***UNDER CONSTRUCTION***
SILENT HUNTER III
SUBMARINE SIMULATOR
Submarine Equipment in Silent Hunter III
Submarine equipment in Silent Hunter III refers to installed systems onboard certain submarine types, some of which may only be installed after a player has earned a certain amount of prestige (known in the simulator as "renown") before the equipment becomes available. The primary types of submarine equipment are hydrophones, radars, radar detectors, decoys, as well as advanced systems such as anti-submarine detection hull coatings.
The full equipment progression path in Silent Hunter III
The hydrophone was one of the more important pieces of equipment onboard all German submarines and allowed the submarine to detect sound from close-by surface vessels. By tracking the sound through the water, the submarine crew could estimate the target vessel's course and speed.
The early submarine hydrophones (known as the Gruppenhorchgerät or "GHG" was a series of sensors mounted on the nose of teh submarine shich appeared as small tubular holes. The hydrophone was omni-directional and could only detect sounds from in front of the submarine. It was replaced once World War II began with the "KDB" (KristallBasisgerät - see right) which was essentially a top hull mounted rotating sound detector. The KDB has been featured prominently in such submarine films as Das Boot and U-571.
Beginning in 1943, more advanced hydrophone designs were introduced onboard submarines which also coincided with the installation of submarine surface radars. The standard U-boat radar assembly was the "FuMO" which could be co-installed with a radar detector. Submarine radars were mounted on the conning tower near or next to the submarine radio antenna, the standard of which was the "Funkpeilrahmen" which appeared as a large oval metal circle, capable of being lowered into the hull upon the submarine submerging.
Standard U-boat radio antenna and radar assemblies
After 1943, when the new Destroyer hunter-killer type vessels began appearing in the American and British navies, the German Navy began outfitting submarines with anti-sonar technology to include the Bold class decoys which were canisters of calcium hydride designed to omit large amounts of bubbles (and noise) to create a false sonar target to enemy vessels. The German navy also began coating its submarine in materials to make the ships more difficult to detect underwater.
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The most innovative and significant piece of late war submarine technology was by far the snorkel. Mounted next to the submarine's periscope (see left), the snorkel allowed the submarine to operate its diesel engines underwater and thus recharge batteries while submerged.
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