Kicked some butt as an Akula

[+streakeagle 867]

Made some time for Dangerous Waters and chose to play the single player mission where an Akula is tasked with preventing the Nimitz from launching her aircraft as she approaches Kamchatka with her escorts.

Having been a real submarine sonar tech, I tried to do things slow to totally avoid any possibility of counter-detection prior to weapons launch, but that allowed the carrier group to reach her launch point and result in a loss.

So, I tried this mission again, but flipped the other way: I aggressively closed the distance, slowing down just in time to catch the group in transit.

I identified my situation as best as I could submerged, then briefly came to periscope depth to solidify both my classifications and tma tracks.

I then submerged again and commenced fire.

I used wake homing 53-65s on the carrier and 65s on the escorts.

I scored some hits, but could see I still had a few moving.

Rinse, wash, repeat.

As far as I could tell, they had no helos and never fired a torpedo at me.

I sank all four of the escorts, three Arleigh-Burkes and a Ticonderoga, but despite multiple hits, the carrier slipped away at 25 kts.

I tried to chase her, but didn't have the patience to follow forever at 35 kts.

However, the Nimitz never reached her launch point prior to retreating, so other than not sinking her it was a total victory.

 

I am still puzzled as to why I took no counterfire after launching so many torpedoes.

I don't know if the AI was stupid or blind, but it was fun for me anyway.

 

I relearned the lessons I saw in the attack trainers though:

My first captain would drive in circles all day trying to be quiet and get the perfect solution, but we almost never killed the target and sometimes got killed.

My second would aggressively point and shoot with a minimum of information, but we would almost always win and have time to run another mission.

While stealth is absolutely critical to submarine survival, a shooting situation requires fast-thinking and aggressive moves not unlike air combat.

[Dysko 93]

I played that mission several times, too.

 

In one case, I remember one of the escort ships launching an ASROC at me. The missile flew past me, and the torpedo dropped by the missile hit and sunk another escort ship

[Jeremiah Weed 0]

I just got this a few weeks ago, and knowing nothing about naval warfare, I have been taking a crash course in how to do things. I tried this mission and have been killed twice. I am relying on trial and error to figure out good strategies and tactics.

[Viper6 3]

It is amazing that the Battle Group's ASW assets did not detect you Having played Harpoon for a lot of years and from the red side I never got close enough to get a shot off at any Battle Group. Well done

[+streakeagle 867]

The battle group mostly stayed at 25 knots and therefore didn't really have a chance of hearing me initially.

But, after I launched torpedoes, they should have had an idea I was there and done something more to localize me and kill me.

[Viper6 3]

I was under the impression that while intransit the BG always deployed its ASW assets and especially used helos to clear its baffels but like you said it may be a issue of the AI. Man, I pray some company would bring back harpoon. there was a short time where Harpoon 4 was being developed but it collapsed. I played Harpoon Gold to no end what a great surface warfare sim. it had everything.

[JediMaster 451]

You never know how a DW mission will go. Sometimes it seems almost TOO easy, and other times it's just impossible.

I do admit the "CBG moving at top speed regardless of the consequences" seems a little brazen at times, but I've been sunk too many times against them to fault their tactics.

[+streakeagle 867]

I was under the impression that while intransit the BG always deployed its ASW assets and especially used helos to clear its baffels but like you said it may be a issue of the AI. Man, I pray some company would bring back harpoon. there was a short time where Harpoon 4 was being developed but it collapsed. I played Harpoon Gold to no end what a great surface warfare sim. it had everything.

 

Harpoon 3 works, though some are backing an older version that is no longer available (3.6) rather than the newer 3.7/8/9 Advanced Naval Warfare version.

I love Harpoon, but Dangerous Waters is far more appealing to me. I am much more interested in being a captain of a single ship and/or crewing individual stations as opposed to being an admiral staring at a big status screen. If only the developer would continue expanding the series until you could man any kind of sub or surface ship available in the game (with detailed and accurate modeling as good or better than the current playable platforms).

[Viper6 3]

agreed! to have the ability to command a single ship OR the entire fleet would be great!

[Anthony W. 0]

Yep, its alot like air combat... Today I spent an hour tailing a french ship in an LA class... The french ship was faster than me on the surface but at 35 kts just below the surface, I ran ahead, set up a torpedo, hit the reverse and fired