Proper way of firing a spread

[U-5000]

Can you give me any pointers are firing a spread of torpedoes as I seem to have a problem with this. Do you set it to 5 degrees and fire 3-4 torps or do you use less as I have missed with too much ?

[UnterseeBoogeyMan]

I've never been entirely sure of this myelf. But I think you can fire a spread at multiple targets at once. That would make sense as anything greater than 2-3 degrees from within 1000 meters is not hitting your target. I could see the tactical advantages later in the war if you only have one shot at a convoy. the only issue is, you wont beable to make precision 1-shot, 1-kills. im interested in other opinions on this too.

[KapiteinP]

I rarely use 3 or 4 torpedoes at the same time, in fact, never. Most of the time 1 or 2 should do the trick. Just firing 4 torpedoes at once into a convoy seems a little desperate to me, but it could be a tactic.

[Keelbuster]

I never really know what the correct angle is. I suppose with a pen and paper it would be easy enough to figure out. You're trying to compensate for a crappy speed estimate. The way I usually do this is by firing a spread by hand - that is, get the real range (careful stad reading), make your best speed estimate (even the sonar operator's slow/medium/fast is a good coarse start ~6/9/14 kts respectively) and enter these into the TDC. Then, in quick succession, fire one torpedo just behind the bow, one center, and one torpedo just infront of the stern. This way one of them is bound to catch him, unless your speed estimate is _way_ off. More often, two of them will hit because you're off by a knot or two. If your estimate happens to be bang-on, all three hit and your target is destroyed in a fiery cataclysm.

[BulSoldier]

Well i used to fire two salvos with 2 torps each.BUt later when it became nearly imposible for me to get proper solutions for 2 targets i used to fix on the bigest and closest one and fire torps at around 2-3 degrees. Yes often 1-2 torps may miss but it happens also those torps to hit something else.For exaple one such missed torps hit black swan escort witch i havent even saw on the far side of the convoy :)

[kranz]

As far as I know you should first measure the span of target using the scope and adjust it in salvo angle.(wazoo manual)I've never done this, I just set this angle to 1-2 deg. Setting to 5 or more can give good results when you want to hit many targets but only to make coup de grace later.(convoy attacks)

[looney]

If I use salvo I'll try to set up the salvo like this.
1 Get all the info as accurate as I can.
2 Just b4 firing get a new bearing and range.
Here I can check the solution. If my range is way off I'll reset it and redo the AoB ( by looking)
3 Measure 1st impact point. (target is passing form left to right I'll get 1st point 340°)
4 Same with 2nd point (target is passing form left to right I'll get 2nd point 330°)

5 result 10°. So I'll shoot with a 10° spread. If you time this correctly all steps from 2 can be done within a few sec.

useally I have time to wait for a 0° gyro shot

[Capt. Shark Bait]

dunno if this'll help, but... with a 5deg or greater spread at long range on a convoy, i'ld think you'ld have a great chance of hitting something, so long as you have a good solution, as opposed to close range. if you're less than 1km to said convoy you might be better off with less than a 2deg spread on a single ship depending on its size. a BB you'ld of course need all 4, but a tanker 2 should do it with less a 2deg. 5deg or more that close there's a good chance you'll miss with most of your torpedoes, but you might get one hit

[Fenris_Wolf]

I have developed a way to use spread shot effectively when the need arises. The following image should describe it. I could be wrong with this but it has worked for me.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/8246/multishotan2.jpg

Note: The example shown in the image assumes a 10 degrees difference of angle between the two ships.

Requirements:

- Both targets must have the same speed and heading. The distance between your boat and either target should be roughly the same to have a torpedo impact at the same point on both ships.

- Important: You must be facing the line of course of the targets' heading perpendicularly, if you are not at 90 degrees to it, one or both shots will miss.

- Torpedo tubes must be opened before the shot or the timing will be disturbed, resulting in a miss!

- An effective way to check the angles and to execute this is to keep attack periscope at 0 degrees gyroangle and observe the difference in angle for the time to shoot with obs periscope or uzo, etc.

[Keelbuster]

Fenris, still, isn't it just as easy, or maybe easier, to open both tubes, aim at one target, fire, then aim at the other, and fire? If both targets have the same speed, and are equidistant from your boat, then you don't need to change TDC settings - just shoot. I've never seen the benefit of the spread, personally, except for extreme long shots (i.e., late war). By then you're guessing range so badly that perhaps the spread gives you a simple way to fire a fan without shifting the periscope around.

[Fenris_Wolf]

For early war and/or long range, sure. But for late war where distance from hunters matters and so does every second so you can have a clean escape? Still, you're right. It's just a method I use sometimes.

[d@rk51d3]

Use your TDC map and you'll see where your spread will go, and can make a rough guess as to any misses or secondary hits.

If I fire a salvo at a single ship, I lock it in the attack scope, go to TDC map, select salvo, number of tubes the the spread. I usually aim for 1 hit fore, 1 hit aft.

With the map you'll see where each torp should hit, provided there's no change in heading or speed of the target. :up: