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herwin -> Some Operational Data (5/8/2008 12:19:51 PM)
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The sweep rate of WWII submarines on patrol was 6000 square miles per day (about two hexes/day). That is, a sub would detect the ships in that much area per day. One ship of eight was sunk on the average. The density of shipping in Japanese rear areas was about one merchant vessel per 1000 square miles (3 ships per hex). Subs spent about one third of their time in their patrol area. You can work out that they could be expected to spot 60 ships and sink 7.5 ships per operational month.
Long range patrol aircraft averaged about 80 hours in the air per month, half in their patrol area. The sweep rate was 500 square miles per hour (about six hours per hex) for merchant vessels (lower for subs), working out to 20 ships detected per month (27 hexes per month, half in the patrol area). With adequate equipment and training, a patrol aircraft sank about one ship in 40 sighted, or about 0.5 ships per operational month.
Hence, a submarine was equivalent to 15 long range patrol aircraft for sinking ships and to 3 long range patrol aircraft for detecting ships.
Source: Morse and Kimball.
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