USS R-20 (1:1)
Laid down on June 4th of 1917, and completed at Union Iron works of San Francisco California October 26th 1918, USS R-20 started her extensive service life as the last of the Group 1 US R-class submarines. Group 1 of two, Group one having R-1 to R-20 were kept after the infamous war to end all wars while Group 2, R-21 to R-27 were scrapped due to the many military doctrines set in place. After years of conflictless peacetime, the remaining R class submarines were mothballed in 1930, however upon the outbreak of WW2 USS R-1 to R-20 were hastily brought back into service in 1941. After extensive refitments and modifications USS R-20 had been made combat ready for service in WW2, these upgrades and refitments included new sonar, a larger 4” 50 caliber gun, as well as hull modifications to allow a more streamlined vessel. These vessels were used for coastal defense in the early parts of the war, however toward the latter part of the war around 1943 they were taken from coastal defense to training. That is where these stricken vessels remained until their decommissioning in late 1945 and scrapping in 1946. All but one of these submarines “survives” today off the coast of Key West Florida, USS R-12 that had sunk due to unknown causes.
This representation of USS R-20 is how it would have looked around 1943. It required hundreds of hours of research and analysis in order to get historically correct as well as look the part and function to the same extent as its real life counterpart. I hope you enjoy this nearly forgotten slice of history, and be sure to read how to work this as I have made the controls as true to life as possible without requiring a crew of 26 to operate.
Features:
– Fully 1:1 design, hull, controls and all
– Early semi guided torpedoes
– Highly detailed interior and exterior
– Full ballast control
– Fully functional machine shop
– Raisable mast and periscopes
– 1943 modifications
– Fully furnished and detailed interior
Surface Sailing and Recharging:
In order to get moving, you must first make your way aft to the engine room. On the front of either engine are relatively basic controls, flip all of the pumps on, as well as the starter of engine 1 and 2. NOTE: YOU DO NOT NEED TO UP THE THROTTLE AT ALL! The only reason to up the throttle would be to either make a hasty surface shuffle, or a hasty recharge, keeping the engines at full throttle for an extended time would lead to an overheat. To start moving, go to the control room, up the throttle of the electric engines. Keep in mind the throttle of the engines has 5 positions each. Once set, press the electric clutch button. This will allow you to move forward at a relatively stable pace and rate. After a long dive you may find the engines have a hard time starting, this can be fixed by allowing the diesel clutch button at the throttle cluster for a short moment with the electric engines turned up until the engines are started, then you may take the clutch off. The electric engines essentially act as starters to assist the engines.
The more you use the engines and charge system the more you will be able to better understand them, the system may be odd at first however with a little practice it is a very realistic and reliable system.
!NOTE! This subs control surfaces can all be manipulated easily from the main planes helm, the rudder helm and bow planes helm are there for if you desire a fully realistic experience, however it is very hard to control realistically as one person.
Maneuvering:
In order to maneuver on the surface be sure you are at the main planes helm, use your rudder A/D to assist your turning, however your main maneuvering must be done by manipulating the electric engine throttle. For example, in order to maneuver left as fast as possible, bring left engines throttle to reverse, and right engines throttle to maximum. The same controls can be used under water, however the rudder, A/D are much more responsive under the surface than below surface.
Diving:
To dive, first deploy the “Dive Planes” button closest to the Depth Gauge. Next, make your way right to the ballast cluster, and turn auto trim on. Next, move to the right wall of the control room to the kingston levers and open every lever with the exception of the auxiliary lever. This will flood the ballast and allow you to dive. Once diving, you may use either the W and S keys on the main helm to control your descent and ascent, or you may use the automatic depth by typing your desired depth into the keypad in front of the helm, than pressing the “Allow depth set” button next to the Depth of field gauge.
Note: 22 ft is the optimal depth in order to use the periscope as well as fire torpedoes.
Surfacing:
If you would like to surface, Go to the ballast cluster and press the !Blow All! Switch, then use the depth set and set the subs depth to 0, keep in mind all Kingston levers must be closed for this to work. Once most ballast has been blown, you may turn off the depth set button, as well as the auto trim and dive planes.
Note: The auxiliary for’d and aft systems don’t have to be used unless you are controlling the sub fully realistically
Torpedoes:
Fair warning, the torpedoes can be finnacy at times. To fire them, open the skirt, then wait 3 seconds to fire the corresponding torpedo. If this is not followed it may result in a torpedo loop around. Once all torpedoes have been fired, close the skirts and pump the water from the tubes for optimal control. Unfortunately the torpedoes are non reloadable, stormworks is simply too finicky for that 🙁
Deck Gun:
The deck gun is very easy to use, wasd control it, 1 opens and closes the breech, space fires it, and the small ammunition compartment is located between it and the conning tower
Finally, again I hope you enjoy this, it was extremely challenging and time consuming to create and get as accurate as possible. It may be a tad challenging to use at first, however once you understand how it slightly works its easy to get the hang of, you still can effectively use it as one person as long as you follow the instructions.
Big Shoutout to my friend Phishercat for help with both logic and engine troubles, as well as a shoutout to Uran_Wind for his excellent ECU and Lazakamikazas awesome hydrophone.
