That Elusive Second Target...

[Slateford-5]

Convoy hunting: I'm getting better at evading the DD screen and I can usually line up a fat initial target. In my current case, a modern tanker. I sent 2 eels on their way at 3.5 km...

Then it always goes wrong. I always get this rush of blood to the head and have one foot in the getaway car, the other thinking about the second target as the second hand sweeps round toward the red needle. It's a bit of giddy panic, I suppose.

I seem to find it really difficult to swing around to another target, in the current case it would have been a whale factory ship, especially when running at 2 knots not having much momentum, before the first salvo hits home and the floodlights come on. I've even tried a tricky 85 degree approach aiming slow eels at a target in a distant column, then trying to let a target in a nearer column run through the cross hairs: what usually happens is either a damned tramp steamer suddenly runs by at 600 m and soaks them up or, on occassion, a passenger cargo flattens my periscope.

Do Kaleuns generally go for two targets in one run, or is it best to take a little nibble, get clear away and start a completely new run at a convoy?

[GreyFox]

I usually try to fire all the torps at as many ships as I can. It really helps to be ahead of them and perpendicular to their course. Then go deep and hope that those ships you only damaged (you'll never kill them all in the first run) are damaged enough that they are left behind.

Afterwards, see if you can catch up.

[meduza]

Most of the time I aim for two biggest ships, firing 2 torpedoes at each ship. My optimal distance is 2-4 km. I try to pick ships in the same or adjacent columns, to avoid shooting with large gyro angle (larger distance helps). When attacking submerged, I don't bother to move or change my position. I just wait for the selected ships to come in front of my tubes. :D
When attacking ships at different distances, you have to carefully time the second shot in order to have all impact at the same time.

[ppk]

Slip between lead and corner DD's. Penetrate the convoy. Bring your boat in between two rows of merchants and turn 90 to their course. Turn your bow towards wichever column has the two best targets, and try to put yourself at about 600 meters from that row which normally leaves around 300 for the secondary target. Whatever is sailing parallel with your first target in the row behind you will be that target. Now just stop and wait... Shoot the two shot salvo and the stern tube as simultaneously as you can. For the stern shot, aim it at a ''sweet spot'' and hope for the best. You can always come back to finish it later if you kill it's props or boilers. Go to ahead standard when the torps hit (flank speed reduces the range between you and that secondary target too fast.. we're close enough like that), turn to the second target, zap it and crash dive. Allow for a target that's doing evasive maneuvers and consider widening the spread angle. Evade, shadow, reposition and repeat. Voilà.

[gAiNiAc]

Another thing to consider is that column seperation is equal......So when your torpedoes cross a column going for a target in the next it's time to shoot torpedoes at a ship in that nearer column.

It's nice to have a table indicating torpedo travel distances over time for varoius ranges.........This way you don't have to do so much mental gym.

Another thing...... I maneuver aggressively once I start shooting. No point sitting at 2 knots after you've shot torpedoes. You're just asking to get pounded. You can put quite a bit of distance between yourself and where escorts will begin their search if you do it right.