Hey! it was

• My damned sonar operator. He studied the sound of the USS Essex in sonar school when they used it for instructional purposes.
• I was in the middle of the dag-blamed South China Sea! What hangs out there, the US Navy?
• My calendar was broke. I didn't have any way to know it was March of 1945!!
• My dog ate my homework!!!
• If I was a U-Boat I would be a hero.
• Just an accident. Why are they getting so worked up over one little mistake? ANYBODY coulda done it!
• Why the heck is the USS Essex sinking from only three torpedoes? I want an inquiry into why defects in construction caused it to sink. It wasn't me!!!!!!

:har::D

I suspect that at his CM for sinking Essex they took his selfless efforts to expand the knowledge base of SH4 into account. And let us not forget his unstinting support of the American shipbuilding industry as they crank out replacements for his victims.

Seriously though, Thanks for all the help RR.

Give the man a little credit.......He did what the Japanese never did, sink a Essex Class :har: BTW are you done bustin rocks yet?

Thanks RR for making SH4 more fun for us Newbs :salute:

I'd give anything for a nice hydraulic jack hammer! Or some of the scuttling charges from my old boat...

In a total geek mood I made the next step in vector targeting: MATHEMATICS! Seeing all the ingame methods of getting an aiming bearing I wondered if there is a more precise (but still partly manual) method of calculating the required angle and yes there is.

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Imagine you are in a good position (+ - 90° angle to target course and in range of your weapon)

Simply take the enemy ship speed (SHIP) and the torpedo speed (TORP) in knots.

1. Add (TORP :mad: x TORP :mad:) and (SHIP :88) x SHIP :88)) together in your run-of-mill calculator. Calculate the square root of this value. Let's call the result PIRATEFACTOR.

2. Divide SHIP :88) through the PIRATEFACTOR :arrgh!:. Let's call the new result MAGIC :ping:

3. Multiply MAGIC :ping: by 180 and divide the result through the number Pi

4 Done! The result is the aiming bearing :rock:

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Example:

Speed of a Mk14 in fast setting = 46 knots
Speed of a random merchant = 9 knots


1. Add those together.

:mad: x :mad: = 2116
:88) x :88) = 81

Result 2197.

2. Calculate the square root of that number to get the PIRATEFACTOR:

:arrgh!: = 46,87217

3. Calculate MAGIC:

:88) : :arrgh!: = :ping: = 0,19201159238

4. Change into degrees:

180 * :ping: and divide the result by Pi = 11,000145 etc.

The aiming bearing :rock: is 11°.

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In the next step I will teach you to draw square roots by hand without a calculator. Naaaaah, just kidding!!!

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Btw, If you are close enough (e.g. 750 yards) this way of shooting is VERY forgiving, even if your aiming bearing is one or degrees off you will still EASILY hit the target.

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How in the world do you reply to a post like that?:o

In Pirate speak of course: Yarrr! :arrgh!:

Oh well, I just wanted to give back something useful to the community. At least I tried to do that...:rotfl2:

Arrrrrr matey! Have a pint 'o grog!:()1:

I think everyone's had enough already!!. :har:

Think I'd rather board the ship, plunder the cargo, set some scuttling charges, set the crew adrift. Sail away drinking Grog and eating Ice cream than do all that figuring :arrgh!:

Got some good news for RR there going to pardon you and give you one of these

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ure_f06023.jpg

Wow! What's the story behind that shot?:D

Sweet! Get one with the factory CD and GPS! :rock:

RR's tutorials were my first. He has a great knack for cutting to the chase, and for a math challenged moron like myself, it's much appreciated.:salute:

Also he has a great voice for video tutorials. Ever think of getting into the voice over biz, RR? You would do well.

Actually I have thought of it. My first love was radio, but getting involved in the scene in the middle to late 70s I could see that the lifestyle alone would be fatal for me, so I went other directions.

Depending on what happens in my present position of helpless pawn watching a new owner swoop in and wreck possible carnage on my present employment position, I might be in a position to pursue it. Now I have the skills to resist and the culture has changed anyway, I hope.

In the meantime, my position is so darned interesting I just stick around to see who dies!:har: I'm fortunate that I've always lived on less than I make and can afford whatever happens here, not that it won't hurt to be cast aside after 21 years of making a lot of contributions to the business and getting both kudos and stabs in the back for that. Fear is the prime motivator of management you know... especially when they have nothing to fear at all.

The Dick O'Kane video is classic. That thing has launched many folks into the world of manual targeting...

I kinda wondered myself if you ever dabbled in radio, that wouldn't have surprised me.

So inquiring minds want to know, any new tutorials in the works? :woot:

wow, sorry to hear your in that position but hope things improve for the better.


if all else fails 2010 election is comming and its just about the right time to announce your running for congress :woot:

we need someone to go up there and shake things up :yep:

midget submarine stuff :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midget_submarines

Skip the Congress gig Rockin Robbins for President :()1:

Hope thinks work out for you, personally I know whats its like to see major layoffs and be one the last ones standing :nope:

Yeah, makes you wonder who the lucky ones are, the ones still standing doing three times the work for less cash or the ones who were canned. Still, I'm curious about the whole thing and it's pretty entertaining that companies are acting as if the economy will never come back. Then when it does they won't have anyone who knows how to fire up the engines. It'll be "Duh, I flipped hamburgers last week. But I'm cheap! :D How bout I firewall the throttle for about an hour and see what happens?"

Companies who keep key people and don't treat them as liabilities will be the ones to eat the stupid companies' lunch in a few months. Wonder if my company will be one of the eaten or one of the diners? Oh well, can't get bored!:haha: And I have alternatives, so I won't be hurt too bad no matter what.