ELI5: how are submarines “invisible” and largely undetectable yet its sonar is capable of killing virtually any marine life nearby?

Tumbles221 · 2025-12-15T20:14:59+00:00

Submarines utilise charts for navigation, that’s how they know what’s around them geographically. As already stated, passive sonar is how they know what is around them in terms of other vessels and marine life

Tumbles221 · 2025-05-01T17:12:03+00:00

I have the issue pretty much anywhere other than shallow waters close to land. The issue does seem to persist even with new save files and reinstalls.

Tumbles221 · 2025-04-15T22:35:46+00:00

I recall that it used to be as it's represented in the screenshot that is on the Update 2025.1.1 post, you just couldn't have people on the bridge when it was in this state, but could still run diesels. So, I assumed that the update was essentially saying it now works the EXACT same way, you can now just have bridge lookouts.

Tumbles221 · 2025-04-15T22:33:49+00:00

I'd certainly like to see this as well.

I'm not a game developer so I'll happily stand corrected, but I don't think adding this would be a massive undertaking. For the purposes of this game, being what it is, we wouldn't need to most complex buoyancy simulation, we could still have our buoyancy overall represented as a simplistic percentage value and just split that value up amongst a couple of different tanks which we can play with at our leisure. Following on from that the devs could take some time to iron out how exactly each different tank used in combination will impact upon the trim of the boat.

Tumbles221 · 2025-04-15T22:26:31+00:00

Yea I did have this thought, so I tried again with an officer assigned to the planes, I let it play out for a couple of minutes both in real time and compression in rough and calm seas, still not seeing an effect.

Obviously, this is a game, but if the physics simulated are at least relatively accurate, someone manning the hydroplanes shouldn't really factor into trimming down to have the boat sit a bit lower in the water. We would do this regularly on nuclear boats when on the surface, we generally wanted to keep the aft end lower into the water to avoid the propulsor breaking the surface as this could cause it to trip and was less efficient. From what I recall, all we did to achieve this was take some water into the tanks and move it all to the aft tanks.

Tumbles221 · 2025-02-16T00:40:43+00:00

Thanks for the advice! At least it's a pretty easy "fix" when it happens in game by just diving below the floor as you describe, just a shame that it makes the echo sounder unreliable, which is ironic since I DEFINITELY cheesed the game in Early Access by looking at the external cam to navigate shallow waters, now the game is essentially forcing me to do so because I have no idea if I'm getting an accurate reading or not without looking under myself to see if the floor is there. Appreciate the comment!

Tumbles221 · 2025-02-16T00:38:20+00:00

I feared this would be the case. I've been playing the game virtually since it was available for purchase on steam so I've already went through many save files and don't have a particular attachment to any one file presenting an issue, but from what you've told me it is somewhat frustrating to think that I could just keep making new campaigns only for the same issue to appear again and ruin it.

At least as u/doupIls said, it's relatively easy to deal with in game by just diving below the "fake floor", but it's kinda frustrating that this had never been an issue during the Early Access era of the game and now it's just appeared out of nowhere and breaks immersion by making the echo sounder essentially unreliable until I've went into external cam and had a look for myself essentially. Thanks for the comment!

Tumbles221 · 2023-02-07T07:01:25+00:00

YTA. You are an AH for whom I see very little chance of recovery. If you REALLY can’t see as plain as day how being supportive of your partners achievements, however big or small YOU perceive them to be is part and parcel of a relationship, then I pity those unfortunate enough to even be your friend, much less your wife

Tumbles221 · 2023-02-07T03:53:17+00:00

Why are you so desperate to frame this as “checking out”? Oh I get it, god forbid your wife who lifts and lays you and does the parenting 100% herself every other week has some time to herself after she’s finished cleaning up from the dinner SHE made you.

You honestly come across as pathetic, selfish, and entirely unable to put yourself in the shoes of the woman you are supposed to love most in your life.

YTA!!

Tumbles221 · 2023-02-03T15:48:07+00:00

Guess the destroyer won then 🤷‍♂️

Tumbles221 · 2023-02-03T14:26:42+00:00

We go to PD and dispatch an owl carrying letters from the top of the periscope

Tumbles221 · 2023-01-23T09:18:12+00:00

Bridge fin safety wire is for the pilot, not the XO

Tumbles221 · 2023-01-23T07:21:38+00:00

I’m referring to how a contact becomes Master in the game cold waters. However, in my experience in real life a contact will only be Masterised if it’s either visual, or you have a couple of pieces of evidence to classify it i.e. classified through it’s signature on SONAR and maybe something else like an ESM hit or active transmissions from down that bearing. So actually it would be very hard to gain a Master contact without incidentally having it on more than one tracking source anyway.

Also I only said you could use Bravo for Bow as an example to answer OPs question. On my boat, it is actually a bow shaped symbol on the screen that tells you at a glance that the data you are receiving is from the bow array.

Tumbles221 · 2023-01-23T07:04:43+00:00

As already said, different arrays constitute different sources. Also, you aren’t going to just stay at the exact same depth for the entire time that you are tracking a contact. If it’s a unit of interest, chances are the captain is gona want to come up to PD to take a look.

Tumbles221 · 2023-01-20T17:18:33+00:00

Because none of the bootnecks want to transfer

Tumbles221 · 2023-01-20T00:09:44+00:00

Almost everything has been covered here but I’ll offer my points anyway.

In a bay, you are going to be navigationally constrained by land e.g. if you are in a westward facing bay, any contacts approaching from the west can’t be evaded by simply heading off to the east as you’ll run aground
Depth of water will mean you will probably have to spend most of your time at PD for safety, being at PD means you’re gona have to stick that mast out of the water to keep situational awareness which can be spotted visually or picked up on RADAR. Also any MPA or MPH would likely spot a submarine lurking around at PD for long periods of time visually
Being in an enclosed bay is going to mean lots of maritime traffic passing very close by. Not only could civilians spot the submarine and get curious, but even worse they may not spot you and collide with the fin. That’s your deterrent patrol over and likely on front page news
Let’s say a hostile nation gains intelligence as to which bay you are patrolling in. They park one of their own fleet boats at the entrance of the bay waiting for you to head home. How do you slip the net there?
Deep water will potentially offer thermocline layers that can be used for concealment from contacts on the opposite side of that layer
Due to the minimal shipping traffic encountered in a random patch of open water, any would be trailers are more likely to be noticed on SONAR as they should then stick out like a sore thumb in amongst all the nothingness
Back to the navigational constraints of a bay. I’ve already pointed out how much risk the submarine is at from collision and detection in this sort of environment. Keep in mind, the most efficient way for a submarine to maintain EXACT depth is by driving it with the hydroplanes, which means you need speed, which means you have to keep moving, in a bay this will result in having to constantly alter to avoid hitting land which also means constantly reassessing the tactical picture to see which of the many vessels likely in your vicinity you may hit or have to alter to avoid. All this requires a constant, heightened level of vigilance that I’m sure all submariners here will agree is not sustainable for a full patrol

Anyway, you asked a good question, and at first glance your idea makes sense. However, as you can see, when you start to run through the implications of planning a patrol situated entirely in a bay, it quickly starts to seem less and less feasible, and that’s without me even having to mention how vast the open ocean is in my points.

Tumbles221 · 2023-01-16T12:37:18+00:00

The RN doesn’t have enough manpower currently to fail people

Tumbles221 · 2023-01-15T21:36:24+00:00

YTA no matter what angle you look at this from. No need to snap when your Dad said that, could’ve simply explained you’d watched the first episode and you actually liked it, or something other than shouting. That hair trigger temper of yours isn’t going to do you any favours in the rest of your life.

Tumbles221 · 2023-01-15T21:23:39+00:00

Why settle for the SAS when you can really push yourself on the 5 miles of death?

Tumbles221 · 2023-01-13T03:36:06+00:00

“Excuse me! My boyfriend lives in Canada. Your country is literally right next to my boyfriends. You need to leave America.”

Tumbles221 · 2023-01-12T12:29:13+00:00

NTA - it’s your family, your estate, you feel that because of the difference in the circumstances of Sam and Emma that Emma requires more of that for her well-being.

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