Moving Torpedos

[snwcrsh]

I noticed that whenever I move torpedos the time is either exactly one hour or there is not enough crew in the torpedo quarters to move from external to reserve at all. It does not seem to matter whether an officer is with them or how full the bar for the corresponding torpedo room is. Is this a normal/wanted behavior?

[Jimbuna]

The higher your green bar, the lower the loading time. In GWX anyway http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

[snwcrsh]

The loading time, yes. But not the moving time (moving from external reserve to front/aft reserve). This is always one hour, no matter how high the green bar is. This is with GWX2.0 and OLC.

[wojasos]

I think your conning tower must be manned.

[GoldenRivet]

In reality it is a time consuming process which takes a lot of work. Basically for safety it was pretty much only done in good weather during the day while the sub was stopped on the surface. IIRC In order to submerge during the loading operation required the operation to be completely abandoned and the torpedo would be lost overboard if it was not yet below decks.

The amount of time required to move external reserves in SH3 i think depends on how many people you have in the torpedo rooms... load the torpedo rooms packed with movers and the job will probably go smoother and faster. but im not sure... it might default to a one hour operation just to simulate the difficulty of hoisting a toprpedo and positioning it into the angled hatch.

For ultimate realism: here is what i do... surface the sub and come to a complete stop at about sunrise. if the weather is such that the deck gun and flack guns cannot be used you must skip loading external reserves... however, if the weather is such that you CAN use the deck gun or AA guns then proceed with the loading of the torpedoes. Do not move the sub or submerge until the loading operation is complete.

[snwcrsh]

Thanks for the insight, Rivet. Your approach sounds good, and I always fancy such realism gigs, so I think I will adopt that. Next time tho, external reserves are all loaded already. The Sheffield Island passage in 1939 sure is a jewelbox.

[GoldenRivet]

another bit of information i have heard around here... Air patrols get so intensified after the start of 1943 that the practice of carrying external reserves was abandoned altogether. though i have not verified that.

So after 1943 you might consider even pretending the external reserves are not there

[ReallyDedPoet]

another bit of information i have heard around here... Air patrols get so intensified after the start of 1943 that the practice of carrying external reserves was abandoned altogether. though i have not verified that.

So after 1943 you might consider even pretending the external reserves are not there

Nice idea GR, after 43' " Above us Hell " :yep:


RDP

[snwcrsh]

Hm. I fear my love for realism might not extend that far :)

However, now it makes me wonder: Did they actually haul the torpedos through the hatch via the bridge inside? That sure must have been... interesting. I assume there was some other hatch for getting the torpedos inside?

[U49]

Hm. I fear my love for realism might not extend that far :)

However, now it makes me wonder: Did they actually haul the torpedos through the hatch via the bridge inside? That sure must have been... interesting. I assume there was some other hatch for getting the torpedos inside?


Yes, you are correct.

It was done through the fore and aft "Torpedoladeluke" a hatch from the upper deck into the lower deck. During the patrol is was kept close, except for the reloading ..
I try to find a picture ... wait ...

[U49]

http://www.cs.uni-magdeburg.de/~junghans/dasboot/technik.html

scroll down until the headline "Torpedos"

Sorry, I could only find a german article so quick, but the picture should give you an answer

Shown is the loading procedure in a harbor, but at sea it was done almost excatly the same (only without that external crane)

[snwcrsh]

Thanks a lot and don't worry, my German is still pretty good ;)

[Jimbuna]

Here's a few photos of replenishment at sea, as well as the transference of torpedoes. I apologise, as I have posted these before, but am currently unable to find the post http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9170/img01sj1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/8282/img02pg2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/4310/img004lv1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/3962/img003hu3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/5079/img005jz3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5849/img006ik1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[siber]

That last picture...

On the right hand side... is that a sailor in his skiddy underpants? What sort of nutter takes WHITE pants to war with him?

heeheehee :rotfl:

[snwcrsh]

I instantly thought about a song from the Village People...

[GoldenRivet]

Sure is in his undies!

it would be beautiful if SH3 would show resupply and external loading with a similar level of complication and detail (minus the underwear of course)

[Albrecht Von Hesse]

I noticed that whenever I move torpedos the time is either exactly one hour or there is not enough crew in the torpedo quarters to move from external to reserve at all. It does not seem to matter whether an officer is with them or how full the bar for the corresponding torpedo room is. Is this a normal/wanted behavior?




Huh; that's interesting. Usually, for me, it's one of three times:

1) infinite; that is, not enough crew to move it,
2) one hour, or,
3) 30 or 40 minutes.

If I have an officer with a torpedo qualification in the appropriate torpedo room, plus two warrants with a torpedo qualification the time is cut almost in half.

Also (and this is just my personal quirk) I don't bring in externals unless I'm at full stop and my deck gun is manable. If the weather is too rough to man the deck gun I don't bring in externals. But, as I said, that's just my personal quirk.

[Abd_von_Mumit]

Very interesting pictures, thanks for that a lot.

Especially the "doctor being transfered" picture shocked me a bit and gave much to imaginate about their everyday life on this boats (never let yourself be transfered like that by British a few minutes before Five o'Clock). :)

[GoldenRivet]

gave much to imaginate about their everyday life on this boats. :)

thats true, as well as opening the eyes to the day to day complexity of their resupply operations. Imagine the result of one of the young watch crew overseeing the transfer of torpedoes when he spots the smoke of a destrtoyer on the horizon closing fast. Or the panic that would follow when someone spotted a group of incoming fighter bombers.

resupply operations and dealing with external torpedoes has to be one of the most vulnerable periods in a U-boat's life cycle.

[Jimbuna]

That last picture...

On the right hand side... is that a sailor in his skiddy underpants? What sort of nutter takes WHITE pants to war with him?

heeheehee :rotfl:

LOL

That's what's commonly known as 'decks awash' :up:

[Jimbuna]

Very interesting pictures, thanks for that a lot.

Especially the "doctor being transfered" picture shocked me a bit and gave much to imaginate about their everyday life on this boats (never let yourself be transfered like that by British a few minutes before Five o'Clock). :)

Your welcome, I'll post some more later :up:

I should imagine the doctor would be in need of a doctor after an experience like that :lol:

[i_b_spectre]

The photo showing torpedo handling with decks awash raises questions. Is it likely that it was taken from the donor sub? Did the torpedoladeluke worked similarly to a firing tube wherein a hatch on the lower end was closed until any water accompanying the torpedo being loaded could be pumped out after the deck hatch was closed? Otherwise, the prospect of flooding the torpedo room seems enormous. As I understand it, torpedoes not loaded into the tubes were stored under crew bunks and possibly under floor panels, making a large open conduit for sea water intrusion a scarey thing if decks were awash.

[Tool]

I've been wondering for awhile about the steel cables that run to the front of the boat. Was the sole purpose of them to be used as a "tie-off" point for sailors on deck? Or did they think it would help guide the boat under an object if the cable contacted it and it would ride against it and push the boat under instead of hitting the conning tower?

I'm thinking that my original thought was the more realistic one, but i'm still curious :hmm:

Tool.

[Ubåtskapten]

The photo showing torpedo handling with decks awash raises questions. Is it likely that it was taken from the donor sub? Did the torpedoladeluke worked similarly to a firing tube wherein a hatch on the lower end was closed until any water accompanying the torpedo being loaded could be pumped out after the deck hatch was closed? Otherwise, the prospect of flooding the torpedo room seems enormous. As I understand it, torpedoes not loaded into the tubes were stored under crew bunks and possibly under floor panels, making a large open conduit for sea water intrusion a scarey thing if decks were awash. Regarding the last photo, here's a video describing how they transfer a torpedo from an other U-boat by lowering the boat that's resupplying to decks awash so they don't need to lift the torpedo from the water. And to get the torpedo in the right place "auf die gleitbahn" they rise the boat again.
But I guess this technique was mostly used in calm tropical seas.;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLlYyjLOJ3M

[U49]

I've been wondering for awhile about the steel cables that run to the front of the boat. Was the sole purpose of them to be used as a "tie-off" point for sailors on deck? Or did they think it would help guide the boat under an object if the cable contacted it and it would ride against it and push the boat under instead of hitting the conning tower?

I'm thinking that my original thought was the more realistic one, but i'm still curious :hmm:

Tool.

It's the HF antennea :rotfl:

If you pay close attention you can see the isolators..

[Tool]

Sorry.. that never occured to me, but now it makes sense. In my defense, the last picture shown in the above posting has guys hooked fast to them with harnesses.

Tool.

[U49]

Sorry.. that never occured to me, but now it makes sense. In my defense, the last picture shown in the above posting has guys hooked fast to them with harnesses.

Tool.

The idea of the positioning was born in WW1, and the intention was to guide any obstacle (net) up an away from the tower....

Same goes true for the Netz-Säge .... and as you cannot see it on pictures of type XXI or modern post WW2 boast says all about is usefulness... :yep: