Torpedo power

[kabex]

Hi all, been playing my first real campaign since a few years ago...

1939, Type IIA, 1st Flotilla u-21

As you know, the type II only carries 5 torpedoes and has no deckgun, so I've been having problems getting a decent tonnage in patrols; first patrol I sank one ship after hitting it 3 times if I remember correctly(having failed 1 torpedo) it was a medium cargo.

2nd patrol I spotted a Passenger/Cargo and it took me also 3 torpedoes to bring it down, after 1 having misfired/missed(not sure)... this is a big problem since I used up 4 out of 5 torpedoes on a single vessel and had to go back to base.

Also in my first patrol with my last torpedo I hit another merchant ship and followed it for about 4 hours to see if it went down and it didn't.

So how many torps do I need?! Or is something wrong with my game? GWX3.0 + a few mods.

[Pappy55]

In WWII The Germans too had a lot of problems with dud and faulty torpedos at the beginning of the war. Also unless you hit a ship in a sweet spot it can take a long time for them to finally sink. 1-2 tops should be more than enough for a smaller freighter..

I usually send them one tin fish then wait and if they dont sink i surface and finish them off with the deck gun. Thats if they are unarmed and have no escorts

[Iranon]

2-3 torpedos for a cargo ship is quite typical if you hit them in the wrong spots.

Suggestions to kill with 1 eel:

- 0.5-0.8m below the keel with magnetic detonator (unreliable in the beginning of the war and in rough weather)
- Under the funnel or slightly to the front (to hit the fuel bunker, but a hit in the engine room is often crippling as well)
- Near the stern to let the flooding do the work (the ship will tilt, then sink. Hits closer to the center will just make it lie deeper in the water if they don't hit something critical).

[Paul Riley]

I dislike the seemingly impotent torpedoes myself and have mentioned it in here before.3 torpedoes to bring a medium cargo down is ridiculous,and sometimes (rarely) it would merely stop dead in the water needing a 4th to send to the bottom.
I think a 25-50% increase to torpedo power is needed,in my opinion.Just look at some WWII footage of UBoat attacks,with ships decimated after a single torpedo impact with gaping holes that you could fly a plane through ! Check my sig picture below,that is what should happen to a ship after a torpedo attack :arrgh!:

A question here to anyone that knows - does the game (GWX3) model increased torpedo power as the war progresses as happened in real life?,in which case I can accept the poor quality of them in the early months of the war.

[kabex]

Thanks for the suggestions but they don't help much, I have no deck gun- only 5 torpedoes, I'm early in the war(magnetic useless) and am using WE assistance (94% realism, only thing unticked).

I tried 100% but the game was 99% aiming and missing and 1% playing. No thanks. IMO the WE assistance isn't cheating. :P

I dislike the seemingly impotent torpedoes myself and have mentioned it in here before
Completely agree. I also wondered if it fixes itself otherwise it's pointless to play a Type II campaign, if I had a deck gun 1 torp and a 10-15 hits with the deckgun would seal the deal.

[Paul Riley]

Maybe this mod is for better torpedoes? as there is no readme I am unsure as to exactly WHAT this does.I hope it tweaks the power setting :hmmm:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=955

[kabex]

Maybe this mod is for better torpedoes? as there is no readme I am unsure as to exactly WHAT this does.I hope it tweaks the power setting :hmmm:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=955

I'll try it out on the practice missions and report back...

[Paul Riley]

Sounds like a plan,good luck with it.

[kabex]

Another question while I'm here:
How can I make my patrols more interesting? I don't know what to do after my 24 hour grid patrol is up- where do I go? Do I stay there until I run out of fuel?

I stumbled upon a comment that said there was a plug-in or something for SH3C that gave you radio messages with new patrol orders, no luck finding it tho... I want something like that.

What happened in real life?

[Paul Riley]

I am sure in real life after their assigned patrol was over they got orders to move to new areas,to help in convoy attacks or maybe to pick up survivors somewhere,and even with intelligence gathering by 'shadowing' convoys etc.There IS a mod that simulates this I believe.
What I do is assign myself new patrols in the immediate area,or move to the nearest ship/convoy lane from my position at the time.Fuel economy is very important and I work out all my approx fuel consumptions before moving out,and reserve about 250-500km of fuel for emergencies and high speed chases.

What you could do yourself is consult your map and move out to the nearest EXPECTED area where there is likely to be traffic,and operate out there until you have tired or are running low on fuel.Again,try and work out your fuel consumptions.If fuel economy is important I could show you how I work all my consumptions out,hourly,daily,weekly etc.

[Snestorm]

Another question while I'm here:
How can I make my patrols more interesting? I don't know what to do after my 24 hour grid patrol is up- where do I go? Do I stay there until I run out of fuel?

I stumbled upon a comment that said there was a plug-in or something for SH3C that gave you radio messages with new patrol orders, no luck finding it tho... I want something like that.

What happened in real life?

24 hours in grid, then AM53.
That'll keep things interesting for you, I hope.

Other Hot Spots:
BF13/BF15 (Southern Aproaches).
AM19 (Rockall Bank).
BC43 (Off Canada, for IXs).
West of Gibralter. In the bottle neck is best.

You'll find others to your liking.

[Pappy55]

I edited the torp power myself just now..

i did the training mission and it can sink the medium freighter in 1 hot after a while of flooding. and the small tanker went up in a fireball split in half and sunk instantly.

I will be happy to share the modified files

[Snestorm]

I think the only problematic "tough guys" are the C2 Cargo (Stock) and the Medium Cargo (GWX). Could those particular ships be the problem, as opposed to the torpedoes?

(I once put 7 torpedoes into a C2 before she went down).

[Paul Riley]

(I once put 7 torpedoes into a C2 before she went down).

That is outrageous :o

[Snestorm]

That is outrageous :o

You sir, are so right.

I had remembered reading about Kretchmer having a particularly difficult time with a stuborn ship, that didn't agree with his "1 ship, 1 torpedo" philosophy, and got over it, after quite a bit of cursing and carrying on.

[desirableroasted]

2-3 torpedos for a cargo ship is quite typical if you hit them in the wrong spots.

Suggestions to kill with 1 eel:

- 0.5-0.8m below the keel with magnetic detonator (unreliable in the beginning of the war and in rough weather)
- Under the funnel or slightly to the front (to hit the fuel bunker, but a hit in the engine room is often crippling as well)
- Near the stern to let the flooding do the work (the ship will tilt, then sink. Hits closer to the center will just make it lie deeper in the water if they don't hit something critical).

In GWX, an eel in the bows in moderate-rough seas works wonders...

[Paul Riley]

In GWX, an eel in the bows in moderate-rough seas works wonders...

I always try to aim for the bow section in a lot (not all) of attacks,not only is it ideal against fast ships but the forward momentum of the ship seems to increase the rate of flooding too.

[maillemaker]

Is it just me, or are the damn coastal and tramp steamers tougher than some of the larger cargo ships?

About the only ships I can consistently one-shot are escorts.

Steve

[Paul Riley]

Its not just you,trust me.I have just this minute sent one into a French Granville from 300m,square amidships below the smoke stack,and it is still heading away at 7-8kts.Seems it didnt even glance it but I can see the huge hole in its hull...surely it must be taking on SOME water?! :damn: :down:

[vergol]

Are you using Thomsen's Ships mod by any chance? Some mods increase the momentum of most ships. They behave more realistically, taking longer to change speed. If the propellers are still spinning, then it can take quite a while for even the smallest merchants to come to a complete stop. And unless you hit a vulnerable area, don't expect instant gratification.

[frau kaleun]

I stumbled upon a comment that said there was a plug-in or something for SH3C that gave you radio messages with new patrol orders, no luck finding it tho... I want something like that.


The mod you're looking for is WB's Mid-Patrol Radio Orders, a search of the Downloads section should pull up both the GWX and non-GWX versions.

[kabex]

The mod you're looking for is WB's Mid-Patrol Radio Orders, a search of the Downloads section should pull up both the GWX and non-GWX versions.

How do I install it? It tells me to enable it in SH3C but SH3C doesn't have any mod options... ??

It specifically states that simply enabling by JSGME does not work.

[frau kaleun]

You need a separate installation of JSGME specifically for SH3 Commander, which will create a MODS folder in the Commander directory. The mod folder for Mid-Patrol Orders goes in the Commander MODS folder, you run JSGME in/for Commander, and you will see the mod available to enable in Commander.

[Jimbuna]

How do I install it? It tells me to enable it in SH3C but SH3C doesn't have any mod options... ??

It specifically states that simply enabling by JSGME does not work.

YOU MUST INSTALL VIA JSGME

From the readme:

Installation:
This mod is JSGME ready but must be installed in SH3 Commander. If you try and apply it straight to SH3 it will not work.

This mod is only compatible with SH3 Commander with GWX3 Cfg files for SH3 Commander.

Download from here:

http://www.users.on.net/~jscones/software/products-jsgme.html

Enable JSGME into your SH3 Commander which is usually located in C\Program Files.

If a folder 'MODS' isn't viewable, double click on the JSGME folder on your SH3 Commander folder and it will be created.

Now unzip the WB mod and direct it to your MODS folder then simply enable it.

Good luck http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif