How long does it REALLY take to reload torpedo tubes?

[Shadow]

It'd be an interesting twist, but it'd really slow things down.

You'd fire your four tubes and then evade all counterattacks and disappear for 15-30 minutes up to a whole hour to launch another all-out strike.

Out of curiosity, why does it take that long? Aren't there automatic (ish) loading mechanisms to get torpedoes from the magazine and into the tube? I suppose the torps are pretty damn well secured within the former.

[ChaosDuck7]

Originally Posted by Shadow

It'd be an interesting twist, but it'd really slow things down.

You'd fire your four tubes and then evade all counterattacks and disappear for 15-30 minutes up to a whole hour to launch another all-out strike.

Out of curiosity, why does it take that long? Aren't there automatic (ish) loading mechanisms to get torpedoes from the magazine and into the tube? I suppose the torps are pretty damn well secured within the former.

Thats what time compression is for

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by ChaosDuck7

Thats what time compression is for

And therein lies a gameplay issue: what's the point in adding this specific bit of realism if you'll time-compress it away?

[Steiger]

Originally Posted by Shadow

And therein lies a gameplay issue: what's the point in adding this specific bit of realism if you'll time-compress it away?

It takes away the tactical advantage of being able to spam the sea full of torpedoes.

[MadMike]

A USN WWII vet who served on Gato class boats told me they could manually reload a tube in five minutes (provided the boat was straight and level). Modern sub reload times are also rather quick, due to automation.

[Julhelm]

These boats have power reloading and can reload quickly. November could reload 8 tubes in 15. Type XXI could reload it's 6 tubes even faster in 10 minutes. A fair assumption is that newer boats are capable of better performance.

[MaDef]

came across this tidbit of info:

Reloading torpedoes is a rather long process which, in the case of a 688 class submarine, involves dismounting part of the interior floor space to assemble a ramp mechanism on the deck so that weapons can be lowered on a slide to the torpedo room and placed on their respective racks. The entire process of reloading a full weapons load is reputed to take some 12 hours.

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[Wiz33]

Originally Posted by Shadow

It'd be an interesting twist, but it'd really slow things down.

You'd fire your four tubes and then evade all counterattacks and disappear for 15-30 minutes up to a whole hour to launch another all-out strike.

Out of curiosity, why does it take that long? Aren't there automatic (ish) loading mechanisms to get torpedoes from the magazine and into the tube? I suppose the torps are pretty damn well secured within the former.

It's not that long, close the tube door, pump out water (probably slowly to reduce noise), check and clean the tube for any debris that was trapped, remove the old wire spool and any other electronics connections. load new weapon (which won't be that fast given the 3500lbs weight). re-attached new wire spool/electronics. close torp door and given that any weapon handling is probably double or triple checked. That's totally reason. They may speed it up in an emergency but given that anything that has to do with watertight integrity is of the highest priority on a sub. 15 minutes under combat condition still sound reasonable.

[ikalugin]

Originally Posted by Wiz33

It's not that long, close the tube door, pump out water (probably slowly to reduce noise), check and clean the tube for any debris that was trapped, remove the old wire spool and any other electronics connections. load new weapon (which won't be that fast given the 3500lbs weight). re-attached new wire spool/electronics. close torp door and given that any weapon handling is probably double or triple checked. That's totally reason. They may speed it up in an emergency but given that anything that has to do with watertight integrity is of the highest priority on a sub. 15 minutes under combat condition still sound reasonable.

On soviet subs there is no need to remove the wire spool.