Notfallmappe - Sim-Deck

Notfallmappe
The Landlubbers Survival Guide to Dangerous WatersTM
v0.6
An act of copy and paste taken from and done for the DW-Community by
Smaragdadler in 2005 e.v.
Notfallmappe
The Landlubbers Survival Guide to Dangerous WatersTM
v0.6
Do you like pushing strange red buttons - just to find out what happens? Do you enjoy staring for
hours at sonar screens? Do you get a chill every time you raise the periscope? Can you hold
patience? You are a brooder, shy of easy ways? You prepare any action with extreme
thoroughness - but when the dice has fallen, you act fast - as if led by an internal clock?
If you answer YES to all of these questions - then you are hardcore enough to really enjoy
Dangerous Waters! Like most things in life, the more effort you put into it - the greater the
rewards...
Version 0.6 07/03/2005
Introduction
This is the Notfallmappe - The Landlubbers Survival Guide to
Dangerous WatersTM. ‚Notfallmappe’ is German language and means
something like „emergency portfolio collected at a push - in case of
need“. This file is intented as a beginners-guide for the
Submarine/AntiSubmarine Warfare naval simulation Dangerous WatersTM
(DW) from Sonalyst Combat SimulationsTM. At the moment this guide is
still pretty unfinished. Dangerous WatersTM is a complex >game< and
it’s not easy to get into. I for myself have no expierence with real naval
combat or Submarine Simulations. I live in Thuringia, that’s a German
state in the middle of Europe, pretty far away from any shore. So I am a
bloody „Landlubber“. To get myself into this game, I started to lurk on
the battlefront and subsim forums, collecting as much information as
possible. Most of the infos in this document I have from there, so almost
nothing here comes from my own mind. Some stuff may even be totaly wrong, because I have not
grasped it right. And there are of curse loths of spilling mysthakes... All I have done, is to bring in some
sketchy order in all of this... (at least I tried). I for myself am fascinated by submarines, so this is the
‚Schwerpunkt’ in my data collecting process – and this can be also seen in this guide. But there are now
also other guides: A big tip is the Orion Warrior Training and Operating Procedures-Guide by OneShot.
This will be a good help for all of you, who prefer more to hunt subs from the air than driving them. You
can also visit a Internet-Forum especialy dedicated to insider tips for playing Dangerous Waters: The
DW-Tips&Tricks Vault, administered by OneShot: http://www.orionwarrior.com/forum/index.php. Here
you can even find a special section dedicated to my Landlubber Guide. Now, I still think that it would be
a good idea to make my collected knowledge accessible for other newbies. Please don’t be angry if you
recognize, that something may be taken from one of your own posts on the forums - and I have not
given credits to you. When I started this work, I have not thought about making it public some day, so
all I have is a file with lots of information, but I don’t know from where I have taken it exactly and what’s
the name (pseudonym) from the person who posted it. Let me just say thank to all of you, who have
contributed without knowing. If it helps more people to get into and make use of this simulation, all is
achieved. Big special thanks to *MaHuJa* for pointing out inconsistencies; to *Molon Labe* for adding
tips; to *OneShot* for providing Forum support and to *Subguru* for making it all avaliable online. This
is the sixth version I give out, but I am planning to continue it. If you find some bad error or want to
contribute with more good tips, you can send me an e-mail to Smaragdadler@gmx.de. Please don’t
send me mails with questions, better post it on the forums and send me the answers.
Thank you.
Michael „Smaragdadler“ Wolff
Please kids, muddle this stuff at home - don’t try things you read here anywhere out there!
No garantie for correctness in any kind. No money in any form should be charged for this guide.
Any commercial use is strictly prohibited!!! "Commercial use" may cover things like: Putting it on a magazine CD,
selling it on any kind of media, offering it on pages where you have to install a dialer to get it, etc.
If you do it nonetheless - be cursed with seven long years of sexual misfortune - : !"&:
How to learn Dangerous Waters efficiently?
0.) Watch the movies on Disk Two. Read the manual and have it always at hand. If
you don’t have the deluxe version, you should print out at least the part about the
platform you want to learn at the moment from the manual.pdf file. It can be found in
the manual folder in your Dangerous Waters directory. But of course you have the
deluxe version, don’t you...
The problem for newbies is, that the manual will – for the most part - only tell you‚
where to find a certain button and what happens if you push it. It won’t tell you, why
you would want to push a certain button in the first place... Guess, what is intented to
help you out...
...
1.) If you have no particular platform-fetish, you could start out with the MH-60R-Helicopter, the
easiest and the smallest platform in DW. If you have problems with SONAR and ACCOUSTIC stuff, just
pass over it quickly. Read Appendix A: „Things I Learned as a Complete DW Newbie“ in the
Appendices of this survival guide.
2.) When you have it in hand, take the P-3C Orion-Plane, for several reasons: - it is the second
aircraft - no TMA, a bit familiar. Same thing about the ACCOUSTICS. Get it well in hand, and redo the
helo over and over again if needed.
Alternative: Stay away from the Orion at first, unless you have someone with you to help. Unlike the
Helo - you are flying around all the time with at least 154kts, except for hitting pause - there is no way
to just stop, think and listen. You have to think in advance mostly because when its time to act you have
to act. So while the stations itself are easy, it may have edges for starters, unless they are sure of
themselves in all the basics. Better do a sub after the helo ... No matter at which point you decide to
learn the P-3C Orion, be shure to get your hands on the Orion Warrior Training and Operating
Procedures by OneShot. It covers this part of the simulation in an excellent way and parts of it should
also be a big help when handling the MH-60R-Helicopter. Even for people, who are only interested in
submarines - reading is a MUST, because knowing how your „enemy“ operates is never a bad idea... You
can find this manual at www.orionwarrior.com or at www.subguru.com.
3.) This is an important moment in the learning process. Select the SSN 21 Seawolf-submarine. This
is your first sub. The clearest to learn too. It happens that the Ami-SONAR is better than the Russian, to
learn the basics. This time, there is TMA. Let it go (means switch on the autocrew). Just learn how to
move a sub and blablabla. Read Appendix B.
4.) Read twice or even thrice the manual's SONAR chapter. Then applie it to the SSN 21. Can you
monitor this sonar stuff now?
5.) This part may take a long time, so you can also go directly to part 6) and go back to 5) at the end of
the learning. As you wich. First, read the manual's TMA part, over and over. Yes, this is important, do
not pass over it. Now, say hello to the Editor and create a mission with a Yacht in a barrier tactic,
crossing your Seawolfs course. Play it, and put sonar on auto. Stay at the TMA and go to the Fire Control
Suite at the end to coordinate a strike at the same time. TMA is very close to weapon control...
6.) Take an SSN 688(i)-sub and see the difference during the same step (do not have to read the
manual now)
7.) Take an Akula-sub, and pass a bit of time on Russian Sonar. This one is a bit harder to learn, but
you will most certainly prefer it in battle.
8.) Take a Kilo diesel-submarine. Learn the differences beween Kilos and Akulas and pass quickly to
9).
9.) Take a breath, than redo that training you created again with all four subs. Test your weapons
now.
10.) Change a bit the mission, so that you can now fly with a helo, then a P3. Do it again with aircrafts;
and NORMALY, the sonar is OK. Blast the Yacht. Experiment with the Quick Mission Generator. It
will give you random encounters each time. The quick missions are OK for a little practice, but not
too challenging. If you want more sophisticated missions - use the Editor! Its awesome!
11.) Do a bit of rest.
12.) This the final stage...the Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG 7) class surface ship. Learn it station by
station in a logical order.
13.) PLAY.
How to play Dangerous Waters efficiently?
Try to get a job where you get paid for reading books or guarding places nobody is interested in - like
mortuaries. Install DW on your notebook. Can you imagine the satisfaction to be able to play all the
missions hardcore-style in full real time and each time you look on the Game Time Indicator reminds you
on earned money?!
Get it running and boosted up
Where to find, what version is running:
The version you are playing is shown on the bottom of the splash
screen if you start the program. For Dangerous Waters Version 1.1 it
reads: Version 101 Build 0357.
How to avoid lag:
It should be said that most of the game's stuttering comes from the
simulation engine, not from 3d engine. Such stuttering occurs with
high time-compression. If you have low FPS even at 1x, you have
most probably problems with graphics (or your computer is
altogether slow). Shadows and 3d clouds is the biggest FPS eaters,
giving no important effect for sub captain. You can switch it of in the
second page of the 3d option screen. On the other hand, landing P3
without shadow looks really obsolete.
How to avoid screen flickering:
The Devs know this bug, so far only workarounds and in some rare cases solutions exist. It
seems to be dependant on which processes are running on your system when you start the
game - chat programs, media players (MusicMatch causes problems from what I hear), and
some other applications that run in the system tray.
What worked: - Desktop to 16bit and play DW in Windowed Mode (which is highly recommend
especially on long missions) - Check programs in the background, some seem to be the reason
for that.
How to adjust the volume of sound:
It´s possible to adjust the volume of the active ping in the ini file. You can also adjust the
sound of the ships in the map view with the "3D Sound" slider in the Options->Sound screen.
Specially the trawler and the fishing boats are very loud when you klick them in the map view.
This should have no effect on the volume of 2D sounds such as Crew Reports, Button clicks,
Weapon launches, etc.
Kegetys’-DW-Fonts Mod:
Replaces the fru_small_rX and fru_plain_rX fonts with smaller versions, which allows more
text to fit on the screen, allowing more lines to be displayed in the history window and making
the navmap contacts clearer. The new fonts also appear to be rendered much faster by the
game which should give a performance boost for all menus, mission editor, classify contact
dialog, etc. Get it here: http://koti.mbnet.fi/kegetys/dw/
Mines:
Sub mines are emiting sound when traveling (that's OK) but unfortunately they don't stop
emiting after they stop. This is easy to fix using thrusts database: In thrust database create
separate noise profile for mobile mines with Data0C value = 72, in object dialog assin this new
thrust for mobile mines and set their passive sonar SL = 0. After this they would have NL of
72 when running and stop emiting sound after stop.
HyperLobby:
The HyperLobby client has now support for Dangerous Waters.
Check: http://hyperfighter.sk/index.php
Skimming Around
Why the map colors on the navigation screen is not in
sync with depth:
You're seeing a feature that was discussed a bit in a
thread at the Battlefront-boards sometime before
release. Essentially the parts that are "lightened" on
top of the "depth map" are (at least supposedly)
acoustically dampened, or otherwise makes sonar
harder to use. Try pressing [shift+i] in the game. It
should affect your view a bit (it should also show any
ice in the area).
Inertia and Sub aground driving:
If you hit or command "right full rudder" or "left full rudder," sub changes course as expected.
But, when you either set rudder to midship either through the control room "steering
mechanism" or through "orders menu" the sub does not steady on course. It keeps turning.
It's called inertia, ... and it's as designed. That is part of the advanced physics model.
Submarines and ships weight more than a few thousand tons. A FFG displaces rouglhy 5000
ton of water.. at 25 knots, turning the wheel to max ... It will turn, eventually, but the same
goes for going amidships. Their is so much momentum (or inertia) build up in the 5000 ton
heep of iron, it'll go and go and go and go and go and go untill its either on a straight line
again (which will take an icredible amount of time) or untill the helmsman decides to stop the
turn by applying counter rudder.
So you will have to compensate a full right rudder with some left rudder to get the platform
stop turning. The rudder 'slices through' a lot of water...and once you start turning,
momentum keeps you this way...even if it gets amidships. In high speed manoeuvres it will
probably be even more obvious. Keep in mind also the rudder needs a few seconds to go back
amidships. The [']-key sets the rudder amidships. This is much faster than going to other
screens and menus and might just save your behind. A way out is :
a) to just order the course you want, and the AI-crew will take steps to put you
there [albeit with a lower turn rate] or
b) turn yourself manually but with lower rudder settings
c) set the rudder amidships before your targeted heading or
d) use opposite rudder as necessary.
Hard rudder turns also have the tendency to slow down boats. In submarines a full rudder
command in high speed will also affect your depth, as the sub leans gently and then easily
start to go deeper - you will corkscrew down. This means you could potentially cause the boat
to exceed depth limits if you are not careful! Or think about swallow water enviroment with
just 5m under the Keel. You need to watch the depth under keel. At high speed as the sub
corkscrews down there is no manual correction available apparantly, other than excessive
digital control. The crew does not give any warnings. They may not warn you for
approaching the bottom, but the Diving Officer will warn you about crush depth. With
alarm in his voice, even. (Explain it yourself this way: Joke on. ...if you run aground, you lose
your command and ruin your career. Your diving officer is quite happy with this idea, ever
since that time you chewed him out in the wardroom. Or maybe it's because you don't
ventilate the boat enough. Whichever, the guy hates you. But if you go too deep and implode,
everyone dies. So he's gonna tell you about that, and smartly. Joke off)
How to bottom a Submarine correctly:
If you set your depth to exactly bottom or only a meter or so below it, your sub will settle
down, but eventually float back upward. Now, if you bottom your sub, THEN set your depth to
something like thirty or forty meters below bottom, your sub stays on the bottom. Make sure
you bottom the sub BEFORE giving some massively deep order to keep it there, lest the thing
sinks like a cinder block and you wreck something. The problem is that the subs trim slightly
positive. I guess you could call it a good thing. Better than sitting motionless for a while and
ending up at crush depth. So, when your set depth and your actual depth are the same, and
you're not moving, your dive planes can’t hold you down and you ever so slowly rise. By
issuing a depth lower than what you're at, the boat continuously tries to trim itself down to
that depth by making itself negatively bouyant. And since the bottom happens to be in the
way of your set depth, you just kinda stick there.
Currents: In real life, currents get weaker near land. You can't have current going into the
ground (except tide). You can have such in DW. On the other hand, you can have currents
witch can drag you to shalow place. But DW's current simulation is Ok. Mission authors must
just make reasonable conditions.
Kilo ship control panel:
You may think that the ship control panel is forward facing in the KILO, but it is not. It is on
the port side.
Do the Kilos in DW ever need to surface or run on diesel engines?
Battery charge level is simulated in DW for both player and AI diesel subs. Whenever you run
the diesels the snorkel must be raised.
FFG’s Port and Starboard APUs: Note, along with radical rudder and speed action, by right
clicking on throttle controls you can individually control throttle and pitch. You right click the
throttle lever and they move independently. So if you want to reverse quick from flank just
right click pitch lever and yank it backwards. What angle to set them at to go what direction?
Point them in the direction you want to go. Not the direction of what you think the thrust
should be. Maybe it’s a bit of a bug and will be fixed in a patch. Not shure through...
Helo flying and Dipping Sonar (Hydrophone)-Search:
One of the most important things to
remember, when flying the Helo, and
Dipping, is that the speed shown on the
Taskbar, or at the Pilot's Station, is Relative
Speed...NOT Ground (actual) Speed. This is
very important when giving Speed Change
orders. Although you may be hovering (ground
speed = ~0), your relative speed may be 15
knots, as a result of the wind speed. If you want
to move off at 5 knots .... DO NOT add 5 knots to
your indicated speed, as that will be interpreted
as 20 knots. Irrespective of whatever speed
is displayed, set your speed for the ACTUAL
speed you want to fly at. DO NOT add or
subtract from your indicated speed. When it
comes to wind speed, the relative speed of the Helo can be a little misleading. Relative Speed
on the Helo, is considered in the Fore and Aft plane only ... NOT lateral. So, .. if you had a 10
knot wind blowing FROM 270 degrees, ... and you were hovering with your heading at 000
degrees, your relative speed will now indicate 0 knots. This is technically incorrect, as the Helo
still has a Relative Speed, but in the lateral plane. It's not a major issue, if you set your speed
for 0 knots, no matter which way you are heading ... your ground speed will always be 0
knots. You will experience some drift, .. but it's in no way close to any indicated speed on the
taskbar or pilot station.
If the Dipping Sonar is in the Water, the safest speed that you can fly at, without ripping the
Dipping Sonar off, is ~30 knots. However, it is recommended not go above 25 knots.
Use of the Dipping Sonar, i.e. monitoring for contacts, is good up to 8 knots, as any faster
than that, and the Sonar will 'wash out', and you will lose contact information. 5 knots is
better... However, the only time when you would NEED to be moving, whilst Dipping, is when
you are actually closing with the contact ... in other words: to close the range, but, this would
be fine-tuning. You can close much faster at 20 - 25 knots, and even faster, if you increase
your altitude so that the Dipping Sonar clears the water, and set your speed up to 80
knots. If you have the Dipping Sonar out of the water, your maximum safe speed is ~90
knots, but, again ... it is not recommended to go above 80 knots.
A Helo can drift in any direction ... changing your heading will make absolutely no difference
to your actual ground speed. Whilst your 'indicated' speed may change ... your actual ground
speed is totally dependent on the speed you set. So, if you are hovering with your Dipping
Sonar in the water, ... having set a speed of 0 knots, ... then it doesn't matter which way the
wind is blowing, ... or what your heading is, ... the Dipping Sonar will always 'drift' through
the water at the same speed.
Sensor 101
First - Keep in mind that the 3D display on the NAV map station doesnt show the real
world, it is ONLY displaying what your sensors are reporting to you. If you would like to
see where the enemy "actually" is then you have to enable "Show Truth" (which is the biggest
gamey cheat of them all, of course, so be careful). If you want to be more hardcore - switch
off 3D at all. With Show Truth off the only places where you see the "REAL WORLD" would be:
-
FFG: Bridge, Lookout, Machine Gun Station
Helo: Pilot/ATO Station
P-3: Pilot/IRDS Station
Subs: Sail (when surfaced), Periscope
What do you get from the different stations/sensors to solve solutions:
Passive Sonar broadband -> bearing, type
Passive Sonar narrowband -> bearing, class, type
Medium Frequency Active Sonar -> bearing, distance
Active Intercept -> bearing, (signal strengh – assume strong (red) is more nearby), type
Sound Speed Profile (SSP) -> layers (of sound density) search, can help estimate of depth
DEMON -> speed, category (as well as passive broadband it relies on)
RADAR -> bearing and distance
Visual/Periscope -> bearing, distance, course
TMA -> course, speed, *range*
ESM -> bearing, class
Radio -> recieve messages (may contain hints of any kind) and link data (whole solutions).
Passive Sonar: Broadband (BB) d e t e c t s the noise of the contact. Narrowband (NB)
analyzes that noise in to distinct tonals (the sounds of reactor pumps and electrical hum of the
generators) at various frequencies; this is used to c l a s s i f y the contact. But
narrowband can also be used for longe range detection of very low frequencys. The
Narrowband Station is the station where you will detect a distant contact first; for submarines
it will probably be the only station that you detect the contact. As such, you will be
spending more time here than at any other station. Many new players make the mistake
of believing that the classification displayed at the NB station is in fact the class of the contact.
In actuality, the class displayed is the first profile in the library that closely matches the profile
you are listening to--or perhaps a profile that is overlapping the signal you are interested in.
Be sure to scroll through the list to learn what other classes the contact may be, or if overlaps
are interfering, to check the sonar profiles document. In most cases, you will not be able to
obtain a positive classification. You will have to make a judgement call to guess the
most reasonable choice of the options that the filter gives you. Use info from other
sensors, info from the briefing, target behavior, and signal strength to guide your decsion. For
example, a very weak 50hz signal that is less than 10nm away in good sonar conditions is
probably a non-US submarine; nothing else is so quiet at that range. On the other hand, that
same weak 50hz signal may only be a fishing boat if it is 30nm away or more.
DEMON: If you have the TPK (Turns Per Knot) value which is different for each class, (in other
words if you have ID'd the target) you can tell the speed with demon. Set the TPK value,
'select' the first bar, and read the speed. As a guess you can try 7 for subs and 8 for warships
- most use those values. Large Warships and Carriers (the swimming airfields) have TPK 6 and
the Kilo-diesel sub uses 10.
Active Sonar / Active Intercept: The first is to e m i t, the second to d e t e c t a source
emitting - the famous *ping* - you know from the movies. Don't use active sonar if you are in
a submarine, because this gives away your position and the enemy may immediately fire at
you! Should only be used when the enemy knows where you are and giving away
your position doesn’t matter. Also Akula and Kilo skippers may use it to get an exact range
on a target for their SUBROCs. Oh .. of course .. any sonar is limited by platform speed. Active
sonar too. In subs it is usually usable in 10kts. At 5kts all sonar sensors give perfect data
(except if you're draging towed array on the floor). It may allso depend on the floor type:
mud, sand, rock,... Try to give an angle to your bow, up or down depending on the type of
floor. (rock down - because good reflection, mud up - because bad reflection). If you are in
an SSN and are hunting a Kilo, active sonar may be your best bet. Your enemy will
almost certainly detect you first if you rely on passive detection, and you will be too close to
escape his weapons. Wakehomers cannot be decoyed!
Periscope: The best sensor, but you've got to be able to work the Stadimeter. You press Mark
on the periscope itself to set a bearing. Then hit Photo to snap a picture. Then drop the
scope (to get rid of radar target presenting) and switch to the stadimeter thingy. You rotate
the picture of the ship to guess at angle on bow. You split the picture of the ship pulling the
side with the highest mast down to where the top of the mast is at the waterline of the other
half of the picture. Put that together with the type of ship, and when you hit Mark, you get
Range, bearing, and course of target together. Edit: Radar detection of masts such as
the periscope is not modeled in the current (1.01) build of DW. But better get
used to dropping the periscope early on. Better than having to abandon a bad
habit later + it makes you look soooo pro.
TMA: The TMA is where you put it together. You've got to know how Merge works. That's how
you take data from different sensors and combine it to one target track. So Merge is how you
combine your Sierra target data with the data you just got from the periscope. And you've got
to be able to work the "ruler" in the TMA view to estimate range, and course. And oh yeah,
you also have to work the Demon Display to get Speed of target. Go to the Classify Contact
Screen from Map view to get target info.... the "turns per knot" or TPK - that's the key to
making the Demon Display working. But the TMA is the key to it all. That's where all the
data comes together and you create your estimate of where the target is and where its going.
So, yeah, you've got to be able to work a bunch of arcane technology to pull data out of
sensors and put it together in the TMA, but if you do all that - you can track a target ... mostly
from sonar, with the occaiasional periscope peak to confirm it.
Sensor 201
Read „The Blue Book of Submarine Operations“. It
was written for for 688I Hunter-Killer, the prequel
of Sub Command (the predecessor of Dangerous
Waters) and contains good advices about
submarine sensors and lots of other stuff. The
best tactical guide for Sub Command - and for DW
by extension - is the TACMAN by Tim Grab. All
can be found at www.subguru.com.
S.O.N.A.R.
General Tips:
The bow sonar only picks up higher
frequency ranges, so detecting subs and
warships with this will be difficult. It is much
harder to detect contacts, but is probably more realistic and more challenging which is fine.
There are no numbers on the Akula bearing Indicators for the inner arrays. You must
refer to the numbers on the outer edge of the display.
Be aware that when you turn Ownship your towed array does not begin to turn until it
reaches the point in the ocean where the ship began its turn. As a result, Ownship
appears as a contact on the towed array during turns.
Ownship’s speed can affect your ability to detect contacts in Narrowband. When the
entire signal line is near the top of the display this indicates that background noise is very
high. This usually happens when your speed is over 5 kts for hull array contacts or over 15 kts
for towed array contacts. Decrease your speed to reduce water flow over the array.
Straight lines indicate a consistent signal. Curved or wavy vertical lines represent
distortions or variations in the signal.
If the signal is weak you may have to click more than once to designate the contact and
assign the tracker.
You cannot assign a tracker while the game is paused.
If the contact that you have classified in Narrowband has not yet been assigned a
Contact ID (S1, S2 etc), a contact ID symbol does not exist for that contact on the
Nav map. You can not complete the contact classification process on the Nav map until the
contact has been assigned a Contact ID.
You can classify contacts in ESM, Stadimeter and Narrowband. The Classification dialog
highlights the name of the class that was most recently classified by one of these sensors
whenever you select that contact on the Nav map.
Turns per knot for military and civilian ships are found in USNI Reference. Click
CIVILIAN in the Country column then the name of the ship type to find TPK information on
Civilian ships.
To stop the transmission of continuous active sonar pings on any of the submarines, click
again on the TRANSMIT button
Due to varying water temperatures at locations around the world, a distinct thermal layer is
not always present.
People complaining about the auto-crew picking up contacts that you can't see in the
waterfall. Well they may not show up graphically, but if you scan the bearings, you will get a
small signal-to-noise hit of 4 to 8 or so. This is a potential contact even though it doesn't come
through on the speakers, doesn't show a line in ITA, and can't be classified in narrowband.
S/N is shown in the Seawolf on the right numerical data display.
The game models physics very carefully. In shallow water at low speeds your towed
array can actually drag the bottom and cause the phenomenon above. Retract it some,
gain speed, or change your depth.
Sonalysts Game Sonar-Design Notes:
The passive sonar modeling in Dangerous Waters was modified from 688I in aneffort to
upgrade the sonar detection and classification performance. SubCommand models the
individual variables in the passive sonar equation:
Passive Sonar Signal Excess = Radiated Noise - Propagation Loss - Interfering Noise Recognition Differential
1. Radiated Noise is the initial source level of the signal that emanates from the contact.
Broadband radiated noise varies with speed, narrowband radiated noise does not.
2. Propagation Loss is the amount of loss the source signal sustains as it travels from the
contact to the sonar. Dangerous Waters calculates proploss on the fly, accounting for the
loss due to interaction of the signal with the acoustic boundaries (surface, bottom, and
thermal layer) and the attenuation loss of the signal as a function of range.
3. Interfering Noise is a combination of background noise (sea state, rain, shipping density)
and self noise (noise emanating from the detecting ship) that is a function of own ship
speed.
4. Recognition Differential is how well a sonar system can differentiate a signal from the
background noise. Dangerous Waters models separate sonar Recognition Differentials
depending on sonar type and model.
All these variables are modeled in Dangerous Waters to determine whether or not to display a
signal on a sonar screen, and how brightly to display the signal. Broadband radiated noise
varies by platform class, and is adjusted for target speed. Broadband radiated noise values are
modeled for representative frequencies in the 2 kHZ - 4kHZ range. Narrowband radiated noise
is modeled by assigning a narrowband profile to each appropriate platform - 5 discrete
narrowband frequencies. The 5 discrete narrowband lines range in frequency from 50 Hz - to 2 kHZ. All U.S. built ships will have a 60 HZ lines because the U.S. uses 60 cycle electrical
equipment. The rest of the world uses 50 cycle electrical equipment, so their narrowband
profile will have a 50 HZ line. Low frequency signals propagate through water with much less
loss than do high frequency signals. Therefore, in most cases the best/initial detection sensor
will be the detection of narrowband lines on the towed array. The window at the top of the
Narrowband Station allows the user to perform a narrowband search. Even though a signal is
not visually apparent in the search window, moving the cursor through all the bearings may
discover a narrowband contact line that will then be displayed in the middle window. This
occurs because the sonar system is able to pull a signal out of the noise. This is the systems
Recognition Differential. This is the reason why an auto Sonarman will report a contact that
the player does not visually see on the Broadband screen. The lower frequency lines will be
detected first as the range between ships closes, and the brightness of the lines will depend on
the calculated Signal Excess. The Broadband Station will generally detect after detection has
been made on the Narrowband Station. Towed arrayed broadband will detect first over the
spherical and cylindrical arrays because of it's lower frequency band and better recognition
differential. However, spherical and cylindrical array detections eliminate the problem with the
ambiguous towed array detection. The environmental inputs for each mission have a major
effect on the sonar detection performance. The inputs are environmental profile type (surface
duct, convergence zone, bottom limited), bottom type (rock, mud, sand), and sea state (0-5).
The depth of the water is also a major factor. These inputs are available in the mission editor.
General hints for sonar:
For SONAR searches the slower you move - the better since it makes your hydrophones
less "washed out" and it makes your submarine harder to detect. But the down side
(sometimes this is an upside) is that your towed array will droop down and possibly drag on
the ocean floor - it can also droop below the thermal layer and allow you to search both sides
at the same time. Sometimes putting a little speed on is a good thing since when used
on conjunction while some course changes, it will allow you to get a better solution on a target
and if you change speed every two minutes, it confuses the auto TMA on other player subs.
Additionaly it allows you to straighten out your TA after a turn that much more quickly. The
bearings it gives when bent are usually bogus.
Traditionally, a submarine’s ability to avoid detection is defined in terms of its acoustic
signature. There are many sources contributing to a submarine’s acoustic signature. Machinery
and other propulsion-related vibrations enter the water through the hull and radiate in all
directions. The propeller resonates when turning, and cavitation (noise generated by bubbles
collapsing) can develop. Additionally, the turbulent flow of water around the ship can excite
the hull itself. Each type of noise has a unique pattern, which can differ with speed, depth, and
water conditions. Quieting technologies continue to improve and are increasingly available to
backfit older submarines. Hull coatings, improved propeller design, and quieted propulsion
plant equipment reduce the submarine’s overall noise levels, especially at high speeds.
Different Noise Sources:
There are a wide variety of noise sources present in the underwater environment, but the
main, consistent contribution comes from only a few types.
Ambient noise, unlike other sources, does not come from a particular direction or source. The
noise level is the same everywhere in the local area. The most obvious contribution to the
ambient noise is the action occurring on the surface of the ocean. The greater the size of the
waves, the greater the ambient noise contribution. The waves are driven by the winds, so
there is a direct correspondence between the steady wind speed and the sea state. The
greater the wind speed or sea state, obviously the greater the ambient noise contribution. The
frequency of the noise from sea state tends to be greater than 300 Hz.
The second main contribution to ambient noise comes from shipping in general. In regions
where there are many transiting ships, the ambient noise will be increased substantially. This
noise, in contrast to the noise from sea state, will be at low frequency (< 300 Hz).
The third possible ambient noise source is biologics, meaning sea-life. These are as widely
varied as they are unpredictable. One common source is snapping shrimp. Others include
whales and dolphins.
Self-noise comes from the noise from the platform the sonar is on or from the flow of water
across the receiving array itself. This self-noise has a minimum value which is present
regardless of the speed that the array is traveling through the water, and the self noise will
increase due to flow noise and the increase in noise from the platform which carries it. Self
noise has a frequency and speed dependence. Flow noise would be similar to white or pink
noise, i.e. a very wide band of frequencies at equal levels, rather than specific frequency
components.
Cavitation noise is produced from the motion of turning propellers on surface vessels,
submarines or a torpedoes. Cavitation is the formation of partial vacuums in a flowing liquid as
a result of the separation of its parts. When these partial vacuums bubbles collapse, they
produce cavitation noise, which sounds like a pulsed note and can be heard at considerable
ranges, depending on the size of the propeller and the speed of rotation. A torpedo
produces a very high pitched and fast rotation noise. Distinctive propeller blade
broadband cavitation noise can render a submarine detectable by passive sonar systems.
Generally, the level of noise from a ship increases with ship size and speed. The loudest noise
from normal ship operation comes from cavitation of the propeller, which adds 10-15 dBA to
the noise level of regular operation.
Passive accoustic sources fall into two main categories: broadband and narrowband sources.
Broadband sources create acoustic energy over a wide range of frequencies, similar to a
thermal source in electro-optics. Typical broadband sources are noise from either the
propeller/shaft, flow noise and some propulsion systems. Noise from the propeller and shaft is
generally at low frequency, meaning less than 1000 Hz. The rate of rotation can amplitude
modulate the noise, and this propeller blade rate tonal noise can be detected and demodulated
to measure the shaft or propeller blade rate. BB contacts show not individual frequency lines,
but the whole spectrum, so here's is where I would expect to see things like flow noise as subs
go faster.
Narrowband sources radiate within a small band about a particular frequencies, or class of
frequencies. Typical sources are the various pieces of machinery found in every ship, including
example, pumps, motors, electrical generation equipment and propulsion systems. NB
contacts show the individual frequency lines generated by specific equipment on board a
vessel, e.g. a generator set spinning at 50 Hz. These lines may be independant of speed,
i.e. a running generator is a running generator, no matter how fast the sub is running. When
specifying narrowband sources, it is important to also specify the frequency at which it occurs.
For the main playable subs, you should typically be able to pick up a "quiet" enemy contact
from 10-15 nautical miles. Run deep and slow especially if you are picking up
radar/sonar contacts.
More tips for being good with Passiv Sonar:
If there is surface ice, being in a sub and under nice thick ice makes it very difficult for
threats to get you. Avoid shallows if you can. All common sense stuff really.
The thermal layer has a HUGE effect on detection range, something to always keep in
mind. In deeper water where you have a thermocline to work with, keep the layer between
you and your contact. If you're stalking another sub, this can be difficult. Usually, if you lose
contact with your prey, he has changed depth. Now you know which side of the layer he's on.
If you're stalking a surface vessel, it's alot easier. I'm not sure of the exact math, but from
what I know, being under the layer reduces a surface vessel's detection range by almost half.
The OHP towed array can, at low speeds, reach at least ~1200 feet, looking for you UNDER
the layer, so there is nothing more important than knowing your enemy.
The layer does not work as a magical boundary the way it did in 688I Hunter-Killer. Exactly
how the layer and sound-speed profile effect detection ranges is a topic worthy of its own. But
the most important lesson is this: sound bends toward the lowest sound speed in the
SSP and away from the higest sound speed. Sound from a source above the layer could
very well reach a sensor below the layer, if the lowest sound speed is also below the layer....
The first detection for any contact, is usually a 50hz or 60hz line in narrowband,
using the towed array. (Only sensor seeing this far down, hull sees nothing below 100hz,
sphere ~1000hz)
You can make out the flooding of tubes, opening of doors and firing of weapons on the sonar
displays. That's if you are lucky enough to be looking at your sonar display at that moment.
Currently, a player only receives TIW (Torpedo in the Water) reports when the sonar crew
detects a torpedo actually IN the water, but the associated launch transients are not reported.
Classification using sonar is done by one of two methods:
1.) Matching narrowband lines to the ship types.
2.) Listening to the sound on broadband. Biologicals stand out here. This is a recognition thing
for the rest, and would give only type for the most part. (warship, torpedo, ssn, ss, bio, etc.)
Takes some experience though.
Also if the contact is close enought an accurate range will appear in the contact WAA label.
Hitting RAP LOC will update your TMA picture with that range. Being contacts often not that
close, the other (and usual) way is to struggle to gain a master contact (contact with 2+
arrays, i.e. Sphere Array+Towed Array or Towed Array+UUV) witch will allow for quick and
good TMA solution in regards of the range factor. The WAA and the RAPLOC functions are
only available on the Seawolf class SSN.
TA detects lower frequencies (rule: the bigger the size of the sensor, the longer wavelengths
that means lower frequencies it detects and they travel further than high freq. waves). So in
the beginning you detect only low frequency components of a contact with the TA. Then you
simply have to get closer and use sphere or hull sensor to detect the high freq. components
too and only then can you classify that vessel 100%. It can get annoying, tracking a contact
for a whole mission and not getting in close enough to figure out if it's a ship or a sub. The list
of possible classes is in alphabetical order. You need to go through the list and find the one
whose signature matches up the best with the contact’s signature. In short, the more freq.
components you detect, the less possible choices the sonar database will give. And, if you're
still unsure between say two of them, check demon to see the number of prop blades and
compare it in the USNI reference. There's a lot of simple guessing at work here, unless you
want to go real close to that contact to see what it is - but by then you could have a torp up
your...
Classifying with Russian narrowband sonar:
The only way to classify a target with superb accuracy is to close in. But usually you should be
aware of what types of vessels are around in the mission area so you won't need a 100%
classification. A few vessels have pretty much the same frequency characteristics, so take an
educated guess, check your ESM mast if it's radiating or ID it with the periscope to be 100%
sure. Also, check DEMON for the number of blades.
How to detect Air contacts in submarines:
You can detect helos in DW on sonar when you're in a sub. It was a relatively late addition to
the sim to help balance out the MP gameplay a bit. But how do you know it's a helo? Well,
Pretty much the only way to ascertain if it is a helo is to put the BB cursor on top the return
and listen for the BB sound on your speakers/headphones (maybe turn them up a bit, if need
be). You can also use your ESM antenna...
Submarines TA Sonar: The Towed Array is your best sonar-sensor. The only downside to
the towed array is that it might scrape the bottom. The LA Class has currently (in game) two
TB-16 TA's which are not different in their capabilities. The Seawolf however has two
different TA's, TB-16 (Port) and TB-29 (Starboard). TB-29 is thinner and able to detect lower
Frequencies over longer distances then the TB-16. TB-29 washes out earlier then the TB-16
too. Don't exceed 11knots, on higher speed the Russia's Pelamida-Towed Array is unable to
pick anything. In 3 minutes interval change course 30 degree left or right - there is blind area
in front of your ship. A towed array will only tell you in what direction a noise comes from. It
won't be able to "see" contacts directly in front of your submarine due to the screws making
too much noise. Same goes for directly behind the array since the hydrophones have a "blind
spot" there. The range of a towed array is measured by a lot of variables, weather, seastate,
salinity, own ship noise, how the sound travels underwater, temperature and so on and so on.
So its quite hard to say what range is to be taken. When a hydrophone picks up a signal, the
bearing in which you pick up the signal is ambigious, meaning, if you detect something in
090°, it might well be in 270° since the hydrophone is a cylindrical microphone and
omnidirectional except for its front and rear. Surface-Towed Array units are usually alone at
see, sailing under radio-silence and travelling at very low speeds to mask their appearance.
They have a satcom link with the other vessel(s) as to not allow an enemy to "see" them using
ESM.
The major thing to remember for using a towed array is to change your course in line with
the update times for TMA of 2 minutes. I might suggest changing course every six. After
you make your 45 degree course change, watch the sonar screen. You'll notice the bearing
lines for the "false" or ambigious contact will move and the true contact will stay put. From
that, you'll get a decent TMA reading. Granted it won't be assigned a Master designation until
another sensor picks it up, but you'll get decent enough information for a firing solution.
Another thing to consider when deploying the towed array is tactics! Read the briefing before
the battle as to guess what you are looking for. Also, pay attention to the SVP! If you have a
distinct layer, stream one fully so that it will go below it, and have the other stream short to
stay above it. Make course and speed changes to help out the TMA. More than likely, you
won't find a sub going over 15 knots unless they get spooked. That leads to a skimmer
classification. With maximum cable scope and slow speed, you may be able to exploit a
tactical sound channel (this would be better with a realistic amount of cable - 5000 feet is
what it actually has, so you can get it pretty deep. You can also rupture modules that way!).
Use a little less cable to drop the array below the sonic layer depth, or shorten it right up to
put it in the surface duct. Or any combination thereof. Don't forget that the bigger the
distance between Ownship and TA the better the TMA.
How to drop a contac in sonar?
That depends on if you have auto TMA set. Also, try to "drag" the tracker ID to the right of the
CRT to drop it.
Towed Array on FCC Perry:
First, as you likely know, the Perry's array is passive sonar detection only and shows half the
signal, because the other half is mirrored. You also might know, that the top of the waterfall is
the array's front, and the bottom is the rear. Simple ehough. Now, if you turn the array (by
turning the ship, obviously), your contact is going to move up or down the array. This is
regardless of it being the real or ambiguous, as, like I mentioned, the waterfall is oriented to
the array, and not to north like on a sub. So, what likely gives the headache, is how to tell real
from fake when the signal always moves? Well, like I said, the display orients to the array.
And, like a sub, you turn the ship, and thus the array, to resolve. Now, a simple thing is, if you
turn towards an object, the object gets closer to the front of you, and if you turn away, the
object gets closer to the back, correct? So, if you turn the array, and the target starts creeping
downward, you are turning away from the true contact. If the contact starts creeping upwards,
you are turning towards it. So, to make it simple: Turn to resolve. Contact goes up,
resolve in the direction of the turn. Contact goes down, resolve opposite the turn.
There is an exception if you actually cross its bearing line - by then it *was* the same as the
turn, but it *is* not.
Resolving bearing ambiguity in FFG again:
What is the problem? Marking contact ambigious or detecting witch one is ambigious. The later
one is of course same as on sub. Marking is done like this: FFG will never show two contacts.
Broadband waterwall shows bearing from 0 to 180, not whole circle like on subs. Contact
candidates are automatically listed in upper list but pay attention that some weaker contacts
only appear in the lofar/single... (Don't ask me why this is the case). Before the contact is
resolved, you can see both starboard-side and port-side track bearing. If you mark contact
(either from broadband or candidate list) both starboard and port contacts will be added to
nav-map. With contact selected, click resolve (in broadband window) and select correct side.
The 'wrong' side contact will be removed from map and in the contact list in broadband only
one (correct) bearing will be shown. FFG towed array is really cool pease of hardware. It
shows depth of the array and the automatic list of contacts is great.
Again: The broadband waterfall displays only one side of the towed array. That said, resolving
bearing ambiguity is pretty simple: When turning the frigate in any direction, if the contact
moves "up" on the display, then the correct contact is located in the direction of your turn (i.e,
turn left => contact runs upwards => the correct contact is on your port side.) If it moves
down, it's on the opposite side of your turn. Dead easy. Be aware though, contact displays
will briefly move down before going up, et vice-versa... The towed array tends to follow
your trail quite accurately. (Too accurately?) Therefore, when your stern is moved right as you
turn left, (or vice versa) and the TA follows through this.
Tips for Active Sonar:
Do you remember? Better not use active sonar if you are in a submarine!!! The whole point
about a submarine is to hide. Active sonar is like switching on a flashlight in pitch black
dark. Your night-vision goggles is the passive sonar!
In the game, the strength of the sound return is not analogous to the visual return, in other
words, the level of sound is not adjusted to the strength of the contact, whereas the visual
return is. One thing to consider now, is that Target Aspect plays a more important role in
Active Sonar detection. In other words, if you are directly astern (behind) of a target, and you
„Ping“ it, ... you are going to get a small visual return. (although the audio return may sound
loud). Conversely, a target that is broadside on to you, will give a stronger visual return (and
the same audio return as before). If Active Sonar is used against you: Once you're within the
max range (10nm vs the OHP) aspect means a lot more than range for how visible you are.
After that, sonar conditions mean a lot too.
If the contact is distant it will not show up on the display. Sometimes several pings will make
it show up sometimes it will not show up unless its closer.
Autocrew does not mark or update active sonar cons. You have do it manualy. Only on FFG
there is automatic active contact follower, so you don't have to update (1 contact only). You
still have to mark.
If the ping kills your ears, there is a possibility to change the volume in the
dangerouswaters.ini... The nice thing about the Russian circular Active Sonar displays in Kilo
and Akula, is that they display the position of the target better than the Ami-Subs.
P-3C Orion IR-Camera:
You can use the IR camera to see very shallow (close to breachign the surface) subs, but to
see them that way you have to find the needle in the haystack and have to be uncomfortably
close (within SAM range) ...
Helo directed from the FFG:
Do you have 'show link data' on? All the helos sensors except radar appear through link data
when running the OHP.
Sonobuoys
Sonobuoy modes:
Sonobuoys have three modes:
Omni-Directional Scans in all directions and displays that info on a waterfall display. This tells
you something is there and what it is.
Directional displays directional Narrowband information on what the buoy is hearing. This tells
you what it is and what direction its at.
Active pings the water and displays bearing and range of a contact. (Only available on DICASS
buoys)
Unfortunately. The AI subs get very nervous when DICASS bouys start pinging away and will
often fail to carry out their task. Works great if you want them to hide, but not if you want
them to attack.
Merging Contacts on the Helo:
You cannot 'Merge' contacts on the Helo. Lines of intersection,
from your buoy detections, are the way to triangulate a
solution. You will need to 'manually' update i.e. „MARK“ the
contacts from time to time, in order that the Nav Map can
display a new intersection point. Good Tip: Track contacts by
putting marks (pressing enter) on the intersection, and then
doubleclicking them to mark them with the time at which they
were detected.
How to „Mark“ contacts with buoys:
Sonobuoys 'always' have to be updated manually. In other words, you have to 're-Mark' the
contacts, for them to be updated on the Nav Map. When your bouy is in directional mode, you
will have to line up the bearing cursor on a fequency dot. Make sure your lined up with botht
the bearing, and the frequency. That should work. You must have a free gram to use it. If you
have an empty gram, click MODE and you'll see a completely different screen, while the
normal Omni mode will move to the free gram. You line up your cursor (a horizontal line)
through the dots that represent the narrow band contact and then you can click "Mark". You
should click "Mark" periodically if not playing on Auto. It doesn't have a tracker. You can clear
a gram by dialling it to Freq. 00.
Which one to use:
Sonobuoys can have up to three modes:
1.) Omni-Directional Scans in all directions and displays that info on a waterfall display.
This tells you something is there and what it is.
2.) Directional displays directional Narrowband information on what the buoy is hearing.
This tells you what it is and what direction its at.
3.) Active pings the water and displays bearing and range of a contact. (Only available on
DICASS buoys)
You need to hit the mode button on the gram (the upper right button) to switch between
omni, directional and active mode. Also, you MUST have at least one free gram to be able to
switch to directional, and two free to switch to active. Set the channel on the gram to 00 to
free them up.
VLAD (= Vertical Line Array DIFAR) will likely have the best
detection ranges for a passive buoy when compared to the DIFAR (=
Directional Frequency Analysis and Recording) and DICASS. VLAD is
far superior to the DIFAR or DICASS in picking up subs quicker and further in
in deep water environments. With a quiet sub like the Kilo, active
DICASS and MAD may be your only usable sensors on a well versed
submerged Kilo skipper. Real world VLAD is used in high noise areas such
as shipping lanes and has a better processor and hydrophone layout than a
DIFAR, this makes it a tad more expensive, and - like the DICASS - in limited
supply. The DIFAR is the general all purpose buoy, - in this ‚game’ you can
leave it at home.
With buoys tax dollars go to the bottom of the sea! Once the bouy has
depleted its energy, its scuttled automatically to prevent damage to other
ships as well as being captured by "foreign" entities. At the height of the Cold
War it was not uncommon for russian or warsaw pact navies to roam around
a NATO exercise area, to see if they could get their hands on one the bouys.
You can load out as you see fit. The game has no tie to the economics of your
buoy load (meaning you will not get called by the Admirial to explain why you used 100 VLAD
and the other Squadrons only used 30 for the month...). This would mean VLADs for the longrange search, and once the position can be estimated DIFARs for short-range pinpointing. Its
not that DIFARs don’t work fine. If you use the OHP solo and fly the helo you will notice that
you cant select your buoy loadout. So you might choose to use them as there s a limited
supply of buoys. The advantage of the passive DIFAR sonobuoy is that usually the submarine
is unaware that it is being tracked. Although it lacks the precision of the active AN/SSQ-62
DICASS series sonobuoy, it is still the most widely selected sonobuoy sensor for all phases of
an ASW mission: search, localization, tracking and attack. So DIFARs work fine just not the
range of a VLAD. About - if not the same - range as a passive DICASS. Just no active. By
Pinging a DICASS, you may unknowingly reveal another asset to the target (friendly sub in
trail). Generally DICASS-Active would be for Quite Targets like Diesels with no other known
subs searching or trailing the Target of Interest.
DICASS active:
With the DICASS active, you are only seeing one screen of acoustic data. The other two are
occupied because the sonobuoy processor, in the game, needs those portions of the processor
to, well, process the raw acoustic information to support displaying on the one gram - that's
why those two lower windows say "supporting channel [whichever]". If that makes any sense.
You have to look very hard for the active echo, as it can be tiny! The AI is smart enough to tell
the sub to alter course based on active DICASS pinging. The AI subs get very nervous when
DICASS bouys start pinging away and will often fail to carry out their task. Works great if you
want them to hide, but not if you want them to attack.
More about DICASS-Active's two supporting channel:
The Grams have to process the data. The sonobuoy processor is using the computing power
that is reserved for those Gram windows to analyze the data from the DICASS in active mode.
Omni-mode (sound with no bearings, i.e. frequencies being heard) takes up one gram. You
can monitor 16 buoys in Omni mode. Directional..., well now you need a gram to feed in the
directional info as well as the omni info (takes two grams to do that). If using eight buoys in
Directional mode, you use all 16 grams available. DICASS-Active, ... well not only are you
getting Omni (one gram), and Directional (the second gram), you are getting Range (the third
gram). Therefore use of a Directional-buoy in directional mode uses 2 grams. Use of an Active
(DICASS) as active uses Three grams. This is fairly accurate of how the P-3C UII and UII.5's
worked in real life.
What exactly are Frequency Alerts for in the Sonobuoy screens?
Frequency Alerts allow you set a 'warning' when a specific frequency is detected by one of
your buoys. The buoy must be receiving data in one of the Grams, so, in the MH-60R-Helo you
could have a maximum of 4 buoys that are being monitored. (There is a MH-60 Sonobuoy
Channel mod: With this mod the MH-60R Sea Hawk will have sixteen sonobuoy channels
instead of the default four – check www.subguru.com). However, say, if you were searching
for a U.S. Sub, you could set one of the Freq. Alerts for 60 Hz. As soon as that Freq. is
detected by one of the buoys in your Grams, the 'Gram Guy' will warn you by saying:
"Frequency Alert" and a light will flash on the sonobuoy screen. Autocrew is NOT required
to be On at the Acoustic Station. You can be at any station, and you will get the alerts.
Platforms put out many different frequenies. It would be wise to set the frequencies to the
lower reaches of the spectrum, as these sound waves carry further. This is also the reason
for why it is a good idea, to scan for low frequency lines on the passive narrowband sonar
station in a submarine, if dealing with longe range detection. Most platforms in DW generate
noise in the form of 5 distinct Frequencies i.e. VLF .. LF .. MF .. HF .. VHF (very low, low,
middle, high and very high). The frequencies range from 50Hz VLF to ~2000Hz VHF. The
Lower Frequencies, as said above, are the first ones you will detect, as they move though
water further than the higher frequencies. Having 5 Frequencies aids in Classification. All
Russian Platforms have 50Hz as the VLF Freq. All U.S. Platforms have 60Hz as their VLF Freq.
So, if you are searching for a particular Russian Sub, you could set one Frequency Alert for
50Hz, and, if you know the Sub's LF Frequency you could set the other Freq Alert for that LF
Frequency. etc etc etc.
However the lowist freq tonals are the most common and can be may diffrent
platforms. I.e. if you set for just 50 and 125 you could end up chasing a fishing boat or
something.... The buoys are senstive only up to 1200 hz thats why the alerts don't go any
higher. But the Helo-dipping sonar can go higher. But you probably will not be leaving your
dipping sonar in the water long enough to require alerts. Dipping sonar requires sitting
stationary, and a stationary helo is a tempting SAM target.
What are the Frequencies in the Sonar Profile for ?
After you installed the Patch you will notice a new document in your Dangerous Waters
/Manual installation folder called DW_SonarProfiles.doc. The frequencies therein are used for
the Frequency Alarms available on the FFG, Helo and P-3. Due to the game limitations of the
sonobuoys (they have a max range of 1200Hz) you will have to rely on the first four
frequencies for any given plattform. The fifth frequency is neither displayable by the buoys nor
are you able to dial it in on the alarms. However you might notice that frequency (if you are
real close) on the Narrowband display.
How to use Frequency Alerts:
You have the Sonar Profiles that come with the v1.1 patch. Look for it in the manual-folder
of your DW-directory after installing the patch. All depends on the target you are hunting
for. For example if you are hunting for a Chinese Kilo you have the following frequencies:
50,125,340,1050,1502. Since you only have two frequency Alerts available I would try with 50
& 125 first as the lower frequencies will be the first you are going to detect. However if there
is lots of traffic, especially Fishing Boats you will be screwed as they have the same first two
frequencies. In that case you can set 125 & 340 or just 340 for example to avoid false alarms.
It can drive you crazy when alot of shipping is around. Solution is, once you get a hit on 50hz,
switch them to 320 and 340hz, that covers almost all bad guy subs except for the Victor which
is 360. Most of Europe, including the UK, uses 50hz for domestic Mains and power generation.
The main reason that Europe uses 50hz and the Americas 60Hz is down to Westinghouse
having a virtual monopoly on generating equipment in the US in the early 1900s, and AEG
having a monopoly in Germany... with most of Europe following AEG's 50hz system for
convenience.
Oh, and by the way... Please do not use DW's Sonar Profiles as a real-life-reference, they are
not correct. They are correct for the game only. U.S. Navy is not only Navy that uses 60 Hz.
So, this takes away a little depth from this first-class simulation, but if the Sonalyst-guys were
to use the "actual" frequencies - then the big scary men in black suits, with black sunglasses,
H&K-MP5s and tactical shotguns would come knocking down their doors. And if one of the
stray shotgun blasts were to hit the coffee pot... well, it would add considerably more time, till
the next patch gets out...horrible thought, isn’t it?
Sonobuoy strategy:
Bouys are typically spaced about 1.5X their average detection range. So, if the average
detection range is 1000yds, you would space your buoys 1500yds apart. Real world ranges are
rarely more than 2000yds...especially against a modern nuke. You won't find a diesel boat
with buoys, on battery they are usually quieter than ambient noise. Best bet there is to use
DICASS from a datum that's less than 5 min time late...go hammer and make him run to
generate some noise...most diesel prosecutions are active so it helps to have at least 2 helos
dipping and try to stay ahead of him.
The buoys don't measure bearing with a high degree of accuracy, so all you are doing by
getting a crossfix is creating an area of probablility in which the sub might be. The more
buoys, the better, but two is fine. Remeber: VLAD has longest range and best direction
detection. It should be used for getting the first contact. DIFAR is good for better target
position, DICAS active mode for exact position, so you can drop weapons. Each buoy has a
maximum detection radius of around 7 miles so imagine a 7 mile circle (or draw one, using the
drawing tool on the nav-screen) and deploy them with the minimum of overlap (for quiet subs
you may need overlap). 14 miles can be done, if you need to search very large areas.
The above is an example for a pattern based on the current mechanics (v1.1) of Dangerous
Waters. This works best when you have to cover a lot of ground and not much traffic around.
It works like this: Use VLAD-Deep as buoy, and drop the first line of 4 buoys (or more if
needed), thats your base line. The spacing between the buoys is about 10nm and since each
buoy detects stuff within 7.5nm around it, the detection envelopes of the buoys overlap. As a
help measure draw a 7.5nm range circle around each buoy (VLAD-Deep, other vary in their
detection ranges). The next barrier line will follow the base line with a 10nm separation
between the baseline and barrier line 2. Again this means that the envelopes overlap a lot. To
get better detection fixes and cover all the space, don’t put them in like a box, but instead set
them off a bit (about half way between the buoys of the baseline). Barrier line 3 will be the
same as the baseline again.
There are two technical ways to place buoys, either manually or you use waypoints. Manually:
Decide where your base line should be and how do you want it oriented. Place a marker
("ENTER") where you want to have the first buoy. Hit "R" - Range tool, then drag the line to
the distance and direction for your next buoy. Left click then hit "ENTER" again to place
another marker. Continue this till you have your baseline done. Use the Range tool ("R") to
space the next line in the distance you want and do the same procedure as with the base line
on the 2nd line, and so on and so on. Either fly manually or by using waypoints toward the
first buoy and from there on along your buoy lines. Altitude should be 300ft and speed set to
154kts (effective 180kts mostly). This gives the buoys only a short time in the air and you
should be able to place the where you want. Now all you have to do is drop them from the
TACCO station whenever you are on (actually shortly before) one of your markers.
Using Waypoints: Select the buoy type you want to use for the pattern. Click on the buoy
waypoint 4 (or more) times to generate the wpts for your base line. Place them where you
want your baseline. Make sure to have a straight line along your bearing of choice. Sit back
and enjoy the show.Once you are done with your baseline use the same procedure to make up
your 2nd line. Again use the "R" - range tool to space the buoys right. Remember you can
always pick and drag waypoints by left clicking on them until the very last moment.
The best thing to do is get your crossfix, and fly toward the point where the lines cross,
deploying your MAD/SAD-sensor on the way there. You will almost certainly get a MAD hit
near the c-fix, at which point you mark dip and ping away - that should give you a very good
firing solution, and is how it's essentially done in real life. Use all of the sensors you have,
that's why they're there. Are you continually updating the buoy datum? The moment you
hit Mark for the buoy the contact starts aging, eventually the data will be too old to be useful.
The MAD seems to be the best sensor to use after getting the sub "boxed" in with buoys.
M.A.D./S.A.D.
MAD sensors are used to detect the natural and manmade
differences in the Earth's magnetic fields. Some of these
differences are caused by the Earth's geological structures
and sunspot activity. Other changes can be caused by the
passing of large ferrous objects, such as ships, submarines
or even aircraft through the Earth's magnetic field. MAD
sensor operation is similar in principle to the metal detector
used by a treasure hunter or the devices used by utility
companies to find underground pipes. For ASW purposes,
the ASW aircraft must almost be essentially overhead or
very near the submarine's position to detect the change or
anomaly. The detection range is normally related to the distance between the aircraft sensor ("MAD head")
and the submarine. Naturally, the size of the submarine and its hull material composition normally
determines the strength of the anomaly. Additionally, the direction travelled by both the aircraft and the
submarine relative to the Earth's magnetic field is also a factor. Nevertheless, the close proximity required
for magnetic anomaly detection makes the MAD system an excellent sensor for pinpointing a submarine's
position prior to an air-launched torpedo attack. In order to detect an anomaly, the MAD head of the aircraft
tries to align itself with the noise produced by the Earth's magnetic field. Through this alignment, the noise
appears as a near-constant background noise value which enables the operator to recognize any
contrasting submarine magnetic anomalies from the background noise. However, any rapid changes in
aircraft direction or the operation of certain electronic equipment and electric motors can produce so much
aircraft electro-magnetic noise that makes the detection of the submarine's magnetic signature virtually
impossible. Special electronic circuitry is enabled to compensate and null out this aircraft magnetic noise.
Additionally, the MAD head is placed the farthest distance away from all the interfering sources. That is why
the P-3C Orion aircraft has its distinct tail stinger or "MAD boom". With continuing advances in both
compensation and sensor technology, the detection ranges for MAD sensors may be enhanced for the
search and localization phases of ASW missions. Currently all naval ASW aircraft use variations of the
AN/ASQ-81 MAD system. A few P-3C aircraft use an advance MAD system, the AN/ASQ-208, that uses
digital processing.
How to use it: Firstly, .. although the MAD sensor is streamed, ... it is not automatically
ON. You need to turn the MAD on from the MAD/ESM station. The autocrew does not need to
be on for them to report MAD/SAD detections. The only time you will need to turn the
Autocrew on, at the MAD/ESM station, is for ESM detections. Although every situation
could be different, a good MAD/SAD search altitude would be ~250 to 300 Feet. Speed is not
critical, but, keep it below ~80 knots.
How to know where the sub is through the MAD sensor?
Whenever there is a MAD/SAD detection, an 'Unknown Contact'-marker is placed on the
Navigation Map. Now you have a Point of Reference for the detection.
D.E.M.O.N.
Only a tracker assigned in broadband will show on DEMON.
Make sure that on the broadband there is an "A" or a "B" labeling the spike on the outer ring.
DEMON on Kilo:
In order for DEMON info to work on the Kilo you need to do a few things. First, mark your
target on the bow array broadband. Next, assign a tracker to it. If you already assigned the
target by giving a tracker first, or assigned it by narrowband, then you wont get DEMON info.
But this can be fixed by re-marking and re-assigning the tracker in broad band. You can
assign Trackers in the Conformal Array, but you can’t get DEMON info.
Again: You can assign trackers in broadband or narrowband, but you an only get DEMON info
for trackers assinged on the Cylindrical (bow) array in Broadband. And for the record, the
manual does state that it must be a broadband contact.
To get DEMON data, you need only to assign a tracker to a Broadband cylindrical array
contact; marking it manually before assigning the tracker is not necessary..
R.A.D.A.R.
As soon as you receive two Radar updates for the same sensor contact it is then officially
a "target solution". The reason is that a Radar return provides Bearing and Range and so
when you received that 2nd position for that contact you can then estimate Speed and Course
when comparing it to the first position. As you gain more and more data the solution will
become even more precise. This is assuming that you are in a sub and have your Auto
TMA crewman enabled, since he's the one refining the solution for you and entering the
Speed for you as well (causing the solutions to move on that entered course until the contact
is dropped or expires on its own from lack of updates).
Submarine radar should be used with caution and only when situation mandates its use. When
you use radar you communicate your presence, your bearing, your proximity and who
you are to all platforms in the area equipped with EW or ESM equipment. Now to use the
radar of a sub, you must first of all go to Radar Depth (for exact number check Appendix C of
the manual), or else the radar mast won't clear the water. If it doesn't, ALL the EM energy is
reflected back into the mast and fries the electronics. Keep the sea state in mind when
using the radar as well. If a wave washes over the radar when it is radiating,
the radar will be destroyed. Then...:
1.) Raise your Radar mast.
2.) Turn your range rings on.
3.) Set the range of your scale and the range of your rings. The greater the Scale Range then
the less rings you have displayed, the smaller the more you have. They are backwards from
eachother, if you have too many rings on you radar display then you can't see squat, try to
minimize the amount of rings you have displayed or adjust them to the contact thats being
detected.
4.) On your radar display there will be ‚blips’. This is the current contact. If you click on it with
your map it will automatically place it in a circle and give you the line bearing, with you rings
on it will also give you it's range in yards.
5.) The mark button will give you a contact on you navigation screen for you to see and also
mark it in sonar from there find it's speed and start building valuable TMA on it.
T.M.A.
The TMA-Auto Crew:
Although the TMA guy is a "genius," he is really far from perfect. He has a problem properly
merging contacts from multiple sensors (remro and buoy contacts on the FFG) at times. For
newbies, even a basic knowledge of how TMA works is required for the auto-TMA to properly
work. For example, the auto man can't provide accurate range if you are approaching a
contact (and the contact is appraching you) dead on. In order for his genius to shine, you
have to properly "feed" the guy in order to be succesful. By the way, his name is „Otto“...
This is what you should know at least:
1) If you maneuver, your solution gets better.
2) If the target maneuvers, your solution gets worse.
3) If you maneuver and you have a contact on the Towed Array, you will not get a good
solution until the TA stabilizes...
4) The Auto-Crew will merge contacts that are from the same unit and whose bearing from
own ship are within 5 degrees of each other. The behavior you will see is the AC setting
bearings and refining them and eventually he should merge 2 that are close. He does this
without regard to contact range.
5. All 5 TMA AC in Dangerous Waters use the same algorithm for generating solutions, but the
FFG TMA has a completely different interface and because of the manual ruler, does not have
a dot stack.
The distance between the tick marks indicates the distance the contact would have moved in
two minutes at the indicated speed. If the tick marks are lined up with the bearing lines,
you have a valid solution. Those on top are the most actual. In nearly all DW multiplayer
games, TMA autocrew will be permitted. The Autocrew is modeled to have some inaccuracy
"within a certain threshold" which is refined away as more data becomes available. In most
cases, the Auto TMA will provide a solution good enough to shoot on with just 2 bearing lines.
If there are other targets you don't want to risk hitting nearby, it would be best to order a
course change to get a second "leg" which would help reduce the innacuracy. Auto TMA
performance decreases if the target is manuvering wildly, although it adjusts rather quickly.
Auto TMA does have serious issues, however, in a high contact environment; updates can be
rather slow. In most cases, Auto TMA is too good not to use (it "knows" what a human player
cannot in creating its solution), although it is a good idea to learn manual TMA for those other
cases....manual TMA on torpedoes in a high contact environment can save your boat.
How to learn TMA:
To establish contact's course, especially if the contact zigs (changing course often to fool you),
you need to master the TMA without AC pretty good, witch is the harder thing to learn in DW.
Read the TMA Basics in the DW-manual (Section 5: Training 5-20). This gives you the general
idea. Get the SCHQ_TACMAN_PDF.zip-file from the Internet. A good place to look is
http://www.subguru.com/downloads.html. The file contains the „TopTorp's Target Motion
Analysis (TMA) Guide“ and the „Sub Command HQ Multiplayer Tactical Employment Manual“.
This covers the story more indepth. They where written for Sub Command (the predecessor of
Dangerous Waters).
The Art of Hunting and ‚Blowing Things Up (big style)’
Preparing the Battle
Things always good to know:
Remember: You can't assign targets when 'Show Truth' is on. You have to go to the fire
control station, and can only fire snapshots when "Show Truth" is on.
Sonalysts producer Jamie Carlson pointed out a few facts about the OHP, MH-60R, MH-60 and
P-3C Orion that the average Joe might not be aware of: The P-3C is a potent anti-submarine
platform that can carry up to 8 MK46 and MK50 torpedoes, has some anti-surface capabilities
with the Maverick missile and land attack capabilities with the SLAM-ER missile. The MH-60R is
designed for anti-submarine warfare. The Penguin and Hellfire are anti-surface weapons, while
the MH-60 and the P-3C Orion have no anti-aircraft capabilities to speak of and can’t
defend against an air attack.
How to guide Helos from the FFG:
You need to go to the ASTAC screen, click on the helo you want to guide on the scope, make
sure the link comes up, select the type of waypoint you want. It'll show up on the scope with a
box around it, left-click and hold, and drag it where you want it...when you let go, the helo will
start heading toward it. To add more waypoints, click on the waypoint you want the new ones
to follow, select the type of waypoint, etc. as above.
Staying hidden – Sub against Sub, Low detection profile, Sound, Layers and SSP:
The real reason why subs try to
minimize the time they are at
Periscope Depth is to avoid visual
detection by aircraft. The first
several tens of meters are
transparent
in
the
daytime
(Transparent water is not present
in DW but it was in Sub
Command);
airborne
MAD
detection decreases with the
corresponding increasing depth of
the sub; near the surface the
background noise makes the
sub's passive sonar less effective
thus increasing the chance for
collision. Subs quietly near the
surface are harder to detect by
another sub due to the shallow
sub's acoustic radiation being
drowned by the background
noise. Like wise near the seafloor
you will find similar conditions.
Another important aspect is in
which direction of depth does the
speed of sound transmission
accelerate? The SSP profile will
tell you that. For subs at different
depths, which one will detect the
other depends upon the SSP
profile (assuming that there is no
layer and the subs acoustic
radiation are equal): If the SSP
speed increases with increasing
depth - then the deeper sub will
hear the shallower sub first. The
sound from the shallower sub accelerates toward the deeper sub; the sound from the deeper
sub decelerates toward the shallower sub. If the SSP speed decreases with increasing depth then the shallower sub will hear the deeper sub first. In this case the sound from the deeper
sub accelerates toward the shallower sub; the sound from the shallower sub decelerates
toward the deeper sub. Acceleration involves momentum of that which is accelerated. This
means that the sound emission being accelerated will impact harder than it would without
acceleration; and that sound being decelerated will have it impact softened. Thus where your
sub is in relation to the other sub's position in the water column is very important. Most
players only use the SSP to find out where the thermal layer is, but they normally overlook the
other data presented in the SSP.
The so called shadow zone is simply an area at which detection by active ping is nearly
impossible due to the SSP qualities. It is at this depth below the layer in which sound is
refracted and basically hides you and your sub from any active Sonar. Ship, Sub or Torp. If
the layer is at say 345 feet on the SSP then you could go to 545 feet and deminish an active
torpedo from finding you.
As shown in the most recent version of the Bluebook SSP's have varying effects on the way
sound travels. Either sound is bent down or bent up. When a ship [or sub] pings the
emanating sound wave encounters the layer, water of decreasing density and water of
increasing density. The sound is bent or refracted accordingly by each of the three mediums.
This sound wave does penetrate into an area at a certain depth [and distance] from the
transmitting platform. This area is referred to as 'best depth' otherwise known as the 'shadow
zone'. Submarines would use this depth to elude detection from pinging skimmers. The Quick
Navy Method of calculating the "Shadow Zone" is you take the layer depth and add 200'. This
is supposed to work only in a surface duct or shallow layer enviroment. Not shure if it has
been incorpoated into the game or not.
Convergence zones work beautifully. CZ does not have much to do with a layer, as such,
though - there just has to be one (yes, and a bunch of other stuff for you pedants... ). CZ
prosecutions are my favorite thing in the sim, I think. To exploit a layer in a direct path
environment, you have to be in the shadow zone created by the layer. That can be tricky, and
is not as simple as parking a boat just below the sonic layer depth and hoping to disappear. It
depends on any number of factors, such as whether it is a strong layer or not, and often it will
not be (a strong positive sound speed profile, that abruptly trends negative at layer depth).
Not all natural tonals will be trapped/shielded by a weak surface duct. I can't recall seeing any
maddening "afternoon effect" layers in DW, as yet. Even then, the layer or subsurface channel
will only trap/shield certain frequencies, particularly high-ish ones. That's a phenomenon
known as sound channel frequncy cutoff, and is something you can calculate if you want. The
lower frequencies will do as they please, essentially. Freq cutoff is mostly a function of layer
depth. The deeper (i.e. thicker) the layer or channel is, the wider the range of frequencies that
will be trapped.
Detection, classifying, tracking, and engagement process for submarines:
You shouldn't be expecting your passive sonar to tell you were the enemy is - that's
your job at TMA. Sonar just provides you with the information that you need to deduce the
location of contacts. Lot of classification is guesswork. If you can make reasonable guesses
about range and speed, you can have a pretty good idea of the class based on signal strength.
Blade count helps if you can get it. For many contacts, you mostly have to think about what
sort of ships you're likely to encounter and match that list with the possible classifications
given.
Your detection, classifying, tracking, and engagement process should look something like this:
1.) Detect contact on narrowband (or possibly broadband) and assign tracker.
2.) If towed contact, turn the ship to make sure you're not chasing after the false contact of
the real ship
3.) Make a preliminary classification based on narrowband and DEMON info.
4.) Using your best guess of the classification of the contact, and DEMON data, enter a speed
into the TMA station and start a plot (lock the speed parameter).
5.) Turn the ship, if you haven't done so already, to create a second (or third, or fourth...)
TMA leg to refine your range and course solution
6.) Confirm your classification, if necessary, by closing range and examining any new lines
that appear on narrowband. Correct target speed if preliminary classification was incorrect.
7.) Once sure the contact is hostile and confident in your TMA solution, assign that contact to
a weapon in fire control
8.) Check the settings on your weapon to see that they are appropriate for your solution.
9.) Fire
10.) If a wireguided torpedo was fired, continue to do TMA on the target, and resteer if
necessary.
11.) Come to Periscope Depth to watch that M***** F***** explode! (this is optional and
surface contacts only!) Ships twist and bend hit by missles or torpedos!
Know the Weapons
Submarines:
Attack submarines, are designed to seek and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships. The concept of
technical superiority over numerical superiority was and still is the driving force in American submarine
development. A number of Third World countries are acquiring modern state-of-the-art non-nuclear
submarines. Countering this threat is the primary mission of U.S. nuclear attack submarines. Their other
missions range from intelligence collection and special forces delivery to anti-ship and strike warfare. The
Navy began construction of Seawolf class submarines in 1989. Seawolf is designed to be exceptionally
quiet, fast well-armed with advanced sensors. It is a multi-mission vessel, capable of deploying to forward
ocean areas to search out and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships and to fire missiles in support
of other forces.
Playable Platforms in Dangerous WatersTM
Seawolf is the most advanced sub in
the game. Because of the modern digital
screens, it may feel a little bit to „science
fiction“ for some people. (you get a
feeling like to sit in a clean ‚Star Trak’
space-ship and not an oily sub) Also,
even if the screens feel hyper-modern,
they are from a playing point not so
functional like the buttons&switches in all
the other platforms, because you have
often to do more mouse-clicks for
the same task.
Akula is great when it comes to open
seas and all like the look of this deadly
russian beauty. The Akula is by far the
most heavily armed playable submarine
in DW. Akula shines in deep blue water
and under ice, because there a missilesVLS is useless! All in all a real wet
dream, but maybe not the best choise for
beginners, because of russian sonar.
(Better learn sonar on an Ami-sub.)
The 688(i) is the only playable sub with a
Vertical Launch System for missiles in
the game. You can throw enough
missiles into the air to get through the
defenses on a big warship. But on the
other hand the Akula's 14 weapon tubes
can be loaded with the SS-N-27 ASM,
which is a much more effective missile
than the 688I's TASMs.
The Kilo is the diesel submarine and
the most WW2-like in Dangerous
Waters. This makes it in a way very
interesting from a playing point of view,
because it’s a challenge. Unlike WW2
boats the Kilo is actually slower on the
surface then below. Further it depends
on which class you drive the Kilo or Kilo
Improved. The Kilo, with no towed
array, is not likely to detect the most
modern threat submarines. The best
advice for the Kilo driver is to keep a
couple
of
USET-80
or
TEST-71M
torpedoes at the ready for a Snapshot if
inbound torpedoes are reported. Some
Kilo models do carry the SS-N-15
Starfish standoff missile/torpedo; this
weapon would most likely be used by the Kilo driver who has learned about an enemy sub’s
location via the Link, and is tasked to use his Starfish against the target. The Kilo’s best
protection against submerged threats is its STEALTH. As a modern diesel-electric submarine,
the Kilo is quieter at typical patrol speeds than any of the other playable submarines
in SCS-Dangerous Waters. Cavitation or snorkeling (to recharge batteries) means all bets
are off, and you will lose your stealth advantage during those times. A couple of good general
rules to maintain stealth in the Kilo are: - DON’T CAVITATE. - If your sonar displays are
washed out, you are probably going too fast for stealth. Slow down. The Kilo is most useful
against surface shipping. It is necessary to use all sensors available, including the
periscope and ESM, in order to conduct successful attacks. As previously described, the Kilo’s
stealth advantage is negated by higher speeds; also, the Kilo’s top submerged speed is about
20 knots. Therefore, it can be quite difficult to gain an attack position if you’re already starting
behind your target(s). In some missions, this cannot be helped. When possible, however, you
will want to gain an attack position ahead or abeam of your target. The average maximum
range for the Kilo’s various torpedoes is 20km, with top speeds of only 40 to 50 knots. For fast
or potentially-fast targets, it’s a good idea to launch torpedoes from well within their range
radius, to avoid the possibility that the target will be able to get outside the weapon’s effective
range. Something Kilo drivers should also be aware of: If there are going to be any enemy
SSN's about, ALWAYS bring an Akula along as a dive buddy. The active sonar of the 688I and
Seawolf can detect you--reliably--over 15 miles away. Having an SSN on your side will
strongly discourage the opposing SSN from using his/her active sonar, since you will be able
to triangulate the SSN's location from the active intercept bearings and you will be able to
respond with long-range weapons like the 65cm torp and the Stallion. (KLUB-ASWs also work,
but only have an 18nm range...the opposing SSN may try to ping from outside of that
range...) There is and important thing to know .. Kilo in periscope depth is slower that in 30m.
Air platforms
Don’t forget to read the P-3C "Orion" Dangerous Waters OWTOP (Orion Warrior Training and
Operating Proecedures) Manual by *OneShot*. There you find in-depth discussion about
Airborne-ASW.
P-3C Orion: This is a Four-engine turboprop antisubmarine and maritime surveillance aircraft.
Originally designed as a land-based, long-range,
anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrol aircraft, the P3C's mission has evolved in the late 1990s and
early 21st century to include surveillance of the
battlespace, either at sea or over land. Its long
range and long loiter time have proved invaluable
assets during the US-occupation of Iraq as it can
view the battlespace and instantaneously provide
that information to ground troops, especially U.S.
Marines. The P-3C has advanced submarine
detection sensors such as directional frequency
and ranging (DIFAR) sonobuoys and magnetic
anomaly detection (MAD) equipment. The avionics system is integrated by a general purpose digital
computer that supports all of the tactical displays, monitors and automatically launches ordnance and
provides flight information to the pilots. In addition, the system coordinates navigation information and
accepts sensor data inputs for tactical display and storage. The P-3C can carry a mixed payload of weapons
internally and on wing pylons.
MH-60R (Seahawk): The most ‚easy to
learn’-platform in Dangerous Waters.
Ships
These maybe rough guidlines but...
Destroyers - Have more complete weapons packages. Most have area air defense weapons
(Aegis or local variant). They also tend to have one or more 5" gun mounts and some have
the ability to launch cruise missiles. Others carry upto 16 Harpoon style missiles. More anti
sub capabilities, some have the ability to support multiple helicopters (2 or 3).
Frigates - have a more local air defense weapons (Croatal, sea sparrow, navalized SA-8 etc.)
and tend to have 3" gun mounts and carry fewer anti ship missiles than destroyers and
support only one helicopter.
Corvettes - Smaller "point" air defense weapons like Stingers, Mistral, Gremlin. No more than
four anti ship missiles. Also most corvettes cant support a helicopter. Some dont have anti
submarine capabilities.
Adding to the confusion is that some classes of ships are termed frigates, destroyers,
corvettes for political reasons rather than their capabilities. For example, British VTOL aircrat
carriers are not carriers, but "through deck cruisers". Likewise, future Japanese plans to build
Helicopter carriers are described as "through deck destroyers" Another example is that Israeli
Eliat class corvettes have the fire power of a frigate or even a small destroyer, but are still
classed as corvettes.
Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG 7): This is the platform
with the most stations and the least avaliable
playing tips&tricks for SCS-Dangerous Waters. A
world in is own, so to say....
Furia's FFG Hunting Guide:
- First thing to do when mission starts is
deploy a BT buoy.
- If sea condition and mission warrants,
make sure you have the Towed Array
deployed.
- If the helo is going to be needed - update
its alert status to the needed one or even
launch it.
- Load a SM-2 on the rail and if not friendly
aircraft nearby place the CIWS in AUTO
- Avoid using the active sonar unless you
want to refine a contact position solution or
there is a reason for this. AI subs fire on
Active sonar bearing easily most of the time.
However I use active as well to detect
surface platforms while I maintain ENCOM.
Works nice - and you can fire an SM-2 on a
target generated by active sonar. I keep a
1/3 or 2/3 speed most for the time with 60+
change of heading every 5 minutes if I am
playing cat and mouse with subs and from
time to time a 180o.
- Sometimes I make a sprint run to confuse any TMA plotting they may have on me. I know
how the subs TMA plot works so I chrono my maneuvering to screw its solution to the max. I
make some buoy releases considering the thermal layer depth and spacing the buoys evenly
but avoiding to place them close to known neutral surface contacts.
- As soon as I have a possible submerged contact bearing I will make a radical course change
to resolve ambiguity and to mess up its TMA solution (It surely got me plotted by then). If I
have the helo airborne I let it take care of the contact while I clear datum.
- If no helo - then I launch a full salvo of 3 torpedoes on it and reverse course 180 degrees
and go flank speed for 4-5 minutes, and after that - I take a course to open range with target.
Just before this salvo I use the active sonar to have the best fire solution for the torps.
- If the enemy fires on me I deploy the Nixie and depending on the range to the contact
initiate evasion maneuvering (evasion tactics are highly classified). One important thing to
remember on a missile rich environment is that the Flares and Chaff are not automatically
reloaded so if the AI deploy many of them you better visit Bridge and manually reload them.
- If the frigate is among other more capable allied warships it is really useful to promote all
enemy missile and aircraft contacts to LINK. This way you can have help from the other ships
downing all vampires. I always load 40 SM-2. The Harpoon on this game is not as useful as
the SM-2. The enemy destroy it too easily while the SM-2 gets a better impact rate and can be
used against airplanes and surface ships so easy choice and most effective. The only good
point about using a Harpoon is that against a Human player you can make the missile proceed
towards the enemy vessel from a different bearing that your own thus confusing the human
adversary although since he will already have detected you at the same time anyway, this is
not a failsafe tactic.
- I use to maintain ENCOM unless there is enemy radar active. Enemy AI have no trouble to
sort out neutral targets from warships so expect a enemy salvo in short time after being
painted by radar. Better be able to return it and keep him busy as well.
- I have developed some search patterns as well as some effective torpedo evasive
maneuvering but this I will keep them for me to use the first time I have the chance to have
an MP against you... (Cannot wait for the next Otto Krestchmer Cup using an FFG).
- For the helicopter: what I do is to make a search on the widest or most external area of the
search zone using VLAD and DIFAR. Always have radar ON unless there is enemy warships
nearby. I want to know if the sub is coming to surface to fire on me.
- I travel fast while deploying buoys and always have the MAD sensor extended in case I get
lucky. Once I get the first bearings on the Nav map I follow the bearing with the MAD sensor
and if there is no lucky I make a triangle of DIFAR buoys surrounding the suspected location of
the sub. Once I have a more or less idea about where it is, I dip my sonar and go active. This
gives me its exact location. Now I have to act fast. If human opponent - I will immediately
release a torp even with dipping sonar in water, just to keep enemy busy. While I am on water
with sonar submerged I am very vulnerable to its SAM and once he hears the PING he may
consider killing me easily, so I would drop a torp just after marking its active sonar position
and I will clear datum. If the other buoys tell me the sum is in the move to avoid my first torp,
thus busy, I will position myself in front of him and drop a second torp on him this time head
on.
Torpedos
The MK 46 and MK 50 are helo and ship launched ASW (Anti Submarine Warfare – against
stuff below the surface)-torps. They have a range of only a few miles. A Mk 50 is a very
unique weapon. The dynamics of the 50 is that it uses a vector logic system and remembers
changes in water pressure. When it picks up a contact passively, it remembers the location
and continues to search. If it finds it again it will parallel the targets course and attempt to get
to the targets beam, then turn 90 degrees to it and strike the contact just below the sail,
punching through both hulls. Nasty weapon... Use the Mk-50 over the Mk-46.
The MK 48 is a heavy wireguided ASW and ASuW (Anti
Surface Warfare – against stuff on the surface)-torp. It
has a range of 23 miles. The ADCAPs range is 27 nautical
miles. The ADCAP is carried by the American subs,
and is nearly equivalent to the 65 cm, except that it
has a 55 knot top speed and has a smaller warhead (it will
take two to kill most warships). These weapons' speed and
range mean that any ship within about 18 miles should not
be able to outrun it and will have to rely on decoys. Since
it is wireguided, the ship will not be able to clear datum because you, of course, will be tracking the target and resteering the torp to keep it on target.
65cm Torpedo: Another noteworthy weapon is the 65cm torpedo carried by the Akulas. The 65
cm torpedo is arguably the best ASUW weapon (the other is the SS-N-27 ASW). It can be
carried only in the Akula's 65cm tubes. It has a range of 27nm, a top speed of 50 knots,
active/passive homing, wire guidance, and a massive 900kg warhead - enough to kill a
Ticoderoga class cruiser with a single hit. Two will kill a Nimitz class aircraft carrier.
SET-53, TEST-71 and USET-80 Torpedoes: All of these weapons are passive/active homing
multipurpose torpedoes carried by Kilo Diesel-Subs. The SET-53 is only carried by Chinese
Kilos. The TEST-71 is a wireguided ASW torp with a 10 nmi range. TEST-71-NK ASW/ASuW
(chinese version) max speed 40 knots. (Don't use against a seawolf) The USET-80 is a ASuW
and ASW torp with a 10 nmi range. They are all subject to the same depth restriction as the
53-56K – means must be fired from less than 240m. The FFG's nixie is about 50% effective at
decoying these weapons.
The SET-53, as said, is only carried by Chinese Kilos. It is extremely slow, weak, and short
ranged. There is no reason to use it since the TEST-71 is superior in all respects.
The TEST-71 is primarily an antisubmarine weapon. Its warhead is a bit weaker than the
USET and 53-56K, and it only moves at 40 knots. In the case of the Chinese Kilos, however,
these might be your best bet at attacking player-controlled FFGs, since the -56K is rather easy
to evade. Try using both torpedoes at the same time: fire the TEST directly at the FFG, then
fire a spread of 53-56Ks, one on each side of the FFG. Track the FFG's movement so you can
steer the TEST in his direction of evasion. The FFG will be in a tough spot...if he accelerates to
get away from the TEST he will be vulnerable to the wakehomers.
The USET-80 is the best weapon carried by the Russian Kilos (and is available only to the
Russian Kilos). It has a 20km/10.8nm range, a 50 knot top speed, and a warhead as good as
the 53-56K (enough to kill an FFG with two hits). Employing this weapon is as simple as
locating your opponent...if it is in range and you fire it in the right direction, its sensors will be
good enough to locate the target. So, to use the USET effectively, get within 7nm of your
target (so it can't run away) and lead it a bit. If you are shooting against a ship that uses
over-the-side countermeasures (as opposed to the towed decoys used by US warships),
its a good idea to set the enable range BEHIND the current location of the ship. This
could allow the torp to pass the decoys before enabling, increasing your chance of a hit.
There isn't much of a difference between active and passive modes in shooting at
surface ships (subs are another matter...). Active homing weapons are slightly more prone
to counterdetection (the FFG has no active intercept but the passive sonar may indicate the
pings if they are paying close enough attention). Passive torps wash out at higher speeds, but
surface ships are usually loud enough that the torpedo will still detect the ship at 50 knots...if
you're not 100% confident you can get the torp very close (5 miles or so) at the enable point
then you can slow it to 45 knots, which should take care of any washout.
53-56K and KE Wakehoming Torpedo: The 53-65 is a wake homing anti-ship torpedo. A
Wakehomer homes in on the stern wake of a ship (which the FFG doesn't have below 5 knots).
It's also important to set the Search Depth of the Torp to Shallow e.g. 10-20 metres. Also, the
Torp needs to pass pretty close astern of the Ship, to pick up the Wake, and close with the
ship. It also homes on the ship itself if it comes within range of the hull. This also applies to
submarines. Wakehomers are tricky because you have to get it close to the target, but if you
lead him too much he might turn the other way. 53-56K is fired from the Akula SSN and the
Kilo SS submarines. When used by the Kilo, it must be fired from less than 240m to function
properly (from 240m exactly sometimes it works, sometimes it fails...probably due to the
depth readout being rounded). The torpedo uses a wakehoming sensor, causing it to turn
towards a ship that it has been fired behind. If it comes close enough, it can also attack a ship
or sub from the front or side (I guess we can call it a "bow wake"), but for this to happen the
shot has to be nearly dead-on. It is not wireguided, so cannot be resteered or shut down.
The 53-56K is most effective against AI controlled ships. Ideally, they should be fired from
behind the target, directly into it's wake. As a practical matter, you will probably have to fire
from the front or side. In the case of a side-attack, try to fire from as close as possible, and
fire directly on the bearing of the ship -do not try to lead it (at least not too much...) If you
lead it and it turns to the side or away from the shot, you will miss. If the ship is facing you,
fire at least two torpedoes on a close spread on either side of the ship. The ship will almost
certainly turn one way or the other, allowing one of them to sniff the wake. If you are shooting
at a player-controlled FFG, life is more difficult. A good FFG skipper will respond to your shot
by changing course and running for a few minutes, and then slowing the ship. This will prevent
the ship from producing a wake that your weapon can home in on. The only way the
wakehomer will strike the ship is if it comes close enough that it doesn't need the wake. The
only way to do that is to guess which way the skipper will run, where he will stop, and to
make sure you put at least one torp there (fire a spread and pray). I recomend using the 5356K in conjunction with active/passive homing torps like the TEST or USET...slowing will make
him an easy target for the conventional torps while running will make him vulnerable to the
wakehomer.
Always pay attention to any neutrals near your line of fire...you cannot call this weapon back!
Also, mind your run to enable range, especially if you are shooting past a ship that is not your
target. The wake it detects can be quite long, so if you are trying to shoot a CVN in the middle
of a convoy, the DDG in front of it could easily draw the weapon away (Or an innocent trawler,
for that matter).
Rockets
The SS-N-15/16/27: are Anti Submarine Rockets that drop a torpedo in the water. They
have ranges of 18, 58, and 18 Nmis. The SS-N-15 and -16 drop the relatively weak UGMT
torpedo, which has a top speed of 41 knots, max depth of 1640 feet, and a warhead that will
usually cripple rather than kill a submarine. The SS-N-27 ASW (and the corresponding KLUBASW) drops the type 40 torpedo, which has a top speed of 65 knots, can dive to 1970 feet,
and will kill a sub with one hit.
SS-N-27 ASM (3M-54E Klub ASCM): This is arguably the most effective ASuW weapon in
the game, and is certainly the best ASM. This missile is fired from Akulas and from Chinese
Kilo 368, from depths of 100m or less and at speeds of 6 knots or less. When fired, the missile
has an initial boost phase during which it is visible to radar from long range. It then
accelerates to about 500 knots and drops to sea-skimming height for the remainder of the
transit. At sea-skimming altitude, the missile will likely be detected by surface radar
at a range of about 10 miles, unless it is raining, in which case it might not be detected at
all. It has no minimum enable range, and once enabled it turns its homing radar on (which can
be detected by ESM sensors) and accelerates to about 1900 knots. It will then begin homing
on the first target it detects (probably the closest, largest (aspect) ship. During the preenabled phase, the missile is an easy target for the SM-2 missile carried by the FFG and
AEGIS warships; the SM-2 is about 80% effective during this time. During the enabled/homing
phase, the SM-2's effectiveness is cut in half. The CIWS is usually ineffective against the
SS-N-27. Players using the SS-N-27 should keep this profile in mind when employing this
weapon. The main question is at what range to enable the missile. Enabling the missile too
early risks alerting the enemy ship to the missile's presence on the ESM sensor, and it also
could cause the missile to home in on the wrong target. Enabling too late allows the enemy
the luxury of engaging the missile at its vulnerable cruising speed. A good rule of wrist is to
enable the missile 10 miles from the target if it has its radar on (use your ESM mast), this way
you do not alert the ship to the missile's presense until it is already likely to be detected on
radar. Just make sure there are no other ships less than 10 miles in front of the target, and
use the "narrow" search pattern. If the target does not have his radar on you should enable
the missile as close to the ship as possible without risking an overshoot. His first indication
that he is under attack will be the ESM warning, so he won't be shooting at the missile in
the cruise phase.
An editorial note: This weapon is so powerful that it throws the game out of balance. If you
fire a large salvo of these at an FFG--or even an Arliegh Burke--your target has no chance of
survival. This isn't good for gameplay, and it also hurts realism since this is a very expensive
weapon that would not be used in a saturation attack against low-value targets. Use them
sparingly, or against aircraft carriers or troop transports (or another ship worthy to
recieve them in large numbers...).
UGM-84 Harpoon and UGM-109 Tomahawk: These missiles are fired by the 688(I) class and
the Seawolf class SSNs from depths of 150ft or less and speeds of 6kts or less. Both missiles
have a minimum enable range of 5nm and a speed of 510 knots. The TASM (Tomahawk AntiShip Missile), however, has a very large warhead. Both weapons appear to be equally easy to
shoot down (effectiveness of most Russian SAM systems appears to be 70% or better), so
there is no reason to use the Harpoon instead of the TASM. These are not easy weapons to
use effectively against a prepared target. They are best used in situations where you
need to strike quickly (and thus cannot use a torpedo) or against targets that cannot defend
themselves (either non-SAM equipped ships or warships that have their radars OFF). If you
must engage a warship with it's radar ON, you should close to as close to the 5 mile limit as
possible...but keep in mind that active sonars are effective to about 10 or even 12nm. The
close range will minimize the number of SAM salvos the ship can fire, increasing the chance of
a hit. The good news is that a single TASM is enough to kill a small warship, and will cripple
the larger combattants.
VA-111 Shkval subercavitating under-water rocket: This is a subercavitating Rocket Powered
Torpedo. In 1995 it was revealed that Russia
had developed an exceptionally high-speed
unguided underwater missile which has no
equivalent in the West. Code-named the
Shkval (Squall), the new weapon travels at a
velocity that would give a targeted vessel very
little chance to perform evasive action. The
missile has been characterized as a "revenge"
weapon, which would be fired along the
bearing of an incoming enemy torpedo. The
Shkval may be considered a follow-on to the
Russian BGT class of evasion torpedoes,
which are fired in the direction of an incoming torpedo to try to force an attacking to evade (and hopefully
snap the torpedo's guidance wires). The weapon was deployed in the early 1990s, and had been in service
for years when the fact of its existence was disclosed. Advances in the development of jet engines and fuel
technologies, as well as outstanding results in the research of body motion under cavitation made it possible
to design a unique missile with a dived speed much greater than that of conventional torpedoes. When the
suction on the low-pressure side of the propeller blade dips below ambient pressure [atmospheric plus
hydrostatic head] the propeller blade cavitates - a vacuum cavity forms. There is water vapor in the cavity,
and the pressure is not a true vacuum, but equal to the vapor pressure of the water. High-speed propellers
are often designed to operate in a fully-cavitating (supercavitating) mode. A high speed supercavitating
projectile, while moving in the forward direction, rotates inside the cavity. This rotation leads to a series of
impacts between the projectile tail and the cavity wall. The impacts affect the trajectory as well as the
stability of motion of the projectile. Despite the impacts with the cavity wall, the projectile nearly follows a
straight line path. The frequency of the impacts between the projectile tail and cavity boundary increases
initially, reaches a maximum, and then decreases gradually. The frequency of impacts decreases with the
projectile's moment of inertia. Apparently fired from standard 533mm torpedo tubes, Shkval has a range of
about 7,500 yards. The weapon clears the tube at fifty knots, upon which its rocket fires, propelling the
missile through the water at 360 kph [about 100 m/sec / 230 mph / 200-knots], three or four times as fast as
conventional torpedoes.
The solid-rocket propelled "torpedo" achieves high speeds by producing a high-pressure stream of bubbles
from its nose and skin, which coats the torpedo in a thin layer of gas and forms a local "envelope" of
supercavitating bubbles. Carrying a tactical nuclear warhead initiated by a timer, it would destroy the hostile
submarine and the torpedo it fired. The Shkval high-speed underwater missile is guided by an auto-pilot
rather than by a homing head as on most torpedoes. There are no evident countermeasures to such a
weapon, its employment could put adversary naval forces as a considerable disadvantage. One such
scenario is a rapid attack situation wherein a sudden detection of a threat submarine is made, perhaps at
relatively short range, requiring an immediate response to achieve weapon on target and to ensure survival.
Apparently guidance is a problem, and the initial version of the Shkval was unguided. However, the
Russians have been advertising a homing version, which runs out at very high speed, then slows to search.
Russia is said to be openly offering to sell the conventional warhead Squall-E version to other nations, and
it's been reported that several have been delivered to Iran and 40 to China. The Shkval is said to be difficult
to control and is therefore `aimed'-controlled by an autopilot according to settings provided prior to launch. A
new version that enters a `search' mode after slowing town has been reported, and several Western
submarine experts believe that an accident with one of these models was the cause of the Russian
Submarine Kursk's sinking in August of 2000. But there are also completly other theories. Meanwhile the
German Navy is said to have developed a highly advanced new supercavitating torpedo known as the
‘Barracuda’. Built by Diehl BGT Defence, the Barracuda travels at over 800km/h, faster than the Shkval,
and, crucially, is steerable as well! The USA is reportedly trying to catch up in this technology.
How to use Shkval (part one) : The
Shkval has a magnetic proximity
detonator. It's launched like a WWIItorpedo -and let the MPD do the job.
Launch them in "spreads" with a 2º to
5º variation depending on estimated
distance - it usually works. Shkval is
best used as revenge weapon, fired
down the bearing, with or without
range estimation. Shkval is very fast so whole idea is - target won't be too
far away by the time Shkval gets there.
It is also very noisy, so you fire it when
you're sure enemy already knows about you (verified by the fact he fired his torpedo on you
first). It is fast and it is not guided, so it is hard to avoid. It does not give much damage(about
50% on FFG when direct hit), but damaged ships are easy to sink with ASM. I usually fire first
one by guess - torpedo passes contact (it most often explodes, but far from target). Then I
get difference between target bearing in time of launch and time of pass - and I use it for next
shot. Oh yes .. I have the range .. but if you want to achieve direct hit and and you are
shooting on moving target, you have to 'lead' the contact .. you have to estimate how long it
will take for torpedo to reach the target and where the target will be at that time. You could
compute it quite exactly from bearing change rate and distance, but this trial and corection
works too. And yes, it is loud. You get 'torpedo in the water' call with every torpedo anyway.
And SHVAK is loud when activated, which is luckily 2km away from you. When it is activated,
it moves so fast, that it is hard to 'track down' .. you mostly get just bearing .. and you have
bearing from 'torpedo in the water' call too. So there is no big difference, compared to other
torpedoes. I even sometimes do active ping before launching any torpedo, when in doubts
about range. 1 ping gives nothing but range and firing torpedo will give that too. Good idea is
not fire at all until counterdetected. Always try to get closer. They will fire at you after you fire
anyway. And often enemy waits for you to 'be first'. Of course .. now I only play offline.
Tactics may vary against humans.
How to use Shkval (part two): The Shkval is a
knife-fight weapon for the Akula. It has a speed of
200 knots and a range of 6nm, and a magnetic
proximity detonator. It lacks a guidance system.
Because it is not guided, the shkval will not score a
direct hit on your enemy. To use it, you must put
several weapons close to the target...not only close
by lateral distance, but also depth. While you can
sometimes get an idea of whether a target is over
or under the layer, depth cannot always be
determined. So, you will need to fire a spread that
can cover his manuevering AND depth possibilites.
For this reason, the shkval is most effective in
shallow water. I recommend a 3-4 torpedo spread,
centered 2-3 degrees ahead of the target, with the
2nd weapon 10-15 degrees ahead of the target and
the 3rd 5 degrees behind. The center torp should be
the shallowest of the spread. Engage at about 5.5
miles, and be sure of your soltuion. Place yourself
on a lag LOS before firing, and immediately accelerate and drop decoys after firing. There will
likely be counterfire...your best bet is to no longer be on the snapshot bearing and for there to
be another target (your CM) for the torp to acquire so the sub does not realize his mistake. Be
ready with more weapons in case you only damage the target.
Rockets
Harpoons: On the FFG-7 you can't return Harpoons to the Magazine. The missile is
stored with the fins 'wrapped around the body'. When exitting the magazine, the Harpoon fins
'open'. In real life, once deployed, you CAN get it back in, if you want - just tell someone with
a piece of rope to tie the fins down again. Unfortunatly, there are no pieces of rope simulated
in Dangerous Waters... The air-launched Harpoon does not have folding fins. Normaly
Harpoons are faster than TSAMs but pack less punch. SM-2s are faster than both but pack the
least damage. But speeds of the TASM and Harpoon in DW are both 510kts. The SS-N-27 ASM
and the equivalent Klub-ASM are carried by the Akulas and Chinese Kilo 368. These missiles
fly at subsonic speeds until enabling, when they accelerate to nearly 2000 knots. Once
supersonic, these missiles are very difficult to shoot down, making them very effective against
even the AEGIS-equipped American ships.
Mavericks are a top weapon but in DW are to weird. Real Mavericks don't fly as far as the DW
Maverick. The DW Maverick can be considered to be a shorter-range version of the Harpoon,
plus limited land attack capability (very limited, sometimes it disappears over the target
without exploding, SLAM-ER does this too).
SS-N-22 Sunburn (aka 3M82 Moskit):
It is used on "Sovremennyy" destroyers (eight missiles on each) and on
"Tarantul [Tarantula] III patrol ships (four missiles on each). A high
supersonic speed was specified to reduce the target’s time to deploy
self-defense weapons. The postulated main role of the SS-N-22 is to
destroy vessels guarding the carrier battle groups. Indeed the weapon was designed specifically to strike
ships with the Aegis command and weapon control system and the SM-2 surface-to-air missile. The 3M82
"Mosquito" missiles have the fastest flying speed among all antiship missiles in today's world. It reaches
Mach 3 at a high altitude and its maximum low-altitude speed is M2.2, triple the speed of the American
Harpoon. The very high speed and sea-skimming flight profile would reduce time for the target to detect and
launch defensive missiles. After a launch assisted by a solid fuel booster, the Sunburn cruises at
approximately 20 meters altitude. The missile has its own active radar seeker, with improved capability to
resist jamming. It takes only 2 minutes to cover the missile's entire range, with an estimated 1-2
conventional missiles needed to incapacitate a destroyer, or 1-5 to sink a 20,000 ton merchantman. When
slower missiles, like the French Exocet are used, the maximum theoretical response time for the defending
ship is 150-120 seconds. This provides time to launch countermeasures and employ jamming before
deploying "hard" defense tactics such as launching missiles and using quick-firing artillery. But the 3M82
"Mosquito" missiles are extremely fast and give the defending side a maximum theoretical response time of
merely 25-30 seconds, rendering it extremely difficult employ jamming and countermeasures, let alone fire
missiles and quick-firing artillery. Needless to say, the nuclear-armed version with a sizeable 200 kiloton
warhead would have a large lethal range for ships, sinking them outright or permanently disabling them out
to about a 2 kilometer radius, and causing severe damage to weapons and sensors out to 4+ kilometers.
Mines:
Only the moored and contact mines need direct contact in order to explode in DW. The other
five types in DW are all magnetic influence mines, and there are three range types, one is
50m (~180 ft), and the other two are both 100 m (~350 ft), but these two have different
triggering probabilities with that distance. Only the mobile mines make noise and it can be
removed when stationary (also note that although they are modified torpedos, they are
designed to be stealthy when deployed, they are not supposed to be heard, and thus deploy at
slow speeds for that reason at the moment is SL=72) Certainly the mobile mines should not
be loud enough to very effectively attract a passive torpedo (and thus act as a mobile passive
decoy … and yes, even the active torpedos have a passive sensor also, if you were wondering
about that), however, the two mobile mines in DW both create significant noise in v1.01, and
all the static mines do not emit any noise at all. So that issue is only for the mobile mines. But
there is a catch here, all of the static mines are able to be actively pinged, detected and
ranged, and thus will attract any active torpedo that comes near them (i.e. you can ‘clear’ a
path through a static mine field using brute force if you must, or else sacrifice a UUV). But the
mobile mines in v1.01 do not return any ping! Thus, you can not detect them on any active
display (and this is why the AI run into them without detecting them), so you also can not
avoid them, and you can not clear them, because you also will have no way of knowing they
are there, even if you are actively looking for them (!). Obviously, this is not too consistent,
namely, to have the static mine strongly returning a ping (which they shouldn't, as these are
notoriously, and very much by design intended to be almost impossible to unambiguously
detect, even with active), yet the even physically larger mobile mines do not return any ping
at all. The mines certainly need to be tidied up. The mobile mines will not show on HF sonar
after they are deployed at present. The static mines will show on HF sonar. To clarify that a
little further for you, your SLMM's will be completely undetectable to you, and to your enemy,
but other generic 'mobile mines' (other than SLMMs, that is) launched by other platforms in a
mission, will be only weakly detectable on your HF sonar (Active SL=60 for those within DW
v1.01 - so not every mobile mine is entirely non-detectable, just the SLMMs are).
P3 bomb-bay:
The P3 Bomb Bay has four separate locations and each must be loaded out individually.
Replace the word "locations" with "configurations". The ordnanceman can bolt in one of four
standard weapon rack configurations. Then the weapons are loaded and held by hooks on the
racks. Their is a double stanchion that can hold 2 BRU-12 racks that can carry 1000# class
weapons. The Tripod type stanchion holds one BRU-14 rack which can carry up to 2000#
weapons.
I had a problem like this once before until I realized something. Whichever 'bomb bay' you
have hilighted in the loadout screen is the one you get in game. It is not, as it may appear to
a newcomer, 'rows' within the same bomb bay, or seperate bays, or such.
FEUER FREI!!!
First, an editorial note. For sub vs. sub battles, Sub CommandTM was an amazing game. The
effective use of torpedoes, and the decoys that foiled them, was a battle of the minds of the
opposing sub skippers. It is unfortunate that, in DW, SCS has installed an omnicient autoTMA, increased the acquisition ranges of the weapons, and caused weapons to explode on
CMs. They fixed that which was not broken, and DW is quite a bit worse off for it, since
employing and evading weapons is decided by quanities of weapons and CMs more than on
the skill in which they are used. I guess new players will learn more quickly this way - and
munchkins will thrive - but it hurts the enjoyment levels for the "skill" players immensely.
See also the SCHQ/NCHQ TACMAN for weapons employment tactics!
Torpedo ASuW tactics for subs: American ships use the Nixie towed decoy. It is about 50%
effective against active/passive torps... so shoot two 65cms and keep them close together
(spreading them out gives the nixie a better change against the second). Russian ships, and
probably other nations in DW as well, use over-the-side CMs. These are much more effective
than the Nixie, and several can be dropped as the ship is running. To avoid these, track the
enemy ship and try to mark its path on the NAV map. The decoys will be along that path...so
run your torpedoes on a parallel track adjacent to the ship's path...when the weapon is nearly
even with the ship, turn it towards the target. This sounds easy, but remember that the ship
will turn away once it realises the torp is no longer behind it. When using passives, it is
probably a good idea to use a 45 knot top speed unless the target is very close. High speeds
will wash out the sensors, requiring the torp to be very close to the target to acquire...the
snake pattern the torpedoes use before acquiring slows down the progess of the weapon and
helps the target to escape.
Conventional torpedo attacks: This section is about attacking a contact that you have tracked,
localized, and classified. A normal ASW attack will involve the MK 48 ADCAP or the 65cm
torpedo, both of which have 27nm ranges and are wireguided; the Mk48 has a 5 knot speed
advantage. At the moment of firing, your main concerns should be the number of weapons to
fire and the presets on the weapons. In Sub Command, a single torpedo attack was a viable
option. In DW, since decoys will destroy torpedoes, quantity unfortunately must take the place
of accuracy. 688I's and Akulas should fire at
least two torpedoes (thus saving two for a
second salvo or another target), while
Seawolves should fire at least three. Assign
these weapons to the target; do not use
snapshots on a spread bearing...The goal is to
eventually have the torpedoes attack the
target from different directions AT THE SAME
TIME. A spread will result in uneven
staggering (once the target evades) and will
decrease the likelihood of a hit. The enable
range should be set a few thousand yds/m
short of the target's actual range. Keep in
mind the accuracy of your solution, and the
possibility that you might be killed before
being able to resteer your torps or enable
them manually. 75% of the range of the sub is a good rule of wrist in most cases. The ceiling
preset can help you to prevent hitting surface ships. In DW, the torpedo can explode if it
passes under a ship; the torp must be more than 200ft deep to prevent this (if anyone has
firmer data, please post). Unfortunately, pre-enabling and re-enabling the torpedo will
sometimes cause it to "forget" its ceiling, and it may climb anyways. Don't depend on the
ceiling to take the place of good TMA. Just set the floor to maximum. The floor setting was
used in SC to prevent the torps from hitting sunken ships under the max depth of the target.
Since torps do not home in on wrecks in DW, there is no need to restrict the depth of the torp
when attacking submarines except in special cases. (For example, if you have an allied SSN
near a hostile Kilo; your SSN can dive to >300m and you can set the floor to 300m/984ft. The
torpedo will (hopefully) not attack the allied sub below the floor). Depth is a bit trickier. This is
the depth the torp will go to once enabled (when pre-enabled, it will return to the depth it was
launched at). Ideally, you should set the weapon at the slowest point on the SSP, where its
sonar performance will be the best. If there is a strong layer, however, its a good idea to have
some above it as well as below it. Also note the terrain, you will need to set a search depth
above any terrain feautres so that the torpedo can see past them, and will not run into them.
Finally, after setting all your presets, move the ship to a depth higher than the seafloor in the
vicinity of your target. Remember, if you pre-enable your weapon it will return to the depth it
was launched at, make sure if that happens the torp doesn't hit the mud. After launching,
clear datum, but slow occasionally to track the target and to check for counterfire. Resteer
your weapons based on your updates. Once your weapons close in, resteer them to a spread
course. Have your weapons attack the target with as much angular separation as possible, this
will make them more difficult to decoy.
Counterfire (snapshots): Sometimes you don't have the initiative, and have to respond to
someone else's attack. Upon recieving a TIW alert, and determining that the torpedo is from a
hostile submarine, you should fire a snapshot as soon as possible. Note the location of any
neutrals and fire at least two weapons, either directly down the TIW bearing or on a spread
angle of ~20 degrees. Spreading the torpedoes is more tactically feasible than it was before
because you don't know the location or course of the enemy sub, right now its more important
to find him. If you think you are too far to get a sonar trace on your target, consider an
evasion course that is partially toward your enemy. Getting a contact will help you resteer
your weapons for an effective attack, instead of an attack that merely hinders the enemy sub
from attacking you effectively. Also, track the enemy torpedo, the history of the torpedo will
lead back to the location it was fired from, giving you a range to go with the TIW bearing.
Take note of if your torps acquire anything when enabled...even if its a CM, the launching sub
will be close...get all your torps searching in that area.
Kilo Torpedo Attacks: The two ASW torps are the TEST and USET torpedoes. Of these, the
USET is superior, but is carried only by the Russian kilos. It has a 50 knot top speed--as good
as the 65cm torp--but has only a 20km/10.8nm range and is not wire guided. The TEST has a
slow 40kt top speed and the same range as the USET; it is also wire guided, but due to the
ranges it is used at wire guidance does not help much. The key to successful torpedo attack
with either weapon is getting as close as possible to the target. The short range of both
weapons means that your enemy will likely outrun the weapon. Fortunately, the Kilo is very
quiet and will remain undetected by passive means to enemy submarines until the are closer
than 5nm. Fire at least three weapons to deal with CMs, and immediately run (on a lag LOS)
and drop CMs after firing--there will be snapshots soon.
ASW Missile Attacks: There are three ASW missiles carried by the Akulas and Kilos: The SS-N15 Starfish (Russian Kilos only), The SS-N-16 Stallion (Akulas only), and the SS-N-27 (Akulas
and Chinese Kilo 368 (under the name 91RE1)). EDIT: The torpedoes dropped from these
missiles will plunge about 100m/300ft into the water before leveling out--keep this in mind
when choosing to use them.
The SS-N-27 is the best ASW weapon in the game. It drops a powerful type 40 torpedo up to
16.8 miles away--far enough to reach *most* distant Pelamida sub contacts. The type 40
reaches speeds of 70 knots, making evasion difficult. Employing the -27 effectively requires a
good solution. The Auto-TMA is (regrettably) usually good enough to place a -27 within
acquisition range after 2 bearing lines. Aquisition, however, is not good enough for a kill, since
the type 40 is easily decoyed. However, refining the TMA with a 2nd leg before firing will get
rid of the error enough to deliver an extremely precise strike. Aim slightly in front of the target
submarine...to decoy effectively he will have to turn the boat around, if the torp lands too
close for him to get the boat turned it will be a guaranteed kill. That sort of precsion is
difficult, however, against a manuevering sub. For more slippery targets, fire a "bracket" of
three missiles in a triangle shape around the target. Use a tight triangle if you are very
confident in your solution; open it up if you aren't sure. It will be very difficult for your target
to decoy torpedoes from three directions. The -27 can also be used to assist a 65cm torp
attack. Try firing a -27 ahead of the evasion route of a sub running from your 65cm torps. This
will effectively create a bracket or pincer attack at a critical moment. The Starfish and Stallion
have the peculiar minimum depth of 50m, and max depths of 150m and 350m respectively.
They drop the poorly performing UGMT-1 torpedo. This weapon has a pitiful top speed of 41
knots and a warhead so small that two hits will probably be required to kill a submarine. Akula
drivers should only use the Stallion to hit submarines greater than 18nm away (the range of
the SS-N-27). This weapon is usually only effective in a bracket attack, since it can be outrun
and decoyed easily. For Russian Kilo drivers that don't have the -27 available, the -15 is best
used to compliment a torpedo attack. Since your torpedoes are easily outrun, you can use the
-15 to have weapons attack the target from two or more directions. Of course, you can use
tactic the -27 for this as well (if you have Chinese Kilo 368).
Killing surface contacts with a submarine: Caution
usually is the key. Once you have managed a good plot
on a threat and have a very good idea of it's heading and
distance from you, stalk it carefully until you are in a
great shooting position. Launch your Torps from
10nm or less and from slow speed as well as nice
and deep to cut down on launch detection and
pinpointing of your sub. Alter course regularly, after
shooting, get away from where you fired from. Don't
bother with Harpoons or TASMs on distance
surface groups. Use passive torpedoes set with ceilings
of about 30 feet and floors of 30 feet. Passive Sonar on
Torps will benefit from a slower Search Speed. Fire
them a few minutes apart and start clearing datum when
you start firing. Remember to use the enemy’s closing speed against them, you can fire
if they are out of your normal engagement envelope because they will enter it while your
weapon is still active. Only use antiship missiles against defenseless targets such as
merchants. Also - when you play the Akula or any other Russian sub watch where you fire any
Stallions at enemy subs. If there are surface ships near the Stallion's flight path - they'll
definitely shoot them down. You can use TASM's and/or Harpoons against surface warships if
you are close (within 3-5 nm) and use lots of em' (at least 7 or more). Use torps first but, if
missiles are all you got...make sure you get in as close as possible. TASMs are for a
combined saturation attack on surface fleets when there is off board sensors providing
targeting data. Harpoons are for smaller ships. Note that US SSNs don’t carry eather of them
anymore. If launching anti-surface-missiles try to be aware of any helicopter threats. Launch
from as deep as allowed, again get out of there after firing. Don’t forget the Russian
SS-N-27 SSM. (also available as the KLUB ASCM) That missile is a killer. The MINIMUM range
of the Harpoon and TASM is 5nm. Approaching a surface group very closely is an aggressive
tactic, not a defensive one. Closing in helps to ensure that your torps hit the target ships and
not OTS (over-the-side) decoys, and gives them less time to react to missile attacks.
However, being close also increases the risk of counterdetection, especially by active sonar if
within 12nm of the surface warships. Surface ships will often respond to submarine contacts
by salvoing large numbers of ASROC's.
Time on Target attack: It involves a bit of calculating (and a notepad). The trick is to launch
the torps in such a way that they arrive at their intended targets more or less
simultaneously. The easiest way to do this is to set all torps the same speed and time the
launches, but if the targets are spread out, that might give the enemy enough time to send a
heli your way before the launch sequence is finished. Playing with both timing and different
pre-set speeds is a bit more complicated, but when it works, it does tend to make you feel
good about yourself.
It's easier if you use constant speeds, but shoot the the next torp when the distance to
your already fired torpedoes is equal to the difference in distance to each of the
target ships. Varying speeds is one 'variant', and varying paths is another. The latter is
usually the hardest, esp if you tend to keep yourself busy.
How to Target a Triangulated Contact:
Right click that spot and choose "Add Manual Solution " and you can place a contact on the
point which you can then engage.
Î Fired a lot of stuff and suddenly can't fire anymore? Í
You fired maybe a couple torpedoes and other stuff from your sub and suddenly you can't fire
anymore. Everything else works perfectly, you can load, open and close muzzle doors, flood
and all that - but the final launch wont work? Take a look at your High Pressure (HP) Air. Go to
the Ship control station of your submarine [Key F1] and take a look at the HP Air display. If
your HP Air is below 50% you need to charge it - otherwise its not possible to launch your
weapons. To charge you have to come to Snorkel depth and stay below the max speed,
otherwise you will break your snorkel mast :
•
•
•
•
Seawolf : 54feet / max. 10kts Speed
688I : 56feet / max. 10kts Speed
Akula : 19m / max. 10kts Speed
Kilo : 17m / max. 10kts Speed
Once at the right depth click the appropriate "Ventilate" and then "Charge" buttons on the
subs. For more detail check the manual. You can charge 10% without ventilating.Consider it
"recycled air."
Killing-Drops on Subs:
For aerial drops on a sub, especially when you've got a MAD contact, and/or multiple cross
bearings, getting on top of him and using circle with a 000 RTE works great; usally drop 2, 1
above, 1 below the layer. You can also use a manually fired Snake 1500-2000 yards delivered
on the subs stern. Switch to show history on the torp on nav-screen, to see it it is in search
mode or if its actully tracking something, then follow up as needed.
How to shoot down Air Targets from submarines:
First: There are problems with subs using SAM's...they
have to surface and that is a very bad thing for a sub
because now their position is positively known. Where
there is one helo, there are more and now the sub has
givin its position away to the entire Battle Group. The
sub has a better chance of surviving a Mk46 or Mk 50
attack than it does exposing itself to SSM's from P-3's
or S-3's. Helo's rarely work alone and unless that sub
has a box full of Stinger's he'll end up dead on the surf
in a hot war.
Second: In most subs you don't have to surface .. just
popup the sail .. with kilo set depth 14m. Works great
(unrealistically thought). You can wave your hand at
FFG 500 yards away and they won't see you, because only SURFACED subs are VISUAL.
Third: All AI helos also use radar, and are easily picked by ESM. Helos are dangerous, but only
if you forget about them... if you know they can be there, it is no problem. Just shoot when
they are close enough! You have just few SAMs on Kilo. In real life, if helo is downed,
everybody knows where you are .. and they would like to revenge. Not so in DW.
Surface the Submarine. Go to the Sail Bridge. Aquire the target visually, then confirm with the
binocs. Stay cool till you can see good details on 4x zoom. Raise it a litle...and then switch to
the SAM-firing mode. Look for the dot in the finder....raise it a litle...wait for the red indicator
for a lock. You'll see the red dot in the crosshairs down on the bottom left (that sort of
"bullseye" looking overlay). Then squeeze the trigger [Right mouse button] and let er
fly...BIIIIIIIg fun.
The target has to be in range. Be careful of missiles fired from anything in the area,
including the enemy helo, MPAs, FFGs, DDGs, etc. when firing on helos! The red dot ensures
that the missile will track the target, but you can still fire without one if you'd like (it may
acquire, it may not). If you can see the helo in detail without binocular, don't wait for the red
dot - just FIRE! The SAM will acquire... and if you don't do it quickly the torpedo coming
towards you will make that decision your last...The big limiting factor is that the SAM only
have enough fuel to go 2.0-2.2 nm. So, make sure that you've got a good bead on that
bugger or else he's going to drop a torpedo in your back pocket - if and when he survives the
ordeal. While the use of the SAM is risky, not using it is also dangerous. The primary benefit of
the SAM isn't being able to shoot down aircraft--it really is a poor weapon for that--but rather
that the THREAT of being shot down will discourage P-3 and Helo drivers from dropping
torpedoes directly on you. Make sure your airdale opponents know that you are willing to pop
them if they get sloppy, and you will have time to evade their torps. In general, an air target
that can be seen in great detail under maximum magnification on the 'scope is in range; or if
it is slightly more than a tiny speck on minimum magnification.
FFG's Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapon System):
Phalanx CIWS (SeeWiz) is a rapid-fire, computer-controlled
radar and gun system to defeat anti-ship missiles, as well as
other close-in surface and air threats. The Phalanx system
automatically carries out search, detection, target
acquisition, firing and kill assessment. The system's unique
defensive capability is based on closed-loop spotting, a
radar technology breakthrough. This technique uses
advanced radar and computer technology to locate, identify
and direct a stream of Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot
(APDS) rounds to the target. The system uses an
electrically-controlled, pneumatically-driven M61A1 Vulcan
20mm six-barrel Gatling-type gun capable of firing at a
selectable 3,000 or 4,500 spm rate. Initially deployed in
1979, Phalanx in real life is installed on every U.S.
combatant ship, as well as combatant ships of 16 other
nations.
The FFG's CIWS in-game can fire on surface ships. The CIWS will only attack air targets on its
own. The CIWS needs to be told to attack surface targets. Select the target, then click
'hold fire'-'aquire'-'engage'. It is increadibly effective. Against small boats, it's like a cyborg
killing machine. That CIWS may not be too effective against incoming supersonic missile
salvos, but it's a point-and-click deathray to anything else within range and above the surface.
Even surfaced submarines are dead in a few seconds. If you want a challenge try your skills
against a ship armed with Exocet missiles like a Tourville, Cassard or MEKO 360 or a ship
armed with 'Sunburn' missiles like the Sovermeny or Tarantul III. It should take one Sunburn
to knock out a Perry. Maybe two at most. Sovremenny should make short work of a Perry, but
then again, Perry was not designed for this type of an ASuW mission.
Getting away
Submarines can only get damage from a torpedo in DW (instead of being completely finished
of after the first hit). It all depends on the torpedo used. For instance, and SS-N-15 may drop
the UMGT-1 torpedo's in your lap, but these have a rather weak warhead on them, and usually
two or more are needed to get a sub kill in DW (however, you can sometimes cause enough
damage on the target with one torpedo that it can not fight back and is a sitting duck for you
to finish). But most sub-launched and air-launched ASW torpedos modelled in DW have a
lethal warhead on them against a sub. There's no way you’ll ever survive the larger western
and Soviet era ASW torpedo's shaped or even non-shaped warheads in any sub, as they have
enough energy to shatter pressure hulls and critical structural members. So those heavy
weight torpedos are definitely ‘one-shot, one-kill’.
How to evade Torpedos in a Submarine: Torpedo evasion is a process that involves several
variables changing at the same time; as such, it is very difficult to test exactly what works and
what doesn't. I urge all readers who are reading ANYONE'S torpedo evasion advice to keep a
healthy bit of skeptism, and to try out different techniques and see what works for them.
The first thing to remember about torpedo evasion is that
you can't outrun most of the torpedoes that you will face in
this game in a straight-line race. They are also pretty
stupid, but if they are wire-guided by a human opponent,
they can be hard to get away from. Once Sonar has
reported "Torpedo in the water" and given a bearing, you
need to check the torpedo's bearing drift. If bearing is
constant, then you are probably the target. If bearing is
changing noticably, then someone else is the target and
you should not do anything. If you've been detected and
have had a torpedo shot at you with a good solution, you
are in trouble. So your best bet is to turn sideways from
the torpedo and RUN, trying to stay out of the "cone" swept by its sonar. CM's
(Countermeasures) are mainly useful for getting the torp to chase a false target while you are
busy escaping its search pattern. Good luck trying to spoof a torp that has already locked onto
you. This happens at point blank range engagements, or when a torp is dropped from a helo
right on top of you (its possible, but unlikely). Assuming that you are the target and your only
plan is to evade, the following is one way that can work. Do the first three steps as
simultaneously as possible:
1.) Order Flank (zero [0] key). If you are fairly shallow, SONAR-guy will scream that you are
cavitating. That's OK, since speed is what you want. If you have sufficient water depth
start heading deep.
2.) Immediately turn the ship with full rudder (either '[' for left full rudder or ']' for right full
rudder) until the torpedo bearing is on your beam (ordered course is about +/- 90 degrees
from torpedo bearing). Hit the apostrophe key ['] when ship's head is on the required course.
3.) Launch an active countermeasure from the countermeasure panel at own ship's depth then
go as deep as you can (know where the bottom is!!!). If you are already deep, go to the Nav
plot [F7], right click on own ship's symbol, and select Launch Countermeasure Shallow. This
may spoof the torps to go shallow when you are deep.
4.) Run for at least 8 minutes on a steady course. Your broadband sonars will be blanked while
at a flank bell. Check on incoming torpedo bearings by monitoring the Sonar Passive Intercept
panel. If your evasion is successful, the sonar bearings should draw aft and not get louder
(colored bar under display doesn't get into the yellow or red zone). If one or more torpedoes
seem to be getting closer, launch another countermeasure and adjust course to maintain a +/90 degree offset from torpedo bearing on the Passive intercept display.
5.) If the torpedo bearing crosses your stern or grows fainter or you can no longer hear it,
your evasion was probably successful; you should immediately slow to take a look around.
(Remember, as long as you are going fast, you make a VERY loud target.) Don't be
surprised if a second salvo comes your way, or is already on its way.
Use caution when driving at high speeds. The towed arrays on all SSN's will fail at 40 knots
(relative to land). This means that a Seawolf at flank can lose its ears, as can Akulas and
688I's if the current adds to the land-speed of the sub (hopefully this will be changed so that
TA failures are dependent on speed relative to the water in a future version of DW)
Some more stuff to think about:
1.) On a war patrol, a CO and his
OODs have their torpedo evasion
plan worked out for every possible
combination of water depth and
sound velocity profile (SVP). They
know where the layer is and how
strong it is. The evasion plan will
mandate going as deep as
possible, or going cross layer, or
going shallow if deep, depending
on sonar conditions. Use the layer
and try to spoof the torpedoes to
the opposite side of it from where
you are.
2.) On a war patrol, always keep
two of your own torpedoes ready
to fire. A hot crew will counter
fire on a "Torpedo in the water" bearing - even as they begin to evade.
3.) After launching your first countermeasure, reload the empty launcher while on your initial
evasion leg (only if on a 688I or Akula...the Seawolf has gazillions of CMs). You generally have
some dead moments when you are just running when you can order the reload. You can go
back to Sonar when the reload is ordered.
4.) Avoid the temptation to slow after just a couple of minutes of running. You have to drive
yourself out of the torpedo's acquisition cone as quickly as possible. At the maximum
detection range, the cone is several miles wide. To go 4 NM at 35 kts takes nearly 7 min. This
is also why you try to put the torpedo on your beam...you put all of your speed in the direction
of the shortest distance out of the torpedo's acquisition cone.
5.) If the weapon is launched from short range, all bets are off. Radical maneuvers (depth,
speed), turn away from the torpedo to drive out of its sonar cone, and launch lots of CMs. If
you are against a human opponent, the best course may be to head toward the firing ship to try to get inside the torpedo's sonar enable point. The method described is generally a bad
idea against someone who is wireguiding his torpedo.
6.) The countermeasures don't work all the time. Basically the torpedo flips a coin and either
goes for the CM or not. If he doesn't it apparently didn't matter if there was one or more CMs,
he just ignored them. So the number of countermeasures dropped doesn't seem to
matter...either the torpedo is going to go for it or it doesn't. But a torpedo that did not get
spoofed by one decoy is NOT immune to being spoofed by another.
7.) You can try an play an emergency blow as your last card. You can do this in the Ship
Control Station [F1] of all Submarines. The good thing is that it brings you up fast, the
bad is, that someone may waiting for you up there. Be careful with your air charge!
How to evade Torpedos in a FFG:
To evade torpedoes with the FFG, usually
the first thing to do (upon getting a TIW
report) is to reverse your direction and
perhaps put on some speed. Second,
identify the torpedo - if it is a
wakehomer, you can benefit from going
no more than 4 knots. Or turning
straight at the launch point. When at less
than 10 knots you also have the benefit
against
the
excellent-against-closetorpedoes hull passive sonar.
Special Forces
How to deploy:
From the manual: "The selected contact is a surface ship or landbased target, ownship has
special forces aboard, ownship is traveling at periscope depth or less and at 3 knots or less"
You must right-click the TARGET(!) on the nav screen, then select deploy special
forces. Your Executive Officer notifies you when the team is away. (Special Forces cannot be
deployed against air or submarine platforms.)
How to retrieve: When you are directed to retrieve a Special Forces team, maneuver the
ship to the ordered location at the specified time and maintain the speed as
designated in your tasking message. While mission-specific instructions may vary,
generally your speed must be 3 kts or less and you must be at periscope depth or less. To
locate your team, you may need to use your radar and your periscope and maneuver as
close as possible to the raft.
Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV)
DSRVs are designed for quick deployment in the
event of a submarine accident. DSRVs are
transportable by truck, aircraft, ship, or by specially
configured attack submarine. At the accident site, the
DSRV works with either a “mother” ship or “mother”
submarine. The DSRV dives, conducts a sonar
search, and attaches to the disabled submarine’s
hatch. DSRVs can embark up to 24 personnel for
transfer to the “mother” vessel. The DSRV also has an
arm to clear hatches on a disabled submarine and a
combined gripper and cable cutter. The gripper is able
to lift 1,000 pounds.
Biologics
Biologics and Sonar:Whales will sing on the BB sonar. When they do, a large
spike will form (on the Russian Sonars). Also they have no NB noise or Demon
lines. Shrimp will all infinite demon lines no NB noise and be a constant contact,
that sounds like thousands of pieces of paper being crumpled up.
Hunting (for information purposes only!):
Torpedos will track on whales and even kill them. But is this possible in real life?
If something emits noise and can return a ping, it can
be tracked and attract a homing torpedo. Whales can
occasionally make low freq sounds louder than a large
ship. Don’t know how well you could return a ping off
of one though (which would be a rather unsociable
thing to do to the whale, a bit like poking it in the eye
with a cattle-prod for no particular reason), though their outer layer and
blubber probably responds in a similar way to an anechoic rubberised
substance covering a modern sub.... Let's hope the Nipponese and Norwegians
don't consider this observation too closely... (a modern whaling harpoon is
basically a big cannon which fires an explosive-tipped spear into the whale) ...
if you hear of any Inuits enquiring about second-hand subs, then we may have a little problem ... You
can also shoot on whales with the 50-caliber machine gun on the FFG Machine Gun Station.
Appendices
Appendix A-1: Things I Learned as a Complete DW Newbie
written by Kozure
Selected my very first mission, the MH-60 demo. Trying the helo vs. sub first is nice because
there isn't much likelihood of you being attacked, so you can just concentrate on reading the
sonar.
I tuned the pre-dropped VLAD buoys and listened for contacts. Nothing but commercial traffic.
On a hunch, I headed to the east-north-east side of the goal line and started dropping buoys
in a rough line pattern. On one of my buoy passes, I got a contact. Analyzing it came up with
a Victor sound signature. I dropped a few more buoys to narrow the search, then when I
thought I was close, I stopped to dip the dipping sonar. I didn't realize that the dipping sonar
can be lowered to various depths... I only thought it was an in/out affair. I was wondering why
it was taking so long to stop deploying. It was only when I saw the depth return on the
dipping sonar readout that I realized what was going on.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #1
Dipping sonar can be raised/lowered to various depths. This can help you get beneath the
thermal layer.
I got a very clear contact with the dipping sonar, so I switched to active. A clean contact. I
marked and classified it as the hostile Victor. Then I got excited and started to fly off to get a
good approach for my torpedo.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #2
You will rip off your dipping sonar if you get excited and try to fly off before retracting it from
400'+ deep.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #3
If your dipping sonar is your only active contact source, drop an active buoy (DICASS) before
you retract, so that you can then use that source when you do retract.
I had ripped off my dipping sonar, and because I had gone active, the Victor went really quiet.
I lost my contact. I tried to reacquire and it took me a while, but eventually I had hot buoys
again SW of my original contact.
While flying around, I got a very unexpected MAD contact. I stopped and dropped a torpedo
right away. I got lucky. The hit was almost instant, and I had won the scenario. Afterwords, I
realized just how lucky I had been... I hadn't programmed the torpedo.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #4
Program your torpedo before you fire them, or use the TACCO autocrew to engage.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #5
Remembering to use your MAD effectively can save your bacon.
I was feeling pretty pumped, so I decided to try out a new platform. I started the SOSUS
Handover scenario, flying the P-3C. This was harder.
My first time out, in about an hour real time and five hours or so game time, I had nothing,
and I kept on losing contact (out of range) with my buoys when I was not too far away. I
decided that I was doing something wrong. I was frustrated, since it seemed ridiculous to lose
contact with a buoy when you're only 10nm away. Finally it clicked that if I was at MAD
altitude all the time, that might cause reception problems for signals from the buoys. I popped
up to 600, then 12000 feet. Much better. All my buoys were readable.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #6
Aircraft altitude affects how far away you receive signals from your buoys. The higher you are,
the greater the range at which you will receive remote signals from your sonobuoys.
After a few more virtual hours of flying, I had bupkiss. I realized I had screwed up
somewhere, so I restarted the mission. This time, on my initial run in with buoys, I dropped a
BT buoy first.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #7
Drop a BT buoy first to determine depth of the thermal layer when you're searching in a
specific area.
On the second time around, I remembered the markable range circles in the navigation screen
and marked likely distances from the SOSUS trip lines at minimum (5kts) and maximum
(33kts) speeds. Since 2 hours had passed since the contacts were made, I marked circles at
10nm and 66nm from the centre of the tripline in question. I confined my search to the area
between those range circles. Better luck this time; I had a hot buoy on my third drop (BT,
DIFAR-D, DIFAR-S). I circled around and narrowed the search, getting directional fixes. On
one pass, I got a MAD contact, so I dropped a torpedo again. Again, I forgot to program the
torp! D'oh!
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #8(#4))
Program your torpedo before you fire them, or use the TACCO autocrew to engage.
REMEMBER, stupid!
The torp missed horribly. I tried going active with some DICASS buoys, but I had lost him.
After a hour or two of more fruitless searching (and getting on 2 AM) I decided I had lost my
opportunity.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #8
Only go active when you're really, really sure and you're ready to engage (bomb doors open,
weapon programmed, etc.)
Reading the manual again this morning on the way into work, I realized I should have been
using VLAD buoys on the initial search, then DIFAR and DICASS on the final passes. I had
misinterpreted the different capabilities of the buoys.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #9
Use VLAD buoys to setup your search envelope, then DIFAR to narrow it. Use DICASS in the
immediate vicinity of a possible contact. Read page 5-13 of the manual carefully. Know the
difference in capabilities of your buoys.
Great, great game. Tense and challenging. I can see how it would not be for everyone, but
man it felt good to get that Victor on the first time around. I'm going to have another go at
the SOSUS handover tonight, then move on up to a frigate.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #10
The manual and the sheer volume of stuff you have to play with can be daunting. Read the
manual, watch the tutorials, but then jump in. You can only learn by doing. It's actually easier
than you might think.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #11
Dangerous Waters is fun and very addictive.
I replayed the SOSUS handover last night learning from my rookie mistakes on the previous
four attempts. Another few things I learned:
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #12
Area and range circles are your friend. I used them extensively on my final try on the SOSUS
handover mission and did very well as a result. Set 7 nm area circles around your sonobuoys,
and a 7nm (or 14nm) range circle aroung your plane. Use the circles to ensure your buoys
have adequate, overlapping coverage.
I had two SOSUS trips at scenario start this time, so I went to the northernmost first. I
assumed a cruising speed for the Akulas of between 5 and 20 knots and placed the circles
appropriately (2:30 @ 5kts = 12.5nm, 2:30 @ 20kts = 50 nm. I set up the VLAD buoy pattern
about halfway and expanded to the edge of the possible area. This time I had to wait a little
longer in real time (2-3 mins), but I got a contact and narrowed the search with DIFARS. With
two hot buoys pointing the way, I dropped a DICASS right in the general area where it looked
like it was and got a good clean signature. A VLAS and a DIFAR buoy triangulated the position,
and the DICASS confirmed. I programmed the Mk50 with a circle search pattern, a 270 degree
runout brg, and a 200yd RTE. Running along one of the contact vectors toward the assumed
location, I got a MAD contact . I dropped the fish and set the DICASS, which was less than 1
nm away, to active. Clear return on the pings. The torp acquired, and then almost all of the
VLADs in the detection pattern when hot - the Akula was running south-east at full speed. I
prepped another torp with a snake search, a 135 degree runout and a 0yd RTE. The first fish
was in hot pursuit, but it looked like it wasn't going to go the distance. I angled in and
dropped the second torp, and prepped the third. The first DICASS was still giving me good
returns.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #13
Check your bomb-bay load-out. You can only select one configuration. The very first time I
tried this scenario, I clicked on a few of the bomb-bay configs and left it on the one with one
torpedo pylon and two (or three, I forget) mine pylons. As a result, I only had two torps for
the whole scenario. For this scenario, I had remembered to click the right configuration, and
had the max complement of 8 torps.
With two fish in the water, I felt pretty confident. The first torpedo ran out, but the second
found the mark. Scratch one Akula-I improved.
Knowing how difficult it was to find subs in an Orion when you don't have a good idea of
where to start, I thought the hunt for the second would be tough (and it was). Since the first
Akula had been 25nm out from the SOSUS line at 2h30m after detection, I assumed both
boats were cruising at 10kts. It was going to take me 30mins to fly down to the second search
area (handy info from the DDI waypoint), so I put my first ring at 30nm out from the SOSUS
trip, and the second at 45nm. I laid a lot of VLADs, and I was still cruising around waiting
when the first line that I had laid winked out 2 hours after I had put them in the water.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #14
I had read it in the manual, but it's useful to remember; your buoys are only good for 2 hours.
I wasn't sure if I had laid the line short or long, so I set up another ring (42nm out from
SOSUS) behind the outermost search ring (35nm out), then went back to relay the first
(30nm), just in case. Just as the last buoy in the first ring was about to go, I got a contact on
my second ring. I beelined it there and laid a triangle of VLADs around the 7nm area circle I
drew around that buoy. No dice. I waited.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #15
Be patient. Sometimes just as you're about to give up on a lead, you'll get something. Often
your instincts are correct.
While I waited, I had set up a number of other VLAD buoys and was down to launching my
internal store buoys. I was going to have to restock or start using DIFARs if this kept up, but I
was confident I was in the right area. Sure enough, the Akula reappeared SW of the original
hot buoy.
I dropped some DIFARs and got signatures and bearings. I prepped a torp for a circle search
with a 500 yd RTE and a 235 degree runout. I dropped to MAD height and flew toward the
triangulated position. I got the MAD warning, so I dropped the torp and a DICASS. This time
the fish got the Akula on the first go - I didn't have to go active with the DICASS. Mission
success!
I received the much-appreciated "BZ" from HQ and headed for home with two Akula-I
improved silhouettes stamped on the side.
I finished "Dirty Atoll" and "Contact Madness" last night. Spoilers in the description, so if you
haven' t played these scenarios and don't want to know their plot, stop reading.
Dirty Atoll - my first time out in a FFG.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #16
The FFG seems very complex at first blush. Fortunately, Bikini Atoll is a good scenario to learn
the ropes. If you want to learn the basics (manoeuvring, radar, helo ops, sonar) for the FFG,
try this scenario first.
I manoeuvred to the two radiation reading points, while at the same time launching an ASUWequipped helo. I got some odd passive towed array contacts, so I sent the helo to investigate
with a VLAD, but the buoy only returned a cacaphony of noise.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #17
Dropping sonobuoys in an area with a multitude of civilian traffic is like trying to listen to your
friend with laryngitis at a rock concert. I had signatures, but many overlapped. It looked like if
I wanted more specific contacts, I'd have to radiate. I flipped on the air search and surface
search radar, and went active omnidirection on the hull sonar. Now I was the loud one.
The radar picked up contacts quickly. There were so many, I decided to autocrew the radar
and use the binocs with LLTV to confirm sightings. Pretty soon I had a pretty good picture of
the surrounding waters, so I ordered 15kts to the first reading location. On the way, I noticed
that the water was going to get shallow, so I reeled in the towed array. I'm actually not sure if
that was necessary, but it seemed like a wise move. First reading taken.
I was close enough to the shore and in shallow waters, so I didn't want to risk waypoints to
turn the ship. I switched to the bridge view, reversed engines, ordered full left rudder and
backed her out in a slow arcing turn.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #18
Driving the FFG manually is fun.
Once I was clear enough of the shallows and the shore, I set for 15 kts and set my waypoints
to the next location.
At the same time, my helo was buzzing around. For some reason, I couldn't figure out how to
get radar info from the helo. I checked out the manual and found the info on REMRO on page
7-51.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #19
To get radar information from your helo, sync your helo (ASTAC station), turn on your helo's
radar (ASTAC station) and then click on REMRO at the Weapons Coordinator Station.
With my ship radar and the helo's radar, I had a great view of the water around me. Most of
the time I wouldn't radiate so much, but this was supposedly a milk run, right?
Cruising to and stopping at the second reading point was a breeze.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #20
To avoid overshooting area specific goals like a reading point or a mooring, reduce speed
gradually as you approach.
The message from HQ said steam to Tahiti for liberty, so I set up the waypoints to that island
paradise (honestly - I thought there would be a complication that way) and made turns for
15kts, and recalled the helo. Almost immediately after I noticed two fast moving radar
contacts. For some reason, my radar operator classified them as surface contacts. They
seemed to be moving way too quickly for surface ships (200+ kts) so I was worried and
scrambled to read the section about using the SM-2s. Fortunately, I remembered that they
were probably the UN inspection team, so I relaxed and watched them come in for a landing.
Then I got the messages about the terrorists.
I whirled the ship around and made flank speed for the north side of the island. I tried to
launch the helo, but had technical problems (posted in the technical forum). As a result, I kept
the helo on the deck and boned up on my gun control reading, as I steamed at flank around
the island.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #21
The FFG guns only fire to port and starboard, with a 25-30 degree no fire arc to bow and
stern. Plan your gun approach accordingly.
I picked the merchant ship up on binocs before I got a clean read on radar, so I marked it
visually, and waited for a better radar return. I went to Weapons Control and turned off hold
fire. I hooked the terrorist freighter and sent a round down range. I jumped up to the port
wing bridge and watched the fall of shot. It was long, but not by much.
I adjusted the range in weapons control by -100yds and fired again. Jumped back to the port
wing.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #22
Jumping between the appropriate (left/right) bridge binoc position and the weapons control
will result in better shot correction.
I got lucky: a hit on the second shot. I waited. If that cargo ship was carrying radioactive
material, I didn't want to sink it or blow it sky high. It kept on cruising. I guess the terrorists
were dedicated.
A third round (the second to hit) crippled the ship (100% damage). I got the congratulatory
note from HQ. Mission success. I guess HQ didn't care about uranium on the ocean floor...
*shrug*
My first run in a Seawolf. This is an ideal scenario if you need to learn the stations and how to
handle a sub. There are all sorts of contacts to identify and track.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #23
Sometimes the easy way is the best way.
I don't know how you gents did it, but I just stayed on the surface the whole time and spotted
and classified tracks with the periscope and radar, and confirmed by listening on DEMON. I
know this isn't how you would do it in a combat situation, but this scenario is a great way to
practice range estimation with the stadiameter and AOB guesses. It's also good to practice
with the radar and active sonar in a situation where it won't result in a torpedo up your wazoo.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #24
Read the section on using the periscope/stadiameter carefully.
For some reason, I missed the part about having to take a picture of the target before
comparing it in the stadiameter. I took a picture of my first track for fun, and then did the
range estimation in the stad, but on my second sighting, I was confused that the first picture
was still there. I thought it was a graphic glitch or something. Nope. You have to take a new
picture of every contact you want to range. Stupid, I know, but I missed it the first time
around.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #25
Civilian traffic is really annoying.
Yes, yes, everyone knows this. I just want to say it again.
Easy scenario, but fantastic for learning how to handle the 'Wolf.
African Bees Nest
Once again - spoilers. Don't read if you don't want to know.
As soon as I took a look around from the bridge in the dock facilities, I knew that it would be
tricky getting underway. I thought I should take it slow, but not too slow - they were going to
mine that river mouth! I tried backing it out at 1/3 and using the APUs to supplement.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #26
If you're in a situation where you need to use the APUs, you shouldn't use the main engine.
One dinged-up and blackened frigate later, I restarted the scenario and tried backing it out
again, this time only with APUs. I got her out, but with 67% damage (somehow) so I decided
that I should give it one more shot.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #27
The APUs are tricky. Experiment with them carefully. If you want them to push your ship in a
specific direction, point the arrows in that direction.
From my reading of the manual, I thought that you pointed the arrows of the APUs in the
direction that you wanted the propellors to be pointed in - that is, the direction of thrust. As it
happens, that's exactly the opposite of what you should do. I'm not sure if that's a result of
me reading the manual wrong (probably) or the manual being unclear (possibly), but the long
and the short of it is, be careful with the APUs. One of the reasons I was doing so poorly the
first two tries was that I was pointing the APUs in the exact opposite directions I should have
had them pointed in.
PS: More things I learned as a newbie:
I just tried it now. I checked this against page 7-11 in the manual - "...the directional dial is
used to aim the propeller in the desired direction. The arrow on the directional dial points in
the direction of thrust." To me, this means that thrust is applied in that direction, and thus the
ship moves in the opposite direction (laws of physics and all that). I see now that you could
read line differently to mean that you are thrusting to move the ship in that direction, rather
than away from. I guess that comes from playing space sims like "Orbiter". My mistake.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #28
Remember to raise your APUs before engaging the engine.
I was so excited about actually getting underway out of the docks, that I forgot about raising
the APUs. They were damaged as a result. Fortunately, I didn't think I'd need them for the
rest of the scenario.
As soon as the scenario started, I had a Strike Helo warming up. I launched it a little while
after getting underway at full speed (I had a date with the open sea sometime before 1830h).
Using the binocs, surface radar and the REMRO info from the helo, I had a pretty good idea of
what was going on around me all the time. I saw contacts on radar and confirmed their
alliance them on visual. Since it was a target-rich environment, I left the EW and sonar
stations on autocrew and concentrated on the bridge, ASTAC, weapons coordinator and radar.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #29
Practice with your Mk75 in this scenario. It's a great time to hone your targeting skills. The
gun radar is very good but against small, rapidly moving targets, it needs a little "nudge" by
using the range and bearing fine tuning.
The first blue boghammar was easy to deal with. Strangely, one 76mm shell didn't kill it
outright, though it did make it burn pretty well. I put a second shell into the hulk and sunk it.
The second wave of two was pretty much expected, so I tried to assign the helo to take one
out with a Hellfire, since I had time.
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #30
The helo cannot target boghammars (or apparently, any surface ship) with Hellfires.
Dang. OK, two fast moving boats with a 76mm autocannon. Got one, but the second was too
close for comfort by the time I dealt with the first. .50 cal for you!
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #31
The .50 is immensely satifying to use.
After getting through the second and the third ambush in a similar fashion (remember about
the firing arc of your Mk75 when you approach a blind corner), I had arrived at the river
mouth and with plenty of time to spare heading for open water. Just to be safe I turned on the
HF sonar (apparently good for mines and the like).
Suddenly there were two blue boghammars heading for me hidden behind three white
boghammars. "Fine" I shrugged, and engaged them with 76mm, firing over the heads of the
whites. I had dispatched the first and was working on the second, when I noticed that the
white boghammars were on a collision course with me, and weren't swerving.
I changed course, but it was too late. One of the white boghammars rammed me. I finished
the rest of the scenario (and the final four blue boat assault) with no other damage other than
what I sustained from the "accidental" ramming (and my forgotten APUs)
THING I LEARNED AS A DW NEWBIE #32
Friendly collision avoidance AI is not always very good.
I failed the mission for letting an ostensibly "friendly" AI craft ram me.
*shrug* If a friendly boat-captain can't slow/stop or avoid an allied or neutral frigate which is
engaged with hostiles, then I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do about Gambian naval
training.
I replayed the scenario one last time and managed to avoid being rammed by anyone friendly or enemy. Mission success. Woo hoo!
Now on to Gulf Breakout! (I've actually played the Taiwanese and Kilo Demo as well since
playing the scenario described in this AAR, but the Gulf is more exciting).
Appendix A-2: Dangerous Waters Hands-on Multiplayer Preview
by Neal Stevens, Bill Nichols, Tim Grab, Ramius, Smuook
http://www.subsim.com/ssr/dangerous_waters/dangwater_mp_preview112404.htm
November 25, 2004 - We just got a fresh copy of Dangerous Waters to evaluate. I arranged a five-man
multiplayer session with the BETA team last night to start getting the feel of the new multiplayer. If you've
been sharing a cave with Bin Laden the last few months, Dangerous Waters is the name of the upcoming
naval simulation by Sonalysts Combat Simulations (Jane's 688(I), Fleet Command, Sub Command). You
can play as a submarine, Perry-class frigate, Seahawk ASW helo, and a P-3 Orion plane. With such a wide
range of naval platforms to command, multiplayer is a very exciting prospect.
In Sonalysts' previous first-person sims, it was sub vs sub. Dangerous Waters' new MP style opens things
up a lot, allowing surface and air players the chance to execute some real teamwork. To that end, let me
present the players of last night's maritime melee.
Bill "SubGuru" Nichols: Bill is a been there-done that subsim vet. He served aboard the USS Nautilus,
America's first atomic powered sub. He is the rock-solid contributor of the World Naval News and has
probably created more custom missions for Sonalysts' titles than anyone. Bill manned a 688(I) sub in
this game.
Tim "TimmyG00" Grab: Tim served aboard submarines in the nineties and holds the reigns as the Sub
Command HQ Admin, as well as moderating Subsim Review forums. Tim's a wily player who uses his
experience to good effect. Tim manned the Seahawk helicopter.
Ramius: One of the founders of SCX and the #2 all-time poster on the Subsim forums. Ramius has over 12
years experience on various SSN's and SSBN's in the Royal Navy. We have Ramius manning the
Russian diesel-electric Kilo-class sub.
Smuook: A dedicated Orion player and the webmaster of the Orion Warrior website. In this game Smuook
manned the P-3 Orion reconnaissance plane.
Yours truly (Neal) manned the Perry-class frigate, leading a convoy of 4 merchants.
Sort of an All-Star lineup, even with me in there!
The mission objective was simple: the frigate was to shepard the convoy past a certain point, after which the
mission would be deemed a success. The trick was to locate and attack the two subs before they had a
chance to plot and launch an attack on the convoy. Finding subs is always difficult and with Ramius and
SubGuru commanding them--gulp! The convoy I'm leading is composed of a tanker, cargo ship, a supply
ship and a car carrier. Oh well, I guess people need their wheels even during a war.
Mission Time: 1020
Neal (Perry-class frigate): Right off the bat, I ordered up a zigzag course and put my CIWS (Phalanx gun)
on AUTO to pick up any incoming missiles the 688(I) might send my way. Not knowing if the MP mission has
the subs coming in a random placement box, I fire off a series of active pings (onmi-directional). I know this
will give away my position, but if the game started one of the subs a mile ahead of us, I would want to know.
Tim took the NE flank and Smuook came in from the west, laying a well-spaced string of sonobuoys.
Smuook (Orion plane): I started out about 50 miles to the west of the convoy. I quickly had datalink picked
up the convoy, FFG, and Helo on my Nav map. I came inbound at max speed to get in the area. First thing
is to get all my sensors operating... so I set my course and speed to the area, then turned on my radar,
ESM, MAD, dropped the IRDS camera to be ready to identify contacts.
I set my acoustic alert frequencies for the 688 in the upper dials of the acoustic station. This is just to get
ready... I wouldn't have any acoustic information until I dropped sonobuoys. I did drop a BT buoy to get the
sound speed profile on the transit inbound so I can know where the layer is at. The subs will try to exploit
this by hiding on the other side of it.
Tim (Seahawk Helo): Starting off between 600 and 700 feet at a modest 49 knots, I coordinated with
Smuook as to which sectors of the convoy each of us would protect from the air. We decided that he would
take the southern flank of the convoy and drop a field of buoys, and that I would fly out ahead, dropping my
own buoy pattern. Smuook's buoy field was a 2-row string that intersected the convoy's base course, while
mine was a somewhat more randomized field about 10nm off to the east.
Neal (Perry-class frigate): While the good guys were prepping the field for action, the Kilo and the rogue
688(I) were making some plans of their own.
Mission Time: 1050
Bill (688(I) sub): In command of USS Annapolis, my orders are to intercept a group of merchants before
they can reach the Strait of Gibraltar to enter the Mediterranean Sea. Intelligence is that they are being
escorted by surface and air assets. Also in the vicinity is a friendly Kilo-class diesel sub.
In my patrol location west of Gibraltar, the first indications of the enemy convoy are multiple contacts to the
North West on my TB-16 towed array. I come to periscope depth to take a quick look and ESM scan -- all is
clear.
Heading deep, I launch an XBT to find the thermocline. My plan is to go beneath the layer and work my way
North to intercept the convoy. The layer turns out to be at about 850 feet. I make my depth 1000 feet and
commence TMA. Soon, I begin getting active sonar intercepts from one of the contacts. I designate him
Master 1.
Ramius (Kilo sub): Started off to the SE of the convoy at 75m / 5 kts. Decided to go up to PD to have a
listen. Gained contact with an AN/APS 137 almost straight away off to the NW - couldn't remember if Tim
has picked a P3 or Helo at this time. About 5 minutes later i started getting active pings from the NNW,
possibly from Neal in the frigate.
From EW, I could see the P3 was tracking nicely South. So I took a guess this was an AI P3 and not Tim. So
now the question - "Where is he?" arose.
I decided to surface to try and increase my surface sensor ranges. Not sure if this is actually implemented
but it does seem to work. i.e., the higher up the mast the further you can see out of the scope. Still nothing,
so dived again and headed North, deep and fast (well fast for a SSK).
Neal (Perry-class frigate): Good thing for me, the Kilo surfaced. A definite no-no, my surface radar painted
him and now I know where one of my adversaries lies. I promote my contact to the datalink so Tim and
Smuook in the plane and helo can share the good news.
I shut off the sonar and order a major course change to close the distance between me and the Kilo. I figure
my Perry-class frigate can handle one ol' rusty Russian sub. That leaves Bill in the 688(I) as an immediate
and unknown threat. Hopefully he's not in the same area as the Kilo.
I'm bearing down on his position at almost 30 knots with my Nixie decoy streaming along behind me. I've got
torpedoes, I've got missiles, and I've got a Phalanx close-in weapon support system. What could go wrong?
Mission Time: 1115
Bill (688(I) sub): As I move north at a slow 4 knots, sonar begins to report multiple active contacts ahead of
me. It appears that there is a line of sonobuoys between the convoy and me. Not wanting to go through the
sonobuoy barrier, I turn west to go around them. It may take a little longer but I'll be less detectible and the
waiting should raise the blood pressure on the surface guys.
Ramius (Kilo): Back to periscope depth again after nearly 20 minutes. Same P3 on EW (electronic warfare)
tracking nicely South with the pings still to my NNW. Surfaced again and started the diesels - charging the
batteries incase I need the power at a later time.
Suddenly the P3 seemed to turn towards me. Stopped the diesels and started to carefully watch my ESM
screen. Flicking back and forth between the NAV and ESM screen for tracking info. Started to gain a few
sonar contacts, so guessed the plane was laying some buoys.
The pings also seemed to change at about the same time - Neal deciding to charge me? So I thought I'd do
the same - turned toward him, staying on the surface. Fired off a couple of SAM's at the P3 to no avail. I left
two in reserve - 1 in case it got close again and another for Tim (still out there somewhere).
Smuook (Orion plane): I came inbound and dropped down to 200ft to use my MAD. I laid a line of buoys
that covered the convoy heading east. From there our side tried to communicate and determine who was
who and identify all our contacts. Teamspeak would have been real nice here, could've spoken our
communications like similar to using a radio, freeing our hands for playing instead of chat.
At just about the same time I started to pick up the 688 frequency alert on a buoy and also got a radar riser
down to the south. It appeared Bill (688) was starting to approach my sonobuoy pattern while Ramius (Kilo)
had come to the surface. I decided to turn towards Ramius and launch a Maverick missile at him. I was
about 25nm inbound and couldn't assign the Kilo to the missile. I had previously ID'ed him as a submarine...
not understanding at the time that the Maverick couldn't be assigned to a classified sub... even if he was at
the surface.
Tim (Seahawk Helo): Smuook reported a hit of suspicious ESM energy to the south and went to
investigate. With my MAD sensor deployed, I continued to deploy my buoys and monitor their signals. It was
essentially quiet in my sector, but quiet means nothing when dealing with submarines. That's their job, and it
was my job to flush them out.
A short time after Smuook winged south to investigate the ESM signal, he reported going into the drink apparently shot down by a SAM from a surfaced enemy sub. Consulting the link, I saw that Neal had started
to drive his FFG in that direction to get an active sonar fix on the rascal.
Ramius (Kilo): So, one of my SAMs found its mark after all, eh?
Smuook (Orion plane): I kept trying to different methods to try to launch the Maverick. Meanwhile, Ramius
did some launching of his own. I detected flurry of SAM's coming in my direction. I began launching
countermeasures and kept fumbling to launch my missile at him. The best thing to do would have been to
turn away and open out of his range and figure out what was going wrong. But instead I probably launched 1
less countermeasure than his SAM's and I went down in flames.
Tim (Seahawk Helo): With Smuook down, we had lost that much more buoy analysis capability, so I
began monitoring Smuook's buoys to see what I could pick up, setting my Acoustic station frequency alerts
to listen for one of the lower sub frequencies. Neal promoted a good active sonar contact to the link and I
launched a Mark 50 torpedo on the bearing.
Mission Time: 1135
Ramius (Kilo): Got visual contact with the convoy and then an OHP off to my NW. By this time I had some
torpedo in the water warnings. So I dropped a couple of CM's, but decided to keep going toward the OHP.
Then all of a sudden - BANG! --I'm dead. About 10 seconds later BANG hit with another torpedo. Tim had
managed to sneak within about 2 miles of me, without me detecting him and decided to drop 2 torpedoes
almost right on my head.
I managed to fire off a couple of torps at Neal before I died, but nothing came of them. One of my
wakehomers had locked onto him, but was too close when it turned to follow his wake and so missed.
Bill (688(I) sub): TORPEDO IN THE WATER! Sonar reports multiple torpedoes directly ahead of me. Now
things are beginning to get exciting! I don't have any contacts in that direction, so unless an aircraft has
found me, the torpedoes must be from my friendly Kilo. Checking classification on the torpedoes in
narrowband, I confirm that they are Russian. Let's just hope he's not shooting in my direction!
Neal (Perry-class frigate): All right, one down, one to go. No one has a clue to where Bill is lurking. He
must be beneath the layer, slowly moving to intercept me. I expect the first thing I'll hear is the high-speed
whine of one of his torpedoes heading my way. The US government has deep pockets so I launch a torpedo
to scout ahead of me and hopefully rattle Bill. Hey, I'm not going to play all the way through this mission
without launching something.
Bill (688(I) sub): I now hold two merchant ships and one escort (Master 1), approximately 45,000 yards to
the NNW. I launch one Mk 48 ADCAP torpedo on course due North. My plan is to do a dogleg maneuver
with my torpedo, so that it approaches the convoy from the South East, thereby avoiding any return shots
'down the bearing'.
Neal (Perry-class frigate): Incoming torpedo! I order flank speed and change course to put an angle on the
incoming threat. The frigate will make turns for 29 knots, an ADCAP torpedo can hit 50. You do the math.
Bill (688(I) sub): The sonar situation is very confusing, with sonobuoys, Russian torpedoes, and surface
contacts all in the same general area. The merchants appear to be heading south, towards me. Let them
come. I shoot two ADCAPs at one of the merchants, from about 30,000 yards. I also notice a track heading
toward me at 45 knots. I put on some speed to get out of the way of what appears to be a torpedo, fired by
Master 1 (Neal).
Watching developments, I notice an unidentified sonar contact moving to the northeast at high speed. I have
an ADCAP nearby, so I wire-guide it toward the running ship. "Conn, Sonar: Loud explosion in the direction
of Master 1.... Lost the wire on Tube 1". Take that, Neal!
The merchants are now defenseless. I crank my speed up to 18 knots to close with them before finishing
them off.
Neal (Perry-class frigate): There are only two words for times like this: Abandon ship!
Tim (Seahawk Helo): Seeing smoke rising from Neal's FFG, I knew we were in trouble, so I made my way
south to drop another pattern of buoys. One thing worth noting, when the frigate is sunk, the helo has no
place to land. Time to break out the inflatable raft. I search fruitlessly and witness the carnage Bill wreaks on
the defenseless convoy.
Appendix B-1: Modern Naval Tactics
Text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
I. Introduction
It is tempting to regard modern naval combat as the purest expression of tactics -- there is no
cover, there are no civilians and the area of combat is level and flat. It is a pity that this isn't
true - the presence of land, changing water depths, weather, detection, air power, the
dreadful speed at which actual combat occurs and a number of other factors render naval
tactics truly formidable. The basic idea of all tactics (land, sea and air) is Fire and movement.
The delivery of firepower to support a mission and movement is the achievement of scouting
and firing positions over any period of time. Movement is especially obvious in modern combat
where a fleet can travel hundreds of kilometres in a day. In naval warfare the key is to
detect the enemy while avoiding being detected yourself. And to deny to the enemy the
attempt to detect your forces. There is also the concept of battle space - a zone around a
naval force within which a commander is confident of detecting, tracking, engaging and
destroying threats before they pose a danger. This is why a navy prefers the open sea. The
presence of land and the bottom topology of an area compress the battle space by limiting the
opportunities to maneuver, make it easier for an enemy to predict the location of the fleet and
make the detection of enemy forces more difficult. In shallow waters the detection of
submarines and mines is especially problematic. One scenario that was the focus of American
naval planning during the Cold War was a conflict between two modern and well equipped
fleets on the high seas, the thankfully never occurring clash of the USA and Russia. The main
consideration is for Carrier Battle Groups (CVBGs).
II. Order of Engagement
Once a commander has considered the geography of an mission he then examines the assets
the enemy is believed to have available, the enemy's order of battle (OOB), what units are
needed to succeed at the mission objective and the added constraints placed by mission
requirements (time etc.). This results initially in a Path of Intended Motion (PIM) for the
forces. As enemy forces are encountered and (hopefully) identified they should be catagorised
by potency and immediacy and the OOB altered to reflect this. There are four threat classes:
A, B, C and D.
Class A: is Potent and Immediate; this is a need to drop everything and respond immediately.
This might be a gaggle of sea-skimming missiles racing towards you, or something as
powerless as a tug -- which is communicating the fleet's position to a more distant enemy.
Class B: is Immediate only; this requires fast action but is not mission threatening. A small
boat detected in the outer screen for example.
Class C: is Potent only; this is a 'win' for the fleet commander, a significant threat detected at
a range where there is time to either mass force to destroy it or to avoid it.
Class D: is Neither Immediate or Potent; a target of opportunity which is not a threat and the
destruction of which does not aid the assigned mission.
III. Fleet Formation
After establishing a path of intended motion the
forces must be organised. This depends on the
threat axis - an estimate of the likely direction
from which an enemy attack will come. A threat
axis may change over time. There may be a
single threat axis or one for each type of
enemy - AAW (Anti-Air Warfare) axis, ASW
(Anti-Submarine Warfare) axis and ASuW
(Anti-Surface Warfare) axis. The use of more
than one axis is uncommon as they are
complex to use and confuse the formation. The
positions in the formation are called station
assignments. Which unit is placed where
depends on the capabilities of the unit. Despite the multi-task abilities of modern units some
are more capable at specific tasks than others. AAW and ASW are the important defensive
properties, ASuW is usually offensive in nature. A formation consists of a number of layers of
defense. Furthest out are the picket ships, Combat Air Patrol (CAP) craft and Early Warning
Aircraft (AEW). These units operate at 200 nautical miles (nm) or more out from the High
Value Units (HVUs). The outer screen is between 12 and 25 nm from the main body and the
inner screen is within 10 nm of the HVUs. The mission of the outer screen is to detect and
engage any enemy units that have bypassed the pickets. These units need to be multi-role but
there is usually an emphasis on ASW, especially passive detection (it is quieter out there than
near the HVUs and so detection is easier). Often there are helicopter ASW assets for 'stand off'
engagement. The ships are usually assigned to specific sectors which allows a 'sprint and drift'
detection of submarines - the ship 'sprints' to the front edge of its sector, then slowly moves
back across the sector. Passive towed sonar arrays operate very efficiently on the return leg.
AAW in the outer screen is to protect ASW operations and to attack aircraft before they reach
their weapons-launching points, range of defensive weapon is more important than rate of fire
here. The inner screen emphasis is on AAW. The task is to engage any airborne threats that
penetrate that far. This means the threat is almost certainly a missile so AAW rate of fire is
important. The more defensive firepower in the air the more enemy threats will be destroyed.
For ASW the inner screen needs good active sonar. The threat is too serious for passive sonar
as immediate targeting is needed. Checking the area around and under HVUs for submarines
is called 'delousing'. If possible at least one ASW helicopter is airborne all the time, to target
detected contacts as quickly as possible.
IV. Detection and Electronic warfare
In modern naval combat a deadly strike can be
launched from 600 nm away. This is a huge area to
scout. The double-edged answer to this is
electronic warfare. Electronic warfare (EW) consists
of three elements -- Electronic Support Measures
(ESM), Electronic Counter-Measures (ECM) and
Electronic Counter-Counter-Measures (ECCM). ESM
is the passive detection of enemy electromagnetic
(EM) emissions. The radiated energy of an
emitter (e.g. radar) can be detected far beyond
the range at which it returns a usable result
to its user. Modern ESM can identify the actual
class of the emitter, which helps identify the unit on which it is used. Passive cross-fixing
between a number of units can locate a source to a reasonably small area and give some hint
to direction and speed. ESM fixes are placed in three classes: Detected, Tracking and
Targeted, depending on the accuracy of the fix and whether a unit's course and speed has
been derived. Of course for ESM to work the enemy must 'co-operate' by using their emitters.
The fact that a missile launched on a passive fix from over-the-horizon missile is deadly
creates a central problem for a naval force -- when, and even if, units should radiate, and if
not how to detect the enemy? This is detectability vs. survivability. The need to obtain a
targeting solution has to be balanced against the enemy's ability to do the same.
Although once a commander feels that his fleet's position is known to the enemy a move to
active emissions may be vital to prevent destruction, else the only warning of incoming
missiles will be when they turn on their terminal guidance systems.
The control of emissions is called EMCON (EMissions CONtrol). There are three states, A, B and
C. A is no emissions, B is limited emissions (no unique emissions), and C is unrestricted.
EMCON is not a blanket condition across the fleet. The surface units can be at A while a
sufficiently distant AEW aircraft can be at C. ECM is both offensive and defensive,
covering all methods used to deny targeting information to an enemy. Offensive ECM
is usually jamming. This prevents the accurate detection and identification of incoming strikes
until the jamming unit is destroyed. Chaff is also used to confuse AAW operations by creating
radar decoys. Defensive ECM also uses chaff as well as soids, blip enhancement and jamming
of missile terminal homers.
V. ASW Operations
Submarines are the greatest threat to offensive CVBG operations due
to the stealth of modern submarines (anechoic coatings, near-silent
magnetohydrodynamic drives etc.), which is the submarine's sole
advantage. The move towards shallow-water operations has greatly
increased this threat. The cherry-on-top is that even the
suspicion of a submarine threat forces a fleet to commit
resources to removing it as the consequences of an undetected
submarine are too great.
Sonar Operation
In the ocean the main factor affecting sonar operation is
temperature. Ocean temperature varies with depth, but at between
30 and 100 metres there is often an marked change - the
thermocline, also simply called the layer. This divides the warmer surface water and the cold,
still waters that make up the rest of the ocean. Regarding sonar, a sound originating from one
side of the thermocline tends to remain on that side - it is reflected off the layer change unless it is very noisy (active sonar, cavitation, firing weapons, explosions etc.). Pressure,
salinity and the turbulence of the water also affect sound propagation. As in all EW the issue
with sonar is passive versus active. Whatever the case the thermocline is the major issue. On
passive detection the radiated noise of a unit is only apparent across the layer in a narrow
cone, undetectable unless units pass almost directly over or under each other. For a surface
unit there is the option then of towing a passive sonar array above or below the thermocline -
variable depth sonar (VDS). A further issue is convergence zones (CZ). Sound waves that are
radiated down into the ocean bend back up to the surface in great arcs due to the effect of
pressure on sound. Under the right conditions these waves will then reflect off the surface and
repeat another arc. Each arc is called a CZ annulus. CZs are found every 33 nm, forming a
annular pattern of concentric circles around the sound source. Sounds that can be detected for
only a few miles in a direct line can therefore also be detected hundreds of miles away. The
signal is naturally attenuated but modern sonar suites are very sensitive. Modern active sonar
is limited to 250 dB (decibels). This level of noise can be detected at about ten times the
range that is useful to the operator, acting as a giant beacon to any submarine in 100 nm. So
a target needs to be nearby and preferably on the same side of the layer to be detected by
active sonar; just where a commander would not like a submarine to be! VDS is designed to
solve this problem. The passive array can be put below the layer to detect approaching
submarines and when the target is within strike range a brief and unit-selective move to active
transmissions can quickly return a targeting solution. The added advantage of VDS is that
while it is operatiing below the layer, a unit's hull-mounted systems can be used above the
layer. Unfortunately VDS is a blue-water solution. In shallow water, high levels of biological,
wave and tide noise, the influx of fresh water from rivers and the lack of a thermal gradient and therefore CZs - make it a truly dreadful environment to detect a sub-surface threat.
Passive detection is almost impossible and surface units are forced to use active sonar to
search. The move too close to shore must only be done for mission purposes and there a fleet
must act as if they have already been detected and maybe even targeted.
The ASW Triad
For successful ASW, all surface, air and subsurface assets must be used in the most
tactically efficient manner. ASW egagements occur in three phases:
Detected - From any source a submarine is possibly (POSSUB) or probably (PROBSUB) in the
area.
Localized - A submarine contact has been localized to a sufficiently small area to allow an
attack with some chance of success.
Targeted - The submarines bearing, range, course and speed are known with sufficient
accuracy to attack with a high probability of success.
Area ASW is the coordination of search ahead of the main force. Detection and
localization are the objectives, with destruction if possible. Area ASW is best conducted by
units with endurance and potency: Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) at 150 nm out or towedarray equipped surface units 30-50 nm out are most common. If the air unit has Magnetic
Anomaly Setection (MAD) as well as sonobuoys then so much the better. Local ASW is
within the outer screen, 12-25 nm from the main fleet. Detection is strictly passive as
the distance is still great enough for the HVUs to be safe. Once a contact has been made,
helicopter ASW assets (with dipping sonar, MAD or sonobuoys) must be rushed into the area.
Three or more passive contacts are rapid enough for aerial delivery of torpedoes. Shipmounted ASW weapons such as ASROC are reserved for when a contact is too close generally less effective - their role is to distract the submarine from attacking and buy time for
a more effective strike. If a submarine penetrates to the inner screen all and any efforts to
distract the submarine from attacking the HVUs must be made. The issue is getting weapons
in the water, even if they are not accurately targeted. Torpedo evasion maneuvers are also
necessary. A general maneuver tactic against submarines is a zig-zag. A submarine
usually relies on passive detection, not risking active sonar or a periscope observation. So to
determine where a unit is heading the submarine needs Target Motion Analysis (TMA). This
requires several minutes of passive contact and if the contact starts to zig-zag this process
must restart. The most effective unit to find and destroy submarines is another
submarine. Called Hunter-Killers, they utilize the stealth advantage of submarines to track
enemy submarines. The difficulty is that they have to be out of communication with the units
they are protecting for most of the time to use this stealth. Usually therefore most submarines
operate independently within general rules of engagement (ROE) for reconnaissance, ESM and
early offensive operations. Modern diesel submarines are almost as efficient as SSNs as
Hunter-Killers.
VI. AAW Operations
The key threat in modern naval combat is the missile. This can be delivered from surface,
subsurface or air units. With missile speeds ranging up to Mach 4 the engagement time
may be only seconds. The key to successful AAW is to destroy the launching platform before
it fires, thus removing a number of missile threats in one go. This is not always possible so the
AAW resources need to be balanced between the outer and inner air battles. There are several
limitations on Surface-to-Air missiles (SAMs). Modern missiles are commonly semi-active
homing. They need the firing unit to actively illuminate the target with a missile fire-control
director throughout the flight. If a guiding director shuts down then the missiles still in flight
will self-destruct. So the number of intercepts a unit can simultaneously prosecute are limited
by the number of directors possessed. Clearly this is not a good situation and the US Navy has
spent vast sums overcoming this limitation. The result was the Aegis combat system phased-array radar and time-sharing technologies combined with missiles that have an inertial
flight mode if the director shuts down.
Airborne Early Warning
The key to successful AAW is AEW. If attacking units can be identified before they reach
their launch points then the battle can occur at the outer air-battle screen rather
than the inner screen. An AEW unit in a race-track loiter 100 nm ahead of the PIM, with a
fighter escort, is perfect.
The Outer Air Battle: In this area the interceptor aircraft of the Combat Air Patrol (CAP) are
the principal element, whether originating from a CVBG or land base. CAP units protecting
units other than their home base are called LORCAP (LOng Range CAP). The CAP is most
effectively positioned 160-180 nm from the units to be protected on the expected threat axis.
At this point the units will wait in a fuel saving loiter to engage incoming groups with AA
missiles. As the engagements progress, relief units need to be dispatched to the CAP to ensure
that later attacks are met with full weapon loads. If attacking units penetrate the outer
defenses they can be intercepted with aircraft in ready-5 status, if used.
The Inner Air Battle: Within the main body AAW shooters should be positioned to provide
layered and overlapping coverage. The optimum firing position is directly between the
target and the inbound missiles. If the missile passes a unit on a tangent (a crossing shot)
the probability of a kill (Pk) is greatly reduced. Aegis equipped units should be kept in close
proximity to the HVUs, with less able AAW units no more than 10 nm out along the threat axis
with if possible further AAW assets 18-24 nm out. Other AAW tactics include the use of
picket ships in a silent SAM or missile trap. If the main body is forced to use active
emissions (they are already detected and localized) the one or two ships can be positioned in
emission silence 100-150 nm out. When other units detect an incoming raid the cruisers can
go active as the raid moves into their engagement envelope. However if one of these units
go active, they are unsupported and are vulnerable to individual attack. Silent SAM is
a technological tactic. Some modern missiles can be fired from one platform with targeting
and guidance from another platfrom and need never illuminate the targets themselves.
VII. ASuW Operations
Traditionally, surface naval combat was fought with large caliber guns within visual range, but
with modern ASuW, missiles, aircraft and submarine-launched torpedoes are now the
predominant antiship weapons, with guns serving a secondary function.
Appendix B-2: Submarine Warfare Tactics
By Echo from the Deep
PART I INTRODUCTION
State of Mind:
Submarine warfare (SW) and its counterpart: antisubmarine warfare (ASW) differ from virtually every
other type of warfare in a couple of ways. First of all, in
contrast to air, land and surface naval warfare, SW and
ASW is a game of patience. Though some, even most,
strategists agree that patience plays a large role in other
types of battles, the pace of submarine vs. not
submarine warfare is radically different. For instance: a
typical jet fighter dogfight will last for a few minutes.
This is mostly due to the speed of the units involved, fuel
constraints, and detect ability of the targets. The same
can be said about land fights. Sure, a battle can last for days, but an engagement between
two individual units is usually resolved pretty quickly. The same can be said of surface ship
battles. For SW however, a typical engagement can last from 30 min. to a full day. This can be
due to the unique ability of the sub to stay invisible, the fact that tracking targets with the SS
is no easy matter, and the fact that the weapons themselves (namely: the torpedo) is quite
slow compared with virtually all other short range weapon systems (such as a missile or gun
shells). Second in the submarine's unique operating environment, indeed the cause of virtually
all of the subs strengths and weaknesses, is the ability of all submarines to remain covert, in
other words, invisible. This ability can not be overemphasized. As of today, there is no reliable
way of tracking a military submarine of any kind. The submarine is, in fact, the only truly
"stealthy" weapon available to any commander. Though much ado has been made in past
years about stealth airplanes and even surface ships, the detect ability of the worlds most
stealthy airplane, the F-117A, would extract a chuckle at best from most sub skippers. The
reasons for this ability are simple: Electro-Magnetic Radiation (EMR), which encompasses
everything from gamma rays to radio waves with x-rays, light rays and microwaves in
between, does not travel very well in water. Light can only travel for 6-15 meters depending
on water transparency, radio fares a bit better, but not much. Radar, of course, utilizes radio
or microwaves to detect metal objects. Sound is the only reliable means by which a submarine
can be located, and radar operators would find sonar (detection equipment utilizing sound in
various ways) decidedly unreliable. Sound does not travel in a straight line in water,
thermoclines can keep sound above or below certain layers, and convergence zones can mean
you can acquire a target 40 to 50 kms away, then lose that target and reacquire at 10-20
kms. And sonar interference abound in such a dynamic medium as the ocean, where the
properties of sound travel can change literally from day to day, kilometer to kilometer, and
thousands of sound sources exist in a relatively small piece of real estate. All these make
sonar detection more of an art than a science. Targets are difficult to find, identify, locate and
track. A military submarines systems are therefore geared to take the best possible advantage
of this. The modern military submarine's entire philosophy centers on low detect ability,
meaning low sound emission, as well as a good ability to detect targets through sound. Also of
note in a discussion of the state of mind of sub warfare: The pace of an engagement has a
way of picking up dramatically the moment the sub has been detected, by whatever means.
For fun, try this experiment. Go to an officers club somewhere, find a submarine commander
(SS, SSN, or SSBN, doesn't matter) go up behind him and yell: "torpedo in the water!" Fifteen
seconds later, if you're still alive, that same commander will have reached a level of alertness
and adrenaline that would put any fighter pilot to shame. When a submarine is under attack,
stealth becomes irrelevant, since it usually follows that they know where you are. Evading a
weapon while simultaneously trying to regain covertness is an extremely tricky and difficult
affair, again more of an art than a science. Finally, as in all types of engagements be it tactical
or strategic, diplomatic or military, air, land or sea, a single mistake is often fatal. And
skippers often have ample time to realize and ponder their mistakes. Sub skippers are often
the ones who buy antacid by the crate.
On the strategic aspects of submarines:
What is the usefulness of the modern submarine? At the risk of repeating myself I must again
say that the usefulness that a modern submarine can bring to any military stems from its
ability to remain hidden. The submarine has always strictly been an offensive weapon, its
defensive capabilities, are somewhat lax compared to surface based forces. But its offensive
capability is unmatched, no other weapon is as gifted as the submarine in its ability to sneak
up on an enemy, engage it and disappear again. Paul Cohen wrote in 1971 that a fleet of as
little as 200 submarines could cripple or even completely annihilate sea based communications
(meaning all shipping).
Part II: THE SUBMARINE
This section deals with things that you should always keep in mind, no matter what the
mission. This means a general overview of a sub's systems, staying invisible, tracking and
IDing targets, etc.
Systems:
I will assume that you are familiar with most of a submarine's systems, nevertheless, a quick
(very quick) overview might be useful.
Control systems: A submarine, of
course, is a vehicle capable of
underwater travel. This may seem to be
an easy task, but it is a deceivingly
complex system requiring a delicate
balance of weight and buoyancy. Air is
brought into the sub into ballast tank in
the right proportion to compensate for
the weight of the submarine, a task
made incredibly difficult by the fact the
the weight of the sub is not constant!
Number of crew, weapons, supplies etc.
all contribute to make the weight of a
submarine,
hence
its
buoyancy,
change.
Depth
also
affects
a
submarine's buoyancy, as pressure
rises, so must the pressure in the
ballast
tanks
to
compensate.
A
submarine is constantly trying to
remain at neutral buoyancy, that is,
trying neither to sink or float. The only exception to this is an emergency blow, in which air is
rapidly forced into the ballast tanks, giving the submarine positive buoyancy, causing it to rise
with great speed. An
emergency
blow
is
performed
only
to
prevent a sub from
sinking, or to evade a
torpedo, or other rare
situations. Needless to
say, when a sub hits the
surface
after
an
emergency blow, things
inside the sub tend to
move around, ...a lot.
Once neutral buoyancy
is established, and the
submarine is underwater, controlling a sub is much like piloting an airplane, except for two
things. Since buoyancy is neutral, no lift is necessary, so we rarely see submarines with wings.
Also, the higher density of water means that the control surfaces will be smaller. The dive
officer takes care of virtually all maneuvers on board the submarine. He is the one who
constantly checks to see if the buoyancy is, in fact, neutral, and endeavors to keep it that
way. Control surfaces can be in a few places. At the stern, just before the propeller (the
rudder is virtually always located here). On the sail (that thing that sticks above the sub's
hull), or on the hull itself, slightly forward and below the sail. The latter two are called diving
planes, since they control vertical movement of the sub (up and down). The rudder is used to
change horizontal direction (port and starboard). The hull, as opposed to the sail, is generally
a more desirable place to put the diving planes, since it permits surfacing through thin ice
without damaging them. Diving planes can also be found at the stern, right next to the rudder.
The other control system of note is the engine/propeller. The propeller (called the screw by
navy types) is always found at the stern of the ship. Compared to a surface ship's screw, SS,
SSN and SSBN screws are huge. The reason for this being that a bigger propeller means fewer
turns per knot, which means less cavitation for a
given speed (cavitation is the forming, and then
collapsing, of small gas bubbles in the low pressure
area on the tail end of propeller blades. It
generates a tremendous amount of noise).
Engines can be of two type: Diesel electric or
nuclear. Diesel electric is by far the quietest of the
two, because while submerged, the ship runs solely
on batteries. Try holding a pair of AAs to your ears,
if you hear anything call a doctor, 'cause you're not
supposed to. The only thing making noise on these
submarines, other than the crew itself, are
cavitation and the electric motors turning the
screws. These ships have a huge drawback though.
Batteries run out, quickly. Making it necessary to surface, or come close to the surface, in
order to run the diesel engines which recharge the batteries. These subs also consume fuel,
which runs out quickly. All this means that these ships have a very limited range, and no
where near the potential horsepower of nuclear submarines. Nuclear submarines are noisier,
though they are getting better at reducing sound emissions from nuclear power plants. But
they have a definite advantage in that, in theory, they don't need to surface for 5-15 years. Of
course, that would cause serious supply problems, not to mention the psychological effect on
the crew. SSNs usually do stay submerged for the entire sortie though, which will last for
about two months in US submarines. The classic intelligence gathering mission performed by
submarines (staying close to enemy ports and harbors and trailing outbound traffic) would be
impossible in a diesel electric boat. There are currently no diesel submarines in the US navy.
Russia has a few though.
Sensor Systems: The single most
important sensor on board any nuclear
submarine is the sonar system. Sonar
designates
any
detection/tracking
system utilizing sound, and on a
submarine, it does so in two distinct
ways: Active tracking and passive
tracking.
Active
tracking
means
sending sound into the sea (pinging)
and
listening
for
the
echoes.
Submarines reflect sound very well, so
do ships. Passive tracking means
simply listening for sound made by
other objects in the sea, be them ships,
other subs, or even biologicals (whales,
fish, etc.). Passive tracking is by far the
most widely used system of the two, and indeed passive sonar is the most used sensor on the
ship period. The reason being that, barring ESM (electronic support/surveilance measures), all
other sensor systems will alert enemies to your present, a bad thing. The sonar itself, then, is
just a complex set of hydrophones hooked up to a computer system. Add a speaker/amplifier
system for active pinging, and you have, though simplified, the modern sonar system. Sonar
can be of different types though. The first is a hull mounted sonar, meaning the sonar system
is somewhere inside the hull of the ship (not necessarily a submarine, ASW ships are also
equipped with such a system.) Such systems are usually mounted at the bow, because the
screws would render the sonar nearly useless if mounted at the stern. The second system is
called a towed array. The array is towed behind the ship, at some distance. This has many
advantaged and skippers rely mostly, though by no means exclusively, on this type.
Advantages of a towed array are that, being away from the ship, the ship itself does not
interfere with performance as much. Also, this warns of tracking submarines without the need
to clear the baffles. Use of sonar is discussed in more details further down.
The modern submarine also has other sensor systems, which you may or may not wish to use.
All of them have a specific target in mind though, and skippers should keep this in mind. First
among these is the ESM, a mast that can be raised from ESM Mast depth. This mast detects
radar emissions from other vessels. Information you can get from the mast is bearing to
target, and ship type (most ship classes use different radar frequencies). This system works
well in that targets can be identified from an extremely long range. Also, unlike sound, ESM
emissions are not affected by air, bearings shown on the ESM are always true bearings to
targets.
Next, some submarines are actually equipped with a radar system. The advantages of this are
that surface targets can be found quickly and easily, with a high degree of accuracy. But it is
impossible to identify a target with radar and worse yet, enemy targets will almost certainly
know of your presence once you activate the radar system.
And, of course, all submarines, since their invention, have periscopes, which can be deployed
at, well, periscope depth. The usefulness of the telescope is somewhat outdated. If nothing
else, it will confirm data acquired by other sensor systems (target type, bearing, range, etc.).
Periscopes come in two major varieties: attack and general search. The major difference
between the two is size. The search scope has the size of a household water main, while the
attack scope is no bigger than a broom stick. One should always be careful when using the
periscope, as it can be quite easily be spotted visually, since periscopes usually leave a white
wake behind them, that can be spotted for miles around.
Two other sensor systems, which are not usually found on submarines but on ASW aircraft,
should be familiar to skippers: infrared (IR) detectors and magnetic anomaly detectors (MAD).
IR detectors work by sensing heat emitted by submarines. Its effective range is about visual
range, but unlike visual contact, IR can travel through water. The IR rays themselves cannot
travel very far in the ocean, what actually happens is that, as a submarine heats the water
around it, the water itself emits IR radiation, which can be detected. But heat dissipates as it
gets farther away from the sub, and also takes time to dissipate, meaning that by the time
you see an IR signature, the sub may no longer be there. These factors combine to make IR
detection somewhat unreliable, and ineffective at depth greater that about 100-200 feet,
depending on the class of sub (some hulls are warmer than others). MAD works on a different
principle. The earth, as most know, has a magnetic field, enabling things like compasses to
function. A large piece of steel, such as a submarine's hull, can, and does, twist the field lines
in such a way as it is detectable to objects on the surface. The effective range of a MAD is
about 950 feet in a straight line, and water does not impede MAD at all (meaning that a plane
could detect you at 900 feet of depth). The problem with MAD is precisely the fact that 950
yards, though it seems like a considerable distance, is quite short. if you were at a depth of
900 feet, an aircraft would have to be right on top of you to detect you. These detectors have
never been incorporated into a submarine because, in the case of IR, the submarine's own
emissions would effectively render the detector useless, same for MAD.
Power systems: Two types of engines have proven effective on a submarine: diesel electric
and nuclear (giving four types of military submarines in all: SS denotes diesel attack
submarine, SSN nuclear attack submarine, SSB diesel ballistic missile launching submarine
(though none exists anymore), and SSBN is a nuclear power ballistic missile launching
submarine). Diesel electric, the oldest type of submarine, has a large diesel engine which can
be used on or near the surface, and a battery system for use when deeply submerged. The
diesels are noisy, bulky and not particularly powerful, but the battery system is the quietest
power source available to any submarine. Autonomy for the batteries range from a few hours
to a day, then the sub must surface to run its diesel engines, recharging the batteries. While it
does this, the sub is VERY vulnerable. This is the main reason why both the US and Russian
navies consider SSNs and SSBNs to be superior, and why they justify the outrageous costs
associated with nuclear subs. Virtually all nuclear submarines are also equipped with backup
batteries, and sometimes even backup diesel engines. There is now an alternative fifth type of
submarine power system: Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) systems permit conventionallypowered (Diesel-Electric) submarines to remain submerged for longer periods of time.
Normally, as said, Diesel-Electric submarines have to `snorkel´ to recharge the batteries using
the Diesel engine, which poses increased risk of detection. (A `snorkel' is simply a dual
chambered tube, or pipe, that is raised above the surface to provide air for the engine(s) and
remove the exhaust.) AIP systems permit running Diesel engines while fully submerged, i.e.,
without using a snorkel.
The photo left shows a snorkeling Agosta 90B
Class sub; the snorkel is the aft, or right-hand
tube, or `mast'. The photo at right er, ah...
points out the difference AIP can make.
However, few subs are equipped with AIP
systems because it adds about US $100
million to the cost. Probably the most
commonly used AIP system in submarines
recycles the Diesel exhaust for combustion (intake) by `scrubbing' of undesirable elements,
and then adding oxygen (from a liquid oxygen tank) as required. The Diesel(s) can be used to
charge the batteries for the electric motor(s), drive the submarine, or in some submarines, do
both.
Weapon systems: The main weapon
system of a submarine, and the
oldest, is the torpedo. The Torpedo is
usually a long cylinder with a half
sphere plug at one end, and a
propeller at the other. From the bow
of the torpedo we have: guidance
system (if any), warhead, fuel, motor,
propeller. Not much can be said about
the torpedo, other than the fact that it
is a weapon designed to work
underwater at high speeds and usually
has a respectable range. The modern
submarine launched torpedo has a
major advantage over surface ship or
air launched torpedoes, it can be wire
guided. When the crew loads the torpedo into the launch tube, a wire spool (which is just
about as long as the maximum range of the torpedo, whatever that is) is also loaded just
behind it, with one end connected to the torpedo and another to the submarine. The major
benefits of this are the following: you can change the torpedo's course and speed while it is en
route, misleading the target into believing you're actually at such a bearing instead of your
actual bearing. You can also activate/deactivate the torpedo's homing system. So if you've set
it for active homing, you can delay the activation until the last minute. Finally, you can
deactivate the torpedo altogether, so if it starts homing on a friendly, or you, you can shut it
off. Ship and air launched torpedoes do not have this ability. But other than that, torpedoes
are virtually identical. Torpedoes can be used against shipping or submarines.
Next, submarines usually carry surface to surface anti-shipping missiles. These can be
launched from a torpedo tube, or vertically. Some submarine are even exclusively designed to
launch anti shipping missiles. Torpedo tube launched ASMs are usually encased in a torpedo.
When launched, it goes right to the surface and, upon breaching, cracks open and the missile
launches towards its target. Vertically launched ASMs are simply released into the water by
high pressure air, and then ignite, breaching the surface and heading for their targets. The
ASMs have distinct advantages, but also distinct disadvantages. The advantages are:
Increased range. The ASMs have a range of 70 nautical miles, compared to 25 for the torpedo.
Missiles also have a great deal more speed than torpedoes, with some traveling as fast as
mach 1. ASMs also have some serious drawbacks. First of all, they must be launched from a
shallow depth, from no deeper than 150 feet. Submarines are not very comfortable at shallow
depths (you can be detected by all sorts of things). Second, many surface ships carry anti
missile gear, such as gattling guns or AMSAMs (anti-missile surface to air missiles) or chaffs
and flares (which are decoys, designed to lure a missile away from the target). In other words,
it is easier to destroy or decoy a missile than it is a torpedo. And last but definitely not least,
helicopters or nearby ships can see the point of broach of ASMs, meaning that they not only
know of your bearing (as they would with a torpedo), but they also not your exact location,
and to make matters worse, they know you must be at 150 ft. or less.
Submarines have also carried mines since the second world war. Mines are explosive devices
that basically just sit there until something come close, or bumps into, it, and then, well, the
rest of the story is not a pretty one... Mines have numerous advantages, they are cheap,
effective (a single mine can usually do the same amount of destruction as a torpedo of same
warhead size), and can free your forces for other duties (since you can lay a minefield to cover
some strategic port or position, and then you don't have to allocate as many troops or units to
defend that place). The major disadvantage of mines is the very fact that they just sit there.
Once a mine's position is known, enemies can maneuver around them at will.
Other weapons of note include the SUBROC, which is a missile launched torpedo. Basically
they are the opposite of the sub launched ASMs. They are a torpedo encapsulated in a missile.
Mostly for surface ship launching, some submarines have actually carried this type of weapon
(meaning a torpedo inside a missile inside a torpedo). The advantages of this type of weapon
are mostly the fact that it can get to a target quickly, and it increases the effective range of
the torpedo (because it will travel some distance before entering the water), and a submarine
usually can't detect an incoming missile, so if they didn't hear the launch, they still won't know
where you are. Even with these advantages, the American navy has phased out use of
submarine launched SUBROCs, but surface ships still use them. The effective range of the
SUBROC is about 5 to 15 nautical miles for the missile, then whatever the range of the
torpedo (virtually any torpedo can be adapted to a SUBROC launch).
Vertical launch tubes in attack submarines have greatly altered their usefulness in any war like
situation. For the American navy, these will usually be loaded with tomahawk missiles.
Tomahawks are highly versatile missiles, which can be fired at land targets or sea targets.
They can even be loaded with sub munitions that will spread over an area before detonation
(some even have delayed fuses that can cause nightmares). Roughly equivalent counterparts
can be found in the russian navy, but very few
submarines are capable of launching them. Okay, so
what exactly does this change in the SSN and SSKs
role? The ability to attack land targets with the
accuracy of the cruise missile has greatly diversified
the submarine's role in a modern war theater.
Surgical strikes against key target, which don't even
have to be that close to shore, can be accomplished
by an extremely covert platform. Where blanket
bombing can be accomplished by SSBNs, SSNs can
participate in surgical strikes, which are both
morally and strategically more acceptable.
The oldest ASW weapon is the depth charge.
Essentially a water grenade, the depth charge is
dropped, or shot, into the water, and can detonate when it hits something solid, or at a
specified depth. But because of its lack of seeking capability, it has largely been replaced by
the torpedo in ASW, although its low cost means some navies do use depth charges.
It should be noted that all of these weapons can carry nuclear warheads. This may sound like
using a grenade launcher to hunt squirrels, but nothing screams "gotcha" like a 200 kT nuclear
warhead. Personally, I feel that these weapons are unnecessary. A 1000 lbs conventional
warhead will usually take out all but the very biggest capital ships, so if one isn't enough, just
fire two weapons at the target.
Defensive systems: Defensive systems are surprisingly few and simple on board of a
submarine. First and foremost are the decoys and jammers, also known as noisemakers.
These come in a couple of varieties, but all work basically on the same principle: small
cylinders filled with stuff that releases into the water when deployed. This stuff will either:
create noise, fooling passive torpedoes. Create bubbles or some other sound barrier,
protecting from active torpedoes. The goal of the noisemaker is to either fool the torpedo long
enough for the sub to get away, or better yet fool the torpedo into thinking it has a target and
detonating. Next, torpedoes can be fitted to sound like a submarine. This decoy has a
tremendous advantage over the conventional decoy. First, it can, and usually does, behave
like a submarine. Second, it is much more effective at fooling a torpedo, and tremendously
more effective at fooling sonar operators. Third, you can program that decoy to move away
from you, giving the sub time to make a discreet exit, maybe to come back a while later.
Unfortunely, this defensive system
is not simulated in our games. The
last ships system I wish to discuss
here is not a system per say, just a
modification made to the outer hull
of the most recent submarines. I'm
talking about anechoic hulls. What
this means is simply that the outer
surface of the outer hull is coated
with a layer of rubber. This has the
effect of dramatically reducing
echoes produced by the submarine,
meaning it is much harder to find
with
active
sonar
than
a
conventional hull. Internal sound
emissions
are
also
marginally
reduced.
Physics and Submarines
In this section we will mostly discuss the way sound travels through water. But it will also be
important to discuss how physical objects move through water. A good commander must have
a keen sense of physics in order to be effective at all, he must also learn how to quickly make
mental calculations, as computers will not always spontaneously give you what you want.
The way sound travels through water is much akin to the way light will travel through large
expanses of space. That is, it tends to bend and curve according to the properties of the
medium in which it travels. In space, gravity affects light, and in water, temperature, density
and physical objects affect sound. Through experience, some baseline, nearly constant
properties have arisen that every sub skipper needs to be extremely familiar with. These are
thermoclines (sometimes called thermal layers or simply thermals or layers) and convergence
zones.
Thermoclines are the submarines best friend and its worst enemy. It is paramount that a
skipper know where they are at all times. What they are is actually pretty simple: as you go
deeper into the ocean, temperature gradually drops. Simple no? Where things get foggy is
that the temperature doesn't drop at a constant rate. Up to a certain point, the temperature
tends to stay constant, or even rise slightly. Then drops quickly, only to stabilize at another
point. What this does to sound is to tend to "trap" it in one of these zones. The reasons for
this are pretty simple. Sound travels more slowly in areas of increased density, and is
therefore refracted when entering areas of different densities. Refraction is a phenomenon
easily observable by plunging a pencil into a glass of water. As most of us have already
experimented with this as a child, we know that the pencil appears to "bend" at the point of
entry. The reason being that light travel more slowly through water than air. We find that as
we turn our pencil towards the ground, the part of the pencil above the water tends to spin
faster than that below the water. When the part of the pencil above the surface becomes close
to being parallel to the water surface, that part below still has some ways to go before this
happens. When the pencil is perpendicular to the water, no difference in angle is detected
between the pencil above and below the surface. Imagine instead that this was a ray of light
(so that the actual physical pencil sticking out of the water can be ignored). If its source were
under the water, we would find that as we turn the ray towards the surface (decreasing the
angle) the angle (always to be taken as the angle ray to surface of water) above the water
surface would decrease faster (same as with the pencil, just reversed). When we reach a
certain angle (known as the refraction angle), the ray above the surface disappears
altogether. It hasn't actually disappeared, it is just parallel to the surface. Decrease the angle
further, and the ray is reflected back towards the bottom at an opposite angle. This entire
phenomenon is known as refraction. Now imagine not a layer of water and one of air, but a
small layer of water sandwiched between two layers of air, we find that up to the refraction
angle, the light ray goes through relatively unaffected, since the effect is opposite on the exit
side of the water, both angles cancel out. But for angles smaller than the refraction angle, the
light ray is reflected back, and very little light gets through the layer. If we examine what
happens between the most common, useful, thermoclines, that is the first and second
thermoclines, we find that exactly the same phenomenon is occurring. Sound originating
below the thermocline passes through the layers relatively unaffected, but beyond a certain
angle, sound is reflected back, and very little sound makes it through. Add to this the fact that
sound itself tends to curve away from the layer as it approaches it, decreasing its angle to the
layer even further, and we have the thermocline phenomenon. For all intents and purposes,
detection range from another thermocline is halved. But this goes both ways, so it's just as
hard for a sub to find a ship above the layer than it is for a ship to find a sub below the layer,
theoretically. In actuality, the modern surface ship has more chance of detecting a submarine
than the submarine has of detecting the ship. The reason being that surface ships have begun
to carry towed sonar arrays (tails), which can be deployed under the surface, even into the
second thermocline. And since the water's surface generates noise, it tends to mask a ship's
noise. One major advantage must go to the sub though: It has the ability to move to the
thermocline it wishes whenever it wishes it. Also, surface ships must, of course, be on the
water's surface, meaning other means of detection can be utilized to find them, ESM being the
preferable.
Finally, ships usually travel at fifteen to twenty knots, even more in wartime (surface ships in
wartime are usually used to ferry cargo, or protect the cargo ferries), generating noise, which
the sub can detect at some distance. The trick is to approach without being detected.
The other sonar method of detection of note is active sonar. As we discussed earlier, this
method means emitting sound and listen for echoes. Range is measured by determining the
time differential between ping emission and detection, then multiplying by the speed of sound
(which changes, as we know, depending on density and temperature). I mention this here
because it is important to realize that active sonar is subject to the same water properties as
passive sonar, meaning that thermoclines have the very same effect on active sonar.
Submarine skippers must possess a great mastery of mathematics as well. The reason being
that when someone or something is after you, or the other way around, it is of paramount
importance to know where and when you'll meet. The usefulness of this becomes apparent
when you are chased by a torpedo. If the torpedo is launched from 5 nautical miles away, if it
has a max. speed of 50 knots, accelerating to maximum speed, from 10 knots to 30 knots in
one minute, and the torpedo's maximum running time is 15 minutes, will you be able to
outrun the torpedo? Your life may well depend on how fast you can make that calculation.
Please note that all these number are a pure figment of my imagination, but if this were the
situation, the answer is no. If you took too much time figuring this out, it may be too late to
try something else.
Sorry folks, that's all I got. I never did get around to the rest of it.
Have a nice day.
Appendix B-3: Submarine Hunting
By Roel Van de Velde
The following article is not to be considered as an instruction how to hunt and kill any
submarine, but is intended to provide enthusiasts with an idea of how such a process works
and what options there are.
In general, there are three types of ASW-platforms:
-Airborne, including helicopters and planes
-Surface units, including frigates, destroyers as well as small coastal submarine hunters
-Submerged units, including diesel-electric submarines and Nuclear submarines.
The most important thing about hunting a submarine is detecting it. It consumes a lot
of time and effort. Once the submarine is detected, it is – relatively – easy to hit and sink. The
searching and detecting of a submarine is still a risk bearing operation, depending on the
asset and weapon you use. Since anyone wants to take the least risky method of finding and
killing a submarine, airborne ASW platforms remain the most popular. In response,
some of modern submarines are now equipped with MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense
Systems), but these have not proved as effective as the submarine has to surface in order to
use them, in turn exposing itself to enemy fire. Some research for a torpedo-tube launched
anti-helicopter weapon, named “Triton”, was undertaken by Germans, but no such weapon
entered service so far.
Target
Every submarine is a highly evasive, problematic to detect, “hard” target. Usually, a
submarine will be actually invisible even to the eyes of any observer on the surface, and
definitely not visible on any radar – as long as it remains submerged. The currently
available detection technology is therefore based on magnetic deviations and sound
waves. Clearly, in response to such threats submarine-constructors adapted their products,
making them ever silent. By nature, a submerged submarine is therefore “invisible”, and
therefore an extremely potent weapon. It can manoeuvre, move swiftly, or stand still, dive
through so-called thermic layers in order to hide, shoot noise makers, use the bottom of the
sea to hide, but also to find a target for itself. This all does not make any submarine a
“miracle” by itself, however, then there are still the ways of detecting submarines – even if
these are usually complex and full of problems.
Airborne Platforms
As already mentioned, airborne anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platforms are foremost
helicopters and aircraft. As seen from the submarine, they are actually invulnerable
and far more manoeuvrable – due to their advantage in speed. This speed permits
them to change their position much faster than any submarine and thus not only cover large
areas when searching for their targets, but also have a choice of time and point from which
they attack, relative to the submarine position. Helicopters are slower than aircraft and
usually have a much shorter endurance, but they have the ability to move in a far
more methodical way, and even hover over an area. They are also smaller in size and
weight and can be carried by small ships. ASW-Helicopters are usually equipped with MADs
(“Magnetic Anomaly Detectors”), dipping sonar (active and passive) and sonobuoys (also
active and passive); ASW aircraft are all equipped with MAD and sonobuoys only, while some
also have powerful surface-search radars. MAD-detectors can detect submarines only within a
quite limited zone. Dipping sonar and sonobuoys are the most effective means of
submarine hunting, then they enable the crew of the helicopter to listen to underwater
sounds over extended periods of time.
On this photograph of a USN Lockheed P-3C Orion with a Soviet Navy Project 671RTM/Victor III-class
SSN, the MAD-detector of the Orion, mounted in the lenghty extension on the rear fuselage, behind the
fin, can be seen to advantage. (Photo: Tom Cooper collection)
Modern ASW-Helicopters are mainly equipped with advanced guided torpedoes, but also with
depth charges, and light anti-ship missiles. ASW-Aircraft are much faster than either
submarines or helicopters, and usually have an extended range and excellent
endurance. However, their speed precludes them from using a dipping sonar, and when it
comes to detection means related to sound they are limited to carriage of sonobuoys, and a
MAD-detector. The largest disadvantage of ASW-Aircraft is that they most of them – except
for such aircraft like Lockheed S-3 Viking (which, however, is not any more used for ASWpurposes) – are limited to the use from land-bases. Contrary to the ASW-helicopters,
however, ASW-aircraft can carry much larger loads of weapons (including guided torpedoes,
mines, and depth charges), as well as many more sonobuoys.
Surface Platforms
Surface platforms – usually called “warships” – clearly have the much longer range and
endurance than any airborne assets. They are, however, also much heavier and larger,
carrying far more equipment and weapons – but also much slower. There are several different
types of surface ASW-platforms: they can either serve as bases for ASW-helicopters (or, in
case of some ASW-carriers, for ASW-aircraft), or – in the case of corvettes, frigates and
destroyers - can operate in combination with airborne ASW-assets. There are also small and
fast coastal-patrol vessels, which usually do not carry any airborne platforms, but can
cooperate with these to search for submarines. The concept of the large, purpose-built ASWplatform, such like ASW-carrier, appears to have been dropped since the end of the Cold War:
while in the 1960s and 1970s the USN operated special “ASW carriers” (like re-conditioned
ships of Essex-class, carrying S-1 and E-1 Trackers), the Soviet Navy operated helicopter
carriers of the Kiev- and Moskva-class, Italians have built their Giuseppe Garibaldi carrier or
the cruiser Vitorio Venetto, while later the Japanese followed with their “helicopter-carrying
destroyers” of Haruna- and Shirane-class, today nobody is building such ships any more, and
the general preference are “multi-purpose ships”. Smaller surface ASW-combatants
usually weight up to 1.000 tons and can reach speeds of up to 40kts. Because of their
speed, however, they need powerful machinery, and the space for equipment and weapons on
such hulls is therefore usually rather restricted. Nevertheless, even such platforms are
usually equipped with hull-mounted and dipping sonar, and some even have – usually
very expensive – towed array sonars. Small surface ASW-combatants are mainly equipped
with guided torpedoes, anti-submarine mortars and depth charges. Large surface ASWcombatants usually weight between 5.000 and 8.000 tons, but some classes are well
in excess of 10.000 and more tons. Such warships are very stable platforms, with good
seagoing capabilities and a lot of space and weight for heavy equipment available. Hence,
they not only carry much more and heavier weaponry, but also excellent detection
devices in one hull, including bow mounted sonars, hull-mounted sonars, towed
array sonars (active and passive), and even the so-called variable depth sonars. Large
surface ASW-combatants usually also have specialised ASW-weapons, including light-weight
and heavy-weight torpedoes, torpedo-carrying rockets, anti-submarine mortars, depth
charges, mines, and – perhaps most important of all – ASW-helicopters.
Submarines
At earlier times, especially during the WWI and WWII, submarines were foremost
built with anti-surface warfare, mainly anti-merchant, warfare in mind. The submarine
vs submarine combat occurred rather rare, most usually by pure accident. During the 1960s
and 1970s, especially the invention of nuclear-powered submarines, equipped with
highly advanced passive sonars, and advanced guided torpedoes, enabled the submarines
to be developed into potent ASW-weapons as well. Such “hunter-killer” submarines are,
of course, at a disadvantage when compared to airborne platforms in regards to speed, and
when compared to ships they frequently also have not only much slower maximal speeds, but
also shorter detection ranges. Nevertheless, specific modern-day submarines are almost
perfect ASW-weapons, developed and equipped specially with the purpose of
detecting and destroying enemy submarines. They do not face problems resulting from
swell and can therefore also have quite an advantage in speed. There are two distinct types of
ASW-submarines: most have diesel-electric powerplants (so-called “SSK”s), while larger
navies can also afford nuclear powered submarines (so-called “SSN”s). Regardless of their
powerplants, all such platforms have a bow-mounted sonar (passive and active), a flank-array
(passive linear sonar mounted on submarine’s flank), and usually also a towed array sonar.
They are usually armed with guided torpedoes, but sometimes also with rocket-torpedo
combinations (where the rocket powers the torpedo up and over the surface, bringing it to a
specific range and then drops it back into the water), rocket-depth charge combinations,
mines, and even missiles (used for anti-shp and land-attack roles). Nuclear-powered
submarines (SSNs) are much larger “boats”, and therefore in possession of not only
the advantages in speed and endurance, but also regarding the amount of weapons
and sensors they can carry. Some of SSN-submarines can even attack enemy submarines
on anchor in their own bases, by the means of cruise missiles. SSKs, on the contrary, are
usually much smaller, slower, have a much lower endurance, but are also more
manoeuvrable. In fact, due to their “air-breathing” propulsion, most of SSKs are – compared
to SSNs – exceptionally limited in their capability to remain submerged, then once under the
surface they either depend on the power of their batteries, or have to remain directly bellow
the surface in order to use the “snorchel” – a special device that supplies air from above the
sea surface to diesel engines.
Basic Principles of Anti-Submarine Warfare
The ASW is actually depending on the means of detection. There are two different
large groups of detectors: MADs and sonars. MAD is short for “Magnetic Anomaly
Detector”. Usually deployed as a probe, MAD is towed either behind a helicopter, or aircraft,
and based on the fact that any submarine is basically a large mass of steel and other metallic
alloys, concentrated in large amounts in an environment otherwise free of such materials.
Consequently, the submarines cause fine deviations in the Earth’s magnetic field. These
deviations can be detected – and even tracked with the help of a MAD. Although this detection
method is meanwhile increasingly problematic – to no small degree also because of an
increasing number of shipwrecks on the bottom of most seas (since shipwrecks can cause a
similar deviation and the Earth’s magnetic field) – meanwhile very precise maps of such
deviations are available, and they can be taken into account. The largest disadvantage of the
MAD remains therefore its limited range: the aircraft or helicopter deploying its MAD-sensor
has to fly very low and slow over the area where the submarine is suspected, in order to use it
effectively. The sonar, on the contrary, is based on sound detection: effectively, the sonar is
nothing else but a very advance microphone, consisting of all kinds of emitters and receivers,
and – in our days – supported by extremely advanced computers and software. There are
very different sonars, most of which were mentioned in this article already: bow mounted
sonars, hull mounted sonars, sonobuoys, dipping sonars, towed array sonars, and variable
depth sonar. In general, sound is a very uncertain medium, because it has to travel through
different other mediums and weather – i.e. water – conditions. Essentially, the detection of
underwater sounds depends on four main factors: salinity (amount of salt in water,
which varying from one sea to the other), pollution, temperature and pressure (which
increases with the depth). These four factors can bend sound waves, bounce them back
or even slow them down. Normaly, a sound wave will be bounced back by hard smooth
surfaces, like submarine, but also rock bottom, or stones in the sand bottom (which can even
return the same wave into several directions. The differences in water temperature at different
depths form the so-called “thermal layers” (or “thermocyclines”), the borders of which also
bounce sound beams. In specific parts of some seas and oceans, these differences are
so massive, that they enable even large submarines to hide in one thermal layer, or –
better said: bellow them – then the thermocyclines are so massive they bounce sounds from
any kind of active sonars, or completely block the sounds from reaching the passive sonar. On
the contrary, in the oceans there is a certain layer that is perfectly “transporting” sound
waves. This is the so-called “deep sea sound channel” (DSSC). The layer on top of this layer
has a too high temperature and bounces back the waves sent within the DSSC. The layer
below, has a too high pressure and hence bounces the waves back too. By this way, a wave
sent within the DSSC will be bounced back by these layers from one another, this will form a
sinusoidal movement of the sound wave and transport it for very long periods over several
thousands of miles. This layer is mostly located at depths between 800 and 2.000 meters, but
is frequently depending on temperature and pressure. As an example what a DSSC can do: in
WWII, some bombers and airplanes used to carry a depth charge that was set to explode
within the DSSC and in the USA and UK there were several stations with hydrophones inside
this layer. By taking bearings from an explosion of such a depth charge, the position of the
crashed aircraft could be determined and a rescue team could be sent out….Today, surface
ASW platforms equipped with VDS can lower these into this layer enabling them to
detect submarines over immense ranges. Of course, any decent submarine-skipper knows
this as well, and will attempt to avoid operating within the DSSC. The Sound wave is
determined by the “gain” strength of the emission and the frequency - which is dependent on
the wavelength. For frequency a simple rule of thumb can be used: the higher the
frequency the less of it will protrude the water (meaning the shorter range), but in turn this is
making the frequency easier to concentrate - or “aim the beam” (meaning more accurate
position fix). The situation is directly opposite when it comes to low frequencies. All such
details and factors fit into the submarine hunting process and procedures: the submarine is
most likely to be detected at a long range by low frequency devices, which will provide a
blurry – i.e. approximate – position. Once the hunters come closer higher frequencies
will be used to track the submarine down and for attack. Gain is important too: when
the gain is set too high, it will be bounced back too strongly, this might cause double targets,
the wave gets bounced back by the surface and goes down again, and afterwards will be
received again too. This will give double echoes. This gain might also give echoes of fish and
other insignificant objects (wreck masts etc); on the other side, it also helps in detection from
longer ranges.
Detection Devices
Sonars are in general capable of being used in active and passive modes. Active
means that the sonar sends out its own beam and then listens for echoes. Passive means that
in only relies on the noise from the target, receiving sound waves of certain frequencies. The
largest disadvantage of active seekers is that they can be heard from a much larger range
than they can detect themselves. For example when an active sonar has a range of one mile,
it can be heard by the passive sonar of a submarine from as far as three or four miles. This
would mean that the submarine can detect the presence of the “submarine hunter”
in advance and take evasion measures – or even launch a pre-emptive attack.
Therefore, in modern ASW the use of active sonar is preferrable only if the target is already
known and tracked, or in desperate situation when there is an urgent need of finding the
target the presence of which is known but position of which is unknown.
1) Bow mounted sonars are today mounted on most frigates and destroyers, since they are
rather easy to incorporate and do not require any adaptations that might have adverse effects
on the construction of the ship. In general, all bow mounted sonars can be used in both,
active and passive modes. They are usually installed in the bulb of the ship, but have the
disadvantage of suffering to flow noise. This means that the faster the ship is moving the
faster the water passed down the bow, and the bulb is more likely to cause the flow noise,
which covers any external noises, making them harder to detect. High speed movements of
the ship also create air bubbles in water surrounding the bow: air is especially bad then it
bounces sound waves off. Another problem connected with ship movement is that of
machinery noise. Every ship is getting noisier the faster it moves, causing air bubbles to snap
in the water, cavitation of propellers, louder engine noises etc. Therefore, slower speeds are
advised for submarine hunting.
2) Hull mounter sonars are usually mounted just behind the bow, at about one third of the
hull down from the bow. This position offers the advantage that there is nothing that
creates air bubbles – like the bulb in which the bow mounted sonars are usually positioned.
Yet, the disadvantage is that hull mounted sonars detoriate the ship’s hydrodynamic form,
suffer from additional flow noise, and have a limited field of “view”. Specifically, under
specific conditions, hull mounted sonars cannot detect submarines operating near the bottom
of the sea. They can also not be used in both, the passive and active modes at once.
3) Variable Depth Sonars are usually placed in a hull of their own, and towed behind the
ship on a line long between 600 and 1.500m. They can be used in both, passive and
active modes, and have a steering mechanism that allows them to alter the operating
depth, as well as to measure the pressure, temperature and orientation. The VDS
therefore offers the crew of any ASW-platform the best grasp of water conditions; yet, its
greatest advantage is that it can alter its depth and therefore dive bellow thermal boundaries,
in turn enabling detection of submarines that hide in thermal layers – where the sound waves
of both, from where no sound waves would reach the bow mounted sonar and the hull
mounted sonar, or from where the sound waves would bounce. The VDS can also be driven
into the DSSC, and enable the ship to detect submarines from immense distances.
The use of VDS does not permit the warship to operate at high speeds, then towing cable
develops very high breaking strength, while the flow noise at high speeds would also cover all
the other sounds. Besides, the VDS require a large adaptation of the ship’s stern (rolls to
mount the cable, rails to mount the module, winches to launch and retrieve it etc.), and can
be very problematic to handle, requiring an excellently trained and experienced crew to
operate it. Thefore, such devices are used only on specialised ASW-ships.
4) Towed Array Sonars are arrays towed behind the ship (or a submarine). Basically, they
consist of a cable of up to 1.800m long, with a large “pod” – full fo hydrophones and other
sensors – at the end. The cable needs to be as long to be towed behind far enough behind the
ship in order to be held out of the zones interfered by the ship’s noise (engines), vibration and
cavitation caused by propellers. Originally, all towed arrays were passive, but nowadays
there is an increasing number of arrays that can be used in active mode as well. In
general, they give a 360 degree search capability and are especially useful for long-range
detection, mainly because they monitor low frequency. They can also be used for
detection of surface ships, providing bearings to noise-sources. Compared to VDS, the towed
array sensors are rather light, even if they also require a winch for the cable; like in the case
of VDS’ they are also useful only at slower speeds. Nevertheless, towed arrays are much
lighter and therefore can be found on most of multi-purpose warships too. Ships equipped with
towed arrays usually operate in short dashes: taking one bearing, speeding up to a next
position, slowing down and attempting to take a new bearing. This allows for a long-range
estimate of the submarine’s position. The towed arrays are also frequently used in conjunction
with helicopter’s dipping sonar, or the towed array of another ship, enabling a
“triangulation” of the target, i.e. establishing a very precise target fix, including not only
the bearing, but also the range to the target.
(All drawings by Roel Van de Velde)
The drawing above shows the function of a towed array sonar. As first while searching for a possible
submarine, with the help of the towed sonar the ship can get a bearing (angle between north and the
direction of the target), as can be seen on the little compass. Then the ship stores the sonar and
accelerates to Point B (usally chosen by the skipper or ASW-officer), where the sonar is deployed again
in attempt to get a new bearing. If a second bearing is established, the cross of the two bearings is the
approximate position of the submarine. Of course, it takes some time to move from point A to point B,
and so the submarine will move too. But, as submarines usually move at a much slower speeds than
warships in order to remain quiet, the warship is in a better position to execute a manoeuvre of this kind
and also find the submarine – the possible position of which is marked by a red circle on this drawing.
Intermittent line indicates the true course of the submarine. Once such cross-bearing was established,
the ship can move in closer and use the active sonar, or – in the case of larger ships – send a helicopter
to find the submarine and execute an attack. This drawing shows also the advantage of having multiple
ships equipped with towed array working together. When one ship is at point A and the other at point B
simultaneously, they can do the cross bearing immediately and have a very accurate position of the
submarine right away. Of course, additional units – including helicopters – with similar capabilities will do
even better: the more units an ASW group counts, the better the target fix will be.
5) Dipping Sonars are mainly used by helicopters and small, fast patrol vessels
(Russian Pauk I-class, and different hydrofoil crafts). Diping sonar is basically a small pod with
a microphone (1m high and 20-30cm in diameter at most), hanging on the end of a long line.
When dipping sonar is operated from helicopter, the helicopter has to stop in the air
and hower, lowering the sonar into the water (“dipping it”). Depending on the size of the
heilicopter, some dipping sonars can be lowered down to more than 300m bellow the surface.
Most of dipping sonars can only work in active mode but an increasing number can
also operate in the passive mode. In essence, the dipping sonar is deployed in a similar
manner to the towed array sonar, with the difference that the helicopter can swiftly heave the
pod and rapidly move to the next spot, thus being able to cross-check own bearings withing
shortest possible periods of time.
6) Sonobuoys. Sonobuoys are basically drifting hydrophones, mainly used by ASWaircraft and -helicopters. They are all connected to a ship or helicopter-based information
system via a complex data-link net, which is listening to what the sonobuoys hear. Originally,
all sonobuoys could work only in active mode and a single deploying system could
usually only listen to two or three at once. Since the mid-1980s much more powerful
sonobuoy-supporting systems and computers are in use, enabling the deployment of
passive sonobuoys, and listening to all of them at once, as well as automatic modes, which
enable sonobuoys to listen on pre-determined frequencies. The disadvantage of active
sonobuoys is obvious: a submarine can hear them not only as they splash into the
water, but especially so when they start to “ping” with their active sonars. For this
reason the use of also active sonobuoys with active sonars is something modern navies
attempt to avoid. Sonobuoys are relatively cheap and can be used in immense
numbers. They are usually dropped in rows, each at a specific different from the other. In
this way a helicopter of ASW-aircraft equipped with them can search or monitor either along a
specific line, or even a whole area. The advantage of using sonobuoys is obvious: when more
than one has a bearing on a possible submarine, the user can almost immediately establish
the exact position of his target.
Weapons
Through the history a considerable number of different weapons was developed for fighting
submarines.
- Torpedoes: The torpedo is a cylindrical shaped device with a small sonar in its
“bow”. ASW-torpedoes are usually driven by an electric engine. In our days, ASW-torpedoes
are mainly used by helicopters, which drop them from low altitude while flying at slow speed.
Similar or same models are usually also used by ASW-ships. Upon being jettisoned from
helicopters, the torpedo is slowed down by a parachute that slows it. The parachute falls off
due to the sudden pressure caused by entery into the water and from that moment onwards
the weapon is on its own. Modern ASW-torpedoes are self-homing, and have presellected search-patterns, along which they operate once under the surface. Guided
torpedoes used by submarines are not only larger and heavier than those used on helicopters
and ASW-aircraft, but also equipped with a small box mounted behind the propeller, which
contains wire (usually a fibre-optic cable); there is a similar box with wire inside the torpedo
tube. Once the torpedo is released from the tube it remains connected to the submarine’s
weapons system. While torpedoes dropped from helicopters and aircraft are usually short
ranged, the weapons deployed from submarines are constructed to be fired from relatively
short ranges, do several turns before – under optimal conditions – colliding with target.
Torpedoes used by submarines are far more flexible: they can, for example, be launched
at slow speed in order not to create too much noise, then steered to the vicinity of target and
kicked at high speed. The crew of the submarine can also decide when to activate their
homing system. This is also a fact of potential tactical advantage, then as long as the
torpedo’s sonar remains inactive, there is less chance of target recognizing the attack and
attempting to evade. In turn, this also means that the torpedo can be used as a remote
sonar. There are, nevertheless, several problem-zones with guided torpedoes. The wires
limit the range because only a limited amount of cable can be stored inside the two boxes. The
other problem is that while guiding a torpedo via the wire the submarine can only manoeuvre
at minimal speeds, and is thus highly vulnerable in the case of a counterattack. If the boat is
detected prematurely – i.e. while guiding one of ist torpedoes – it thus has to cut the wires
and run: this is making any torpedo useless unless it was previously put in active sonar mode
and well on the way to the target. Of course, guided torpedoes can also be launched in
normal mode, aiming at the target: they will normally run until approaching the target and
then activate their homing systems. This form of an attack is not the most promissing, then
the fire-control solution pre-programmed into the torpedo before launch can be wrong, and
torpedo either miss or activate too early, enabling the target to evade.
- Depth Charges: A depth charge is basically a barrel filled with explosives and a
fuze, which usually functions on the basis of pressure that increases with the depth. Another
popular method of igniting a depth charge is contact fuze, causing the charge to detonate
when hitting the submarine or the sea ground nearby. Generally, depth charges are used in
large numbers: they can be dropped by helicopters or ships, or launched by rockets from
ships or submarines. Depth charges are not only dangerous for submarines when they hit
directly or detonate nearby: pressure waves created by their detonations are very powerful
under the water, and create waves that can not only cause a considerable shock to the
structure of the submarine, or disable the electrical system, but even crack the hull and sink
the boat. The effective range of the pressure waves caused by a bomb is called the
“blast radius”. The most modern depth charges are much lighter than before, and deployed
with help of multi-barrel mortars, some of which have a range of between 4.000 and 6.000m.
Such mortars can place a number of depth charges into the same part of sea at different
depths within very short periods of time, thus creating blast areas of considerable size.
- Mines: Generally, mines are used to deny the use of specific parts of sea, or to
protect a certain area. These weapons exist in all kinds of forms and calibres, and have an
even larger variety of fuzing methods. A better part of any mine consists of explosive, but in
general there are three types: anchored, floating, and bottom mines. Anchored mines are
buoyant, but connected to the bottom with a chain. This can keep them at different depths.
Together with floating mines, they are the easiest to dismantle: the chain keeping the mine
anchored can be cut by minesweepers, causing the mine to surface (although, specific modern
types of anchored mines have an anti-sweeping cable, which have a certain "slip-through"
part, through which the sweeping gear can slip). Once there it can be activated by gun or
cannon from safe distance. Bottom mines are the most problematic to find, first of all, as
they are usually positioned in the mud or between the rocks on the ocean floor – from where
some types rise only if a ship or submarine is passing nearby. Searching for them is
immensely problematic, then minehunters require special remotely controlled detection and
destruction devices to dismantle them.
Conclusion
Submarine hunting is a very complex operation and requires a large number of
assets with a very quick reaction time. Yet, it is a very necessary task because any
submarine is a threat that simply cannot be ignored. Like ever since their invention, the
submarines remain a latent threat to merchant shipping, and are in position to block even an
entire country – if available in sufficient numbers, of course. With the advent of nuclear
submarines this threat grew in intensity, because such boats are capable of hunting down all
of enemy’s merchant traffic directly in front of the coast, and only limited by amount of food
and weapons they carry. All submarine-hunters are confronted with immense problems:
usually, the areas in which they can operate are immense; the already described problems
with the sea can only be worsened by the weather. Normal patrol duty is endlessly boring for
those who serve aboard ASW-warships, aircraft, and helicopters, yet they have to remain
vigillant over extended periods of times and keep on trying regardless the circumstances or
problems they are confronting. In general, their opponents – the submarines – can pick the
choice of time and place of the engagement, that is they are not detected too early.
Submarine skippers will do their best to – patiently – bring thier boats in proper position.
Commanders of SSNs will be in advantage in deeper waters, where there is a need for
endurance and flexibility in manoeuvre, as well as long-range sensors and weapons. The SSKs
are less mobile and their actions more predictable, resembling rather a “mobile minefield”,
which – once it is brought in position – conducts its operation in silence, waiting for a prey to
appear. They can be very effective in defending shores from enemy submarines and warships,
but their offensive capabilities are limited also by their inability to dive for longer periods of
times without air supply: this inability makes them prone to early detection.
Appendix B-4: Air Anti-Submarine Warfare
From Military Analysis Network (www.fas.org)
Art by Don Feight (www.feightstudios.com)
Air ASW efforts began in earnest during World War II to counter the dangerous submarine
threat. The devastation and terror experienced earlier during World War I dramatically
prioritized the requirement for effective ASW forces; including aircraft. The duelists, the
aircraft and the submarine, have been locked into an intense chess match ever since World
War II. With each new tactical or technological innovation for Air ASW, the submarine threat
counters with either a new procedure or system. The three distinct historic phases of Air ASW
include the World War II years, the Cold War period, and the Post-Cold War era.
World War II Years
Aircraft in the early days of Air ASW primarily relied upon
visual lookouts to detect submarines. These patrolling
aircraft consisted mainly of Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina
seaplanes, smaller aircraft, and various airships (or blimps).
Their weapon systems were limited to guns, depth bombs,
and rockets. Of course, having offensive weapons did not
necessarily ensure aircraft survivability. In June 1943,
Airship K-74 on a night patrol off the Florida coast attacked
a surfaced German submarine. The airship was shot down in
the ensuing gun duel. The submarine, U-134, was forced to
return to base. As the submarine struggled back home, it
survived two subsequent attacks but was finally sunk by
British bombers in the Bay of Biscay. In the European
theater, ASW aircraft patrolled from airfields in Iceland and
French Morocco as well as various European airstrips.
Coverage of the North Atlantic came from Argentia located
in Newfoundland, Canada while patrols from Natal, Brazil watched the South Atlantic. Aircraft
operated from many sites within the continental U.S. as well as Puerto Rico, Cuba, Trinidad,
and Panama to cover the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The Japanese submarine threat
was countered by aircrews operating from Australia and the many islands of the South Pacific,
Hawaii, and the Aleutians. Protection of the West Coast was provided mainly from airfields in
San Diego and Moffett Field, California. Interestingly enough, seaplanes operating from distant
bases were periodically refueled at sea by submarines designed to deliver aviation gasoline.
World War II-vintage diesel submarines still had to surface during the night to re-charge their
spent batteries. ASW aircraft countered these submarine nighttime operations with
searchlights, flares and radar systems. This worked for a while until the submarine community
responded with electro-magnetic sensors to detect aircraft radar emissions, snorkels to
minimize their exposed hull surfaces, and radar decoys. Other ASW aircraft sensors employed
during World War II included MAD and sonobuoys. Additionally, aircraft went through many
different paint camouflage schemes to mask their appearance not only from hostile
submarines, but also from enemy aircraft, ships, and coastal land watch. Prior to the attack on
Pearl Harbor, Catalina aircraft began experimentation with Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD)
systems. A Catalina operating from Quonset Point, Rhode Island successfully demonstrated
the MAD system by detecting a submarine during the initial testing. Additionally, ten days
after the Pearl Harbor attack, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) satisfactorily demonstrated
a duplex switch which allowed a Catalina radar system to transmit and receive electromagnetic
pulses without using a cumbersome secondary antenna system. Although sonobuoys had been
developed in 1941, the concept was not fully endorsed. Meanwhile, blimps were wasting time
and weapons after detecting multiple MADs of sunken ships and old wrecks. They needed a
sensor to validate and corroborate MAD contacts. Hence the passive sonobuoy concept was
"dusted off" the shelves for use by the airships. In February 1942, the Navy's Coordinator for
Research and Development requested the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to
develop an expendable radio sonobuoy which could be used by lighter-than-air (LTA) aircraft.
In March 1942, the practicality of sonobuoys was demonstrated off New London, Connecticut
as a K-5 blimp detected the propeller sounds of the submarine S-20 at maximum distances of
three miles. Radio reception of the signals, however, was limited to five miles. In October
1942, the Bureau of Ships began sonobuoy procurement by purchasing 1,000 sonobuoys and
100 ASW receivers. Later in June, Project Sail was formally established at Quonset Point for
conducting MAD system research and testing. Sponsored by the Naval Ordnance Laboratory
and the NDRC, the promising results conducted with airships and an Army B-18 resulted in the
procurement of 200 MAD units. The successful deployment of a working MAD system
consequently led to the requirement for a weapon system to attack submarines. Detection of
MAD signatures occurs after the aircraft has flown over the submarine. Hence, a retro-rocket
weapon was designed to fly backwards a short distance to the approximate position where the
MAD anomaly was detected and release a depth bomb. These retro-rockets were designed by
the California Institute of Technology using a Catalina aircraft. They were installed a year later
to complement the MAD gear in VP-63 aircraft. In January 1944, VP-63 aircraft began
patrolling the Straits of Gibraltar. The aircraft threat and the associated MAD gear effectively
closed submarine daylight transits through this narrow channel. Five weeks later, VP-63
detected the MAD signature of a submarine attempting to cross the straits. Attacked by
Catalina retro-rockets, the submarine (U-761) was later sunk with the assistance of two other
ships and additional aircraft. Air ASW efforts were not just limited to improved sensors;
improvements in ASW aircrafts were also examined. In June 1942, Igor Sikorsky's VS-300
helicopter was inspected by naval personnel
and recommended for ASW and life-saving operations. The following month, the Bureau of
Aeronautics issued a Planning Directive calling for the procurement of Sikorsky's helicopters.
In April 1943, the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Fleet established a joint board to evaluate
helicopters for ASW. Later that June, helicopters were recommended to carry radar and
dipping sonar systems and to use these primitive helicopters as a hunter platform rather than
a killer unit. By January 1944, it was determined that a helicopter with ASW capability would
be limited to coastal waters until flight performance improvements could be made. Meanwhile,
in February 1943, a Letter of Intent (LOI) was sent to the Lockheed Vega Airplane Division for
the development of two XP2V-1 patrol planes. This would be the initial development of the
U.S. Navy's patrol plane workhorse through the early 1960's, the Lockheed P-2V Neptune. By
the end of the war, Navy and Marine aircraft sank 13 submarines. Working with other forces,
they sank 26 submarines (6 Japanese, 20 German).
Cold War Period
As the United States entered the Cold War period, Air ASW advancements continued as the
Martin SP-5B Marlin seaplane, the Lockheed P-2V Neptune and the Grumann S-2F Tracker
aircraft began searching for Soviet submarines. Also, the effectiveness of helicopters with
dipping (or dunking) sonars would now be emphasized. Meanwhile, the submarine fleet was
getting harder to find. As nuclear submarines began entering the inventory in the mid-1950's
and newer diesel submarines were constructed, more advance Air ASW systems would have to
be developed. One method of acoustically locating submarines was through the use of "Julie."
"Julie" utilized small explosive charges which created an acoustic pulse that was bounced off
submarine hulls and detected by passive sonobuoys. Conversely, a passive method to find
snorkeling diesel submarines was a system called "sniffer." "Sniffer" operated somewhat
similar to today's smoke detectors. It detected minute air particles and contaminants from the
operation of a submarine diesel engine. Aircraft would mark their position after each sniffer
detection. After several detections and adjusting for the wind, aircrews could begin localizing
the snorkeling diesel submarine. Most of the Air ASW operations were against the quickly
growing Soviet submarine fleet. Typical ASW operations included tracking ballistic missile
submarines as well as searching for attack and guided missile submarines shadowing the U.S.
Fleet. Sonobuoys began to be used quite extensively during this period. Additionally, a lot of
research was conducted to determine sound transmission characteristics of the ocean. This
would lead to different sonobuoy designs to catalog water temperature profiles, to measure
background noise levels, and to distinguish the different natural and manmade sounds. Initial
operating tests of the XCF dunking sonar began in January 1946. The sonar was carried
aboard an H02S helicopter
flying
from
Key
West,
Florida.
Meanwhile, production of the
Lockheed
P-2V
Neptune
began at the end of World
War II. Neptune aircraft
production for the U.S. Navy
would continue until 1962.
During the time period, the
Neptune
would
demonstrating its versatility
by setting several endurance
records as well as launching
from the carrier deck of the
U.S.S. Coral Sea using jetassisted
take-off
(JATO)
bottles.
Anecdotally,
the
Navy and the Bureau of
Standards in late 1953
announced a joint project
called "Tinker Toy". They
were developing a process for the automated manufacture of electronic equipment and
demonstrated its success by assembling a sonobuoy. Through this project, the sonobuoy
would become a pivotal ground-breaker for the development of the microelectronic and solid
state circuitry manufacturing industry. In late spring, 1958, the HSS-1N helicopter, capable of
both day and night ASW in poor weather conditions was publicly flown. By late summer that
same year the Lockheed Electra civilian airliner design, selected as a replacement for the
venerable Neptune, would fly its maiden flight as a P3V-1. By mid-March the following year,
the HSS-2 amphibian all-weather ASW helicopter would also make its first flight. The first P-3A
was produced on April 15, 1961. It would later be followed by the P-3B which included more
powerful engines and improved ASW acoustic sensors. In May 1969, the P-3C Orion aircraft
was unveiled. As the P-3 Orion aircraft continued to enter the Fleet, older ASW aircraft began
to be phased out. For example, the SP-5B Marlin of VP-40 completed the last U.S. Navy
seaplane flight in October 1967. Additionally, the Navy Air Systems Command initiated a
contract with Lockheed in August 1969 to develop the S-3 Viking to replace the aging
Grumann S-2 Tracker. The beginning years of the next decade saw many changes in Air ASW
platforms. In July 1970, the P-3C Orion began its first operational deployment from Keflavik,
Iceland. The advancements of the P-3C included the processing of directional sonobuoys as
well as an onboard computer system. On October 1972, the SH-2D LAMPS Mk I helicopter was
accepted for Fleet usage. In November 1971, the first S-3A was completed by Lockheed. In
January 1972, the S-3A completed its inaugural flight. The S-3A Viking would double the
speed and range of its predecessor as well as tripling the search area capability. It began
acceptance trials in October 1973 and was officially introduced into the Fleet in February 1974.
Also in 1974, a Harpoon air-to-surface missile was first launched by a P-3 Orion. This would
lead to an expanded role for the versatile land-based aircraft. During the fall, a prototype
LAMPS Mk III H-2/SR helicopter was delivered to the Kaman Aerospace Corporation for flight
certification. The following year, in 1975, the first production P-3C Update I aircraft was
delivered to VX-1. It included upgrades in navigation by the addition of the OMEGA system,
better acoustic processors, a tactical display scope, and a seven-fold increase in computer
memory. That same year saw the end of an era as the last S-2 Tracker was withdrawn from
service after 22 years of operation. On August 29, 1977, the first P-3C Update II arrived at the
Naval Air Test Center for technical evaluation. It included an Infra-Red Detection System
(IRDS) and was outfitted for the Harpoon air-to-surface missile. The first launch of a Harpoon
missile by an operational squadron occurred in July 1979. Earlier in September 1978, the P-3C
Update III test platform was delivered. The P-3C Update III would include an advance signal
processor to replace the aging AN/AQA-7 acoustic processors. Additionally, the last P-2V
Neptune rolled off the production line heading for Japan. Meanwhile a new ASW helicopter, the
LAMPS Mk III built by Sikorsky, was selected by the Navy on September 1, 1977. The
following February, the Department of Defense authorized full scale development of the LAMPS
Mk III. The SH-60B Seahawk LAMPS Mk III mock-up was put through shipboard compatibility
trial during the summer of 1978. The following year, Sikorsky unveiled the SH-60B. The
LAMPS Mk III would greatly expand and augment the ASW and anti-surface warfare (ASUW)
role played by the destroyers and cruisers. In 1982, the terror of the submarine threat was reemphasized as an old Argentine submarine built during World War II successfully evaded
determined and well-equipped British ASW forces during the Falkland Islands War. The
Argentine submarine-launched torpedo attacks were unsuccessful due to the antiquity of the
1940's vintage weapons. Conversely, the threat posed by British submarines and aircraft
severely restricted the Argentine Navy to the safety of the South American coast. From either
perspective, the submarine threat and the ASW capabilities of each fleet were primary factors
in the final outcome. In 1985, the improved version of the Viking, the S-3B, was flown. It
would include extensively improved acoustic and non-acoustic sensors as well as outfitting for
the Harpoon missile. By the late 1980's, the SH-60F was developed to begin replacing the
aging SH-3 helicopter. The SH-60F included an improved dipping sonar system and coupled it
to the airframe of the successful SH-60B LAMPS Mk III helicopter. The SH-60F helicopter
would provide inner zone protection of carrier battle groups. Additionally, a standardized
helicopter airframe for both LAMPS and inner zone protection missions yields significant
logistical savings.
Post-Cold War Era
Post-Cold
War
ASW
operations
continued....however
with
a
new
submarine threat. Many Third World
nations began purchasing some of the
latest designs in diesel submarine
technology. Rapid advances in battery
technology
and
alternate
energy
producing systems have extended the
submerged endurance of a diesel
submarine
operating
on
batteries.
Additionally, new designs and materials
have been used to quiet noisy submarine
sources as well as defeat active sonar
systems. Also, these newer submarines
now operate in the much noiser and
difficult shallow waters along the coast (littoral waters). These modernized diesel submarines
can be used to insert military personnel, lay deadly minefields, launch devastating cruise and
guided missile, threaten vital shipping lanes, and of course, attack ships and submarines.
Passive acoustic detection of these increasingly quiet submarines has been limited and forced
Air ASW aircrews to counter with improved active sonar systems as we enter the 21st century.
Nevertheless, the Air ASW challenges ahead continue to be met by the US Navy's frontline
ASW aircraft; the P-3C Updates II and III, the S-3B, the SH-60B/F and the SH-2G.
ASW Sensors
Detecting the stealthy submarine starts with maintaining a tool kit of different sensors. Each
sensor has specific applications that counters different submarine operations. Many of these
sensors complement and corroborate each other to enhance ASW effectiveness. Air ASW
sensors are divided into two basic types; acoustic and non-acoustic. In some foreign services,
these acoustic and non-acoustic sensors are commonly referred to as wet- and dry-end
sensors, Non-acoustic sensors augment the detection capability provided by acoustic sensors.
These sensors use radar to detect exposed periscopes and hull surfaces, electro-magnetic
systems to intercept the radar emissions from submarines, infra-red receivers to detect the
heat signatures of surfaced submarines, or Magnetic Anomaly Detectors (MAD) to sense small
changes in the Earth's magnetic field caused by the passage of a submarine. This
sophisticated technology is further enhanced by vigilant lookouts who are carefully scanning
the turbulent ocean surface for submarine periscopes and wakes.
Radar Sensors
Radar sensors have been used since World War II for the detection of surfaced or snorkeling
submarines. Back then, submarines relied upon their batteries for submerged operations.
Eventually their batteries would become drained to the point where they were forced to return
to the surface and operate their diesel engines to re-charge the battery. While surfaced, the
submarine was extremely vulnerable to detection by both radar and visual sensors. The
addition of a snorkel enabled the submarine to operate its battery-charging diesel engines
while minimizing its exposure to radar and visual sensors. Additionally, the background clutter
of the surrounding ocean waves limited radar and visual detection. Also, the development of
submarine-based electro-magnetic sensors provided the submarine commander with
suffficient warning to dive if approaching radar emissions were detected. Eventually, nuclear
submarines where developed which eliminated the need to periodically recharge the batteries.
Despite this significant advance, not all nations were able to build nuclear submarines due to
financial and technological reasons. Those nations which remain committed to diesel power
have pursued technology which limits the number of times the submarine has to recharge its
batteries. However, many submarine commanders must still use their periscopes to provide
final visual classification of targets prior to attack. Because of this requirement for target
verification, radar systems are still used to detect submarine periscopes. Today's airborne
radar systems must be lightweight yet sufficiently capable for ASW operations, long-range
detection and surveillance of surface vessels, airborne navigation, and weather avoidance. For
that purpose, many Air ASW radar systems use different radar frequencies, scanning speeds,
transmission characteristics, pulse lengths, and signal processing methods that reduce
background sea clutter and enhance radar returns from exposed pericopes and submarine
hulls. The hostile submarine using electro-magnetic sensors, however, can still detect ASW
aircraft radar emissions at a much greater distance than the aircraft can detect the submarine
by radar. Nevertheless, the threat of radar detection is sufficient to keep the submarine
submerged. Radar systems now used aboard U.S. Navy ASW aircraft include the AN/APS-115
(P-3C), AN/APS-124 (SH-60B), and AN/APS-137 (S-3B, some P-3Cs).
Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) Sensors
MAD sensors are used to detect the natural and manmade differences in the Earth's magnetic
fields. Some of these differences are caused by the Earth's geological structures and sunspot
activity. Other changes can be caused by the passing of large ferrous objects, such as ships,
submarines or even aircraft through the Earth's magnetic field. MAD sensor operation is
similar in principle to the metal detector used by a treasure hunter or the devices used by
utility companies to find underground pipes. For ASW purposes, the ASW aircraft must almost
be essentially overhead or very near the submarine's position to detect the change or
anomaly. The detection range is normally related to the distance between the aircraft sensor
("MAD head") and the submarine. Naturally, the size of the submarine and its hull material
composition normally determines the strength of the anomaly. Additionally, the direction
travelled by both the aircraft and the submarine relative to the Earth's magnetic field is also a
factor. Nevertheless, the close proximity required for magnetic anomaly detection makes the
MAD system an excellent sensor for pinpointing a submarine's position prior to an air-launched
torpedo attack. In order to detect an anomaly, the MAD head of the aircraft tries to align itself
with the noise produced by the Earth's magnetic field. Through this alignment, the noise
appears as a near-constant background noise value which enables the operator to recognize
any contrasting submarine magnetic anomalies from the background noise. However, any
rapid changes in aircraft direction or the operation of certain electronic equipment and electric
motors can produce so much aircraft electro-magnetic noise that makes the detection of the
submarine's magnetic signature virtually impossible. Special electronic circuitry is enabled to
compensate and null out this aircraft magnetic noise. Additionally, the MAD head is placed the
farthest distance away from all the interfering sources. That is why the P-3C Orion aircraft has
its distinct tail stinger or "MAD boom". On the S-3B, a similar MAD boom is installed and is
electrically extended away from the aircraft during MAD operations. Additionally, the SH-60B
extends a towed device called a "MAD bird" to reduce aircraft magnetic noise. With continuing
advances in both compensation and sensor technology, the detection ranges for MAD sensors
may be enhanced for the search and localization phases of ASW missions. Currently all naval
ASW aircraft use variations of the AN/ASQ-81 MAD system. A few P-3C aircraft use an
advance MAD system, the AN/ASQ-208, that uses digital processing.
Electro-Magnetic (EM) Sensors
Electro-Magnetic (EM) sensors passively scan the radio frequency spectrum for intentional
electronic transmissions from hostile forces. These electronic emissions originate from land
sites, ships, and aircraft. They can also be detected from submarines. By comparison, Air ASW
EM sensors are sophisticated versions of radar detectors used to sense police radar gun
signals. The difference, of course, is that Air ASW EM sensors provide all the details necessary
to classify and localize the type of electro-magnetic emission that has been detected. Since
the radio-frequency spectrum is extremely cluttered with both hostile, friendly, and neutral
electronic emissions, ASW aircraft EM systems are designed to search mainly for radar signals.
To further reduce the electronic clutter, signature libraries are used to selectively search for
specific submarine radar signals while disregarding signals from friendly and neutral radar
systems. Detection of electronic emissions, however, is dependent upon the submarine
commander's gamble to operate the submarine radar. Although, EM systems are not normally
one of the primary ASW sensors, its flexibility for detecting hostile aircraft and naval
combatants at long ranges makes it an effective sensor for all air warfare missions. Its
potential presence deters the operation of submarine radar systems forcing the submarine
commander to rely on other less accurate sensors to find targets. EM systems installed on
naval ASW aircraft include the AN/ALQ-78 and AN/ALR-66 series on the P-3C Orion, the
AN/ALQ-142 on the SH-60B Seahawk, and the AN/ALR-76 on the S-3B Viking.
Infra-Red (IR) Sensors
IRsensors are used to detect the heat signatures that extend beyond the visible light
spectrum. They are commonly called either FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red) or IRDS (InfraRed Detection System). The major difference between FLIR and IRDS is that FLIR passively
scans for IR sources forward of the aircraft whereas IRDS searches all around the aircraft. This
passive sensor device must be cryogenically cooled in order to detect IR sources. The IR
signature itself can be masked by warm waters and high humidity. When conditions permit,
medium detection ranges can be obtained that are comparable or even better than normal
visual search ranges. At night, the system works even better as long as there is a noticeable
difference in temperature between the source and the background environment. IR systems
for nighttime ASW operations have replaced the previous method of illuminating the ocean
with either a searchlight or flares; active visual search methods. By using a passive system
such as either FLIR or IRDS, the submarine commander has another dilemma to solve on
whether to snorkel or surface during the night. Most ASW aircraft utilize the IR sensors not
only for ASW, but also for maritime surveillance.
Visual Sensors
Many submarine contacts are still detected using visual scanning techniques. These techniques
are sometimes augmented by sophisticated binocular and other electro-optical devices.
Submarine commanders are still wary of being visually spotted and maintain a safe speed
when their periscopes are exposed so that their telltale wake remains indistinct compared to
the background sea clutter. The position of the Sun and the Moon as well as the direction of
the ocean waves are all factors the submarine commander must consider in order to remain
unobserved. In some regions of the world, phosphorescent marine organisms illuminate a
submerged submarine allowing it to be visually spotted. Additionally, some aircrews may use
night vision goggles to aid in visual detection at night.
Appendix B-5: Communication with submarines
Because electromagnetic radiation such as normal radio communication cannot travel through
thick conductors such as salt water, communication with submarines when they are
submerged is a difficult technological task which requires specific techniques and devices. In
many cases, the obvious solution is to surface and raise an antenna above the water surface
to use standard technology. This is not sufficient, however, for nuclear-powered submarines.
These vessels, developed during the Cold War by the major military powers, are capable of
staying submerged and hidden for weeks or months. Yet, they are supposed to surface and
launch ballistic missiles in case of a nuclear war. How could such an order be sent to a
submarine which is well hidden but also out of communication reach? Several technologies
have been developed and deployed:
Acoustic transmission
Sound travels far in water, and underwater loudspeakers and hydrophones can cover quite a
gap. Apparently, both the American and the Russian Navy have placed communication-bysound equipment in the seabed of areas frequently travelled by their submarines and
connected it by submarine communications cables to their land stations. If a submarine hides
near such a device, it can stay in contact with its headquarters.
Very low frequency
VLF radio waves (3–30 kHz) can penetrate sea water down to a depth of roughly 20 meters.
Hence a submarine staying at shallow depth can use these frequencies. Even a vessel hiding in
deeper water might use a buoy on a long cable equipped with an antenna. The buoy mounts
up to a few meters below the surface and is hopefully small enough to be overlooked by the
enemy's sonar.
Extremely low frequency
Electromagnetic waves in the ELF frequency range (see also SLF) can travel through the
oceans and reach submarines anywhere. However, building an ELF transmitter is a formidable
challenge, as they have to work at incredibly long wavelengths: The US Navy's system (called
Seafarer) operates at 76 Hertz, the Soviet/Russian system (called ZEVS) at 82 Hertz. The
latter, for example, corresponds to a wavelength of 3658.5 kilometers. That is more than a
quarter of the Earth's diameter. Obviously, you cannot build a usual half-wavelength dipole
antenna, as it would spread all across a large country. Instead, one has to find an area with
very low ground conductivity (a requirement opposite to usual radio transmitter sites) and dig
two huge electrodes into the ground at different sites separated by about 60 km, and feedlines (just wires on poles) reaching them from some station in the middle. Although other
separations are possible, 60 km is the distance used for the ZEVS transmitter which is located
near Murmansk. As the ground conductivity is so poor, the current between the electrodes will
penetrate deep into the interior of the Earth, basically using a large part of the globe as
antenna. The antenna is very inefficient; to drive it, a small dedicated power plant seems to
be required although the power actually emitted as radiation is only a few watts. But its
transmission can be received virtually anywhere: Even a station at Antarctica noticed when
the Russian Navy put their ZEVS antenna into operation for the first time.
Due to the extreme technical difficulty of building an ELF transmitter, only the US and the
Russian Navy owned such systems. Until it was dismantled in late September 2004, the
American Seafarer system (76 Hz) consisted of two antennas, located at Clam Lake, Wisconsin
(since 1977) and at Sawyer Air Force Base near Gwinn, Michigan (since 1980). Before 1977,
the Sanguine system was used, placed in the Laurentian Shield in Wisconsin. The Russian
antenna (ZEVS, 82 Hz) is installed at the Kola peninsula near Murmansk. It was noticed in the
West in the early 1990s. The British Royal Navy once considered building their own transmitter
at Glengarry Forest, Scotland, but the project was cancelled. The method employed was a 64ary Reed-Solomon, meaning that the alphabet had 64 symbols, each one represented by a
very long pseudo-random sequence. The entire transmission, of course, was then encrypted.
The advantages of such a technique are first, that by correlating multiple transmissions, a
message could be completed even with very low signal-to-noise ratios, and because only a
very few pseudo-random sequences represented actual message characters, there was a very
high probability that if a message was successfully received, it was a valid message (anti-
spoofing). Two facts should be noted: First, the communication link is obviously one-way. No
submarine could have its own ELF transmitter on board, due to the sheer size of such a
device. Attempts to design a transmitter which can be immersed into the sea, hanging from an
aircraft, were soon given up. Second, on such low frequency, information can be transmitted
only very slowly, on the order of a few characters per minute (see Shannon's coding theorem).
Although the actual codes used are of course secret (well, their meaning only—the actual
transmissions can be received all over the world and even some radio amateurs do listen) it is
reasonable to assume that no specific orders are given but rather only commands like "surface
and await orders by satellite radio."
Standard radio technology
As long as the submarine is surfaced, it can obviously use ordinary radio communications as
any other marine vessel. Today, this usually means no longer shortwave but rather the use of
communication satellites -- for military use of course not the usual public ones like the
Inmarsat system, but dedicated military communication satellites. (The US Navy calls their
system Submarine Satellite Information Exchange Sub-System (SSIXS), which is a part of the
Navy Ultra High Frequency Satellite Communications System (UHF SATCOM).)
Appendix C: Small guide(s) on creating missions
By Landorin
Version 1:
Okay, I finally got enough of this. I played quite some new missions now, all made by
unknown people (not Sonalysts, that's for sure). While a few of them were quite good, some
are extremely bad as if they never tested them before release. So please do us all the
following favors:
1.) Include a mission description! People need to know what the mission is about and what
they have to do without reading a long briefing (if there is any). In your mission description,
include a sentence saying how long the mission takes in total approximately. That way people
know in advance what they are up to so they can effectively plan on how much time they want
to spend on their current mission or DW session. Nothing is as frustrating as only having like
an hour to play and not knowing that you don't find the enemy sub because it will take at least
2 hours before it even gets into sonar range at all. And I wouldn't want to use the show truth
feature in advance just to see how long it takes since then I won't need to search for the
contact anymore.
2.) A briefing wouldn't hurt. if you dont want to bother with it, at least include a more detailed
mission description.
3.) Don't make missions extremy long lasting. Think of distances first, especially for the slow
subs. I've played a mission that was 2 subs vs 2 subs and all of them were 40-50 miles away.
That's pretty bad if you have already a hard time finding DW players since we all got a real life
and maybe only little or at least limited free time (that's why we usually prefer to play
missions that last up to an hour - shortly after that usually half of the people have to go) and
many of us arent even in the same time zone. You don't need to do every mission a quick one
but don't make it last several hours until you FIND your first contact (and another few hours
till you kill it).
3.a) People may disable quick launch (either intentionally or by accident), keep that in mind
when designing. Especially since the helo takes 30 min to take off from the frigate. While this
makes it more balanced/fairer in some missions, it will be quite unfair and a long wait
(especially if someone only got that station assigned to himself) in most missions. If in doubt,
put the helo into the air at mission start.
4.) Be precise when telling the players what they have to sink or protect! I just played a
mission where it said "escort and protect the super tanker" and there are at least 2-3 super
tanker in the area in different locations - people can't read the designer's mind!
5.) Include some contact adress so peopl can tell you what to improve on a mission. If a
designer wouldn't sign his mission - it wont be worth playing. It is a rightfull demand to what
ever webside that provides user design missions that they publish the user's email along with
the mission. The admin should also provide some sort of rankings for all uploaded missions on
his website. After all he do not mind the extra traffic these missions provides to his website.
Another argument would be to prevent immoral missions such as bombing hospitals and weird
stuff alike. This is properly the only way to raisen the overall level of mission quality - after all
who would like to become marked as "bad mission designer"
6.) Test your mission several times (especially when you think you're done) before releasing it
to the public, humans do make mistakes when coding and designing.. If in doubt about the
the duration of something or the whole mission, test it without time acceleration. Especially
keep an eye on if everything works the way it should, how long everything takes and if it's
playable and fun in overall. For example, yesterday I played a mission where both frigates
started at a harbor but one of them was stranded on land and on top of another ship, really
really bad. Here's a hint to find out if everything is placed the way it should be: Once
you placed a unit and selected country, type and name (for example US, Perry frigate, Reuben
James, only then it works), click till the last page shows up. This one doesn't just show you
what the unit looks like. It even shows you the location it is near at. In other words: if you
placed a harbor and you want to place a ship really close to it (right next to the pier), then
select the ship, go to the last page so it shows the ship as 3D. Now move the ship and you will
see how the terrain moves on the 3D view as well, yes it will show the harbor and any other
thing you placed. That way you can perfectly set harbor at the edge of a coast, a ship at the
pier and a lot more!
7.) (optional but helpful) In case you are done with your mission and you feel like you want to
add more stuff AFTER releasing your first map version, be sure to add some version number
somewhere so people will know if they should overwrite a mission with the same name or not.
Alternatively, drop the idea of more stuff and make it an extra mission.
8.) When doing a campaign mission, think of a good story. Nothing is as boring as having 12
campaign missions all telling you to sink something but there's no story around it evolving.
Version 2:
Some time ago I put up a few suggestions on what to improve/avoid when creating missions. I
thought I should update it along with suggestions from other people since some missions are
the worst crap ever I came across in DW although it's so easy to avoid some fatal mistakes.
Descriptions/Briefings:
- Include a mission description! People need to know what the mission is about and what they
have to do without reading a long briefing (if there is any), especially useful if you got people
who never read long texts or if the host is in a hurry, in any case a mission needs a quick brief
overview of the most important things, you put that into the "mission description"
- A briefing wouldn't hurt. if you dont want to bother with it, at least include a more detailed
mission description or people won't have a clue on what to do. [kbach: Well, I disagree with you
about the Mission description vs Briefing thing. People only view the mission description when they
choose a platform, if they view it at all. The breifing is visible while in the game room AND while playing,
which makes it far more useful for passing pertinent information to the players. There is no excuse for a
mission designer to "not want to bother with" writing a briefing...nor is there any excuse for a player not
reading it, no matter how long and detailed. This is a complicated sim game, it should not be wasted on
simple missions that do not take advantage of the depth of the game. Mission designers really ought not
to worry about the settings (such as quick launch) that players use. Many good missions that are
designed around realistic settings, would become crap missions if they were "dumbed down" to
accomodate the "quick" crowd (they should probably not be played with whimp settings either--maybe
the designer can leave a note for the Host). In any case, the "correct" way to have a helo up quickly is to
set it to alert 5, not to have quick launch enabled.]
Distances / mission duration:
- Don't make missions extremy long lasting in multiplayer.
Think of distances first, especially for the slow subs (a P3 is a lot faster, always remember
what unit you're dealing with when thinking of distances). I've played a mission that was 2
subs vs 2 subs and all of them were 40-50 miles away. That's pretty bad since we all got a
real life and maybe only little or at least limited free time (that's why we usually prefer to play
missions that last up to an hour - shortly after that or even before that usually half of the
people have to go anyway) and many of us arent even in the same time zone.
You don't need to do every mission a quick one but don't make it last several hours until you
FIND your first contact (and another few hours till you kill it). Of course, some people might
want to play that long per mission but then don't forget to add a warning in the description
that the mission takes at least a few hours.
- Better yet: mention in all your missions how long it approximately takes (take a rough
guess if you're uncertain) so people know in advance if they want to play it now or later
(depending on their time situation)
- people may disable quick launch (either intentionally or by accident), keep that in mind
when designing. Especially since the helo takes 30 real time minutes to take off from the
frigate. While this makes it more balanced/fairer and real in some missions, it will be quite
unfair and a long wait (especially if someone only got that station assigned to himself) in most
missions.
If in doubt, put the helo into the air at mission start (but make sure it's bound to the FFG if
case that's intended).
- add a marking to show the area of operation, this is especially useful if your mission is in
the open sea so people know they don't have to search the entire map and get a rough guess
on where to look.
Knowing your task:
- Be precise when telling the players what they have to sink or protect! I sometimes played a
mission where it said "escort and protect the super tanker" and there were at least 2-3 super
tanker and even scattered in different locations - people can't ever read the designer's mind!
Also, if you intend it, tell people they have to identify a target first before sinking it (that is if
you don't want them to sink anything just by taking a guess of what it could be)
Anti-startup-collision-damage-formula:
- Once you placed a unit and selected country, type and name (for example US, Perry frigate,
Reuben James, only then it works), click till the last page shows up. This one doesn't just
show you what the unit looks like. It even shows you the location/area around it!
In other words: if you placed a harbor and you want to place a ship really close to it (right
next to the pier), then select the ship, go to the last page so it shows the ship as 3D. Now
move the ship and you will see how the terrain moves on the 3D view as well, yes it will show
the harbor and any other thing you placed, too. That way you can perfectly set harbor at the
edge of a coast, a ship at the pier and a lot more! Sometimes people set units too close to
each other and they blow up right at mission start.
Last but not least version?
- (optional but helpful) in case you are done with your mission and you feel like you want to
add more stuff AFTER releasing your first map version, be sure to add some version number
somewhere so people will know if they should overwrite a mission with the same name or not.
Alternatively, drop the idea of more stuff and make it an extra mission.
Optionally, you can add on your next version a description of what changed in your newest
version.
Exciting campaigns:
- When doing a campaign mission, think of a good story. Nothing is as boring as having 12
campaign missions all telling you to sink something but there's no story around it evolving.
Also, be sure to add a variety of mission tasks so you don't have to do the exact same job
twelve times. Be creative and maybe add a task/situation/feature no one thought of yet.
Test Drive:
test your mission several times (especially when you think you're done) before releasing it to
the public, humans do make mistakes when coding and designing.. If in doubt about the the
duration of something or the whole mission, test it without time acceleration on the parts
you're not sure about. You wouldn't want to release a half broken or crap mission to public
just because you messed up a single number, would you?
Mission feedback
- you should include some contact adress so people can give you good/bad feedback on your
mission.
Appendix D: Online Information
http://www.orionwarrior.com/forum/index.php (Home of the Landlubbers Guide - Forum)
Martin's Dangerous Waters After Action Reports
http://www.sunim.plus.com/afteraction/afteraction.html
http://navalcommand-hq.com/
http://www.orionwarrior.com/html/index.php
www.subguru.com
http://www.subsim.com/
http://homepages.tesco.net/benedict.kent/
Appendix E-1: Propaganda
Enough of Submarines and the Deep Sea? Enter the Universum of Space Flight Simulation for
FREE: http://www.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/~martins/orbit/orbit.html
Appendix E-2: Additional Stuff
SAVE THE SUBMERSIBLE
From The Post and Courier, submitted by Stephen A. Buckler, Ruffin, SC
http://www.treasurenet.com/westeast/data/headlines/robots/200503.htm
Every day, the tides uncover the football-shaped iron hulk, left to rot just off the
beach of a deserted island near Panama.
The locals call it a death machine, and the ebb and flow of the Pacific creates the ghostly
illusion that it is endlessly diving and re-surfacing. When the maritime archaeologist James
Delgado arrived in Panama on a cruise ship in 2001, locals told him about the ship, claiming it
was a Japanese sub abandoned after World War II. Faced with the prospect of another boring
bird-watching tour, he hired a boat to the remote island for a peek. There, in the surf of Isla
San Telmo, Delgado found a forgotten chapter in submarine history, a Civil War-era cousin of
the H.L. Hunley.
"It looked like something out of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," Delgado said. "At first I
thought it looked like a Holland submarine, but it was much smaller."
Delgado climbed around the sub, and was struck by its strange construction. Some of its
design elements appeared to date to 1900, but the strange iron bars between its two hulls
seemed like they'd been forged in the 1850s. A few years later, Delgado got his answers. He
has identified the wreck as the Sub Marine Explorer, a submersible built in New York in the
waning days of the Civil War. Turned down by the U.S. Navy, its builder took the sub to
Central America to make a fortune in pearl diving. Before it was over, the sub's builder made
another important - and deadly - discovery about deep-water diving. Delgado says the
submarine, which in some ways is even more advanced than the Hunley, is a unique maritime
treasure that should be saved. Now he's looking for a way to rescue the fallen fish-boat from
the waters of Central America.
Ideally, he says, the Explorer should be brought to the Warren Lasch Conservation Center,
where it could benefit from the cutting-edge technology being used to save the Hunley.
"I can't imagine a better place for it," Delgado said after a tour of the North Charleston lab
earlier this week. "If the funding could be found, it would be a great fit."
The two 1860s subs have much in common: design elements, similar conservation problems
and, perhaps most notably, tragic pasts. Delgado could not get the sub out of his mind. After
returning to Canada, where he is executive director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum, he
sent photos of the boat to every maritime historian he knew, and he knows a lot of them.
Delgado, co-host with Clive Cussler of National Geographic International's "The Sea Hunters,"
has been in the shipwreck business for decades, and as formerly maritime historian for the
U.S. National Park Service. For a long while, however none of his contacts could offer much
advice about the fat little sub. One friend mentioned it looked like the Intelligent Whale, a Civil
War-era sub, and that made Delgado think: Could it be that old? Then, one day last year, Rich
Wills, a Navy archaeologist, said the sub resembled drawings he'd seen of the Sub Marine
Explorer, built for the U.S. Navy during the Civil War by a German immigrant and engineering
whiz kid named Julius Kroehl. Delgado got the drawings and any doubt he had melted away.
He had his sub. The final confirmation was found in the article accompanying the drawings in
the 1902 journal. It said the sub had been abandoned off Panama in 1869.
This research is the final chapter of a long, intriguing story...
Kroehl immigrated to America in 1838, where he studied to become an engineer. He took to
the work like a duck to water, and by 1845 had patented a flange-bending machine for
ironwork. More than a decade later, while blasting away at a reef causing problems for ships in
the East River channel, Kroehl hired Van Buren Ryerson, who had crafted a pressured diving
bell, to help. Kroehl would remember the bell and its name, Sub Marine Explorer. Delgado
says that in 1861 Kroehl became the first inventor to offer the U.S. Navy a submarine to
sneak into Southern ports and attack from beneath the surface. Officials instead chose to go
with Brutus de Villeroi, who eventually built the USS Alligator, the Navy's first submarine.
Kroehl instead spent most of the war as an underwater explosives expert for the Union,
working the Mississippi River circuit until he was discharged with malaria. While recuperating,
he came up with the idea of a submarine that divers could get in and out of underwater, from
which they could set charges and disarm enemy torpedoes. Delgado says Kroehl was smart,
and knew the Navy wouldn't pay for the construction of such an experimental boat. So he
joined up with the Pacific Pearl Company, which was itching to mine the pearl beds off the
Central American coast. While Kroehl was building his submarine in early 1864, the "shot
heard around the world' in the underwater arms race was fired off Charleston. The privateer
H.L. Hunley had sunk the USS Housatonic four miles offshore. The boat, which Kroehl called
the Sub Marine Explorer, was 36 feet long and 10 feet wide and could carry six to eight men.
It was notable for its odd elliptical shape, its flat bottom and its separate chamber for
pressurized air, which could be pumped into the crew compartment to equalize the pressure
enough so the hatches could be opened under water. It was, Delgado said, the first selfpropelled "lock out" dive chamber, an invention most historians have thought didn't come
along until the 20th century. By the time the Explorer sailed, the Civil War was just about
over. The Navy passed on the boat, but the Pacific Pearl Co. was ready for business. They
used tests of the sub in the East River to attract investors. The New York Times covered one
such demonstration in May 1866, when Kroehl took the sub down for an hour and a half,
leaving the people on the dock afraid that he had perished beneath the surface.
"Kroehl popped out of the hatch smoking a Meerschaum pipe, holding a bucket of mud
scooped off the bottom of the channel," Delgado said.
Soon after that, Pacific Pearl shipped Explorer to Panama, where it gathered pearls
successfully for almost three years. Kroehl did not make it so long. After one dive, Kroehl
became ill. The locals said he had the "fever" and died shortly thereafter. Delgado believes
there is more to the story. In 1869, according to some accounts, the Explorer was abandoned
in Panama Bay after a stint of heavy use. For 10 straight days, divers were taking the sub to a
nearby pearl bed 100 feet below the surface, working for four hours and then returning to the
surface. To some degree, all of them fell deathly ill. Reading of Kroehl's symptoms, Delgado
says he doesn't believe the engineer had a relapse of his malaria. His symptoms sounded, like
those of the other workers who got sick in the sub, much more like the bends.
"They didn't know about decompression," he said. "It was unknown until workers on the
Brooklyn Bridge started getting caisson's disease, and wasn't known as the bends until years
later. I think Julius Kroehl may have died of the first recorded case of the bends."
The future of the submarine is uncertain. Exposed to the air, sea, and intrepid tourists, its hull
is deteriorating badly, and it has apparently fallen victim to looters - the propeller and conning
tower hatch are missing. Delgado took a crew of scientists down in 2002 to map the sub and
give it a more careful examination. Recently, Delgado said the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, which is looking for the Alligator, has set aside money for a factfinding expedition to Panama next year. Scientists want to find out if the sub, apparently
made almost entirely of brittle cast iron, is too fragile to move, or if it can be saved. Then - if
it is determined that Explorer can be rescued - comes the hard part: finding the money to
bring it up and care for it. Delgado says if it can be salvaged, it could be put in a tank of cold
freshwater to desalinate it until technology invents a way to preserve it for posterity. The
Hunley lab, with its cutting-edge research on preserving Charleston's Civil War sub, is an
obvious place for Explorer, says Delgado. But for the foreseeable future, scientists there have
their hands full with their own crusty sub.
"It is an interesting parallel story to the Hunley," said Maria Jacobsen, senior archaeologist for
the Hunley project. "It furthers our understanding of the evolution of diving technology. But
they are two different things. The Explorer is an evolved concept of a dive bell, while the
Hunley is a highly maneuverable, hydrodynamic stealth boat. In its case, it is the weapon."
Jacobsen said that the Hunley lab is the ideal place for such a ship, but it will be years before
scientists there will have any time or energy to tackle another major project. But if the sub
had to sit in holding tanks at the lab, like the cannons from the Alabama, Delgado says that
would be better than allowing it to rot off the beach of Isla San Telmo.
"I'd just like to see ol' Uncle Julius's sub saved," Delgado said.
Civil War Underwater Warfare Prints:
http://www.navyandmarine.org/alligator/underwaterprints.htm