No snorkels?
 

I've played a lot of other sub sims in the past, both WW2 and modern. Recently I got the SH4 gold edition with the U-boat missions and noticed something rather alarming. My U-boat doesn't have a snorkel o_o ... I would have thought this would have been one of the main additions, or did they think we wouldn't notice?

Also the goofy censorship of the swastikas is a little... goofy.

Also generic names for US planes. Wasn't aware that you could copyright names of government-owned military hardware, thought it would be interesting to know who owns those copyrights.

Overall, its pretty cool though so far. Sorry if I seemed a little gripey :D

Reasonable question on the snorkel...
 

Snorkels were available in SH3.
The use of the swastika, as well as other items identified with the Third Reich, has been illegal in Germany for many years and Germany is a popular market for the Silent Hunter seriers. However, many people outside Germany also take offense to those symbols, so I suspect the development staff thought it prudent to simply avoid usage altogether.
Finally, "...generic planes?" Not sure I understand that. Lancasters (British heavy bomber), Vindicator (US Navy patrol bomber), Buffalo (early WW2 fighter, mostly used by British. It's appearance in '44/'45 timeframe may be wrong, but I'm not certain) Nothing generic there. Simply common aircraft in use for specific roles at the time (with, again, the possible exception of the Buffalo) .

Also, historically no snorkels were available in the Monsum Group (maybe one U-boat).

i'm reading a book by Herald Busch (a veteran of the ubootwaffe), it tells many stories about uboots and their kaleuns or crews. One of such stories was about a Uboot sent to the indian ocean and the book said that "it, just like many others, had had to sail without the snorkel being installed"

I was reading something about that today, actually...
 

...and it appears snorkels were the exception rather than the rule for the "Indian Ocean" bunch.


By the way, nice screenshot from, "A Clockwork Orange." Speaking of anarchy...

I think that the Uboats that operated in the Indian/Pacific ocean isn't a "first priority" to the HQ, as Adm. Doenitz says ("we have to concentrate the attacks on the British navy, the atlantic war, the tonnage war", or something like that).
The Snorkels were a great strategy gadget, specially at the end of the war. So then, sending snorkels to the japs subs bases is not a good idea to win in Europe.

Judging from the aircraft traffic...
 

...snorkels would've been VERY useful!
(by the way, could one of you talented modders come up with an "aircraft reduction mod?" I find it hard to believe, first, that air traffic was that heavy, and, secondly, I HIGHLY suspect one wouldn't be encountering Buffalos thousands of miles from land without knowledge of a carrier task force within a 200-mile radius!)

I meant that the allied planes in SH4 and the u-boat expansion do not have their correct names, instead being called, generically "Long Range Bomber," "Torpedo Plane," "Dive Bomber," "Fighter," etc. Japanese planes are given specific names such as the zero, betty, etc.

I had assumed the snorkel was a standard on u-boats and didn't know that they were mostly used only on Atlantic boats.

actually they would mean certain death because your shallow and visable to planes so stealth is out the window and if your moving you have a wake trail to be spotted. snorkel is no defense against planes.