Game: Silent Hunter III
Sink a ship with your mind
Luke Skywalker turned off the targeting computer and became a hero. Submariners in World War II didn’t have a robot to rely on when setting their courses or firing their torps - Why should you? (You will, however, need the latest patch: it adds a protractor to the map screen.)
1) Identification
Lock your target in the center of the periscope with the “L” key. When you can make out the silhouette, come to a stop and open the recognition manual. Flick the pages until you find a match, and then click the checkbox to write the vessel type to the notepad, top right.
2) Observation
Make a mental note of the bearing and click “range” on the notepad to get the stadimeter. By placing the moveable line first on the target’s waterline, then on the tip of its tallest mast, you’ll get a range estimate. Now start the stopwatch and nip to the chart to mark the target’s current location. How? Place the ruler on your U-boat, drag the cursor in the direction of that bearing you memorized and place a mark at the range you found with the stadimeter.
3) Interception
Back in periscope view, stop the stopwatch when 3 minutes 15 seconds have elapsed and quickly take another bearing and range reading. With this data mark a new target position on the map and join it to the original mark. The length of the linking line indicates the target’s speed (100m =1 knot). The angle shows the heading. You can now use the protractor to plot an intercept course that puts you in an ambush position perpendicular to the target.
4) Elimination
At the ambush spot wait for the foe, lock it in the scope and take a stadimeter reading. Get an Angle on Bow estimate by clicking on the relevant entry in the notebook and dragging the pointer until it’s aimed at you. Finally: target speed. You already know this, but we’ll stick with the notebook so click “speed,” let the stopwatch run for at least 10 seconds. Done.
