4 torpedo's and 20+ HE to sink one rusty old boat

[Lucrativus]

Is there something wrong with the torpedo's in this game. Surely it should not take all those munitions to sink one old boat, I could do more damage throwing rocks at it.

If it was a armoured warship, then yes, I would expect to use a lot more ammunition but not on an old freighter. :cry:

Is there a fix for this, I have looked through the forum but cannot see anyone else having this problem. I wouldn't mind but having to travel thousands of miles to re-arm the sub so frequently, the war will soon be all over. :o and it is getting boring spending so much time sailing back and forwards all the time. (I am running v1.4)

In the documentaries recently shown on the TV a lot of the freighters were despatched with only ONE torpedo. This has not happened with me in the game up to now, I usually have to put at least two torpedos into the ship and then surface to finish it off.

Not a happy chappy at the moment :damn:

[SteamWake]

Let me guess a small split freighter right?

First did all the torpedoes actually hit their mark and detonate?

The ship was probably filled with ping pong balls :haha:

[G2B]

Small Old Split Freighter :nope: I dread finding those, Even the Old Tanker is a pain, let loose with my last 2 fish on one Old Tanker I think what ever it was carrying leaked out and filled with water while it kept going along could not say how many shells it took to finish it off.

On the Bright side sunk a couple Large Modern Freighters with one torp, whatever they were carrying went up real nice :D

Just goes to show they don't make em like they used to :haha:

[Pacific_Ace]

There are a lot of variables to this problem. The ship, its cargo, where you hit it and the torpedo used all factor in.

[Rockin Robbins]

I don't feel so bad then. I just fed 5 Mark 10s into a Large Old Split Freighter before it would go down:

The following ships/aircraft have been destroyed
Number of Warships sunk : 0
Number of Merchants sunk : 2

Total Warship tonnage : 0
Total Merchant tonnage : 15329

Total Gross tonnage : 15329
Total JANAC tonnage : 12570

102101 DEC 1941
Ship sunk! Large Modern Composite Freighter, 7156 ton
Long 119° 47' E, Lat 21° 34' N

121448 DEC 1941
Ship sunk! Large Old Split Freighter, 8173 ton
Long 121° 37' E, Lat 20° 59' N


Torpedoes fired : 12
Torpedo impacts : 8
Torpedo misses : 2
Torpedo duds : 0
Torpedo premature explosions : 2
Gun loaded 0 times


Patrol narrative:
Torpedo data:
102046 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 1
102046 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 2
102046 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 3
102047 DEC 1941 : Torpedo hit
102047 DEC 1941 : Torpedo hit
102047 DEC 1941 : Torpedo hit
102048 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 4
102051 DEC 1941 : Torpedo miss
102101 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 1
102101 DEC 1941 : Torpedo hit
121416 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 1
121417 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 2
121417 DEC 1941 : Torpedo hit
121420 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 3
121420 DEC 1941 : Torpedo miss
121420 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 4
121440 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 1
121440 DEC 1941 : Torpedo hit
121441 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 2
121441 DEC 1941 : Torpedo hit
121448 DEC 1941 : Firing tube 3
121448 DEC 1941 : Torpedo hit
Cdr Rockin Robbins
CO USS S-35 (SS-140)OOPS! Six because tube 3 missed. Partial report courtesy of SH4 Report (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=1155).

But there you have it. Two targets sucked up the whole load of my sugar boat's torpedoes! TMO 1.8 beta is magnificent!

[SteamWake]

Pretty sure the OP is running un modded but yea those old small splits are tough nuts.

[Bubblehead1980]

how a ship sinks mostly depends on the cargo and where your torpedo hits, see tankers are not always carrying fuel, if they are carrying fuel, they light up like 4th of July.

Same goes for even the smallest freighter.I have taken out many small spli freighters, some with one torpedo, some required more.

If you open up the traffic with the ME and look, each ship(excluding tankers, they only have internal cargo) has external and internal cargo.

Many cargo ships are carrying freight internally and freight crates externally.These are the ships that unless you hit them just right, will usually require more than one torpedo according to their size.

Now, the reason you can take a large ships out with one fish sometimes, is their internal cargo may be ammunition, or external target may be ammo crates or both.So sending a torpedo into a ship with ammo loaded inside and on deck or just on deck even, can create such a violent secondary explosion from one torpedo, it can bring down even the largest ship.
I have spent some time checking this out so no doubts I am correct.

Tankers are the same.Even big 10,000 ton modern "Nippon Maru"(TMO) tankers can be taken out if they are carrying a load of fuel.However, I loaded one with freight (as some are in the game, simulates their voyage on way to pick up fuel i suppose?) they are not easy to sink unless you manage to nail them just right, even then, 3 torpedo seems to be the minimum.Small old tankers can be taken out with one fish just under the stack aft, but thats a hard shot sometimes.Two torpedos usually will do the job, regardless of its cargo, but if its loaded with fuel, then it should go real nice.

Crew skill is also a factor, it can be set from poor to elite.In TMO most merchants are set to veteran.Crews do repair damage if possible, thats why some ships will be dead in the water then manage to get back under way.Or why some ships can avoid your fish and others can't.The higher the crew setting, the more damage they can repair quickly.

A great rule of thumb since you do not know what a ship is carrying is this:

Small merchants /tankers, two fish, aimed at different points of impact if possible.

medium merchants/tankers-Three fish, aimed at different points

large merchant/tankers-Four fish.

Sometimes more if its a big important target such as a Conte Verde Liner(Huge European Liner), large modern tanker etc I'll fire 5 or 6, just to make sure.Depending on the year, accoutn for duds/prematures, deep runners.Also account for firing distance, will they have a chance to see the wakes and possibly avoid? If you fire 4 and they avoid two, well they prob wont sink.

Also,

Internal cargo will always be freight, ammo or fuel

External cargo can be oil, freight crates, ammo crates, trucks, tanks, aircraft or trap container.