View Full Version : I just had my first circular runnning torpedo!
I didn't realize that SH4 modelled these!
I was just outside the eastern approaches to the Celebes Sea at around 2320 hours, and had just fired all 4 stern tubes while submerged at two freighters.
I first noticed something was amiss when I notices (through the pericope) that one torpedo wake was moving perpendicularly to the others, from right to left. Thinking to myself "Wow, that looks like a circle runner, but it can't be".
Going to the attack screen, sure enough, one of my torpedoes was circling back. I snapped a few quick screen shots as it just missed me. Will post soon.
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/6074/57936953ws0.th.png (http://img158.imageshack.us/my.php?image=57936953ws0.png)
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/2929/28694843yv5.th.png (http://img443.imageshack.us/my.php?image=28694843yv5.png)
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/9461/43548252tg5.th.png (http://img443.imageshack.us/my.php?image=43548252tg5.png)
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/9561/62893315ll7.th.png (http://img158.imageshack.us/my.php?image=62893315ll7.png)
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/2442/35839895cb1.th.png (http://img502.imageshack.us/my.php?image=35839895cb1.png)
MaxT.dk
05-20-07, 03:30 PM
Whoa! spooky ****! :dead:
I never had this, and I hope I'll never get the chance to taste my own weapons :huh:
Berengal
05-20-07, 04:31 PM
I've had two of these already. First one was when I came upon a taskforce on my way back to base. I had but four torpedoes left, so decided to just take out the first target of worth. Turned out the task force consisted of a single battleship and no less than ten destroyers. I decided I didn't want to play hide and seek with that many destroyers on a calm, sunny midday, so from about 3500 yards I fired all four torpedoes and ordered a dive to 200 feet. Ten seconds later I heard the first explosion, and with the last few inches of periscope sticking out of the water I identified it as one of my torpedoes. -Curses, I thought as I retracted my periscope, but it wasn't over yet. Just before my periscope had retracted all the way, I saw a torpedo zooming just above me. Curious about this, I followed it with my periscope and saw that it was circling above me. Two torpedoes left. Having nothing to do but wait to see if two torpedoes would be able to sink a battleship, I manned the hydrophones. No more than a minute after launch, I heard a second explosion and thus my third torpedo was played out of the field. I wondered what I had done to deserve such animosity from the tutelary of torpedoes, but at least I had one torpedo left. Excellent mathematical tallent, combined with skill in engineering and a healthy dose of luck, detonated the torpedo (presumably) one foot below the keel of the battleship, ripping it appart and releasing whatever fuel or amunition was in the compartment above it on the rest of the ship in a fiery hell that split the ship in twain. I chugged home with a glee normally reserved for tugboats in a childerens tv-series.
The second one was fired from a surfaced position in the middle of the night, this one too the second of what eventually became a salvo of four (the first and third exploded prematurely as well). Standing on the bridge and watching the single merchant ship sail along happily wasn't really frustrating. Watching my first torpedo blow up wasn't that frustrating either, but when my submarine suddenly shook as my second torpedo obliterated my aft torpedo compartment and mangled my propellers I was slightly frustrated. My third torpedo blew up halfway, and if I had been playing SH3 instead, I would've shouted german profanities during the fourth torpedo's four minute traveltime. As it turned out to be a dud and the merchant escaped, me being dead in the water for a day, I shouted german (and english, norwegian, sweedish, dutch, spanish, russian and french) profanities all the way back to port.
AVGWarhawk
05-20-07, 08:07 PM
I have not had one yet but you must have been darned surprised to be targeted by one of your own after she turned on you. I love it when something like this happens and you are just floored by intuative thinking of the developers to include a very real issue with the RL torpedoes. It is little things like this that make it a very nice sim. Oh yeah DIVE DIVE
Agree, it was a surprising, and very cool, occurence. I don't think any subsim has ever moddeled that historical behaviour before. That's why I didn't really believe what I was seeing through the periscope.
I took her down to 90' after that torpedo passed within spitting distance of the stern tube she was fired from. Good thing I was creeping away from the direction of fire, not into it.
If she had been fired from a bow tube on the other hand... :o
TheBrauerHour
05-20-07, 10:39 PM
I had two as well. The first one, I had not been expecting. I was shooting at a dead in the water merchant from the surface. I shot, and was looking for the wake thinking hmmmm...then BLAM!!!!!! I sank. It was horrid, and yet was awesome for being in the game. I have never been so happy to be sunk. :lol:
SteveW1
05-21-07, 03:38 AM
I had a circular running torp while doing the torpedo training mission, damn that was a shock when all i heard was a loud bang and my sub started going down.
I didn't have one yet - *knocks on wood*. Did those of you who had them fire those torps with a high gyro angle? I always try to keep the gyro angle within 10 degrees max. The last guy who had a circular running torp and posted here described a scenario where his gyro angle was most probably above that.
Cobra_mkII
05-21-07, 07:28 AM
I didn't have one yet - *knocks on wood*. Did those of you who had them fire those torps with a high gyro angle? I always try to keep the gyro angle within 10 degrees max. The last guy who had a circular running torp and posted here described a scenario where his gyro angle was most probably above that.
I always launch on minimum gyro to minimise a dud torp risk. I fired one from the bow tube, saw it circle round (took me a while to twig what it was doing mind) and dived, course due to the delay it only just missed the conning tower.
Never was I so glad to have the torp on impact only, an influence setting would have been the end of a sub and career.
Does the sonar man say anything when a torpedo circles around?
My gyro angle was 15 degrees max for that circle runner.
Argus00
05-21-07, 08:06 AM
I'm in mid 1943 with my career now, in a Balao, and the worst incident incident I've had was a sudden and uncontrolable dive which ended in death - until last night, when I got my first encounter with the circular torpedos. Fired 4 fish at a fleet carrier, dead ahead, only to have ALL FOUR OF THEM get hijacked by the game's AI and rammed straight up my a$$.. Anyway, lucky I'd saved before attacking - reloaded my game and all went well.
Hmmmm... or maybe it's what those midget subs are for, hijacking our torps and using them agains us :lol:
SteamWake
05-21-07, 10:47 AM
Does the sonar man say anything when a torpedo circles around?
Supprisingly no.
orangenee
05-21-07, 10:49 AM
I've fired torpedoes before and had them miss only to have them come back and hit it minutes later and as far as I know they didn't have pattern running torpedoes in early 1942. So it's weird.
had a couple run aways too
blows HUGE holes in the boat
i also remeber in SH3 my old CO in 8th flotilla torpped himself with a Homer :rotfl:
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/5756/screenshot003uc8.jpg
SirMoric
05-29-07, 09:07 PM
Had one myself during a daring raid at the Rabaul harbour.
I was on full stop and fired two fish at a tanker when I suddently noticed a torpedo running in circles right beside me. My fish was only a few feet from the boat when it was closest..... Luckily I never use magnetic detonator.
rgds
This occurance is historically accurate . . . this is do to a malfunction in the gyroscope of the Type XiV torpedoes . . . this wasn't resolved until early 1943, if memory serves me about the manual from Silent Service (which was pretty good by the way). The way to avoid it was to fire the torpedo dead ahead . . . or with very little degree change. Several boats were actually lost this way. More then necessary really . . .
This occurance is historically accurate . . . this is do to a malfunction in the gyroscope of the Type XiV torpedoes . . . this wasn't resolved until early 1943, if memory serves me about the manual from Silent Service (which was pretty good by the way). The way to avoid it was to fire the torpedo dead ahead . . . or with very little degree change. Several boats were actually lost this way. More then necessary really . . .
I realize it is historically accurate, I love that they included the chance of it happening fortunately for me that was during the training mission.
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