Sierra 1 submerged contact - hostile or neutral?

[SeaplanePaul]

Gidday Gidday all,

So am faithfully playing a number of learning scenarios in the Players DB including the excellent series in the Papa and Son battleset.

Now in the 1.0 Wolves vs Wolves scenario I run into a tactical problem that I hope someone can advise upon please. The situation is a multiple sub vs sub engagement in the English channel. There are also biologicals present in the channel (whales) - the attacking of which loses you the scenario.

The problem is this: How can I determine if a submerged passive contact is hostile or not without waiting for it to fire on my submarine?

I only want to attack enemy submerged contacts but how can I differentiate him from neutrals without leaving myself open to attack as going active gives away my position...

Yours Faithfully
Paul

[Herman Hum]

The ultimate proof of hostility is if the contact fires upon you, but there are also other ways to learn its posture. I think that it was easier to classify the contact in H3, but may still be possible in ANW.

Most fish and false contacts will not move very quickly. You can try to move around the contact and see if it increases speed to intercept. If it does not, simply avoid it. A common real tactic is to force the enemy to make noise and reveal its identity.

Only passive sonar can classify a contact, if it is sufficiently sensitive. Active sonar can only provide precise data on location.

You can always sacrifice a unit to sail towards the contact and see if it fires. Life is hard for escorts.

Of course, these suggestions are primarily for AI opponents. A human can always pretend to act like a harmless fish.

[SeaplanePaul]

Thanks Herman.

I replayed the scenario a number of times. You are correct.

Active sonar can pinpoint a submerged contacts location.
Passive sonar can determine a submerged contacts type.

What a great game Harpoon Advanced Naval Warfare is

Yours Faithfully
Seaplane Paul

PS - The biologicals didn't move - can they Herman?