Sonarman sleeping/speed dial 0

[foo_jam2002]

Is it normal for a destroyer to come very close and start shooting at my sub while the sonarman doesn’t notice? It just happened and i can’t understand why. Now that i’m thinking of it, he didn’t warn me when a cargo ship was in the area a few minutes later. Maybe because the original sonarman was replaced to rest?

Sometimes, when i pass my calculations to the tdc, the speed dial is 0. So i have to set it manually, judging by eye what the speed is. Maybe this happens because the recognition that i did is wrong?

By the way, experienced players calculate and pass these calculations to the tdc even when the enemy ship is very close? In that case, i have succeeded by setting everything manually, (without checking boxes in the notepad). I wasn’t always successful though.

[UKönig]

Sometimes that happens when you place a crew member that is not trained/qualified to handle a station. Same as in real life, if you give a job to someone not trained for it, don't expect positive results. Destroyers can sneak up on you when submerged. They heard you before you heard them (especially if they approach from your deaf spots- 170-190 degrees astern). Sometimes they hit you with the active sonar to confirm your presence before the charges come down, but most of the time the only clue that your sub is about to get hit is the splashes in the water...

[McDonnel]

For few days now, I encounter strange issue with speed dials in GWX 3.0 - I have regular helmsman on the watch, but when I try to run at specified speed (say 10 knots), the actual speed drops to 7-8 knots instead.

The weather is clear, sea level flat... Don´t know what causes this, but it makes running at 1-2 knots a lot difficult.

I can still work with "aheads" normally, thanks god for that, but it really is annoying, when you calculate ship interception at specific speed and you are unable to set it.

Any experience - advice?

[foo_jam2002]

Thanks Ukonig, now i see why this happens. About the speed dial, McDonnel, i see it happening at rough weather but in your patrol the sea is calm, so it makes no sense. I am guessing there are some bugs. In my case, i calculate the speed, it gives me 5 knots and when i pass it to the tdc it's 0. Neither this makes sense but maybe there is an explanation and my lack of experience cannot let me see it.

[foo_jam2002]

I am in my first real patrol, just about before the war begins and i am testing the tdc in neutral ships. So far it's like the system is broken. I calculate the speed of the ships and the tdc shows 0 instead of the calculated number. It's really annoying and i don't think i can continue playing the game. Any insight of why this happens would be greatly appreciated.

Update: I tried again several times and it works. Maybe i wasn't clicking on the "ok" button of the notepad, right after i had all calculations ready.

[Hambone307]

I would try uninstalling and reinstalling. Had some issues with my game as far as ships "floating" above the water and whatnot. Ended up being a bad install.

[bubbalou]

Don't even bother with the game's notepad system for sending things to the TDC - if you want to do it right, ya gotta do it yourself. Manually, on the map. I've used the more "pencil and paper" method to far more success than relying on the logbook/notebook combo to set my TDC.

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Remember to come to a stop first for best results. When you're at speed doing jukes, you can't get any solid data. You're a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Start by marking the target - on the bow, I prefer - on the world map (via periscope/uzo/whatever), and start the stopwatch. After 3 min 15 sec, you will mark again - as fast as you can - to get his speed.

The distance between the two, times ten, is the speed in knots.

I prefer the bow because of the next steps you're going to take, because that boat's course is a long, straight line that stretches out from both marks. Keep on marking him if you want to go right to drawing lines and getting his course while you wait - what matters is mark 1, and mark 3min 15seconds.

While you wait, it's ruler time.

Your bearing is a line from your sub stretching to the point where you'd like both lines to meet (it makes it simpler to face your firing angle, because then your bearing is simply 0 - or 180 - all the time).

The range is the number the compass tool spits out, after clicking on your sub and the point where their course and your bearing intercept.

Angle on Bow is the hardest IMO. Use the protractor to draw a line from your sub to the intersect point, then toward your target, lining up with his present course. If it's greater than 90 degrees, subtract that number from 90 on the dial. If it's less than 90 degrees - add that number to 90 on the dial. Yes, you could just get "the number sans math" by moving along the course away from the target, but he might have changed course/your ruler+marks might not be quite accurate/you're double checking your work without extra scribbling)

Look at how a lot of this stuff - his bearing + your bearing = intersect point, distance to that point, Angle on Bow, preferred torpedo settings - you can calculate while waiting on the three minutes, 15 second stopwatch to tell you the speed. Be efficient.

Plug in your firing bearing. The Range. The Angle on Bow. Set up your eels. Open the doors - you don't wan't even a split second wasted once you're ready - and when you finally get the speed, plug it in. Now you "Match generated bearings... and shoot!" (or wait until he crosses XYZ degrees that you've set up).
If you want to accelerate into the shot "Das Boot-style" so you can blitz into your dive as fast as possible, just deduct the range when you shoot - your angle of attack or bearing don't change until you start turning. Target shouldn't even see you in the first place, so speed never changes.

As a small bonus, convoys move at the same speed - so once you have one when calculating speed, you basically "have them all". Use multiple marks + lines, compass points, and protractor AoBs before you shoot, so you can quickly plug in the data for each boat you'd like to hit. Or, get one boat you'd like (preferably one that's in formation) and just spray and pray.

(Also, frankly, identifying the target is just nice to know the draft - how deep it normally sits in the water - for trying magnetic shots, and for telling you how much you're about to score tonnes-wise. Yes it helps you identify things by country, and labels to boats when you can see a bunch of boats on the nav map, but you shouldn't be overly concerned with the notebook itself.

Because math is unstoppable.)

Good Hunting!

[foo_jam2002]

Thank you bubbalou, this information is valuable! I will try to implement these factors into my patrols. I am glad to know that the notepad is not imperative for a torpedo to hit. I invest a fair amount of time to the game and i know i will feel rewarded when i get the hang of it.

When i am ready to shoot, how can i determine the speed of the torpedo? Usually, i set it to fast. When a new question arises, i won't hesitate to ask.

[bubbalou]

Thank you bubbalou, this information is valuable! I will try to implement these factors into my patrols. I am glad to know that the notepad is not imperative for a torpedo to hit. I invest a fair amount of time to the game and i know i will feel rewarded when i get the hang of it.

When i am ready to shoot, how can i determine the speed of the torpedo? Usually, i set it to fast. When a new question arises, i won't hesitate to ask.

NP, it's just trigonometry, you know - triangles and stuff. As GWX's manual puts it:

A target (―T‖) on course ―C‖ at speed ―S‖ is at range ―R‖ on bearing ―B‖ from a U-boat (―U‖). At what time and bearing must the U-boat launch a torpedo at speed ―T‖ to intercept the Target?

Sounds crazy, but it's more simple than it looks. The key that unlocks the puzzle is the target's speed, which is why standing still and nailing those marks is perhaps the most important part.

You know one leg of the triangle - your desired bearing (keep it +/- 20 degrees of 0 for best results), so that's one line. Once you know the target's course, you know where both lines intersect. That's the range. It's actually usually the least important, because if the magnetic detonator - or the impact trigger - feels a boat along the way, it will explode.

You know that the degrees of any triangle must add up to 180 degrees. Remember that from school? Me neither.
So, bust out the protractor and measure along his course to you - call it #1. Take that number and add it to the bearing you wanna shoot the target at - call it #2. Subtract that from 180 and the remainder is therefore the Angle on Bow - call it... well, AoB.

Plug in the speed. This makes or breaks the calculation, because it relies on a metric formula. You can be off by a bit, but the further you are from the target, the more exact this all must be. So while you're waiting to shoot - check: Are my lines straight? Do they pass through the marks properly? Did I get the angle right?

Now that you've drawn your triangle of doom, as long as you nail how fast they get to your intersect point correctly (and you don't have a dud), that should be auf wiedersehn when you (OPEN THE DOORS, any second wasted screws with the math) push the magic button
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Speeds are a question of circumstance. Consider that you can get a full 12.5km out of a T1 on slow, but only 5km on fast. (and 7.5km on medium). The good news, no matter what your game plan is, the TDC will automatically adjust the torpedo gyro for your math, independently. But ask yourself - what's going to happen in the next few minutes?

Speed is actually not your friend. First of all, think about that part where you're waiting for the result - you're actually buying more time for yourself to move if you set a slow torpedo. Second, if you're going for a magnetic shot, you'd want the torpedo to spend the most time underneath the ship as you can. Third, by the end stages of the war you're detected at obscene distances by radar, so that 12.5km looks really appealing.

Now, warships are slippery and like to turn a bunch, which makes them a better target for fast torpedoes if you're not confident of their next move. You have more "room for error" regardless with your doodles and scribbles with a faster torpedo over a slow one.

But the benefits of "slow" is why getting good at doing things by hand is more beneficial to you in the long run. Trust me, once you nail your first target by hand, you'll never go back to WO "point and click" warfare. The sense of double - no triple checking the math while waiting for the target approach zero hour, the sweat of pulling the trigger, the elation at watching your hard work sink a monster... that's the game.
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And a ProTip from the Useful Tips section:

"If you're being -or about to be- chased by a destroyer, here's a simple Bugs Bunny trick. Now this doesn't work with multiple destroyers, but...

Dive to periscope depth and do a complete 180 to him. Go flank, load torpedoes, make all the noise you can - they'll beeline for you.

Fire your aft tube at 180 degrees with the target AoB set to 0, and your torpedo set to magnetic detonation. Boom. Problem solved "

[foo_jam2002]

Thank you again, i am trying and i think i will have positive results shortly based on these tips. It's not so difficult after all, it just needs practice . The trick with the speed markings really helps and it's always a reliable way to know the actual speed.

[foo_jam2002]

I am trying to get things done as you suggested bubbalou but i'm having a problem. When is the right time to shoot the torpedo? After i set everything up, the enemy ship is closing in and you say "wait until he crosses XYZ degrees that you've set up". What does this mean exactly?

I know that a triangle has to be formed and XYZ are the angles of this triangle but in my case, there is no triangle. There is one line from the sub towards the intersect point and another one from the ship towards the intersect point (both straight lines). So, a side is missing for the triangle of doom as you called it. I feel that i'm missing something.