Yikes.....Circle running torpedo bearing on down on me!

[Freiwillige]

So it Finally happened. Launched a pair at a freighter 1400 yards out and go to outside view and see one turning right...odd I thought but thought nothing else then a few precious seconds pass and I noticed it kept on turning right!!!!!

Flank speed Crash Dive! It comes around the rear of my boat and passes left of me before it just misses my nose...Full left rudder! Second loop were gonna make it.......Impact dead tail! Damage control! We Got Flooding sir!!!!!!!!!


Ahhh yes good times had one and all.:stare:

The Japanese were laughing so hard on fell of the freighter!!!!:har:

While the rest waved their hats and screamed repeatedly...Banzia! Banzai! Banzai!

:damn:

[ColonelSandersLite]

I've had my share of ciculars. Got hit with one during practice and one during a career. Funny story on that one. Circled around, hit me in the nose and THUD, "Torpedo was a dud sir!". Honestly the only time I've ever been glad of a dud. I've also had several near misses.

Something I've noticed with them though, is because the torpedo goes straight out of the bow a short ways before turning, it actually has to circle twice in order to hit you assuming you're stationary or moving slow. In most cases, ordering back emergency will give you enough clearance to get away before it's really dangerous. Since the aforementioned career incident, I've gotten into the habit of watching my torpedoes for suspicious activity in the attack map.

[Bubblehead1980]

i've had plenty of circle runners(Mark 18's are terrible about it from their introduction in August 43 until prob mid 44, had plenty of them) only two have actually hit me in seperate incidents, lost boat second time, first time was very heavily damaged, was downgraded to another boat after reached pearl, my sub prob became razor blades.Can't count how many other times it happened to me, I managed to avoid them though.18's are the worst if you play on 100 realism(no external view) no wake, so i will check the attack map since in RL sonar would have informed you if it was a rogue.When I fired 14's i watch for the wake carefully.

Rule 1 is you should NEVER try to dive, this slows you down, you wont get under in time to avoid it, esp if its set to run deep.Best thing to do would be to go ahead flank.Then once flank speed has been answered, judge where the torpedo is...go right or left full rudder, whichever turns you towards the torpedo.On the surface you can answer bells pretty quick an accelerate so more than likely the fish would hit aft, so you turn in, you can swing your stern clear and the fish will loop so then go rudder amidships and ahead flank, haul ass.

This happens pretty fast, not much time to hesitate but this has always worked for me.The times I was hit I didnt realize I had circle runners.First time was when I was brand new to SH 4, it was night and I was on surface, fired three torpedos, then suddenly BOOM big water splashs and damage reports.Checked attack map only saw two fish speeding towards target, so a runaway Mark 14 got me.Second time was a Mark 18.

Just do NOT dive, worst thing you can do in a circle runner when on surface is dive.If submerged,ahead flank and set depth for 100 feet but dont use the D key or shift D for deep dive(in TMO) itll put a angle on your sub and the stern will be pretty shallow and could take a hit from the torpedo.


Good luck

[Sledgehammer427]

Slightly off topic but I once got nailed in the foot of the conning tower by a Zaunkonig in a XXI Once. Truly a moment I cried, I worked so hard for that boat.

And I've had a couple of circulars too...nasty little s****

[Rockin Robbins]

I never had a circle runner until I was destruction-testing the TDC while developing the Dick O'Kane method. The manual said that in order to send a bearing to the TDC you also had to send a range, implying that use of the stadimeter was necessary for info to be transmitted to the TDC when pressing the send range/bearing button. In order to use the stadimeter, did you have to lock the periscope to a target? Testing was in order.

So I loaded up WernerSobe's Natural Sinking Mechanics Test Range mission and went to town. First I used the periscope normally: lock on target, use stadimeter for range, send range/bearing with AoB zero, speed zero. Zip! Out goes the torpedo, BOOM and the target takes appropriate damage. Well, THAT was expected...

Then I didn't lock it at all, just pointed the scope at the target, used the stadimeter for range, send range/bearing, shoot, BOOM! OK, you don't have to lock the target.

Next step was to dispense with the use of the stadimeter. Point the periscope, don't lock, press send range/bearing, shoot. OH BUGGER!!!!!!!!!! It was the first circle runner I'd ever seen and it passed directly over my bow without impact. Was that cause and effect? I'd never even heard of a circle runner in the game before so I didn't know.

I tried again, point the periscope at another target at bearing 30º, don't lock, send range/bearing, shoot.....HOLY CRAP!!!!! HERE IT COMES AGAIN~!!!! It was the second circle runner in a row. That was pretty conclusive. After I cleaned my underwear, I PMed gutted and aarronblood to share my "great findings" that sending bearing without range resulted in circle runners. They both sent my findings to Davey Jones' locker, saying that circle runners were simply a statistical probability and I "got lucky."

Of course, subsequent testing resulted in the Dick O'Kane method we have today and I haven't encountered a circle runner using Dick O'Kane since!:har:

[Sevrin]

I've only witnessed this once when I first began to practice manual targeting. Hit the ex cam and watched as the last of three ran out and then made a neat right loop and headed back to the boat. :doh:

[SteamWake]

You know what they say, what goes around comes around :haha:

[MK2]

I did not know torpedoes that circle were modeled in the game , so I actually thought for a second I was under attack from another Sub before I realized what had happened...crazy cool sim!

[Shkval]

Once...crash dived... passed above me, :lurk:

[Bubblehead1980]

you got very lucky.Running stock? Prob the super quick crash dive time in stock.In most mods, you wouldve been hit.Ah well.