Quote:
Originally Posted by Havan_IronOak
1) What's a good rule of thumb for folks using this mod as to how far aircraft can spot you?
2) I've been using T as the hotkey to toggle my Aircraft radar on and off just fine on my previous missions. I hit T and I either see a message that says "Turning OFF SD Air Search Radar" or one that says "Turning ON SD Air Search Radar"
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1)
For me this is blattantly simple and easy as long as I have a functionning SD radar which normally you have all the time, even if it shows switched-off in the radar station it will be operational if you have switched it on (see the red text below) and you get icons on the NavMap with 'Very fast' as the speed and this well before the plane is in sight of your watch crew, at 12 miles and less usually.
What I do is simply observing the icon for some seconds, then I draw a line to get its general course and I evaluate if I'm further than about 2-3 miles away, in which case I keep that distance with minimum aspect. Otherwise I crash dive and stay below for 3 minutes, enough time to make it pass over me and disappear. I do this with such a routine that it gets boring
After some time the plane will return from opposite direction, a little position-shifted but still on the same opposite course. So better go in a perpendicular course at full speed for some time after the plane disappears.
I usually never 'slug it out' with a plane using my canons because I know that 1 single bomb can end my patrol and make me KIA. No reason for me to gamble for such a meager target, and also because I know that the above method will work 100%.
However: If the plane has already detected you and is heading towards you, then you are too LATE to dive, man your AA gun, go flank speed, turn broadside to the plane before it gets over you, wait until it has dropped its bomb in the water, and at that precise moment you will crash dive and change your course. Do not stay at periscope depth, go deeper because you are still visible in calm waters and good weather.
I wish this worked so all the time in real life, but radars don't work all the time, planes may fly too low to be spotted, your crew cannot spot everything all the time etc. The game is far too easy in this regard, be happy it is so...
2)
You can switch off the SJ radar and the icon will not be illuminated (lit) anymore. For the SD radar, the icon will never be lit when turned on (can FOTRSU change this please?), you must watch and read the message in the message box to know if it's turned on or off after giving the icon command. Once it is on it will stay on even after reloading game. The SJ radar will turn from Sweep to Focus once you leave the station, but this has no influence on objects being detected or not, once returning on station you must chose to sweep again to see targets.
Important: If you have SJ radar turned off, and SD radar turned on, then the SD radar will show to be off in the station, but it will work anyway (a flaw of the game being unable to correctly show both radars separately). For SD radar, you must rely what you do with the icon commands to know if it's on or off, do not rely by simply looking at the radar station, it may give you false information on its status, and no, there is no mod able to change this.
Up to now I never got detected by enemy ships because I had the SJ and/or SD radar turned on, but this could happen later in the war I guess, I just don't know if this is simulated in the game. Radar waves can be detected and triangulated to determine your position in the worst case for you.
Hope this helps,
XS