Proper use of homing torpedos

[Nangleator]

First post here, and fairly new to the game. I'm playing the stock game, since my older graphics card can't handle the more beautiful and interesting Wolves mod.

It took a lot of stupid behavior and three deaths before my current career, which is on patrol #21. I have reached summer of '42, and things seem really to be changing.

My first patrol in 1942 resulted in an aerial ambush in the Bay of Biscay. 7 or 8 pairs of flying boats dove on me. Luckily, they only bomb the point where I go underwater, and not along my last projected course. Dummies.

Still, it keeps me on lower time compression now. Particularly since they started showing up at night, too, and in light fog. Radar or bad luck?

I've got some questions, even though I've been reading the forum for a few months.

What's the best technique for my shiny, new homing torps (for escort reduction)? Just launch in the general direction and dive deep? Launch as carefully as an unguided torp? Let the escorts know where you are and shoot down the throat? From what distance? Do escorts actively dodge them? How dangerous are they to me? Are the historical methods appropriate?

Thanks for any replies, thanks to this community for being cool and well-informed, and thanks to the creators of the game and its mods!

[Task Force]

I usualy fire them when they are infront of me and fire. Stay quiet and let the torpedo follow them, Then BOOM (usualy).;)

[Brag]

Welcome aboard Nangleator. :D

Task force's advice is sound.

[Task Force]

Yes welcome Nangleator, welcome to subsim.;)

[Nangleator]

'Stay quiet' sounds like it could be tricky. Just from my imagination I can picture this... I'm at a dead stop at PD, peeping a look at the pesky escort in front of the convoy. I lose my nerve at about 2 or 3 or 4 kilometers and loose the torpedo. (Is a T4 called a Gnat?)

I hold still to watch the fun, then I'm informed I'm being pinged and I see the escort turn towards me and speed up. Now I don't know if the torpedo is headed in the right direction, and maybe he'll get away from it. I should be headed down. But I can't be headed down, because then maybe the torpedo suddenly wants to return to me.

My life becomes stressful. My CE makes stern faces at me.

[Task Force]

You still can go at 1/2 knots, and dive. The torpedos cant go up or down.;)

[SeaWolf U-57]

Always try to have at least two T9 torpedoes active one or more in the forward tubes and one in the rear. Head towards and approach the warship at slow speed like you would do for a normal torpedo attack wait until the target is under 2,000meters then go to silent running and fire the T9 then start a sharp turn ether port or starboard depending on which way the target is heading (turn the opposite way) continue the sharp turn so as if the first T9 misses the target you will bring your rear tube to bare and get a second chance but if all go’s wrong you can still crash dive but as long as you stay silent and don’t leave your telescope up too high you should be able to make the second shot

[Nangleator]

Thanks, all! I've had some success this patrol, but haven't run into any escorts yet. I'm about to try the Irish coast. The flurries of bombers are starting to get old. Also, the horrible, horrible summer weather. I can't wait for winter and beautiful, calm seas.

The long winter nights used to be so peaceful, but now it's scary in the dark.

Do I get a radar detector in '43? It would certainly help.

[Task Force]

I believe so.;)

[kylania]

Always try to have at least two ...

Bottom left of the forum is a link called "--haylazblue". Click on it and choose "--SmartDark". This will do two things for you. Firstly it will let you see this forum in all it's non-white-therefore-no-eye-bleeding-brightness awesomeness and secondly let you see how impossible to read black on grey is. :) Default font colors for the win!

[richardphat]

depends on the situation. If you meet a bunch of ship make sure to isolate on ship and then launch a homing acoustic torpedos. Dont lauched on a group of ship. The one who makes the loudy noises will interfere your pre-targeted

[SeaWolf U-57]

Always try to have at least two ...

Bottom left of the forum is a link called "--haylazblue". Click on it and choose "--SmartDark". This will do two things for you. Firstly it will let you see this forum in all it's non-white-therefore-no-eye-bleeding-brightness awesomeness and secondly let you see how impossible to read black on grey is. :) Default font colors for the win!

yes sorry but on the other side of the table you can also change your background to white to read it :yep:

[Task Force]

White background hurts mosts eyes.;)

[SeaWolf U-57]

White background hurts mosts eyes.;)

Yes I agree and apologize but i was doing something else and did'nt see that the font had been changed to all i again apologize

[SeaWolf U-57]

I have changed the font colour in my reply and say goodnight

[Task Force]

Dont wory about it. It realy is nothing big.:up:

[kylania]

Ack, yah! No worries at all. :) Sleep well, unlike the merchants! heh

[Task Force]

Yep those merchents dont stand a chance with us subsim skippers.:D

[predavolk]

Homing torps:

1- Make sure you give them at least 400M to lock on.

2- Be aware that they have a limited search cone, so you have to put them fairly close to a target sometimes.

3- They will work fine as impact, even hitting from odd angles. Really odd angles they'll bounce off and try again! 1M depth will sink 90% of destroyers, cripple the rest. They usually don't sink right away, but keep coming and pinging. Slower though, and soon they'll sink (90% of the time).

4- Magnetic are better for down the throat shots at close range as they don't have to turn and chase the ship. Sometimes they pass under the ship and blow it up before reaching the props.

5- They target props only (other than above magnetic shots). So they aren't very useful against merchants.

6- Against a dead still opponent, they'll still explode if they hit it (set on impact), but they won't search for it (V's will search for you if you're running above silent!).

7- They will chase the fastest ship. If there's a little torpedo boat zipping around, it'll suck up that torp.

8- Type IVs work as well as Vs, but have no magnetics (Con) but don't search you if they miss (Pro).

9- I have yet (Spring 1945) to encounter a destroyer with an acoustic decoy, that were apparently quite effective in reality. So the IX is a waste IMO.

10- Better to buy one or two for an emergency, and save up so that you can buy enough to decimate a convoy rather than have 3-4 on board for each cruise. That does you little good.

[Hanomag]

Welcome Aboard Herr kaluen!!! :arrgh!:

[Jimbuna]

Welcome aboard Kaleun Nangleator http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/welcome.gif

@Predavolk


I have yet (Spring 1945) to encounter a destroyer with an acoustic decoy, that were apparently quite effective in reality. So the IX is a waste IMO.



What game are you playing :hmm:

[predavolk]

Same as always, latest GWX, 100% realism, as always. I might have had 10% of my homing torps miss when locked on, but I figured they were duds instead of being decoyed. I've been using the IVs quite successfully as of March 1945, and the V's too. In fact, this current cruise, my very last, is the first time I'm bringing on board a type IX. You've had homing torps miss or blow up prematurely off a destroyer's stern? That'd be a big change in my tactics! Or at least, my load-out! :o

[Jimbuna]

It was your reference to destroyers with acoustic decoys that had me puzzled :hmm:

[predavolk]

It was your reference to destroyers with acoustic decoys that had me puzzled :hmm:

I didn't know if the game was supposed to model them or not. In real life, as I mentioned, they were supposedly quite effective against acoustic torps. I never found any destroyer using a decoy against my torps in the game. If it's not in there, no worries. To be honest, using a XXI is kind of "what-if" fantasy already. Realistically, I should've stuck with my XIB hunting lone ships in remote locations, assuming I wasn't killed.

[Jimbuna]

It was your reference to destroyers with acoustic decoys that had me puzzled :hmm:

I didn't know if the game was supposed to model them or not. In real life, as I mentioned, they were supposedly quite effective against acoustic torps. I never found any destroyer using a decoy against my torps in the game. If it's not in there, no worries. To be honest, using a XXI is kind of "what-if" fantasy already. Realistically, I should've stuck with my XIB hunting lone ships in remote locations, assuming I wasn't killed.

I'm afraid acoustic decoys aren't modelled ingame.....but I wish they were :hmm:

[Nangleator]

Thanks for the tips and the welcomes!

I followed my first shots to target. (I'm nowhere near confident enough yet to go anywhere near 100% realism.) Very entertaining! My first bounced off the Clemson's rudder, sank a bit, then came on again. I didn't know it was going to do that at the time. I laughed.

Either the Clemson or the V&W, I forget which, survived the impact, but without props. Their passive sonar caused me some grief, as the little Flower gave me some trouble. (I got greedy and tried a T4 on the Flower, since he was all that was between me and about 20 fat targets. Unfortunately, the T4 liked one of the fat targets better.) After he got bored and went away, I came back to finish off the crippled.