Torpedo settings for destroyers charging at you

[Einsamer Wolf]

If a destroyer is heading straight for you. what depth and charge settings should you use [for torpedoes]. At first, the homing torpedoes, if they missed, what circle back and do the job. Last couple of times, however, they either went under (with a 4.0 setting fora 3.5 Tiefgang) or they bounced off. One time, the homing torpedo detonated, but did so too far away, only knocking out one propeller.

EW

[Vonotto]

If a destroyer is heading straight for you. what depth and charge settings should you use.

You should be at 160 meters running silent.

[andy_311]

If a destroyer is heading straight for you. what depth and charge settings should you use. At first, the homing torpedoes, if they missed, what circle back and do the job. Last couple of times, however, they either went under (with a 4.0 setting fora 3.5 Tiefgang) or they bounced off. One time, the homing torpedo detonated, but did so too far away, only knocking out one propeller.

EW


They also miss all together and died for it.
Don't know why they miss they suppose to be acoustic,and it the targets doing 34 knots don't even bother will wiss for sure. :down:

[Einsamer Wolf]

I meant for torpedoes. Everytime I have tried this, I have always escaped. But maybe the odds of success are just too small to warrant such a risk.

EW

[XXi]

Actually, if the enemy has already noticed your presence, it`s not a good idea to shoot torpedoes - destroyers are closing in zig zags, so it`s rather difficult to hit them. Add great speed, fact they would make evasive maneuvres if they notice a torpedo trail...

only acoustic torpedo can be used in such conditions, with some chancs of success, but thesae torpedos often explode too early and make only moderate damage. On the other hand - sometimes they don`t sink a destroyer, but blow the propellers off so that all you have to do is a coup de grace.

Personally, I avoid messing up with the escort, especially if my presence is not a secret any longer... but quite often, if I prepare an initial salvo against a convoy, I attack the closest escort as well - one less means less problems later.

[Einsamer Wolf]

Actually, if the enemy has already noticed your presence, it`s not a good idea to shoot torpedoes - destroyers are closing in zig zags, so it`s rather difficult to hit them. Add great speed, fact they would make evasive maneuvres if they notice a torpedo trail...

only acoustic torpedo can be used in such conditions, with some chancs of success, but thesae torpedos often explode too early and make only moderate damage. On the other hand - sometimes they don`t sink a destroyer, but blow the propellers off so that all you have to do is a coup de grace.

Personally, I avoid messing up with the escort, especially if my presence is not a secret any longer... but quite often, if I prepare an initial salvo against a convoy, I attack the closest escort as well - one less means less problems later.

Yeah, I only try it with acoustics. As you stated, sometimes, they just blow a propeller off.
I guess the Allies now have radar. A lot of times destroyers just appear from nowhere, headed straight for me. With my low profile, I should be able to see them long before they can see me. I am now in 1943. Things are going to become difficult. I will no longer try to engage destroyers from now on

EW

[XXi]

That`s right, in 1943 they rely on radar and it`s quite effective. Not very nice - in 1939 I was able to spot them much earlier, but now the tide seems to turn...

[zombiewolf]

I have been pretty lucky firing the aft torp whil running away.
1944 is tough tho it is better to run and fight another day :|\ :yep:

[Xsi-Roy]

since i play the game, i only sunk 2 destroyers that didn't notice me. When they saw the torp coming, it was to late for them. Great satisfaction for me, but not for the second destroyer that was there. He tried to fill me with depth-charges for a few houres.

Roy

[kjuice]

i have rarely performed this action, and when i did , it was a desperate move. I have sent a narrow spread at a charging destroyer with torps set to magnetic.. sucses rate has been low on a hit, but if they turn to avoid it allows me time to go deep and turn.

[XXi]

Recently I moved on with my campaign into 1943. Well, it`s getting hard so I continue with my tactics to take down one escort while attacking a convoy. In the most recent case it gave me just enough time to dive deep and make myself out of the scene - it took some time before the other escort vessels came through the convoy and started pinging.
Without taking the single escort at the beginning, I`d probably be found when still close to the periscope depth.

[Curval]

If I have to fire at a charging destroyer it is an act of desperation. I have had to do so on a couple of occasions though, and when I have I set a fast magnetically detonated T1 torp to 1 meter below the draught of the offending destroyer and let it get to about 400 meters away before I fire.

[Sailor Steve]

Back when I first started playing the original Silent Hunter, I used to delight in 'Dogfighting' with destroyers. After all, I had 24 torpedoes and it was fun.

These days I play more seriously, and try to act as a real captain would. If I fire a torpedo at a destroyer and hit him, I've sunk 1500 tons of cheap replaceable warship. If I miss, and am lucky enough to survive, if I circle back and miss again I've now wasted two of my precious eels for nothing. Even if the second one puts him down it was a very expensive victory, considering those two torpedoes could have done away with anywhere from five to fifteen thousand tons of vital war supplies.

Going mano-a-mano with destroyers is a fool's game, in my opinion.

[Tikigod]

I agree. This is a "movie maneuver" and was only successfully executed on the movie U-571 with Matthew McConaughey at the helm. So, if he is not in the same room to help consult you on this technique I wouldn't try it. But in theory you would set the torp for magnetic and try to get it as close as possible to graze the ship..... but, I have yet to have a successful detonation....most of my torps always run along side the hull only to pass the ship and never detect metal....so, 99% of time I would say its a waste for that 1% movie chance I am still waiting for to happen to prove me wrong. then again I'm in early war so I don't know if the magnetic detonation gets better with time. But, I do know that impact trigger would not work at that angle...unless it was a wider hull like a merchant...or maybe the rear of the destroyer instead of the front.

I have yet to see a successful hit with impact against the front of a destroyer. I would suggest if you are going to attack to hit him from the rear and use the depth charges he drops as a guide for alignment. haha One manuever you might want to try is to dive on his initial attack but then climb to periscope and hit him from behind with your rear torpedo. That might give you a better odds than attacking head to head....only thing is with sh3 ai they always seem to turn after that intial depth charge attack. I read in some old navy manuals destoyers usually would work in group formations and basically carpet bomb the ocean floor....if that was modeled in sh3 they probably would less likely change course and allow for a better chance using this method.

Whether or not uboats attacked destroyers headon is highly unlikely. From what I have read captains were always contimplating the cost of torpedoes. They were very expensive and were not used to wing shots...the preferred weapon was always the deck gun because it was inexpensive and always gauranteed damage against a target. Whereas torpedoes would always have a chance to miss or dud. So its highly unlikely captains engaged targets with torpedoes unless they were absolutely certain the success rate was as high as it could be in their favor. The only scenerio I could see this happening is if the uboat was about to sink and couldn't handle another depth charge attack...and the torpedoes were launched as a last ditch effort to make the captain of the destroyer sh@#! his pants...but, in this case most uboats would surface and surrender rather than attack.

[jasondef]

I agree. This is a "movie maneuver" and was only successfully executed on the movie U-571

Don't forget "Run Silent, Run Deep", the originator of the "down the throat" method of attacking D's

[Sailor Steve]

Well, before that, at least one U.S. sub skipper got a Japanese destroyer that way, but they usually felt they had no choice at the time, and it wasn't something anyone would want to do intentionally.

[U-Dog]

Well, before that, at least one U.S. sub skipper got a Japanese destroyer that way, but they usually felt they had no choice at the time, and it wasn't something anyone would want to do intentionally.

Yes & I think this was such an accomplishment that it just had to be added to every movie ever made, and just a few sea stories as well.
But what is said in the bar stays in the bar AFAIAC.

[Sailor Steve]

Well, before that, at least one U.S. sub skipper got a Japanese destroyer that way, but they usually felt they had no choice at the time, and it wasn't something anyone would want to do intentionally.

Yes & I think this was such an accomplishment that it just had to be added to every movie ever made, and just a few sea stories as well.
But what is said in the bar stays in the bar AFAIAC.
I agree. Look at what happened when they tried it in Das Boot. Much more believable, in my opinion.

[Manock]

In SH2, it was standard tactic to set torpedoes to 0 depth, run away, and stern shoot them at 300 meters since they always came barreling in at 25 knots straight on. You could always count on taking out one destroyer that way.

But here in SH3, Destroyer Captains are little more sophisticated, they run slow at around 12 knots so they can hear, shoot at your periscope, and come in from the side if they can see your scope wake, & then later use hedgehogs on you.

So dont advise it.

However, just finished the Gibralter run single mission, and made it thru while sinking nine ships.

Did it by staying at periscope depth at night close to Afrika shore, and eeking my way through. When a destroyer came within range less than 1000 meters away, and was blind to me either because of fast speed, or stern to it, & relatively alone, popped up the scope for a quick 45knot shot at 0 depth. And was somewhere near minimal gyro angle.

Possibly got lucky as the second or third destroyer apparently had the only sonar unit, as I never got pinged again. The rest of the destroyers skidaddled when their sonar ship went down. "As in they left at high speed."

Gotta go. This suspiciously does not look like library research so au veedersaign.

Manock