Best of SUBSIM noms - Post of the Year

[Onkel Neal]

Best post here

[fitzcarraldo]

fitzcarraldo has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Category:

Post of the Year

Post: Great post and logbook
Forum: Silent Hunter 5

Posted by: Markus Witt
Nominated Post: Fourth war patrol U-201

The most dangerous commander for a crew is an inexperienced commander trying to prove himself.
The second most dangerous commander is an experienced commander who becomes overconfident.

After little more than three weeks in port U-201 is send out again into the North Atlantic.
Nobody could know it yet, but U-201 would never reach her destination…


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[Jimbuna]

Jimbuna has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Category:

Post of the Year

Post: I think the content speaks for itself.
Forum: General Topics

Posted by: vienna
Nominated Post: Link

I'm sorry to read about your current health problems, Sailor Steve, and I hope and wish for a betterment of your condition. Getting old isn't easy in any case, and it is particularly difficult when one's health is in question...

I know the extreme difficulties gastric disorders or conditions can impose on a person. I've lived all my life with gastric problems and they have become particularly acute sine I turned fifty and my system seem to have been less able to cope with the effects; this has been especially true since I had to undergo emergency gall bladder removal due to acute pancreatitis back in 2004 and my gastric problems became even worse, with the pancreatitis becoming a chronic, recurring condition for a few years after the surgery; I even spent some time on the Cholestyramine that Eichhörnchen mentioned in his post. One thing I did take notice of during recent years is the need to do certain things to manage one's medical treatment; always look carefully at the nature of the medications being prescribed since one medication may conflict with or adversely affect the function of another medication; I like to read all the notices/warnings that come with my medications and will look them up on the internet to be better informed; one of my medications actually had as a possible side effect gastric problems that another of my medications was supposed to solve; I alerted each of the doctors who prescribed those medications and, once they conferred and realized the meds may have been causing a lot of my gastric problems, they took me off those meds and my problems significantly lessened, so it sometimes pays to be as informed as possible...

The situation with the two doctors is also another area of concern in dealing with one's health; if you are seeing more than one doctor or specialist and/or your care is handled in sort of clinic setting where you might not see the same doctor each visit, it is a good practice to ask the doctor you're seeing at the time just exactly how aware he/she is of your record and condition(s); a lot of the clinic doctors and not a few of the doctors otherwise often don't take the time to thoroughly revise a patient's current records and miss changes in medications, procedures, etc., done by other doctors; they tend to gloss over the details and just see the bigger points, sort of like reading a newspaper by just reading the headlines and not the articles; unfortunately, with the doctor's and hospitals being stretched thin, even before Covid, medical professionals often have to move rather quickly and sometimes have to cut corners; one of the things I found more than a bit annoying is the tendency of doctors to ask me what another doctor had to say about my condition or meds; my response has now become one of "Well, I don't think I am capable of accurately and fully answering your question(s) since I might leave out or misstate another doctor's diagnosis, so it would be best if you two talk to each other and decide amongst you"; it is important to make the doctors take more than just a passing, mundane attitude to your condition...

Always ask questions and make sure they listen. When I started to take notice of loss of memory some years ago and I brought it up to the doctors (most of whom were younger than some of records in my collection), they tended to brush it off as just a function of aging, even when I pointed out that even for an old geezer like myself it seemed a bit out of the ordinary; I even went through a period of the sort of 'wobblies' you describe; it wasn't until I told a doctor that I had made inquiries into participating in an Alzheimer's/memory study at a local university's med school that the doctor began to fully realize just how serious I thought the situation was and ordered a cranial MRI scan; the scan initially detected an accumulation of white brain cells indicating irreversible brain damage and possible Alzheimer's or MS; a later more extensive and thorough MRI of my brain and spine showed I had been through a series of "silent strokes" over the years and that I also had nerve damage in the form of spinal stenosis, which will require corrective surgery, although that is on hold for now with concerns about the effect of spinal surgery on someone of my age until my other conditions even out or the spinal conditions become too threatening to defer; the good news is the Alzheimer's and MS are pretty much off the table, but the not so good is I am now considered to be at high risk for more "silent strokes' or even a massive stroke in the future and, even without the Alzheimer's or MS, the net effect on my memory and/or function will likely be similar to if I had either of them; I may not really be keen about the prognosis, but I'd rather know than guess, and if I have to be a PITA to a doctor to be told the truth or get a straight answer, well, hell, I'm old, I'm mean, and I don't really have a lot to lose by being insistent...

You've been through a lot and you're still here, and, as the saying goes 'if you're going through hell, by all means keep on going'; my grandfather was a tough old Navy guy and he smoked ciggies, cigars, pipes and chewed tobacco, and was an indulger in beers and hard liquor (hated wine, though; thought it too 'girly'); he was one of the toughest guys I've known and, when he retired to the Veteran's home, the doctor's eventually took away his tobacco and drink; his health soon declined and we were told he died cursing and swearing at the doctors; I don't recommend a life of hard drinking or heavy smoking as a lifestyle for anyone, but there is something to be admired about about someone who goes down swinging, who doesn't "go gently"; I'm not far behind you in years, but I know we've both seen an awful lot in the years we've already had and the prospect of seeing what around the next corner or over the next hill is a pretty good motivation to keep slogging on; keep going and fighting and know you have a lot of supporters and friends in Subsim and, even if you aren't able to fully participate as you or we would like on the forums, you are still thought of and missed. Make those doctors earn their pay and hasten you to better health...





<O>

[Catfish]

Catfish has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Category:

Post of the Year

Post: Regarding Sailor Steve's situation i find Vienna'spost encouraging and positie, even if it cannot directly or physically help him.
Forum: General Topics

Posted by: vienna
Nominated Post: Link

I'm sorry to read about your current health problems, Sailor Steve, and I hope and wish for a betterment of your condition. Getting old isn't easy in any case, and it is particularly difficult when one's health is in question...

I know the extreme difficulties gastric disorders or conditions can impose on a person. I've lived all my life with gastric problems and they have become particularly acute sine I turned fifty and my system seem to have been less able to cope with the effects; this has been especially true since I had to undergo emergency gall bladder removal due to acute pancreatitis back in 2004 and my gastric problems became even worse, with the pancreatitis becoming a chronic, recurring condition for a few years after the surgery; I even spent some time on the Cholestyramine that Eichhörnchen mentioned in his post. One thing I did take notice of during recent years is the need to do certain things to manage one's medical treatment; always look carefully at the nature of the medications being prescribed since one medication may conflict with or adversely affect the function of another medication; I like to read all the notices/warnings that come with my medications and will look them up on the internet to be better informed; one of my medications actually had as a possible side effect gastric problems that another of my medications was supposed to solve; I alerted each of the doctors who prescribed those medications and, once they conferred and realized the meds may have been causing a lot of my gastric problems, they took me off those meds and my problems significantly lessened, so it sometimes pays to be as informed as possible...

The situation with the two doctors is also another area of concern in dealing with one's health; if you are seeing more than one doctor or specialist and/or your care is handled in sort of clinic setting where you might not see the same doctor each visit, it is a good practice to ask the doctor you're seeing at the time just exactly how aware he/she is of your record and condition(s); a lot of the clinic doctors and not a few of the doctors otherwise often don't take the time to thoroughly revise a patient's current records and miss changes in medications, procedures, etc., done by other doctors; they tend to gloss over the details and just see the bigger points, sort of like reading a newspaper by just reading the headlines and not the articles; unfortunately, with the doctor's and hospitals being stretched thin, even before Covid, medical professionals often have to move rather quickly and sometimes have to cut corners; one of the things I found more than a bit annoying is the tendency of doctors to ask me what another doctor had to say about my condition or meds; my response has now become one of "Well, I don't think I am capable of accurately and fully answering your question(s) since I might leave out or misstate another doctor's diagnosis, so it would be best if you two talk to each other and decide amongst you"; it is important to make the doctors take more than just a passing, mundane attitude to your condition...

Always ask questions and make sure they listen. When I started to take notice of loss of memory some years ago and I brought it up to the doctors (most of whom were younger than some of records in my collection), they tended to brush it off as just a function of aging, even when I pointed out that even for an old geezer like myself it seemed a bit out of the ordinary; I even went through a period of the sort of 'wobblies' you describe; it wasn't until I told a doctor that I had made inquiries into participating in an Alzheimer's/memory study at a local university's med school that the doctor began to fully realize just how serious I thought the situation was and ordered a cranial MRI scan; the scan initially detected an accumulation of white brain cells indicating irreversible brain damage and possible Alzheimer's or MS; a later more extensive and thorough MRI of my brain and spine showed I had been through a series of "silent strokes" over the years and that I also had nerve damage in the form of spinal stenosis, which will require corrective surgery, although that is on hold for now with concerns about the effect of spinal surgery on someone of my age until my other conditions even out or the spinal conditions become too threatening to defer; the good news is the Alzheimer's and MS are pretty much off the table, but the not so good is I am now considered to be at high risk for more "silent strokes' or even a massive stroke in the future and, even without the Alzheimer's or MS, the net effect on my memory and/or function will likely be similar to if I had either of them; I may not really be keen about the prognosis, but I'd rather know than guess, and if I have to be a PITA to a doctor to be told the truth or get a straight answer, well, hell, I'm old, I'm mean, and I don't really have a lot to lose by being insistent...

You've been through a lot and you're still here, and, as the saying goes 'if you're going through hell, by all means keep on going'; my grandfather was a tough old Navy guy and he smoked ciggies, cigars, pipes and chewed tobacco, and was an indulger in beers and hard liquor (hated wine, though; thought it too 'girly'); he was one of the toughest guys I've known and, when he retired to the Veteran's home, the doctor's eventually took away his tobacco and drink; his health soon declined and we were told he died cursing and swearing at the doctors; I don't recommend a life of hard drinking or heavy smoking as a lifestyle for anyone, but there is something to be admired about about someone who goes down swinging, who doesn't "go gently"; I'm not far behind you in years, but I know we've both seen an awful lot in the years we've already had and the prospect of seeing what around the next corner or over the next hill is a pretty good motivation to keep slogging on; keep going and fighting and know you have a lot of supporters and friends in Subsim and, even if you aren't able to fully participate as you or we would like on the forums, you are still thought of and missed. Make those doctors earn their pay and hasten you to better health...





<O>

[Aktungbby]

Aktungbby has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Category:

Post of the Year

Post: Commander Wallace's post, from the heart, as per OP Mapuc; succinctly extolling Subsim's policy of open heartfelt discussion at a particularly troublesome period of history...NOW! Mapuc changed his OP rules accordingly to permit responses to posts in what should prove an interesting thread.
Forum: General Topics

Posted by: Commander Wallace
Nominated Post: Link

Markus, It's the nature of Subsim to openly discuss things. The free exchange of ideas from people who live in different countries is one of the many great things about Subsim. Try not to dissuade that. I know you don't want things to escalate into a " free for all." Instead, have faith our members will follow the spirit of good will in their discussions and in following what you want as well. :yep:

For my part.

I guess for me it's the total lack of respect or regard for life, in general. The war in the Ukraine may seem distant for many. I haven't slept well since it started. Before any one asks, I have no hereditary connection to Russia or the Ukraine. War seems to bring out the worst in people. It can also bring out the best. A good number in the Russian forces have been branded as traitors for not engaging in indiscriminate killings. These high minded individuals in spite of their military training in Russia, surrendered in the Ukraine rather than kill what they consider, fellow countrymen.

Others in the Russian forces have no problems with killing women and children. The images of a young mother and her two young children dead in the street has bothered me since I saw it on the news. Reports have emerged of ten people or more being killed for simply waiting in line to buy bread. To be fair, in the age of “ fake news, “ I have tempered my judgments. Still, one can't ignore the shelling of nurseries and tenements and dwellings where people live.

We have a good number of Subsim members world wide and in the U.S that have a military and or law enforcement backgrounds. Unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure or privilege of meeting any of them, for example at Subsim meets. From our conversations though, I seriously doubt any of them would ever, even consider, violating the sanctity of life for any reason or price. They would temper any decisions with good judgments and a conscience. It makes no difference which side you are on. The end result is massive death, destruction and displacement for no reason at all. The costs on both sides have been enormous.

The easy decisions that people make to end someone's life without knowing them or having just cause disturbs me deeply. When these things happen, it's an a front to all of us and also de-values and de-humanizes us all. It bothers me how cheap a human life comes in our times. I'm relatively certain others feel the same way.




Edit. It's all good, Markus. Out of respect for you and your wishes, I refrained from commenting on Jeff's post. Still, The comments directed toward Jeff were ones of good will and understanding. That's yet another hallmark of Subsim. I don't believe limiting discussions or reply's to a particular post to be reasonable or logical. However, I will follow what you want.

[August]

August has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Category:

Post of the Year

Post: Because it rocks!
Forum: General Topics

Posted by: Rockstar
Nominated Post: Link

Yet here we are on the verge of nuclear war. There are and always have been alternatives to investing billions into Putin’s dream world. Nuclear, coal, electric, hydrogen, oil etc etc but some Germans prefer to spend billions to support Putin and unfortunately the majority unwittingly followed in the name of climate change and Fukushima. Now allied armies are staged once again to defend the blind even while they and others still piss and moan over headlines, internal party politics, mean tweets, orange hair and the new most idiotic argument injected into this situation to date, isolationists! :roll:

[Catfish]

Catfish has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Nomination Category:

Post of the Year

Nomination basis: well worth reading, good take on the situation
Forum: General Topics

Nominated Member: August
Nominated Post: Link

Well I had a great Independence Day celebration. I'm glad such unwarranted negativity does not permeate in my social circles.

It's sad to see how many of my fellow countrymen have become blind to the many good things about our homeland and now can only see the few bad parts. I have lived in other parts of the world. We have a good thing here, we really do but it seems that increasing numbers of us want to just throw it all away, burn it down, with little heed to what horror will likely replace it.

I guess it's basic human nature that we tend not to respect what we don't earn. The easier we get something the easier we tend to loose it and maybe that's why all the great human societies eventually crumble.

The people who built the society, nurtured it into something great, defended it against powerful enemies eventually die out. The effort that it took becomes an increasingly distant memory as the generations pass on. Eventually it becomes distant enough that people take what they created for granted, they don't feel any connection to it, find it's values obsolete and now can only see it's few remaining or invented flaws as insurmountable obstacles.

What to do about it? I don't know. As I get older I find it increasingly difficult to care very deeply because the world is going to do what it will do regardless of what I want, but I don't have any kids so I would imagine that it's a lot easier for me to feel that way than a parent could.

[Catfish]

Catfish has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Nomination Category:

Post of the Year

Nomination basis: Very good video on the Tango class submarine, love it!
Forum: General Topics

Nominated Member: McBeck
Nominated Post: Video : Walkthrough of the Soviet Tango class submarine

Video now live!



If you think I did a good job, please like the video and throw me a comment about what you liked/or didn't like. That would help me a lot.

Hope you enjoy it!

#submarines #submariner #submarine #navy #navymuseum #museum #videoproduction #navyships #navyships #navytopics

[Onkel Neal]

Onkel Neal has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Nomination Category:

Post of the Year

Nomination basis: Nice of him to pass along this helpful info.
Forum: Comments to SUBSIM Review

Nominated Member: Quelin1
Nominated Post: Link

old thread, but, 688i works well on Steam Deck. It could be a -little- better, specifying your depth is a little hard to do cause the selector is a small touch screen button, but I also have sausage fingers.

[Mad Mardigan]

Mad Mardigan has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Nomination Category:

Post of the Year

Nomination basis: Serves as a fitting tribute to Wolfgang... for a rather good, gritty sub movie.
Forum: Silent Hunter III

Nominated Member: Kpt. Lehmann
Nominated Post: Link

Rest in peace, Wolfgang Petersen. Thank you.

[Onkel Neal]

Onkel Neal has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Nomination Category:

Post of the Year

Nomination basis: Well done.
Forum: Destroyer - The U-Boat Hunter

Nominated Member: Furia
Nominated Post: Link

I am sorry to disagree with this but this is an extremely well documented historical fact.
A Type VII would out turn a Fletcher destroyer class dramatically.
Actually a Fletcher class was considered a real bad turning platform and there was even talks in the past that an Iowa Class battleship would out turn a Fletcher

LINK Pacific War Online Enciclopedia. Fletcher Class DD

In the other hand we do have the own US Navy assessment of the Type VII
turn capabilities.

LINK U-Boat Archieve Type VII analisis See pages 17, 19 and 19

So while a Fletcher class was supposed to have a turn radius of 700 meters at fast speed, the U-Boat could manage a turning circle of 270 meters at flank.

The problem of the Fletcher was that it was initially designed with a single rudder and it has a relatively long lenght.



Other Destroyer escorts of smaller size or the small flower class corvetes has a better turning circle but none of then matched the U-boat capabilities even close.
The Type VII had twin rudder directly in the propeller flow



Sinking U-Boats with depth charges (Rail and trowers) was extemely dificult, battles lasted 5 to 10 hours and the main tactic was to force the sub to run out of bateries or compressed air.
The future developement fo the Hedgehog would turn the tables because the sub captain could not identify that the DD was making the overpass to drop charges showing the moment to make a radical turn /speed /depth maneuver.

Actually I find the game now too easy, since the last two patches I am consistenly sinking all subs I find, just because they remain at shallow making my life easier. I can easily predict the sub possition even when turning for a 10 sec period (time for shallow DC to reach tgt) but if he goes deep, the more than 1 minute for the DC to get there, is sufficient for the sub to evade them nicely. So the fact the sub remains most of the time at shallow is the "unrealistc" thing while turn radius is historically accurate.

One of the limitations the developers should take into account is that battery life and availability of compressed air were the main factors a sub captain had to take into account. Normally no sub arrived to the convoy with just freshly charged and warm batteries at 100% capacity and he had to preserve them since he had no clue how long he would have to fight underwater.
As Neal mentioned in another post, the battery life at flank was expected to be 45 minutes to 1 hour. Compressed air was also used when making dramatic depth changes.

In real life DD just forced the sub to run and expend those comodities in order to force him to surface. A conservative U-boat captain that manages his resources is something we still do not have in the game.

Another element that needs tweaking is the acceleration /deceleration ratio for the submarine and for the destroyer. They accelerate and decelerate way too fast. The powerplant technology at the time did not allow for such fast speed changes. Ships need time to build speed and to slow down.
But I am happy with the turning capabilities of the sub.

There is a nice video here that explains this better than me

[Catfish]

Catfish has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Nomination Category:

Post of the Year

Nomination basis: It is not necesarily this post alone by Commander Wallace, but it is placed at the right time and it is deeply moving.
He is also an outstanding member amongst a lot of other things.
I'm sure i screwed this nomination up again, i admit i do not see through it lol My bad i know :D
Forum: General Topics

Nominated Member: Commander Wallace
Nominated Post: Link

This is a little bit different. A group called the Piano Guys was at a assisted living / Nursing home. The group came in to entertain the residents there. It's pretty magical what happened after they started playing. I loved the reaction of the residents as the group started playing with people getting up and dancing, some even forming a Conga line and enjoying the performance. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did.


Piano Guys-Charlie Brown Medley