Hitting an actively maneuvering target

[Razoleg]

Hi Folks,

So, I am in the middle of the enemy convoy with 5 carriers and I already sank a battleship by mistake and injured two carriers in the bow, also kind of by mistake (you see, all three torp spread was meant for one guy, but the first one hit a heavy cruiser dead centre, right behind Hiryu, the other one hit the target and the last - carrier behind her). They are up to their towers in the water, but are still doing good 7-8 kts speed and are maneuvering vigorously in extremely bad weather (waves so high, my boat is exposed at 35 ft in water).

So, I am in the middle of the convoy, going flank speed with destroyers right behind me and a crusier to my port side, so close that I can see people having cigarettes on its decks. These two carriers are doing zig-zags from -30 to +30 degrees in front. I have three torps left in my S-18, but it's extremely hard to see or target them (periscope gets maybe 1-2 seconds of view in these waves), they are about 700-900 meters away in front of everybody.

My question is: do you have a tactic for engaging a zig-zaging target (as a bonus: in bad weather in the middle of convoy w/o being detected)?

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by Razoleg

Hi Folks,

So, I am in the middle of the enemy convoy with 5 carriers and I already sank a battleship by mistake and injured two carriers in the bow, also kind of by mistake (you see, all three torp spread was meant for one guy, but the first one hit a heavy cruiser dead centre, right behind Hiryu, the other one hit the target and the last - carrier behind her). They are up to their towers in the water, but are still doing good 7-8 kts speed and are maneuvering vigorously in extremely bad weather (waves so high, my boat is exposed at 35 ft in water).

So, I am in the middle of the convoy, going flank speed with destroyers right behind me and a crusier to my port side, so close that I can see people having cigarettes on its decks. These two carriers are doing zig-zags from -30 to +30 degrees in front. I have three torps left in my S-18, but it's extremely hard to see or target them (periscope gets maybe 1-2 seconds of view in these waves), they are about 700-900 meters away in front of everybody.

My question is: do you have a tactic for engaging a zig-zaging target (as a bonus: in bad weather in the middle of convoy w/o being detected)?

Undetected is unlikely. However, a good tactic is to get as close as possible on the port or starboard side(whiever works best) , make sure have their speed correct, aim for middle of target, and fire when they begin to zig towards you they will basically run into the torpedoes. Of course being close is a big help so fish meet them in time and they dont have time to speed up and evade.Tough situation but possible.

[Rockin Robbins]

So you're in the middle of a fully alerted convoy of enemy ships. Seems to me you're worried about shooting them when you should be worried about survival. Dead captains and dead crew torpedo very few enemy ships. However, you are where you are. There's no sense in second-guessing yourself.

You're going to have to shoot a ship you're close to. Pick one ahead of you and to the right or left. Now the strategy is to get the torpedo to run out straight, make a right angle turn into the side of the target. You don't need one 500 yards ahead because your speed will require the torpedo run to be longer to draw abreast of the ship so it will arm quicker than you'd think.

Using the attack map, enter the parameters to send the torpedo into the side of a ship. Resist the temptation to shoot at the stern. When they zig, that narrow stern sashays out the the way and you miss. You aim along the length of the target so if he zigs he hopefully just gets hit in a slightly different place.

It's doable. It's foolish. The submarine's strength is its stealth and you don't have that. Good luck!

[Razoleg]

Thanks for the replies. It is night time and they don't seem to see me. They only were able to get to me once, but I dived immediately to 160 feet, turned towards the heading of the convoy and it seems that they've lost me (perhaps the sound of other ships was too great to detect me, since I surfaced right in the middle of the convoy). I surfaced just enough to see the heavy cruiser passing right next to me, I've turned to his heading and now the destroyers are looking for me behind my boat. I'm not really concerned with safety because I've had the unfortunate experience of avoiding destroyers in shallow waters in SH3, so Japanese destroyers in the middle of an ocean can hardly do any damage since I can always dive below the thermal layer (and this is on very hard setting, so I'm not sure why they are so weak in SH4).

You don't need one 500 yards ahead because your speed will require the torpedo run to be longer to draw abreast of the ship so it will arm quicker than you'd think.

That's what I was missing, I am too worried to get close to them because I only have three torpedoes left and I don't want them to bounce off. Mind you it's been an exceptional patrol so far and I can't let those two carriers go, especially seeing as I've damaged them. I'm doing 8 knots on flank (going to 7-6 when the waves hit and expose my boat for a brief moment), but they are also doing around 7-8 (maybe 9, but active maneuvering slows them to my speed). So I'm in chase-mode, so to speak.

I'm thinking, since I have only three left, I'm just going to wait for all of them to reload and fire a spread at 700 or so meters, see what happens. If I stay longer than that - destroyers behind will ram me into depths as I'm aiming my shots. Shooting a cruiser next to me that is on port side seems too much of a risk since he is way close.

[Armistead]

I would've saved my torps for the damaged carriers, escaped and set up for another run..

When I played i shot by the wire, a much more accurate spread than using spread wheel, starting bow to stern. the ships helm back and forth more than a real zig pattern but usually stick to the same base course, so that's what i go by

[Razoleg]

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1...2ZiSy12b1VGWVk

Here is the save, if you guys want to try. I think it's the right one.

I've completely missed both carriers, but my first torp actually hit another carrier by mistake and sunk it. I've managed to escape despite being hit from a destroyer that caused minimal damage to my engines and a bit of flooding.

Now I just have to deal with stock airplane spam before my return to Manila...