Torpedos failure

[Egon01]

Ok, I play with TMO. I want to ask you if every 2 torpedos on 4 should explode ? It happens to me almost all time, I shoot 4 torpedos, 2 explode before they reach target.If I want to be sure that I will sink target I must shoot more torpedos and after few attacks I am "out of ammo". I am not sure if this is "real" behavior or bug. I know torpedos are not perfect, from time to time they are dummies but almost during every attack ? I play on realistic difficult.

Thanks

[Arclight]

Don't know about TMO, but ~70% dud rate would be realistic. Real skippers had an even harder time then you.

Disable the magnetic trgger. ;)

[Egon01]

Ok will try without magnetic triger ;) Thanks

[Zero Niner]

Historically the US mainstay torpedo, the Mark 14, had a number of technical problems that took a few years & much effort to overcome. Initially the reports from sub captains about faulty torpedoes were dismissed as crew error or some such reason. No one bothered to investigate the skippers' claims to see if there were actually any problems, until Adm Charles Lockwood, when he assumed command of COMSUBPAC, decided to conduct some tests to see if there were really problems with the Mk 14s. Even then, convincing the Ordnance Bureau that the torpedo they had developed was faulty wasn't easy.

To sum up, the Mk 14 had a number of problems:

a. They often ran deeper than the depth they had been set to run.
b. The firing pin mechanism was poorly designed, and a "perfect shot" (a hit perpendicular to target hull) could result in a crushed firing pin, and hence a dud.
c. The magnetic exploder was faulty, often resulting in premature explosions.

However in game I doubt that SH4 delves into this level of detail. It is more likely (my guess) that the game simply uses random numbers to simulate the failings of the Mk 14 especially in the early years of the Pacific war. One can only hope that the developers reduced the chances of a dud as the timeline in the game progresses to its inevitable conclusion.

For TMO, I remember reading a post by Ducimus (the creator of the mod) that he deliberately fudged the torpedo failure numbers to be somewhere in between stock (torps functioned too reliably even in early war years) to realistic, his design philosophy being that he didn't want to approach real life numbers as that would make it too frustrating for players in general.

[Arclight]

... too frustrating for players in general.
I tried the NSM realistic torpedo mod once. Fired 4 torps in that training at a Mogami, tried it multiple times (restart mission). I would be lucky to get 1 in 4 to actually explode on contact, duds far outnumbered detonations. Indeed, far to frustrating for a player in general. :lol:

Just to add a bit; Besides detonating premature, the magnetic trigger was just as likely to not fire at all. Admiral Lockwood ordered the Mark VI magnetic influence exploder to be deactivated in July '43, AFAIK an actual fix was never made. So stick with the contact pistol for the Mark 14.

Faulty depth keeping was fixed by August '42

Glancing shots (less then 90deg on target) were advised to reduce the forces exerted on the firing mechanism, cutting duds in half.
"Lightweight aluminum alloy (from propellersof downed Pearl Harbor attackers) was machined to take the place of the Mark VI's heavy pin block so inertial forces would be lower. Electrical switches, developed by Johnson,were tried as well. Both fixes worked and were relatively easy to implement. In September 1943, the first torpedoes with new contact pistols were sent to war."

Another problem of the Mark 14 was that it could run circular, striking the sub that fired it. USS Tullibee was sank in this manner for certain, but there are very likely more occasions where this happened.

Like Zero Niner pointed out, I'm uncertain to what degree (if at all) all this is modeled in game.

Class dismissed. :lol:

[LukeFF]

However in game I doubt that SH4 delves into this level of detail. It is more likely (my guess) that the game simply uses random numbers to simulate the failings of the Mk 14 especially in the early years of the Pacific war. One can only hope that the developers reduced the chances of a dud as the timeline in the game progresses to its inevitable conclusion.
Quite the contrary:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v258/LukeFF/SH4/Mk14-1.jpg

That's a snapshot of RFB's Mk. 14 settings. It is very detailed and replicates very well the problems of the Mk. 14 until they were resolved, all at their historical dates. Even the magnetic detonator is deactivated on the exact date the order went out to the fleet. Trust me, RFB's Mk. 14s will have you reaching for strong alcoholic beverages in short order. :D

[Seminole]

Ok will try without magnetic triger ;) Thanks

Also...the early war torpedos were running about ten feet deeper than their setting. I was still mysteriously missing some shots even using contact exploders... until I started setting all shots for 5 feet depth.

I can't make the claim with any provable certainty but I do believe the sim also models the 10 foot historical depth error and it needs to be taken into account when inputting torpedo settings.

[Lynx2069]

Im almost certain it models the depth running problem, I've taken several shots at Watake destroyers (I know its not right, LOL) with a contact pistol, set then for 5 feet and watched them sail 4-5 feet below the 9.6 ft draft.

[AVGWarhawk]

Deep runners are simulated. Send out 4 at the same time and same depth. Follow them via free cam. You will find they are all running at all kinds of strange depths.