Numerous radomes on Saipan should actually be tanks

[Northstar98]

Hi everyone,

In DCS, Saipan has numerous radomes where there should actually be tanks of some description. In many cases these radomes are much larger than whatever tank is there in real life, making them quite obvious, even from relatively far away.

 

Agingan Point:

Spoiler

Here are the tanks at Agingan Point in Google Earth; as we can see there is a larger, multi-chambered tank, and a much smaller tank. Also note the antennae of the Robert E. Kamosa Transmitting Station (REKTS), the pillbox immediately to west of the larger tank, and the green of a golf course (?).

And here is the roughly the same shot in DCS (camera position: -camera 180.240917 0.506602 97.863282 -cameradir 0.053182 -0.998585 0.000571)

Note that the 2 tanks are instead 2 radomes, the area where the pillbox is has been replaced by trees, and the antennae of the REKTS are inaccurate.

 

Here's a street view image in Google Earth, looking east:

As you can see, the larger multi-chambered tank is only a few metres tall at most, also note the masts of the REKTS.

And here's roughly the same shot in DCS (camera position: -camera 180.171877 0.013043 97.771701 -cameradir 0.576405 0.122982 0.807857):

 

Here's a Google Earth street view image of roughly the same position, looking to the north:

Ditto, in DCS (camera position: -camera 180.171877 0.013043 97.771701 -cameradir 0.980718 0.140089 0.136263):

 

And here's a Google Earth street view image looking to the west, showing the pillbox:

And roughly the same shot in DCS (camera position: -camera 180.171877 0.013043 97.771701 -cameradir 0.606287 0.064287 -0.792643):

The difference should be obvious - also note that the point has incorrect geometry, which largely goes for the Marianas as a whole - plenty of areas are much more varied and undulating in DCS than they are in real life.

Saipan International Airport:

Spoiler

At Saipan International Airport, there are 2 tanks, one is to the north of the terminal, the other is to the west.

Here's the northern one, as seen in Google Earth:

And here's the same shot in DCS (camera position: -camera 180.624677 0.309178 101.248255 -cameradir 0.024442 -0.999701 -0.000375):

Note the large radome where the small tank should be. Also note the more dense foilage immediately to the west of the road running north-north-east to south-south-west.

 

Here's a shot of the tank seen from the road running north-north-east to south-south-west, looking to the east:

And here's the same shot, in DCS (camera position: -camera 180.637851 0.066939 101.194101 -cameradir -0.451424 -0.007574 0.892277):

 

Here's another shot of the tank, seen from the road running due west to due east, looking to the north (the tank is behind the structure with the door immediately ahead):

And here's the same shot in DCS (camera position: -camera 180.550612 0.067247 101.256226 -cameradir 0.926843 -0.033454 0.373955):

 

Here's the western tank, seen in Google Earth:

And here's the same shot in DCS (camera position: -camera 180.344326 0.229625 101.096706 -cameradir -0.017202 -0.999851 -0.001366):

 

Unfortunately, Google Earth street view imagery predates the construction of this tank, but here's a shot of where it would be in Google Earth:

And here's the same shot in DCS (camera position: -camera 180.360975 0.068731 101.114146 -cameradir -0.873054 0.009683 -0.487527):

Tanks east of Garapan:

Spoiler

Here are the 2 tanks ~1.5 km east of Garapan:

And here's roughly the same position, in DCS (camera position: -camera 189.703874 0.430819 102.814086 -cameradir 0.045988 -0.998941 -0.001176):

As we can see, what should be tanks are instead 2 large radomes.

 

Unfortunately, the view from the road is obscured in Google Earth due to dense foilage. Here however is a screenshot in DCS, looking to the east (camera position: -camera 189.705425 0.210073 102.705766 -cameradir 0.058927 -0.169261 0.983808):

Again, these radomes seem to be far taller than the tanks that are actually there, and if you simply chopped the radome part off of the cylindrical base, you'd have a prety decent approximation.

Tanks next to Puerto Rico Drive, near Puerto Rico/Tanapag Harbour:

Spoiler

Here's a satellite image of the area, showing that instead of tanks, there should just be a building:

Ditto, in DCS:

As you can see, the building is instead 2 radomes.

Camera position: -camera 191.305578 0.993379 102.828070 -cameradir 0.000000 -0.999404 0.000000

 

Here's a view from the road (Puerto Rico Drive), looking roughly towards the east, the building is just barely visible behind the foilage:

And here's the view from slightly further north, looking roughly south-east in DCS:

As you can see, quite different from RL. Camera position: -camera 191.308295 0.026411 102.796783 -cameradir -0.494868 0.229099 0.838224

As for the building, I found this one at Andersen AFB; if this model was cut in half, it would be perfectly acceptable:

Camera position: -camera 8.291570 0.181000 13.618139 -cameradir -0.947640 -0.288174 -0.137599

Tanks on the grounds of an industrial facility, near Tanapag Harbour:

Spoiler

Here's a Google Earth view of the area, the 2 tanks we're interested in are the 2 larger ones immediately to the north of the large building in the centre of the shot.

Ditto, in DCS (camera position: -camera 192.370711 0.514587 103.124020 -cameradir 0.066083 -0.997813 0.001690):

As you can see, the 2 tanks are instead large radomes, there are numerous other issues as far as accuracy is concerned, but they're more minor IMO.

Unfortunately, there aren't any images in Google Earth where there's a non-obstructed view of the tanks, so here's a shot in DCS (camera position: -camera 192.198181 0.043337 103.075539 -cameradir 0.915627 -0.176344 0.361288):

Note the boat that appears to be levitating in mid-air owing to excessively transparent water and the odd geometry where the piers meet the land.

Tank on Route 320 near San Roque:

Spoiler

Here's the tank on Route 320, near San Roque, as seen in Google Earth:

And here's the same shot in DCS (camera position: -camera 194.899844 0.415548 108.547383 -cameradir -0.000000 -1.000000 0.000000):

 

Here's a street view of the tank, seen in Google Earth, but note the geometry of the surrounding area:

And here's the same shot in DCS (camera position: -camera 194.942309 0.113970 108.547570 -cameradir -0.173194 0.121554 0.977358):

The massive radome is pretty obvious, but note the difference in the geometry, and the distribution of foliage. In general there are plenty of issues with geometry in this location (the buildings behind this image are in a valley, with the road at a higher elevation, in reality, the buildings are above the road, here's a camera position: -camera 194.967406 0.091011 108.219145 -cameradir -0.298446 0.031250 0.953915).

Finally, here's a street view image of the tank itself:

And here's the same shot in DCS (camera position: -camera 194.971205 0.118054 108.592314 -cameradir -0.747827 0.268098 0.607353):

Edited March 7, 2022 by Northstar98
found another set near Tanapag harbour

[Exorcet]

A bit ironic considering some of the structures in the Gulf map. A bunch of EWR's there are tanks.

[Gierasimov]

I really like what are you doing @Northstar98 across your posts about inaccuracies. This is an excellent research and I sure hope ED's Terrain team can use this knowledge to improve the product, like they did with bathymetry issue.

[Northstar98]

11 minutes ago, Gierasimov said:

I really like what are you doing @Northstar98 across your posts about inaccuracies. This is an excellent research and I sure hope ED's Terrain team can use this knowledge to improve the product, like they did with bathymetry issue.

Thanks! I appreciate it

[Northstar98]

Updated first post to include another set of radomes (where there should be a warehouse/shed like building), near Tanapag harbour.