Hilarious sea story: crazy new submarine tactic 😂
 

So fellow captains, I decided to break out dangerous waters today and play around a little. I didn’t really feel like doing anything specific so I brought up a quick mission, Barents Sea ASW barrier in my trusty Akula III Gepard. I was in a mood to experiment and do some crazy stuff.

So I knew the mission was going well right away as it once again started an enemy sub within 3000 meters off my port bow. Turned out to be a Chinese improved kilo. All I know is I didn’t even have a chance to get my towed array streaming and I see my broadband sonar light up. Yu-3 torpedo close aboard. I do my favorite crazy evasion tactic, drop 2 noise makers, snapshot a Korand away from the shot fired at me, running away like most sub captains would and I go to flank speed into the torpedo to get behind it before it enables. (Usually I also counterfire but I held back this time.)

I’m successful, the yu-3 blows by me and goes after my mobile decoy. I know this guy is close, I slow to 5 knots and listen. Turns out these 636 boats are really quiet because I could not hear him doing 7 knots on my bow array at a distance now of 1600 meters. So I get creative, and I hit my foreword facing minehunting sonar. Sure enough there he is. Turned away from me and moving away, a little above me.

So now the hilarity really begins. I plant my boat less the a boat length off his stern and stay there, watching the image on my high freq sonar. We start a danger close underwater ballerina act, him trying to double back on me, speeding up, slowing down, reversing course. I stay glued to him.

And the torpedos! I didn’t even need sonar to tell me when he launched, I could see the torpedos leaving his tubes on my high freq sonar. Kicker was I was so close behind him that by the time his torpedos circled around, It was already behind me. Plus if any weapon did get behind me, I was ready to pop a noise maker, go to flank, and pass close enough to his keel to scratch it with my periscope, making his sub a very expensive torpedo decoy.

Then it got even better. I detected another launch from another bearing. The second sub in my engagement ended up being a Han class SSN, and he had joined the party. So now the kilo turns away from his partners torpedo, hits the flank bell, and starts dropping noise makers. I stay right behind and below him, matching his speed, ready to use him as a meatshield.

I decided that rather then sink the two, to challenge myself I broke contact with both subs trying to find me without firing a shot.

Thank you all for following my long winded Sea story, and hope some of you will get a laugh outta my crazy antics.

Sounds like something out of Cold Waters.

it is do able in DW unless your attacking platform is the alfa having spent hours tracking and trailing boats in DW you can get in real close without spooking them

Kilo is quiet but has limited battery life so flank bell will run her down very easy so it wont take long for the torpedo to find its mark

Wow, your first tactic for 'Torpedo in the Water' is to 'Ramius' it? That's ballsy! I've never done that!

Kudos to you!:Kaleun_Cheers:

Stewy, yeah I was reminded of the tactic after reading a sub novel where another Russian captain did it, and figured I’d give it a try a while back. I’ve tried it both against AI and people and actually found it to be very effective. Of course it is always a gamble, if the torpedo arms before you pass it, there’s a good chance your dead, although I have been able to still evade a couple times, and if it’s in circle search it can be a little hairy.

The thing is that if I’m coming up to someone for the first time, they automatically assume that once I hear a torpedo I’m going to turn away. They know I’m in an Akula and very fast so they usually set the torpedo to as close to my range as possible and a snake pattern so as not to waste time with it searching.

The important thing I do that makes it all work is launching a decoy down the predicted path at flank speed, and fire a countershot. They hear my sub turning away, then see the torpedo coming down their bearing. They go evasive which usually involves travelling at a speed that their sonar is blind. As far as they know, I’m running away.

The big advantage here is that even if my torpedo misses, I have the element of suprised in the reengagent. He will be looking for me and expecting me in a completely different area then I am. I’ll sit at 3 knots and wait for him to get close. Since I will drop speed first while he’s moving at speed, I will know exactly where he his, he won’t have any clue about me.

In the end, sometimes doing what is least expected can be the best tactic in itself.

one of the best tactics to use with the Akula is closing the net, it requires SS-N-16 or 27 ASW sometimes you can use them without alerting the other submarine your there, and therefore you force his had to go evasive.

Basically 3 or 4 of these in each corner around him it basically gives him multiple TIW's and the realization that he has no direction to go the enemy isn't likely to pick up your shooting either as the TIW only happens when the torpedo is running.

by doing this you also for a substantial amount of time cloud your own movements to get out of the way of a torpedo and also force him to forget about his own fish or better still make him cut the wire.

Thermoclines help as do one active deep one active shallow to create a wall to mask your own escape.

No tactic is fool proof an experienced hunter wont bite at your bate and Ramiusing it may also work against you especially if the other player is an old hand ;)