Cycle Tubes

[Dogfish40]

I am asking this question because I have not been able to find a direct answer or explanation, even though I have been reading a lot of the WW2 submariners manuals and protocol.
Here go's; What exactly is "Cycle Tubes"??:hmmm:
I know about opening and closing tube doors, all at once or one at a time.
I have read that Crews would, on occasion, have to pull the torpedoes out of the tubes and check them and reload them. I haven't found an explanation for "Cycle Tubes".
Thanks

D40-Cmmdr USS Gar

[Sailor Steve]

It just lets you switch from tube 1 to tube 2, to tube 3 etc, using a key rather than clicking on the tube with the mouse cursor. It's a game thing, not a real-life thing.

[NoGoodLandLubber]

...I know about opening and closing tube doors, all at once or one at a time....



Say what?! I can open all my tube doors at one time?! Can someone share this little nugget with the rest of the class?? I hate it when I've got the perfect shot lined up. Everything's in order. Got my fish with the proper settings and I punch the button. Nothing happens! That's usually when the plan goes straight to the crapper and I'm making a mad dash for the thermal layer.

[Dogfish40]

It just lets you switch from tube 1 to tube 2, to tube 3 etc, using a key rather than clicking on the tube with the mouse cursor. It's a game thing, not a real-life thing.

OK. I was just wondering if I was missing out on some important tool, thanks!

Say what?! I can open all my tube doors at one time?! Can someone share this little nugget with the rest of the class?? I hate it when I've got the perfect shot lined up. Everything's in order. Got my fish with the proper settings and I punch the button. Nothing happens! That's usually when the plan goes straight to the crapper and I'm making a mad dash for the thermal layer.

Sorry,:oops: I didn't mean to state that you can open all doors at the same time. I read on a post somewhere in this forum that there was a workaround to make it possible to open all tube doors and I'm trying to find/get that mod ASAP. I didn't mean that you could open all doors with the stock game. Sorry again.
You know....Now that I think about it, I was doing a Port Rape awhile back, Surface attack, night-time...and I remember firing two torpedoes at the first target without pressing Q, then swinging to starboard for the second salvo and noticing how low my bow was riding in the water. I figured at the time that ALL my tube doors were open. Anybody had this happen on the surface??
D40:salute:

[WernherVonTrapp]

You can have all your tubes open at the same time using the "Q" key to cycle:D through each tube. I just don't believe you can open them all simultaneously.

[NoGoodLandLubber]

According to the manual (yes I actually did look it up) the Q key opens and closes the currently selected tube and the W key cycles the tubes.

It certainly would be nice if there was one key that would toggle all tubes open/closed; but it doesn't look like there is.

[Armistead]

Well, it only takes about 3 seconds if your fast to open all tubes.

If you wish to remove a torpedo, you must cut autoload off and have an empty space in the rack. You then drag it back to a empty slot. It won't auto go there, but just as it takes time to load, it takes time to unload.
This works good if you have a torp in a damaged tube you want to pull out and use in a good tube.

[NoGoodLandLubber]

I can't speak for everyone else; but if I know I'm about to go into a big fight I "program" all my torps ahead of time (i.e. speed, detonation type, depth, offset angle). As I get "danger close" I open up the doors and unleash my volley.

Sure, it doesn't take too long to click on a tube, open the door & fire; but if it were possible to open all the doors are once it might save a second or two. It might give you time to start heading for the thermal layer at least a little bit ahead of the depth charges.

Alas, it's like my mama used to say..."Wish in one hand and s*** in the other and see which one fills up first!"

[WernherVonTrapp]

Personally, it's never even been an issue with my sim-play. I always open my tubes long before the DDs are even close enough to hear it (if that's even possible for them in-game). I can open them fast enough using the W & Q keys. Never needed to open them all up simultaneously.

[NoGoodLandLubber]

I tried the Q and W combination last night while sneaking into Mariveles harbor to do some pillaging. I took out a subchaser, one freighter in the harbor and another just a little north east of the harbor on my way out.

I guess it's a good thing to read the manual once in a while! :D

Been on patrol since 12/7/41;just got orders to come back to Pearl. Gonna see about poking my nose into Rabaul and see if anyone's home. Could use some more tonnage.

[Alky]

You can have all your tubes open at the same time using the "Q" key to cycle
Actually that doesn't work with the OM mod. When you try to open the second tube, the first one will close by itself. If some one could fix that, I'd appreciate it. ;)
However, in the fleet boat, you can have all of them open if you wish :)

[WernherVonTrapp]

Actually that doesn't work with the OM mod. When you try to open the second tube, the first one will close by itself. If some one could fix that, I'd appreciate it. ;)
However, in the fleet boat, you can have all of them open if you wish :)Oops, sorry, I thought we were talking about Fleetboats here. I know it doesn't work on the U-Boat side.:oops:

[NoGoodLandLubber]

I was; but I'm not sure Alky was.

[Alky]

Oops, sorry, I thought we were talking about Fleetboats here. I know it doesn't work on the U-Boat side.:oops:
Hmmm... I didn't notice that fleet boats were mentioned above.:hmmm:

[Armistead]

This is a fleetboat forum. There's a SH4 ATO for Uboats forum where answers might easier be found about Uboats, ...not that you can't ask here...:salute:

[Alky]

This is a fleetboat forum. There's a SH4 ATO for Uboats forum where answers might easier be found about Uboats, ...not that you can't ask here...:salute:
Well, I don't mean to be argumentative, but this forum is called "Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific" which is the same as the title on my software package.
You are right that there is a "SH4 ATO mods" forum, but there is also an "SH4 Fleet Boat Mods Workshop". So aside from those two, I assumed this forum was for general discussion of SH4, the game. If that's not the case then by all means direct me to the proper forum sir! :salute:

[WernherVonTrapp]

Hmmm... I didn't notice that fleet boats were mentioned above.:hmmm:Sorry, my misunderstanding Alky. I simply got confused because, I think, everyone else was referring to fleetboats and then you brought up OM for some reason, which is a U-Boat mod.:03:

[Sailor Steve]

Well, I don't mean to be argumentative, but this forum is called "Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific" which is the same as the title on my software package.
You are right that there is a "SH4 ATO mods" forum, but there is also an "SH4 Fleet Boat Mods Workshop". So aside from those two, I assumed this forum was for general discussion of SH4, the game. If that's not the case then by all means direct me to the proper forum sir! :salute:
There is also a forum dedicated to the U-boat side of things.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/forumdisplay.php?f=232

Unfortunately it's listed as a sub-forum to this one, which makes it hard to spot.

As to one door closing when the next one is opened, that's an SH4 thing, and I'm unaware of any mod that fixes it.

[Alky]

As to one door closing when the next one is opened, that's an SH4 thing, and I'm unaware of any mod that fixes it.
Thank you Sailor Steve, strange that you can open all the tubes in a fleet boat but not in a U-boat. It's all in the same sim :hmmm:
But then you can't do a salvo in a Fleetboat, but you can in a U-boat!
When I fire a two torp salvo in a U-boat I set the first torp to medium speed and open the tube then set the second to fast. With the delay in the second one opening, both torps arrive at the target at about the same time :)
From what I gathered in another thread, salvos aren't realistic either :)

[Forensicman101]

Historically, USN boats tended to fire torpedoes one at a time. The reason was that the loss of a heavy torpedo at the bow of a sub floating at periscope depth tended to result in the bow being lifted out of the water - not nice when you are trying to be unobserved. The crew had to work hard to shift ballast water from one end of the sub to the other whenever a torpedo was fired; it was a very delicate but frantic operation. Firing more than one torpedo simulataneously would have invited disaster.

The British developed the "hosepipe salvo" method: a torpedo was fired with zero gyro-angle just to the front of the target, the next was fired at the target centre as it passed across the firing line and the next just afterwards. All torpedoes running along the same track. The idea was that the target's motion would generate the salvo effect. This can be quite do-able if you use the manual targeting method.

In SH4 (& SH2 & Sh3) I prefer the "double whammy" approach referred to below. Fire one torpedo at a low speed and another at a high speed. If you time it right, both will arrive at the target at roughly the same time. I've done some basic maths & tabulated my findings (in a typically Forensiman101 nerdy way). With German subs you can try for a "tripple whammy" using three torpedo speeds.

link:

http://www.filefront.com/user/forensicman

[Sailor Steve]

The problem with the 'salvo' for Germans is that they did have a setting that would fire several selected tubes, but to prevent interference with each other they fired a minimum of eight seconds apart.

But yes, even the Americans would flood all the tubes they planned to fire in advance, just to have them ready. The game should allow for that.

[NoGoodLandLubber]

It does. I always flood all my tubes for going into a fight.

That's just how I roll! :|\\