carriers wont defend themselves

[Webster]

i am at periscope depth not on surface, periscope is up and i have just torpedo a ship next to the carrier. the DD start scouting for me and are on alert since being triggered to do so by my attack.

the carrier has no trigger to respond to a sub attack other than changing direction.

it launches a few planes at surface ships but if only my sub is around i can sink the whole convoy and never see a plane try to find and attack me.

planes that are already in the air will attack me and if the carrier has launched planes at some other target they will respond to attack me sometimes but never if i am only threat around.

i see the carriers change coarse and such responding to my presence but why doesnt it use its best weapon, the planes, to defend itself and the convoy it guards?

[tater]

It wasn't really their doctrine to do so.

Also, launching planes was non-trivial. Gas up planes that carry bombs (vals or kates, zeros didn't have bombs). Warm up engines. Bring them top side. Turn the CV into the wind, ahead flank. Launch planes.

Given you are a submarine, at best capable of under 10 knots, why not just ring up flank and leave you to the DDs?

tater

[nimitstexan]

Exactly. I know of zero instances where a fleet carrier responded to a perceived sub threat by launching aircraft. Just the opposite, in fact. To launch (or recover) planes, a carrier had to sail in a straight line for several minutes, exactly the thing any ship under attack by subs would not want to do. The correct response would be to terminate flight ops until the carrier had cleared torpedo range of the suspecte3d submarine.