Silent Service (1985)
Silent Service is a 1985 simulator video game made by MicroProse Software, Inc. and Ultra Software Corporation.
The Pacific Fleet's submarines were called the silent service for good reason: they ran deep, hunted alone, and rarely made the headlines. Sid Meier's 1985 simulation puts you at the helm of a US fleet sub in the South Pacific in 1942, tracking enemy convoys by radar, plotting intercepts from the conning tower, and managing a crew under pressure from depth charges above. You balance torpedo stocks, battery life, and damage control across patrols that reward patience as much as aggression. Every contact on the scope is a decision.
Quick answers
What is Silent Service about?
The Pacific Fleet's submarines were called the silent service for good reason: they ran deep, hunted alone, and rarely made the headlines. Sid Meier's 1985 simulation puts you at the helm of a US fleet sub in the South Pacific in 1942, tracking enemy convoys by radar, plotting intercepts from the conning tower, and managing a crew under pressure from depth charges above. You balance torpedo stocks, battery life, and damage control across patrols that reward patience as much as aggression. Every contact on the scope is a decision.
When was Silent Service released?
Silent Service was released on 31 December 1985.
Who made Silent Service?
Silent Service was made by MicroProse Software, Inc. and Ultra Software Corporation.
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A few thoughts on Silent Service
The 1957 documentary series The Silent Service dramatized actual USN submarine patrols with the same procedural authenticity Meier built into this simulation, drawing on declassified mission logs to stage tense weekly episodes of the same hunters in the same waters. If the game hooked you on the Pacific submarine war, the series fills in the human texture the sim leaves to your imagination.