General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Radar and snorkels
Posted by:
SuperKraut
()
Date: December 20, 2000 09:09AM
<HTML>The issue is not if a certain radar can pick up a certain snorkel design under ideal conditions, but what are the statistical odds that this can be accomplished under various conditions. If the water is perfectly flat or the snorkel is sticking out of the water too far it will be detected by late WWII radar. Digital signal processing made the detection of a snorkel almost a certainty under most conditions. The effectiveness of analog radar varied a lot depending on the conditions. It was a statistics game. Your example with the pilings is a good demonstration of this. Pilings are about the same diameter as a snorkel head, but they stick out of the water a lot further and are hence easy to detect. Pretty much the same applies to the analog vs. digital sonar issue.
Comparing the Soviet submarines of the 1950s with the possibilities the Germans had is also not quite valid. The Soviet submarines were relatively loud and easy to pick up on sonar. The Soviets never captured the German sonar factories and R+D facilities which were in the west. They just copied the XXI sonar they captured and failed to improve it. If the teardrop boat project had started in the 1930s, there would have been a full blown race between better sonar and quieter U-boats.
The comparison with the Cold War spying is also not quite valid since the price for discovery was a lot higher than potentially losing the submarine. Further, the submarine commander could not shoot back. The options and calculated risks applied in a hot war are quite different.
Regards,
SuperKraut</HTML>
Comparing the Soviet submarines of the 1950s with the possibilities the Germans had is also not quite valid. The Soviet submarines were relatively loud and easy to pick up on sonar. The Soviets never captured the German sonar factories and R+D facilities which were in the west. They just copied the XXI sonar they captured and failed to improve it. If the teardrop boat project had started in the 1930s, there would have been a full blown race between better sonar and quieter U-boats.
The comparison with the Cold War spying is also not quite valid since the price for discovery was a lot higher than potentially losing the submarine. Further, the submarine commander could not shoot back. The options and calculated risks applied in a hot war are quite different.
Regards,
SuperKraut</HTML>
Subject | Written By | Posted |
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type xxi | phil | 12/17/2000 12:41PM |
RE: type xxi | David W | 12/18/2000 06:36AM |
RE: type xxi | Dietzsch | 12/18/2000 09:12AM |
RE: type xxi | Rainer Bruns | 12/18/2000 01:35PM |
RE: type xxi | Nannia | 12/18/2000 02:37PM |
RE: type xxi | Takeo | 12/18/2000 03:16PM |
fallout? | Tom Iwanski | 12/18/2000 03:39PM |
RE: type xxi | kurt | 12/18/2000 05:43PM |
RE: type xxi | Rainer Bruns | 12/18/2000 03:40PM |
RE: type xxi | Steve Cooper | 12/18/2000 04:54PM |
RE: garbage? | Antonio Veiga | 12/18/2000 08:16PM |
RE: garbage? | Rick Mann | 12/19/2000 07:58PM |
RE: gaijin | kurt | 12/19/2000 11:47PM |
XXI and the 300 U-boats | SuperKraut | 12/18/2000 09:41PM |
Scary thought | J-E | 12/19/2000 01:27PM |
RE: type xxi | kurt | 12/18/2000 05:41PM |
RE: type xxi | MCE | 12/18/2000 06:00PM |
RE: type xxi | kurt | 12/18/2000 05:55PM |
You have missed the point | SuperKraut | 12/18/2000 09:30PM |
invisible snorkels at the XXI | Kurt | 12/18/2000 11:23PM |
XXI capabilities | SuperKraut | 12/19/2000 08:27PM |
RE: invisible snorkels at the XXI | Craig McLean | 12/20/2000 03:19AM |
Underwater speed and range | SuperKraut | 12/20/2000 09:39AM |
Snorkels and The Bismarck Add On | Fin Bonset | 12/20/2000 01:07PM |
Bismarck Fleet Add On | Fin Bonset | 12/20/2000 01:09PM |
RE: Bismarck Fleet Add On | Fin Bonset | 12/20/2000 01:10PM |
RE: type xxi | Steve Cooper | 12/19/2000 06:20PM |
RE: type xxi | Stewart | 12/19/2000 07:29PM |
Blair | SuperKraut | 12/19/2000 08:49PM |
RE: Blair | kurt | 12/19/2000 11:40PM |
RE: I meant 1950\'s | kurt | 12/19/2000 11:48PM |
RE: Blair | Jim, | 12/20/2000 01:35AM |
RE: mystery radar | kurt | 12/20/2000 10:10PM |
Radar and snorkels | SuperKraut | 12/20/2000 09:09AM |
Wilhelm Bauer Type XXI | Rick Mann | 12/20/2000 05:06PM |
RE: Wilhelm Bauer Type XXI | SuperKraut | 12/21/2000 10:08AM |
RE: Wilhelm Bauer Type XXI | Rick Mann | 12/25/2000 05:01PM |
RE: Wilhelm Bauer Type XXI | SuperKraut | 12/28/2000 12:41AM |