Thank you klh! Now I REALLY feel like a kid waiting for Christmas!
Isn't it interesting that I find the German and American torpedoes about equally effective so far as explosive power goes. I always begin the attack by firing one fish a quarter length back of the bow, then a quarter of the way forward of the stern. Technically this is a spread, but I expect two hits on individually aimed parts of my target.
There are two reasons for shooting the bow first. First, the motion of the ship will tend to make it take on more water. Secondly, once the target is hit there, it will tend to slow down. That will only affect the next torpedo by making it hit further forward than aimed. If the shots were reversed, the tendency would be for the second shot to miss ahead.
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Originally Posted by dcb
I think the German TDC/stadimeter calculations are completely off-course. The distance to target found using the TDC's stadimeter is largely different from the one measured on map.
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Bang! Zoom! Stadimeters are for use when you cannot use any other method. Then you must learn how to use them to know when you are using them wrongly to get a bad range. The American stadimeter is the same. Let me just say the stadimeter works perfectly, the captain somewhat less so. That includes myself. I will use a stadimeter and I am not bad at it. If I have an alternative, I will choose not to use it. Please read:
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Originally Posted by klh
a good U-boat commander would be prepared to use a variety of techniques to generate precise and accurate firing solutions so as not to waste a single precious torpedo (see U.Kdt.Hdb. Parts 91, 105).
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Then go find my seminar and instruction set for the
Dick O'Kane targeting method. You'll see that klh and I are in agreement. The bigger and more varied your bag of tricks the more successful you will be. No tactic is supreme. Each fits a certain set of circumstances well and should be used then.
Learn Fast-90, Dick O'Kane, down the throat, up the poop chute, conventional 4 parameter targeting (has to be a name for that) and anything else you can come across. I don't know if Cutie on a Leash can be adapted to U-Boats or not, but that's my next project. AFTER I read those great German tactics manuals!
