I remember once hearing a story from early 1942, where a US carrier task force was steaming across the Pacific (I think it was the USS Enterprise), and someone called out a periscope sighting. The task force went on full general quarters, and I think some shells and depth charges were expended.
It turned out that some sailor had dropped a mop overboard, and it was the handle that was mistaken for a periscope...……
Sometimes confusion and blunders can lead to some serious and rather embarrassing incidents, such as the 'battle' of Karansebes in 1788:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kar%C3%A1nsebes
I also learned recently about the landing in 1943 to recapture Kiska island from Japan in the Aleutians. After the bloody battle to retake Attu, the US wanted to ensure they pounded Kiska sufficiently before landing.
So the island was bombed for two months before US and Canadian troops landed. They found no Japanese, though there were several deaths and injuries from friendly fire accidents when US and Canadian troops met (they landed on opposite sides of the island).
It turned out that the Japanese had evacuated the island over two months earlier under cover of darkness. A most embarrassing situation to be sure.
ORIGINAL: OldSarge
ORIGINAL: FlyForLenin
A drift wood unit would actually be nice to have, now that I think about it.
While not exactly drift wood, there are False Contact objects in the database (#93, #94, #95) that would do the trick nicely. They work best at deceiving sonar, but I remember once they were detected by Mk1 Eyeball when one was placed on the surface. My AI skippers expended some ordinance on something that wasn't really there. [X(]
Yes I remember using those in my one serious attempt at a scenario, and I intitally placed them just for the challenge, and I remember one of the very few testers saying that they actually liked it in the sense of over anxious sailors reporting false sightings. I had not thought of it like that, a happy accident I suppose.