. Got back to Java to be offered a new boat, USS Drum.

Loaded it out and noted another Drum bug, that I have seen before. No damn main gun crew and no space to insert them. The gun is there, on the bow, switched from rear. I always have bow guns, better at attack with.

Can someone, or has someone, eradicated these Drum bugs. I don't get them in any other boat.

That is a well known bug

The best thing you can do is never to change your deck gun location and use the default position

Try reload your game
To where you where assigned to the Drum and then don’t change the gun location

Also never overwrite any save games but use a fresh save with new name each time


Best Regards

many moons ago. might have been in SH2, I actually went under the nets at Truk. But since then, in SH4, never seen any vessels in truk.

Kieldk: I went back one save to meeting up with the Invasion fleet off Balikpapan, after I had sunk the 8 troop carriers.

Added bonus got an extra cruiser. Then arrived in Java and they offered me Drum, took it and carefully loaded it out included a change of gun to forward and the required crew member were there. I quickly saved it and carried on and sailed with forward gun and crew!!

Note to myself: Obviously a random glitch, so must save more often.

On B.d.U.-Staff as 1. Admiralstabsoffizier operativ (A I op) 'Geleitzugs-Asto'
 

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...





Tuesday, 18 August - Wednesday, 19 August 1942

Operation 'Jubilee' - Attack on Dieppe

Lord Louis Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations, wanted to finally strike continental Europe and perhaps even cause Germany to reinforce the French coast with troops destined for the Eastern Front, therefore alleviating pressure off of the Soviet troops.

The Operation Jubilee, called for a landing at Dieppe on the French coast, hold beach head for 12 hours while commando units attacked a nearby German HQ and bring back German officers for interrogation, and then the entire force would retreat back to England.

On 18 Aug 1942, 237 ships left various ports in Britain for the Dieppe area, including eight destroyers but no battleships (the Admiralty did not wish to risk losing any heavy ships). The convoy carried 5,000 Canadian, 1,000 British, and 50 American troops; it was escorted by 74 squadrons of aircraft. A stroke of bad luck brought the Allied fleet in the path of a German convoy; the convoy was quickly driven off, but German defenses were alerted.

80% of the Allied fleet were destroyed by the alerted German coastal defenses. Only a few commandos reached their landing spots on 19 Aug, but they were able to improvise their plans; instead of destroying the coastal artillery, they managed to kill many of the gun crews by sniper fire and disabled the artillery nevertheless.

The Canadian landing at Puys failed completely, the well-placed German forces drove off the Canadian landing, killing roughly half the landing force (225) and captured the other half (264), allowing only 33 to escape back to England.

At Pourville, Canadian and British troops made their landing, but were quickly driven back to the sea by fierce German defenses after losing 141 men.

As for the main assault, some of the landing forces were held at the beach by heavy fire, while some of the tanks either did not make it to the shore or were disabled by anti-tank traps. The reserve forces were also committed too early due to communications problems.

In all, the operation met with failure due to a number of reasons. However, if the 1,027 men lost (900 of whom were Canadian) and 2,340 captured (again, with a bulk being Canadian) had achieved one objective, it was giving Allied command a valuable, if costly, lesson on amphibious operations.

Mountbatten himself will later say that "for every soldier who died at Dieppe, ten were saved on D-Day". While this statement may be out of Mountbatten's attempt to save his credibility, it indeed will give the United States valuable lesson of the difficulty of assaulting a defended port, as it might even directly influence General Eisenhower's decision to strike at other beaches, e.g., at Normandy, instead of the nearby port city of Cherbourg (or other targets).

Operation drumbeat/OMdarkwaters
 

has started, I'm deployed to the east coast, I cruise on into Norfolk and find the Philthadelphia (my nick name for Philadelphia(filthadelphia from where I'm from) experiment going on. Two destroyers are melded together I had to take a shot at them. Maybe they'll both sink. https://i.imgur.com/Ve2JGGo.jpg

FOTRSU v1.8 - with TDW fire damage and a night surface attack submod I am playtesting for BH.
-------
USS Grampus (SS-207)
03/07/42 at 05:41
0m waves, light fog, clouds partial, new moon.

Lookouts report contact, shadows on the water. Closed to confirm contact; small unescorted group. Position: 25nm off Hachijo-Jima, 140 00 E, 33 20 N. Trimmed to decks-awash and set up along their track. Fired at 2500 yards salvo of 6 tubes between 0615-0616 hours. Five hits recorded by hydrophone, only 1 explosion seen, water column followed by fires aft on armed tanker. Due to heavy-trim and slow speed had not been able to unmask stern tubes. Submerged to open distance.

By 0853 was approaching on surface from aft starboard of group, who was still constant-helming. Tanker had noticeable list and was having trouble keeping station. Fired a full fore-and-aft salvo at rear merchant and tanker at between 2900-2136 yards. Multiple dud impacts reported by hydrophone, 2 further successful hits on Tanker reported, which ultimately came to a dead-stop with a heavy starboard list. Opened up distance to 5800 yards and finished off tanker with 3" fire.


Closed again on surviving unarmed merchantmen for third attack. Trailing freighter sunk by deck gun fire, leading merchant sunk by combination of torpedoes (single torp fired at 800 yard, successful detonation) and deck gun fire. Cargo's keel was broken and she sunk rapidly. No boats put to sea from her.