A unique sub-themed commenter tile to the Cornerite who has explored the most real, intact submarines (List the visited vessels in a comment, please). I’m ashamed to admit I’ve only ever roamed the compartments of one actual sub – HMS Alliance. I’m sure there are THC readers who have bagged many more.
I love the way SubSurvival: SSN-3 Grendel crams its considerable complexity onto a single screen. Available only in demo form at present and rather reminiscent of Sub Commander by the talented Geoff Ayre, it’s effectively a boiled down, largely 2D Modern Naval Warfare.
Both of my attempts at the ‘easy’ trial scenario ended in abject failure. Probably too eager to dispatch the Volga Star, a harmless tanker, I underestimated the ability and armaments of its escort, a heli-equipped frigate. It turns out ‘dive deep, manoeuvre erratically, and expel noisemakers like your life depends on it’ doesn’t cut it as an evasion technique in this ‘coming soon’ brow beader.
Similarly suspicious of 3D frippery, Silent Shark is a new chart-based, demo-blessed WW2 sub sim that’s proving popular in sub sim circles.
Bedroom sun dodgers are enjoying its straightforward tactical focus, relatively unusual setting (the Pacific theatre), extensive campaign options, and solid quick mission generator, and looking forward to planned improvements such as deck gun action and the occasional appearance of large warships.
Although there’s no crew management, gramophones, or pin-ups in Silent Shark, during long campaign patrols there’s always some faceless/nameless shipmate in the mess up for a game of cribbage.
Described by its makers, Oryma Games, as “tense,slow, and unforgiving” the upcoming TiefenWolf will model aspects of Type VII U-boat operation that no sim has ever modelled before.
Intended for cooperative multiplay, it will probably need to win-over a portion of Early Access Wolfpack’s fanbase in order to prosper. As a number of Wolfpack players seem to be frustrated by the 2019 sim’s slow maturation, and TiefenWolf’s attention to detail looks to be second-to-none, maybe the newcomer can poach the players it needs to populate pressure hulls and lobbies.
I think I’ve only been in one sub, HMAS Onslow. I have touched a Biber 205 but I guess that doesn’t count.
My sub game count is much higher, and I shall go and expand it further with that demo of Silent Shark.
Not a nautical submarine, but a submarine in space, perhaps?
Deck + Conn releases on the 1st September, and looks fascinating:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3828500/Deck__Conn/
Thanks for the roundup, I’ll be taking a look at Silent Shark.
I visited Hamburg and Laboe recently and was able to see:
U-434/B-515 Tango class
U-995 Type VIIC
I’ve also visited:
U-534 Type IXC in Birkenhead, before it was chopped to pieces.
U-505 Type IXC in Chicago, many moons ago.
According to Wikipedia there’s only one other German WW2 sub remaining (in Bremerhaven), so I may have to complete the list at some point.
Comments made me think of childhood Navy Days (Devonport) and Air days (Culdrose) back in the 70s and early 80s. Went on various submarines, frigates and destroyers, befriended by a Geordie crew man on the Ark Royal (Audacious class R09), Invincible (RO5, not half as exciting as the ark royal), buzzed by a low flying Vulcan, Royal marine assault course, etc, etc. Also as a kid saw a Shackleton early warning taking off I think from Portreath but probably St Mawgan, none of my kids believe me.
I’ve absolutely no recollection of ever being on a submarine (though perhaps Das Football Boot should count on moral grounds).
I do remember being excited and insistent to try the periscope when visiting the Science Museum, London in the 80s. It happened more than once, and the view was always disappointing. I think I learned after about the fourth time.
I have toured the USS Seawolf in Galveston Texas as well as the USS Pampanito in San Francisco. I feel like there must have been one more in there at some point, but I have been to too many other museum ships and they are all running together.
You can no longer go inside due to its condition, but there is a Foxtrot-class Soviet submarine parked alongside the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Whenever I visit the city, I seem to be the only one who takes an interest in it.
Here’s my list:
USS Torsk – Baltimore
USS Growler – New York City
USS Dolphin – San Diego
USS Becuna – Philadelphia
Soviet B-39 – San Diego
U-352 – 25 miles off of Morehead City, NC
(Bonus points as this one is under 110′ of sea water?)
Editing to add that I’m incredibly jealous of Jimbob’s list of U-Boats. Future targets of mine include:
U-505 in Chicago
U-853 – Sunk in 120 fsw 7 miles off Rhode Island
U-1105 “Black Panther” – sunk in 70 fsw in the Potomac River just south of Washington D.C. One of only a handful or U-boats to receive the experimental “Alberich” anechoic rubber coating, studied by the US Navy before being sunk in 1949 and subsequently forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1985
Impressive. I can’t see anyone topping that tally. The commenter tile is yours!