@Ritmeister: I also thought the same at first. If I were to list all the weird things that go inside the Layout Page (bottom bar) my fingers would bleed. But really, in SH4 using the "head to view" key when combined with the AOB dial removes the need for plotting and setting precise headings. I just use the map to plot long range waypoints and intercept distant contacts. And I only use the Compass to make quick turns during DD fights.
@ Looney. Use the Mission Editor. Make yourself tutorial files. It can be hard if you try to do it all at once.
For example, place your sub and a large German ship. The large Tanker is a perfect choice. Make it go at perpendicular course to yours and at a very slow speed, 2 knots for example.
In the game, stop the uboat, move the periscope to 000 and put in an AOB of 90 (port or starboard, depending on the case). Now, every time you place the periscope on the target, the AOB dial actually shows you the correct AOB of the ship.
Now you can start to practice calculating the AOB (that also includes calculating the range at each step). You can also practice calculating the speed.
After you're familiar with that, practice the Gyro angle section.
After you're familiar with that, practice turning to specific intercept courses, try to match course with your target and so on.
All you need to know is included in the doc files (especially the second one). So practice practice practice. It will only take you a couple of hours to get good at this. And it's worth the effort, because this technique is the actually the simplest and fastest. And yes, it also works in SH5.
