How do I sink zigzaging ships ?
 

as the title says. I am having problems with it. I usually miss all torpedoes i shoot at it.
I go to about 700 metres and sometimes get a lucky hit, but most of the times the ship im shooting changes course so i miss.

How do i sink them without wasting 4 torpedoes ?

surface and start fireing your deck gun
if weather is too rough
close till you're like 310 meters away then fire the torpedo

Or you may try setting the torp on magnetic, at least one meter below the waterline. Again, you want to be close, but the torpedo will explode at a bad AOB. Go get them! :arrgh!:

The zig-zags are relatively easy to read as they don't change even if you surface or show your periscope. Just wait after the ship has completed a zag (or a zig) and if you're in a good angle and short range shoot.

I just project where AOB will be when I plan on fireing the torps. Not an exact science but it works ok. Best thing is to get close as the ships do not turn quickly.

thanks for the replies.
I was gona go closer myself but ive seen people write that torps need at least 500m to arm or they are gona bounce off the hull

oh and since i already made a thread i have another question.
How do you evade warships in shallow waters, i have about 5 of them pinging me and dropping depth charges around me all the time.
I am as deep as i can go - 30m just 3m to the seafloor. Ive tried silent running or just tried to evade them by going ahead flank :D
but none of it works.

well its really only 300m actually
and lower for magnetic detonation

You're in deep trouble if you only have 30m in which to hide. Remember that it's sometimes better to let a ship go to ensure your own boat's chances for survival. Deep weather and nighttime are your friends.

When you hear your sonarman announce depth charges in the water hit "5" for a quick burst of flank speed, crank your rudder to one side and immediately hit "1" to quiet your props again.
Look on your map where the deeper water starts (it'll be darker blue) and slowly make your way towards there...

Welcome aboard and good luck!

aim zag ..........:ping: when ziging........:rotfl:

Stay away from shallow water!
If there's a shore nearby, hug the shore and hope the destroyers run aground. It sounds like you may be dead meat. Stay quiet, keep your rudder between 5 - 10 degrees.

the best way for me to sink zig-zaggin ships is to sink them usein the deck gun in fine weather or get those homin torps in my boat in.

Deep water's good and all,but how far can your sub go? I've gotten to <1000m water,but sub can only go 100m. :'(

If you cannot use your Deck Gun and you must use torpedoes there are two ways of ensuring a hit.

1. Calculate the solution and fire a salvo a couple of degrees appart. Usually 2 or 3 torpedoes will do the trick (depending on the ship size). Some might miss but at least one will score a hit.

2. Fire at the bow taking into account the fact that the ship is turning. The solution might not be perfect but once you hit you can actually do some damage. This is a bit more advanced technique and requires a bit of practice, but it's not too difficult.

In both cases make sure you're as close as possible to your target. Ideally you want to be 1000m and closer, but if it is not possible try at least to fire from 1500m away. If you are above that distance it's far too difficult to score a hit.

Your sub can go a lot deeper than 100 mtr

A looooooooooooooooot Deeper....:yep:

How deep? I normally go to 100 cos that's where the green bar at the altimeter(?-played too much FS to remember the SH3 equavalent) stops.

If you have no damage you can quite safely go too 220 mtr plus

If your hull is in good condition, you should be ok at 250 meters. I am real careful going to such depth. We've had reports of boats being crushed at 200 meters or a bit less. Usually because the boat been previously damaged.

If ur stuck n shallow water, dive down to with ur engines at slow.. if your already at PR depth then shut off the engines and dive normally, its alright to touch bottom, but do it when ur "dead" in the water, that means no speed. Just wait it out and hope no one farts.

Manual solution for zig-zag target
 

Target speed is the most critical factor in a manual torpedo solution. Since target is zig-zaging, its speed (from point A to point B) is less than its actual speed. So, if you use actual speed you will miss. Also, you must establish an angle on the bow to its true course.

Plot target's position on nav map (mark 1) and note the time. Now, estimate target's general course and get in front for a good firing position. By the time you do this the target should have traveled a good bit. So, mark a second point on the nav map (mark 2) and note the time.

Draw a line which represents the target's true course. Hopfully you've set up approximately 500 to 800 meters off this true course with a good firing angle. Using the angle tool draw a line to the intercept point of your zero bearing and target's true course which you have just established. Then mark the third point further down the line of target's true course. This is your angle on the bow (AOB) for the intercept point at a zero bearing. Set this number in your Target Data Computer. (When you input this number your periscope/uzo must be on the zero bearing.) You can now rotate the periscope or uzo and have an accurate AOB, don't change it.

Back to calculating target speed. Determine the time target traveled from mark 1 to mark 2 and then determine the distanced traveled from mark 1 to mark 2. Then use this equation to determine speed in knots. Distance in kmeters x 32.5 divided by minutes = speed in knots.

The more times you make this calculation from the original mark on the nav map, the more accurate your estimate of speed will be. Because the greater the time and distanced traveled in your equation, the lesser the affect for rounding of the meters and time will be. Manually input your estimate for relative speed into the TDC.

Manually input an estimate for distance into the TDC. Measure your distance to the intercept point of your course to that of the target's true course as plotted above.

Last, rotate and pick a bearing on the periscope or uzo that will give you a good 90-degree impact on the target as it travels along its course. Open outer doors and wait until it gets to this spot and fire.

Hope this is helpful.