Finished first campaign patrol with 100%

[maillemaker]

My first ship, a tramp steamer, I shot 4 torpedoes at to sink it. two missed. :)

I shot a neutral french ship with 2 torpedoes and nailed it.

Got two more ships with the gun, and nailed a torpedo boat with guns. The torpedo boat showed up while I was gunning down the last freighter. Had to get rid of them. :)

Manual targetting is a whole new game.

[Gilbou]

I got a carrer with manual targetting. Hard :/
I started with Flotilla 1. I am using SH3 + GWX
patrol 1 = 0
patrol 2 = 0
patrol 3 = 0
patrol 4 = 1869 tons
patrols 5 to 16 = 0
patrol 17 = 1960 tons
patrols 18 to 20 = 0

So far, 20 patrols. About 15 to 20 days per patrol (the type II only has 5 torpedoes, I fire 2 at each ship so I can shoot 2 times 2 torps and 1 time 1 torp). I am in december 1940, very few renown, can't get a bigger boat, and I am getting sent farther and farther each month...

Not fun.

[ryanglavin]

Do you need help with something gilbou? I can help you out if needed.

[Gilbou]

Every time I sent a torpedo, it goes too far ahead by a few meters, and goes behind the ship. Can't hit anything in 100 % manual mode. I'm using the in game notepad method.

When I get closer to get flag and do identification, ship goes so fast that the time I identify the ship it's almost gone in front of me.

Biggest problem is angle on bow.

[Randomizer]

Just a suggestion...

When I was having similar problems I changed the realism to allow for weapons officer assistance and let him calculate all the surface attacks while I continued to do the submerged attacks unassisted. Eventually by watching the sight picture, computer generated targeting solution and using some of the aids and advice from the Forum I was able to return to 100% without all the frustration.

I still miss of course, but usually to when trying to force an attack with poor geometry or a following a bad approach.

Historically the 1WO did all the surface firing under the Captain's direction anyway.

[Gilbou]

I have turned ON the WO officer again.
I do the identification myself, range. I let him to the AoB so I can
draw on map the course of the ship and adapt my own course.
I try to get close, then I set AoB to 90 degrees, and I shoot
at the ship when the gyro shows between 350 and 355.

[Dissaray]

You might have a littel better luck with a gyro angle of 000, though not much seeing as it is only five degrees off where you fire from now. Other than that I have one other general tip for you: focus mostly on target's speed and the AOB. The range to target is largly irrelivant so long as it is in side your torpido's maximum range and outside 300m range, if it is closer than that the torpido won't arm. Oh, also, identifying the nationality of the target ship isn't all that important when it comes to merchant shiping, I don't spend much time at all on flags, just glance at it and if it looks like a bad-guy flag I send it to the botom. General rule, if it has a red flag on it the target is good enuf to shoot.

You might also try starting with the second or seventh flotillia. Both of those start you out in a type 7. The extra fule you get is one bounous but the best parts are the aft tube and the 14 torpido carring capacity, the deck gun comes in handy to. learning manual targeting in a type two can be a real pain.

[maillemaker]

Every time I sent a torpedo, it goes too far ahead by a few meters, and goes behind the ship. Can't hit anything in 100 % manual mode. I'm using the in game notepad method.

As I was advised here, I advise against using the stock notepad method.

I have had instant success with the "fixed wire" method. The fixed wire method does not care about range to target.

Here is how you do it.

1) Drive your sub so that your 000 bearing and heading are pointed just in front of the target ship. If you point your periscope 15 degrees or so in front of the target ship and press "=" your sub will turn to that heading.

2) When your sub has stopped turning, your vertical crosshair should be in front of the target ship. Wait for the target ship to move until its nose touches the crosshair. Start your stopwatch by clicking on it. When the tail of the ship crosses the crosshair, stop your stopwatch by clicking on it. This gives you the amount of time it took the ship to cross an invisible wall in space, defined by your vertical crosshair.

The reason you need to be looking dead ahead or dead astern (000 or 180) while doing this is it negates the impact of the speed of your sub against the speed of the target ship.

3) Identify the target ship in your recognition manual. From there, you get the ship's length.

4) Use the following formula to get the target ship's speed:

(1.852 * Ship Length in Meters ) / Time in Seconds

5) Now turn your sub to come perpendicular (90 degrees) to the target heading.

6) Go to the TDC screen. Turn on manual data entry. Dial in the target's speed, and set the Angle on the Bow (AoB) to either 90 degrees port or starbord, depending on whether you are on the port or starboard side of the target ship. Turn off manual TDC data entry.

7) Go back to the periscope. You will notice now that as you turn your periscope, the gyro angle (under the notepad) changes. Turn the periscope until the gyro angle reads 000. This should be a little bit to the left or right of your sub's 000 in the periscope.

8) Open your torpedo outer door (Q key)

9) When the target ship crosses the vertical crosshair again, fire your torpedo when the crosshair is where you want to strike on the ship. I still go for dead-center to allow for inaccuracies.

If you measured the target speed correctly, the torpedo will hit the target.

Steve

[Dissaray]

One thing I can add to that fixed wire method description you have is if you stop your boat, or nearly stop your boat, you don't have to turn to put the target at 0 or 180 relitive bearing. That comes in handy if you have already got so close that closing on the target any further might spook them or put you too close to fire on them. Other than that you have a very firm grasp on the fixed wire method of obtaining target's speed.

[ryanglavin]

It seems to me your having some sort of speed problem, which you can use the 3 min 15 seond method to fix. You also might have a range problem, which is tough to get in bad weather or if the mast height isn't decipherable.

[Gilbou]

I will try the fixed wire on next patrol, thanks.