Do you "aim" torpedos or just "Lock-on"

[lucasner]

I've read alot of you that will "aim" your eels at the bow/stern/magazines instead of just firing center mass, and I would imagine that you do that just like Mush Morton or O'Kane did...by taking bearings with the scope lined up on the foremast/turret/etc...

But what is your actual technique? I would imagine that this means you do not salvo fire? You aim each torpedo individually? So do you NOT "Lock-On" to the target while aiming?

Please fill me in. I have started salvo firing multiple torpedos when necessary, but I use the "midship" aiming mark that the "Lock-On" button automatically puts my scope at.

I'd like to try the individual aiming method...so fill me in!

Dave

[Missing Name]

Sometimes I fire one torp right at the bow. Other times I'll do a spread - if you choose the angle right, you can hit the bow and stern simultaneously aiming at center mass. Ideally, this works best when you are fairly close. And I use impacts for these shots.

Later on in the war? It's not unlikely to see me fire a fairly tight spread at a convoy from just about maximum range instead of attempting to hit the bow of oh, that nice tanker. Aim at it and you're bound to hit something.

[Hinrich Schwab]

It really depends on the situation as to what tactic to use. These tactics also vary between games and mods because of physics and damage models. In most instances, the amidship shot is a good, all-purpose target. If I am close enough to guarantee a matched solution shot without lock-on, I aim at critical areas. For Merchants, it is under or after the smokestack (engine room and "shaft alley") In the rare instances I must engage warships, I aim just after of the largest gun turret (ammo magazine).

I am not a big fan of the standard spread. It is a compensation tactic for a questionable shooting solution. If I must use spread fire, I prefer a very tight spread angle (< 3 degrees) to avoid wasting eels. I prefer the longitudal spread with a better shooting solution. I would only consider the standard spread if I had all tubes loaded with pattern runners and I was targeting a large convoy with heavy support. Even if you only have a 0-25% hit rate (1 eel), pattern runners really spook escorts into some wild evasion tactics that hamper their ability to bang around with ASDIC for you.

The U-boat Commander's Handbook opently advocates spread fire. I am the opposite and share Silent Otto's philosophy of "One ship, One torpedo". Torpedoes take too long to reload (with proper realism active) and are too valuable, even with their flaws, to waste on a "maybe".

If I do not posses a reasonable certainty of a hit, I hold fire and jockey for a better position.