5 torpedos to sink a medium cargo

[MarkShot]

Okay, so there is no immediate feedback that a target is history?

So, what do most people do then, just put two fish into something and leave it be?

If it takes one or two hours for it to go down and you have sailed off will you still receive credit or do you need to maintain a certain range?

What about the deck gun? Just aim for the waterline or try to start fires on deck?

Final question: I am confused on to fish settings. Should I go impact or magnetic? Should I set depth to hit the hull or go with magnetic and pass underneath?

Thanks.

[Heibges]

Originally Posted by mcf1

That reminds me one patrol when i first got SH3 (stock no mods).
I found a lone C3 and decided to engage with torpedoes because of the stormy weather. From a distance of about 700m and AOB 90 degrees i fired 2 torps aiming for the middle of the ship with the pistol set for impact of course.Both struck it and it got on fire so i waited for it to sink but nothing so i launched another torp and still no kill at the end it sunk after 5 hits. I got mad spending 5 torps for a C3 and reloaded my last save.

I think it was the C2 that was hard to sink in stock.

I think the Medium Cargo is based on the C2.

There must be something funny about that ship. But I have sank them with 1 magnetic torpedo also.

[rik007]

Originally Posted by schnorchel

Hi folks,


I have not play the SH3 for a long time until the GWX2.0 released. After install of the GWX I load the torpedo training mission. What makes me frustrated is to sink a medium cargo needs 5 torpedos. All of them roughly hit the middle section of the ship and explode beneath the keel. I wonder how could it be? Does anyone know some MOD can change the cargo ships vulnerability? Thanks!

Except for all these tips I can add that I read in Bernard Edwards book "Donitz and the Wolf Pack" that it once took seven torps to sink a ship. Of course an exception but ships carrying wood do have an advantage...

[rulle34]

Originally Posted by Heibges

I think it was the C2 that was hard to sink in stock.

I think the Medium Cargo is based on the C2.

There must be something funny about that ship. But I have sank them with 1 magnetic torpedo also.

I agree with this.
I have always consider the "C2 medium cargo" difficult to sink

[bigboywooly]

Originally Posted by MarkShot

Okay, so there is no immediate feedback that a target is history?

So, what do most people do then, just put two fish into something and leave it be?

If it takes one or two hours for it to go down and you have sailed off will you still receive credit or do you need to maintain a certain range?

What about the deck gun? Just aim for the waterline or try to start fires on deck?

Final question: I am confused on to fish settings. Should I go impact or magnetic? Should I set depth to hit the hull or go with magnetic and pass underneath?

Thanks.

Sometimes you will get feedback and the ship will still be afloat
Matters not as you have the message so you can leave

A drop in speed is usually a good indication IF it will sink
May still stay afloat even when stopped though - you can leave but if you move over 50km away the ship leaves your rendering area so will respawn as a healthy unit

Below water is the best place - starting fires on deck will reduce the hitpoints on a ship but below waterline shots will also increase flooding

Magnetics should be around a meter BELOW the keel
Of course in rough weather thats not always easy to do and in rough weather mags tend to explode prematurely more often

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Regarding the OP issue concerning the medium cargo in the torpedoes training mission.

I just sunk one with one torpedo. Took two hours to sink. Nothing is wrong with it in GWX.

Please refer to the GWX manual regarding damage model methodology in GWX.

One torpedo will not always do the job... but usually it will.

I just sunk that exact ship about 10 minutes ago off the coast of Spain. GWX 2.0 dark in a horrible storm. I got seasick almost. 2 torpedos right in the ass at minimum depth contact pistol at abot 900 meters. She sunk in 5 minutes ass first. This is my 2nd patrol, October 1939. I was so scared because I am still bad with torpedos and could not use my deck gun in the storm. BDU sent down a ban on magnetics so I went with contact and they both detonated.

I play 92% realism also (I like the free outside camera) and it was all me. What a GREAT feeling to manually hit targets.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Flamingboat

I just sunk that exact ship about 10 minutes ago off the coast of Spain. GWX 2.0 dark in a horrible storm. I got seasick almost. 2 torpedos right in the ass at minimum depth contact pistol at abot 900 meters. She sunk in 5 minutes ass first. This is my 2nd patrol, October 1939. I was so scared because I am still bad with torpedos and could not use my deck gun in the storm. BDU sent down a ban on magnetics so I went with contact and they both detonated.

I play 92% realism also (I like the free outside camera) and it was all me. What a GREAT feeling to manually hit targets.

Congratulations....another satisfied customer

[Buhring]

Originally Posted by rulle34

I agree with this.
I have always consider the "C2 medium cargo" difficult to sink

I agree too: medium cargos are the toughest ships in the game. It takes less to sink a battleship, literally. They may occasionally sink with just one hit, but most need two and quite a few three.

But hell, five I've never heard of...

Gute Jagd

Buhring

[Heibges]

Originally Posted by Buhring

I agree too: medium cargos are the toughest ships in the game. It takes less to sink a battleship, literally. They may occasionally sink with just one hit, but most need two and quite a few three.

But hell, five I've never heard of...

Gute Jagd

Buhring

That is why if I am in a Type II on the English Coast early in the War, I hate spotting a C2 Medium. I could end up wasting all my torpedoes on her with nothing to show for it.

[Riccardo1975]

Morning my fellow Kaleuns.

Just hit a medium cargo heading east from Halifax on 13/4/42. Aimed shot from 600m in the fuel bunker running at 4m. AOB was 90 deg. Solid hit amidships.
It just zigzagged off, lost no speed and two hours later no sign of foundering.

Seriously tough ships.
I only needed two to sink the Ark Royal last year....

It was in an Atlantic gale so mag keel shot was a no no.

Any tips or just better to hit them forward and let them drive themselves under?

Riccardo U-501

[desirableroasted]

Originally Posted by Riccardo1975

It was in an Atlantic gale so mag keel shot was a no no.

Any tips or just better to hit them forward and let them drive themselves under?

In rough weather, a shot directly under one of the forward cranes is very effective. By hitting there, you crack two compartments and the ship's momentum pushes it into the water.

It's been a long time since I needed more than one torpedo on a merchant of any size in rough weather. They almost always go down if you hit that sweet spot.

[Pisces]

You'd think they would be Passenger/Cargo's instead. Those are notorious to stay afloat, no matter where or how you hit them. Often suspected of carrying shipments of ping-pong-balls.

I have no other suggestions either. Aiming at the forward mast usually does the trick. Unless you have mods that changed this particular unit class.

[maillemaker]

Agree, the passenger/cargo ships seem to be the worst.

Okay, so there is no immediate feedback that a target is history?

I believe if you are within detection range of the ship you will get notification when it sinks. This may be within hydrophone range but beyond visual range. If you are within game-rendering distance of the ship (which may be beyond visual range), and you have map contacts on, you may see a grey icon appear when it sinks, but I believe there is no "She's going down!" notification.

So, what do most people do then, just put two fish into something and leave it be?

I'm using GWX3. Generally speaking, I put 2 fish in every ship I want to be sure sinks. I do this especially in bad weather where I cannot use the deck gun to finish them off, or later in the war when everyone is armed.

During convoy attacks, I'd say that about 25% of the time a single torpedo will cause the ship to explode and sink. It's both fun and sad to see a ship explode on the first hit and then see your second torpedo also plow into it. Fun for the bonus explosions, sad for the wasted torpedo.

If it takes one or two hours for it to go down and you have sailed off will you still receive credit or do you need to maintain a certain range?

See my comment above. It depends on how far away you get from it before it sinks.

What about the deck gun? Just aim for the waterline or try to start fires on deck?

Rumor has it that shooting below the water line is the best way to destroy ships by gunfire. I'm not really sure.

Final question: I am confused on to fish settings. Should I go impact or magnetic? Should I set depth to hit the hull or go with magnetic and pass underneath?

In GWX (and possibly stock, I cannot remember), magnetic torpedoes are prone to pre-detonation to simulate the historical problems with magnetic pistols. However, in game, they never malfunction inside 1000m, even early war. So you may use magnetic pistols with impunity to attack targets within 1000 meters.

If you are intentionally using magnetic pistols, you should aim about .5 meters under the target draft so that it passes closely under the target's hull.

My understanding is that if you achieve a standard impact hit with the magnetic pistol on the impact pistol is what does the detonating.

I believe I have read people say you can make high-angle impact shots with the magnetic pistol and it will detonate on impact anyway even though the impact pistol would not work at such glancing angles. I don't know if that is true or not.

I only use the magnetic pistol when purposefully shooting under targets.

I mostly use them for killing pursuing escorts with down-the-throat shots.

Steve

[UKönig]

That was a theory of mine.
Some ships seemed to be more or less "indestructible".
They are put there so as to make you waste your ammo by firing more shots than are strictly necessary. If you take the bait, then it's the same net effect as if you had dud torpedos (or other failures) enabled.
If I have to put 3-4 torps into 1 merchant, then I conclude I was being baited and I hit "alt-f4" to quit and get my weapons back, then go off looking for an easier target.
If I set 6m depth against a small/coastal merch. I can usually get 1 shot, 1 kill if aiming at the 'midships' mark. I know it's bait if that same ship can take 3 hits before sinking or blowing in half.
It also seems that if you do a lot of damage in a short space of time, 2 torpedo strikes within seconds of each other, vs 3-4 separate hits over 10-15 minutes, you are more likely to sink it quickly, than let the damage control teams try to repair and restore. That is, the longer it takes you to sink it, the more likely it will be that you will have to fire another shot. ...and another...