Aircraft dropped DC detonation depth...

[xrvjorn]

...seems a bit shallow to me. All seem to go off just below the surface. Once you're below scope depth, you're safe. Not that my IXD2 goes there very quickly...

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/xrvjorn/Silent%20Hunter%20III/AirDroppedDCExplosion.jpg

[kenijaru]

well, you cant spect a PBY Catalina to have DCs prepared to any depth your sub can get to.... i guess they have the DCs prepared to near 10m to get you as you dive and not when you are at 50m trying to move away. well, it seems logic to me :doh:

[panthercules]

Sounds right to me - I have no data or research to support this conclusion, but since the aircraft really had no way to track a sub underwater, their only real chance to hit one would seem to be while it was on the surface or just after it went under, so a shallow depth setting would seem to be the most appropriate.

[CCIP]

I've been sunk by these as deep as 50m. I wouldn't say these are 'safe' at all :dead:

With up-to-date mods (RUb and later), you really shouldn't underestimate the damage radius of these.

[U-Dog]

In Operation Drumbeat-great book btw, the British recommended all planes use shallowest possible settings on DCs because they found that 35% of the time part of the U-boat was still visible at time of DC release and another 15% of the time the boat had been under water for 30 seconds or less. So this does seem to be accurate. Esp when you consider after the boat was underwater the aircraft had no way of determining its course (unless of course in very clear waters-not likely in the North Atlantic)

[mike_espo]

I remember reading somewhere that aircraft DCs were set to 50-75ft. This was in March 1943

Think it was Convoy by Middlebrook.

[kenijaru]

I remember reading somewhere that aircraft DCs were set to 50-75ft. This was in March 1943

Think it was Convoy by Middlebrook.
thats near periscope depth.... 14m (a lil bit more actually)
and as i said before "prepared to near 10m" :yep:

[jasondef]

Did aircraft in real life even have the ability to adjust DC depth settings while in flight, or is this something that had to be pre-set at the base and then strapped to the bottom of the plane?

If so, it'd make sense to set the depth at 10m or shallower given the time it takes a sub to dive once its spotted the plane.

[Khayman]

in June 1941 the Admiralty turned to the scientific community to help them with Coastal Command's "miserable U-Boat kill rate". They were sent a "brilliant physicist, Patrick M.S. Blackett, who was to win a Nobel Prize in Postwar years".

Up till then the minimum depth charge setting was 50 feet, to protect the aircraft from being blown up by the blast. The scientist recommened a smaller (100 pound) explosive charge with a 25 foot fuse. He also recommended that the spacing of the drop be increased threefold and that Torpex, instead of TNT, be used.

Apparently it caused considerable controversy, as air crews wanted a few big bombs (of 250 pounds) rather than lots of little ones. Understandable I suppose. The Admiralty continued using the 250 pound ones until R&D developed the 25 foot fuse ( and found out along that way that their fuses on the 250 pound were unreliable ).

Later in the war they had rocket firing airplanes that could fire them in such a way that they entered the water and damaged the pressure hull rather than the superstructure. That would leave the boat unable to dive and virtually helpless.

Or indeed FIDO's that homed in on the prop noise of a submerged sub. All the pilot had to do was drop one on the diving swirl. Mind you FIDO's had a maximum speed of 12 knots so you could outrun them surfaced. Plus I don't think they are actually in the game.

As far as I'm aware, none of bombs released by aircraft went deeper than 50 feet (or 15 metres). Good luck getting to that depth in time though, especially against the B-17s and B-24's!

[xrvjorn]

Top class info, Khayman! Thx, m8!

[Happy Times]

If we just could have these in the game. :( http://uboat.net/allies/technical/fido.htm