Hitting fast targets

[thecaptain]

I'm having a lot of trouble getting torpedoes to hit fast-moving targets like tankers or capital ships. Usually, they end up coasting just ahead of the ship, just missing it. In fact, I tend to miss anything going faster than 10-12 knots. Does anyone have any advice on what I might be doing wrong? By the way, I use manual targeting with GWX 1.03. Thanks for any help.

The Captain:arrgh!:

[Hitman]

Faster moving targets are more difficult to get, that is historically correct and well checkeable in real life....

If you are consistently firing ahead of the target, you should obviously lower your speed estimates results;) . If you sometimes fire forward and sometimes rearward of the target, getting a better speed measurement is the only way to go. How are you actually measuring target speed?

P.S. This thread belongs to the Sh3 general forum, not to the mods forum, so I'm moving it there.

[thecaptain]

Sorry about that. Thanks for the advice.

The Captain

[thecaptain]

I'm using the notepad just above the firing buttons. It seems like the fast targets almost constantly elude me. Just one exception. I recently managed to put four torps into a British Illustrious class carrier. They hit well forward of amidships, causing the carrier to take on water as it attempted to speed away. It eventually sunk bow first in a spectacular fireworks show. But most times I miss the really fast moving stuff like this.

The Captain

[Platapus]

Spread your torpedoes and try to get a slowing hit.

There was a very good reason some ships choose to travel fast and that was specifically to make it hard for us to hit them.

Good luck

[Corsair]

Shooting close (500 - 700m) when possible helps also...

[thecaptain]

Thanks again, guys. Hopefully, I'll have a little better luck in the future.

:lol:

[Dantenoc]

Forget about the notepad. It is either bugged or very sensitive to errors.

I suspect the latter... in order to measure speed with the notepad, you need to first measure range with the notepad (not as easy as it looks). Then, you have to correctly input AoB into the notepad (can you really eyeball it good enough to tell the difference between an AoB of 90 degrees and one of 91?). Then, you have to stop your boat from moving or turning, since the notepad measures only relative movement, and hence you need to fix your view point by standing still. Then, and only then, will you be able to measure speed succesfully via the notepad, but if you made any mistake in the previous steps, your resulting speed estimate will be incorrect :down: .

Of course, you do have a small margin for error (specialy in AoB), but not enough to make the use of the notepad practical.

[P_Funk]

The only thing I use the notepad for anymore is the AoB. Its much easier to enter it that way. Speed I use either the 3:15 rule or I just use this little equation I figured out for converting kilometeres travelled in a set time into knots. The beauty is that it can work with any period of time.

For range I tend to ask my WO since its easier that way to get repeated updates. I figure he'd have a sextant or something very much like that could give me quick range updates.

AoB is a toughie it seems. I am trying out this right now: AoB= Target Bearing Due North - Target Course +/- 180. The +/- depends on whether its for port or starboard.
Either that or you could use the angle protractor to draw out the AoB.

[raduz]

use hydrophone to get the speed and check the turncount. if the target is moving too fast, most likely you wont be able to use the RPM. in such a case, track the target as long as possible and measure the distance he passed. then divide it by the time. longer the distance, more accurate result you will get.

[P_Funk]

use hydrophone to get the speed and check the turncount. if the target is moving too fast, most likely you wont be able to use the RPM. in such a case, track the target as long as possible and measure the distance he passed. then divide it by the time. longer the distance, more accurate result you will get.
(Distance travelled in KM/ Time in Minutes) x 30.866 = Speed in Knots

I've found that to be accurate.

[Sparky66]

Good post:up: . I have also found the speed notepad entry to be very buggy. Instead I use the 3:15 rule but it can be nerve wracking for fast moving targets. Spread angle works well for these as you may get at least one hit and slow him down enough to get off a killing shot.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWgermannavyT.JPG

[Heibges]

If the eels went behind the ship I would say to make sure to open your Torpedo Tubes manually, but that doesn't seem like the problem because your torps go in front of the ship.

When at all possible I would use the Matching Speed Method to determine the targets's speed.

[P_Funk]

If the eels went behind the ship I would say to make sure to open your Torpedo Tubes manually, but that doesn't seem like the problem because your torps go in front of the ship.
Don't forget the stock torpedo speed indicator bug. Everytime you use a torpedo manually set its speed, even if its already at the speed you want. There is a bug where the TDC isn't updated for the speed and the whole solution is off.

[thecaptain]

Thanks P Funk!! That formula is just what I was looking for. I should hopefully be sinking the fast ones in no time now. :up:

The Captain :arrgh!:

[Maraz]

I have two methods for estimating the ship's speed. One is the well known 3:15 method (see Wazoo's tutorial, for instance).

The other is faster but requires that my boat is stopped.

I simply point the periscope or UZO in front of the bow of the ship, and leave it there (without moving it). I start the chronometer when the bow of the ship reaches the vertical mark on the scope. I stop the chronometer when the stern of the ship reaches the vertical mark. So suppose it's T seconds.

Previously I have identified the type of ship so I know her length, suppose it's L. So now I know the ship has made L meters in T seconds.

The ship's speed in knots is about:

V (knots) = 2 * Length (metres) / T (seconds)

This method does not work if the ships is viewed at an AOB near 0° or 180°.

Maraz

[XanderF]

The ship's speed in knots is about:

V (knots) = 2 * Length (metres) / T (seconds)

This method does not work if the ships is viewed at an AOB near 0° or 180°.

That's actually really handy! I just did the math, and find that the EXACT ship speed (useful, I guess, if you have a calculator handy) is:

V (knots) = 1.9438444908 * Length (meters) / T (seconds)

That's got to be the EASIEST way to calculate target speed I've EVER seen! (And it does actually work on AOB of nearly 0° or 180° - it just requires accuracy of measurement likely greater than we can achieve. And, of course, for AOB exactly 0° or 180°, speed doesn't matter - you are shooting straight down their throat.)