Back in the water!

[MarkShot]

[Taiwan blog mode ON]

Some of you may know that I became a vegetarian about 8 months ago for general health reasons.  I've lost about 35 pounds so far.

In the South NJ, USA, being a vegetarian was definitely swimming against the current whenever you ate out.  However, this place is a vegetarian paradise!  Every block or two there is a vegetarian self serve with 20-30 dishes out.  A full plate runs about $2 USD.  I think only personal criticism I would have is that I could do with less salt in the food.  Of course, I like the dishes so much and the price that I just simply take dishes.  If you were eating 1:4 dish:rice ratio, you would be getting a lot less salt.  Also, it is a very hot climate ... so salt is more necessary in the diet.

My wife notes that 30 years ago when we were here, there was never so much vegetarian food.  It seems that the vegetarian craze (more for health here than social/political/religious reasons) has picked up in the last 10 years.  There is an interesting parallel with the USA here.  The USA is one of the most overweight countries and diet/health food is a major economic sector.  Taiwan is Asia's heaviest country and compared to 30 years ago, I now commonly see quite a few overweight Chinese here.  Of course, this is nothing like the levels one sees in the USA.  But it seems the diet/health food industry goes hand and hand with unhealth and spread of McDs.

---

Finally, not being able to read Chinese is not all bad.  I was supposed to come back to the hotel and do the laundry while wife and friend take care of stuff.  Unfortunately, I cannot tell which is the detergent and which is the softner or read any of the instructions.  So, I guess that means I can go out on sub patrol this afternoon!

[Taiwan blog mode OFF]

[MarkShot]

Some exciting action off of Hitachi ...

07/29/42

15:19 - AC at 17kyds forces a crash dive.  At the same time, we detect the load speed screws of a convoy.  We head back to PD to investigate.

15:24 - Detect the first high speed screws of escorts.  Two escorts.  This will be a real attack.

15:34 - We have penetrated the screen!  We will attack the first three lead ships.  In retrospect, that might not have been the best choice with juicier targets further back.  Also, being further away from the escorts when launching.  But it was my first exposure to escorted convoy and they were making me nervous.







15:46 - Salvo 3x2.  Two ships sunk and two duds.  We crash dive deep to the South right under the convoy hoping to be covered by the noise of the merchants and sneak out the back.  The escorts begin pinging and searching as soon as the first fish strike.





16:16 - The escort pings are fading towards the North.

16:47 - Contact broken.

17:38 - Planning to surface at 18:00 to recharge when LSS detected.  Go to PD to investigate.

17:47 - PD.  A small unescorted convoy moving slow at 7-8kts.  At 4,000yds too far to shoot.  We have an 80% charge and will allow the range to increase.  Then, we will surface.  Weather conditions seem write for a night surface slashing attack.

[MarkShot]

Well, as much as I would love to prosecute this next convoy, I think I should go do some Mandarin lessons on my iPad.

I did want to ask for those conning Gato and Balao class subs, how do you get the most mileage out of your four stern tubes?

I imagine if you can get yourself perfectly positioned in a convoy, you could salvo 5x2.  However, it seems in SHCE that the convoys tend not to be very wide compared to AOD or later in the SH series.

[Nefaro]

Well, as much as I would love to prosecute this next convoy, I think I should go do some Mandarin lessons on my iPad.

I did want to ask for those conning Gato and Balao class subs, how do you get the most mileage out of your four stern tubes?

I imagine if you can get yourself perfectly positioned in a convoy, you could salvo 5x2.  However, it seems in SHCE that the convoys tend not to be very wide compared to AOD or later in the SH series.

I often used the stern tubes on lone merchants or 2-3 merchant sized groups when my bow tubes are low, in these sub sims.  Unless all the bow tubes were empty, then it's just a matter of being forced to use 'em.  Also.. for finishing off the severely wounded ones that can't make enough speed to evade well - especially if it's risky using the deck gun (an armed merchant still firing their own, for example).

[MarkShot]

Too many of the merchants are armed in SHCE!  The only thing the deck gun is good for SHCE is turning sampans into kindling.  :)

[MarkShot]

As not to overly clutter this thread, I've posted photos from Taiwan here:

http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=3370.0

[MarkShot]

Well, I finally had to do the laundry, but now it is time to go after this unescorted convoy!  :)

[MarkShot]

07/30/42 00:28

I let that convoy get out of sight rather than surface too close.  Probably was a mistake, because I was unable to regain contact.  They probably changed course North up the coast line after after we lost sight of them.  Aargh!!!

[MarkShot]

Now, I am remembering why in the past when I played SHCE, I turned off the DUD TORPEDO option.  It is so incredibly infuriating.  Of course, I suppose in real life it was much worse to spend weeks in enemy controlled seas and risk your life for nothing.

08/01/42

08:21 - We spot a small convoy.

08:28 - We spot a single escort destroyer.  The seas are rough and slow us down, but we maneuver ahead to get setup for the attack.  We do have the rising Sun directly behind us; in both meanings.

08:49 - We got to PD and prepare for the attack.

09:11 - The convoy zigs and we reorient for a stern shot.

09:14 - We are only showing the scope for a few seconds every 3 minutes or so.  The destroyer is running a race track pattern around the convoy.  It literally passes within a couple hundred yards of us.  We can hear the screws thrashing the water, and with the scope down everyone is thinking, "What if he has spotted us, and intends to ram us?".

These two screens show the destroyer completing its race track apex d*m close to us!





09:22 - The setup is beautiful.  We have two solid solutions on the two largest merchants varying between 1,000-2,000 yds, and the destroyer will be at far end of its race track when we shoot.



09:26 - 2x2 stern salvo.  All f**k*ng duds!  We are crash diving deep with angry destroyer up our butt!

Curse those who say these fish are any good!  They should be out here with us in 400' of water!

[MarkShot]

10:04 After banging away with its SONAR and circling the destroyer gives up and rejoins the convoy.  We have escaped once again.

[MarkShot]

11:06 Surface! Surface! Surface!

All compartments show full readiness and we still have enough fish for two more attacks before turning for Midway.

[MarkShot]

So, with exception of Nefaro and Oche (and possibly Herman lurking) is anyone else enjoying the patrol log of SS-212 in the waters off of Northern Japan?

[besilarius]

This is good, Mark.  I enjoy the good sub sims.
As to the stern tubes, both Dick O'Kane in Tang, and Otto Kretschmer in U99, liked to surface inside the convoy at night.  From a center point, they got a lot of use from their stern tubes.
Ned Beach, who wrote quite a lot about the submarine war, Run Silent Run Deep, mentioned that it was a great help if the fish were about evenly expended from fore and aft.
Otherwise, there could be trim issues, keeping the boat level.

[MarkShot]

O'Kanes two books are the only two books of my sub collection that I kept to ship to Taiwan.

Besides being great reads they have kind of special significance, since they were all I had to read during 4 weeks in the hospital after a heart attack.

[Bison]

I'm enjoying it.  Besides where else you going to get practice writing english?  :P