This is not a build thread but covering what I have learned about building reliable subs that can contribute to winning a battle. This is not the only way, or the best way just what works for me. I finally feel confident with my boats working every time so at the last event we played a game called wolf pack with 3 subs chasing a merchant vessel with no time limit and after about 40 minutes we called it and the only problem with any of the subs was a cheap servo failed on the dive planes. No water in any of the subs and we put a lot of holes in the merchant and no sink because we let the boat be pulled and taped so it would be easier to repair. below are the four boats I rebuilt, Type IXD2, Surcouf, I 400 and I 401 and I just finished a Type XXI that will be tested this weekend at our next event. Before and after.
They are single shot and very close-range weapons (ram shoot). My type XXI has a bang stick that shoots on contact.
We had an event this last weekend with these. The subs are very effective. While they don't carry a lot of ammo, typically one good hit is fatal as it tears out a big patch below the waterline.
It was fun with some intense fights and some more mellow battles. The Type IX got a kill and of course it was a hospital ship and on day two the Type XXI got its first kill and none other than the hospital ship, go figure. The bang stick actuator takes out the possibility of a missed shot and having to come back into reload for nothing.
The most import change to the subs I made from the boats built in the 90's is the stuffing tubes and the external linkages for the control surfaces. It's not very good looking but it works, I installed them in my Type IX without the grease tube, and they lasted for about 2-1/2 hours before the leaks started but I was not sure which tubes were leaking, so I unplugged the air fill line to the gun and sealed the boat then put 5 psi in the boat and saw air coming from 1 drive shaft and both stern controls. I will explain why I was not concerned about the deck or torps leaking later. The big problem is without the grease tubes I had to cut into the boat to fix the issue and that's when I started putting the regrease tubes on all boats after the Type IX. Next post the hatch and sealing it.
