Kapitain's Under-ice Ops

Introduction to me:

My name is Blair I live in England and also Russia I am 17 years old and have loved ships and submarines for many years, I am currently studying to become an officer cadet in the merchant navy and my big dream is to be a captain of a cruise ship or submarine.

I have a large family I’m the youngest of the boys, of which there are twelve all together and there are also eight girls one of whom is younger than me, I spend most of my time playing Dangerous Waters.

I command the nuclear powered attack submarine Gepard (K335), she is like the one in the above picture, in saying that my main area of operation is under the polar ice known as the Artic Ocean it features some of the most hostile barren and hard to reach areas ever known to man and provides not only the sub simmers but also the real life personnel a navigational challenge for this reason I decided to focus my attention on that one are but wait!

This doesn’t mean I just play there I do sometimes venture out into open waters, mainly Atlantic and around Norway and Great Britain, and it is here I hunt.

Since I’ve started playing Dangerous Waters Gepard has completed over eighty combat patrols and sunk over 300,000 tonnes of ships.

Now many manuals are boring hard on the eye and make good pillows, they bore you to death literally! This is different this is based on my own personal experiences, what I’ve learnt, what I’ve gained, and some useful tips and tactics.

Many people say to me and I get this nearly every day "you’re too young to know and understand" ok fair enough if you want to believe that go ahead but why do you insist on asking me questions? I tell you why because I’m one of very few people who can go to a Russian naval base and see for myself what ships, subs, facilities they have restricted heavily of course, but I’ve still been there I’ve spoken to many people who work on the subs ships and at the bases,

I’ve been on the ships sub and bases and yet they say I don’t know I have a better understanding of it than most people think.

Anyways that’s roughly me if there is any questions then please email me at

Where and what is the Artic Ocean?

The Artic Ocean is a large expanse of water and ice covering the top of the planet, the ocean itself is mainly covered with ice most of the year round and it is impossible to map due to the ice shifting all the time, however the good news to submarine captains is this: it provides perfect cover no satellite, plane or helicopter can see or detect you and ships can’t really follow you only the ice breakers and they are few and far between! But a frigate or destroyer has no hope of getting you, which is good news all round right? Wrong of course there’s a snag! Another submarine can follow you, few nations have submarines but those who do have them use them wisely Russia, America, Great Britain and France all deploy or have deployed nuclear submarines at some point under the ice.

Before the nuclear submarines the Artic Ocean was a no-go area but when Nautilus went down the slipway that changed the Artic Ocean was now accessible and it wasn’t long before Britain and Russia did the same.

My main area of operation is here under the ice why? Because it provides me with the perfect cover I only have to worry about one thing and that’s another submarine!

A good skipper knows his boat inside out my boat has always been Gepard right back when sub command came out she was the only submarine I ever commanded the Akula class or Project 971 are specifically designed for under ice missions and are designed with quietness in mind, so under the ice where the background noise is constantly loud the submarine can not be detected easily.

The Artic Ocean was the last unexplored part of the planet not much was known in the early stages but as time went on more and more was learned and discovered, what I’ve learnt in the last few years of playing such games is this "the Artic Ocean cannot be fought against" you can work with it but fight against it your sure to lose, but if you use it wisely then it can help you a lot!

What’s it like under the ice?

Its like being at sea like being in the Atlantic only instead of nice clear water and popping up when you feel like it the twist is there’s a brick wall covering the surface so you locked in or are you?

No your not if you go shallow 35 meters and stop then ring down surface you can penetrate most ice layers without problem, but if you go full speed on an emergency blow straight into it then stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass good bye cause you won’t win against it like that.

I find the ice personally rather calm and soothing it has its tense moments it has its relaxed moments its a good mix, but it takes balls to run very shallow and fast as you know there are icebergs out there that are over 5,000 years old just waiting for you to hit it and that’s the end, I’ve seen bergs go down to 600 feet ok not a major problem if seen but if you miscalculate or hit one then your really nuked (little tip start thinking what your going to say to the admirals if you get home).

The ice can be used as a skipper’s best tool, but being down right stupid it can become a skipper’s nightmare. I’ve done stupid things under the ice but I’ve learnt from them if you cant learn from mistakes don’t bother coming under ice!

The worst mistake I made under ice was running shallow in real shallow water knowing I could have gone to deeper water and it would have taken more time but I would have got through, so when the shallow water turned to sea bed I had to reverse back about 20 miles then go into deep water.

Stupid mistake but one that could have sunk me!

But seriously most skippers are scared to run shallow and fast because of the contours of the ice and they are frightened that they will sink their boats, but if you have brains and a lot of planning and get to know the region then its just fine.

Some useful tips

Here it goes some tips for you guys:

  • Never try to think that you will win against the sea or ice
  • Never think you’re the best cause blatantly there are people out there better but yet provoke fear to the rivals so they think you’re the best
  • Know your boat inside out its weapons and capabilities and also your common enemies’ subs and weapons too
  • When running shallow never go above 12 knots because the HF sonar cant really keep up and that’s the window you need to see ice and dodge it
  • Never think that the periscope is useless under ice it does come in handy for slow tracking (make sure its set to night vision)
  • Don’t ever be cocky it will only cost you dearly
  • Keep calm and have a cool head if you don’t the enemy can see this in the way you command
  • Never have a routine as your moves can be predicted having a routine is the enemy’s best friend
  • Always think you have the advantage keeping that in mind will set you up and keep you calm you may not have the best sub but you can still win
  • If you want to break up a sonar track or you’re being followed find a large iceberg and go shallow just after it 9/10 the enemy will follow and run straight into it
  • Know where you are even if your no where near a map the Artic Ocean has few navigation points so know where you are
  • Always take your time and go at a pace comfortable to you if it don’t feel safe or right don’t do it
  • Keep a close eye on the HF sonar come to it every 3 minuets or so just to make sure you clear of any bergs

What I do

Well in this summary I can say not a lot most of my tonnage is gained in open ocean in places like the Norwegian sea and Barents sea, I rarely venture into open ocean that is mid-Atlantic etc. but I have done on few occasions including the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.

As I said I spend 90% of my time under ice and basically all I do is track other submarines, some good tips for tracking enemy or potential enemy submarines is this:

  • Stay within about 2 miles of the contact as they cannot fire on you
  • Stay behind them and keep a very close eye on what they do
  • Never go over the top or underneath them cause you never know if they going to go shallow or deep
  • Forward plan some moves like if he does this I’ll counter by doing this
  • Make sure your tubes are flooded and equalized because if you want to attack you slow down and then you got a perfect line of fire
  • Never under estimate your enemy even if his submarine looks like it’s from world war one cause generally he might have a better head for tactics than you

Some little bits that can help you

When under the ice I don’t often travel very fast I have no good reason to if you’re relaxed and patient then you will find the enemy comes to you if you’re up tight and inmpatient yeah the enemy will come to you but normally blow the submarine out of the water.

I normally stick around at 35 meters at a speed of four to eight knots unless I’m in track and the contact is traveling faster.

The region

In the artic there are many regions and adjoining seas, get used to knowing where you are it helps a lot, if I said to you now I’m on the Lomonosov Ridge you probably think where the f**k is that? knowing where you are is important if your enemy doesn’t know the area then you have the advantage. Some maps I have included explaining some areas that are no-go areas and some that are simply the best here goes.

This map is great for showing where to go and where not to go!

On the top of Russia you see the Kara Sea this is a definite no-go zone it’s very shallow and thick with ice and at one point it makes it impossible to cross through however the top part of the Kara Sea is accessible but still shallow same with the Laptev Sea and Beaufort Sea.

If you’re very brave then try the Canadian archipelago not overly deep but tricky to navigate and takes the meaning of balls to another level if you can navigate that then you can navigate any where including the Atlantic Pacific via Bering Straight, which is very shallow and iced right over even in summer.

The bottom part of Novaya Zemlya is also very tricky to navigate but it can be done if you take your time.

Greenland and Canadian gap provide excellent straights in which to run at high speed and coves where you can hide making a big, big sub such as a boomer think twice about following you (as if it would) but it does stop some types of submarines i.e. diesels and the Oscar class.

Main areas note the names this will help you in multiplayer, if you and your partner have got this map then you can arrange to meet in certain areas and ambush the enemy cause 7/10 they haven’t got this map, these maps are just from the internet but are very useful in terms of getting to know the region.

Tactics

I don’t fancy sharing too many of my tactics because I’d be able to be defeated in a multiplayer game easily but here’s a few.

The world-renowned Crazy Ivan

Yes I do do these. It’s a very basic maneuver which could either give you a lot of info or just simply kill you, the idea is to find out if any one is behind you first of all your traveling along normally then you start slowing down rapidly, you wait for a while then pick up speed sharply to about 24 knots then turn 180* anything in the way is generally run down or moves thus giving its position away, however they don’t always do this and it’s not a good maneuver if you want to stay undetected.

The Wild Ride

A tactic I developed to tire out the trailing submarine basically you just go up down up down fast slow fast slow and when you think your enemy isn’t expecting it break off at high speed if it’s a 688I then you have no problems out running it but it takes a lot of time however if it’s a Seawolf just don’t do this tactic

For more tactics please consult Bill Nichols’s site at the book is called the Seawolves Blue Book of Submarine Operations.

The best of the best

In the Moskoyo Flota (northern fleet) prizes are awarded to the best ships in the fleet most notable of these is Kursk and Tula each year a submarine is awarded this.

So what’s stopping you being Subsim’s best of the best? Nothing what so ever in mp mode make competitions best skipper of the year or month then see who has got the balls to take on the best.

Well in my game I’m the best because I have the best sub and best crew and best weapons if you think that you will go far start saying oh well he can go faster deeper etc. you will loose the adrenalin rush and cause you to lack certain judgment which is not good when fighting a Seawolf or 688I.

Surfacing under ice?

There’s only one way to do this and that is to go shallow and stop then surface, if you do an E blow at speed or even at slow speed you risk damaging or even sinking your submarine the ice is like a concrete wall it can only be conquered via one means and that is take your time.

When surfacing do not raise any masts they will be broken and the towed array must be stowed too.

What will I encounter?

Under ice the two main risks are icebergs and other submarines so the need for the ESM radar periscope radio and that are all gone, well no I use the periscope at slow speeds to get sneaky snaps of subs when close up I’m usually 4 knots or slower (otherwise I’d be seeing blue).

The only other thing that’s under ice and not really a threat is biological contacts i.e. whales and stuff if your attacking make sure the torpedo doesn’t lock on to the whale makes a mess and Greenpeace don’t like it!

Surface ships and aircraft are no problem to you whatsoever they cannot attack you nor in heavy ice even keep up with you but on the ice canopy (edges) ships can still be a big threat and so can aircraft.

How to attack and how to evade

Staying slow and shallow normally means very hard to be detected, but still isn’t 100% fool proof the key is detect him before he detects you and thus eliminating him if needed.

Attacking under ice is no different to attacking in blue water only difference is you’re attacking submarines rather than surface ships and in doing that gaining valuable experience in sub v sub environment just don’t run your torpedoes too shallow and missiles don’t really work too well under ice.

Evading is much more difficult see the tactics section as it give in detail the maneuvers but also be aware of icebergs and the fact your sonar at speed doesn’t really work too well so be careful.

What makes a good skipper?

A good skipper must have these qualities

  • Know their boat
  • Know each and every weapon capabilities
  • Know what the enemy is capable of
  • Be able to keep calm even in the worst situation imaginable
  • Not to lapse for one second (lapsing can cause a mistake which can lead to destruction of your vessel)
  • Be patient wait for contact rather than go head long bull in a china shop at them
  • Make sure you have a good fix and fire first
  • Always keep in mind your sub crew weapons and everything else is the best even if in theory it’s not
  • Stay alert and stay safe

Near-surface use of sonar

There are some disadvantages when it comes to using sonar near the surface, obviously you get your normal wash out from high speed but you also get a black spot where you cant detect anything above you so a whole fleet could race over the top of you and you wouldn’t know about it, so how do you combat this problem?