Targets everywhere, but who do I sink?
 

I'm having a problem that all would love to suffer,

I have made contact with a Task force (4 BB's, 4 CA's and a bunch of CL's, DD's and a couple of large Tankers for good measure!:arrgh!:) The problem is I have 8 torpedos:cry: (3 Forward, 5 Aft)

Who do I target?

I'd aim for the BBs. They're far rarer prey than tankers, the tonnage is good. Taking on the Yamatos will probably consume your whole salvo tho. The DDs are probably out. Too hard to hit and once the alert is on the rest will be after you.

Congrats on having such a marvelous choice to make.:know:

Go for the biggest targets. We usually say that we're here to stop commercial shipping, but battleships can't be replaced. Don't miss your chance to save the fathe...er, the USA!:sunny:

If you want your name in the papers then go for the BBs.

If you want to be a footnote in the history books go for the CA/CLs

If you want a good working over with DCs and a Purple Heart go for the DDs

If you really want to help the war effort; send Davy Jones a big oil filled present and take down those tankers! :arrgh!:

Is there any weak points on the Yamato that I can aim for? Fuso's go down with two or three torps, but I want to see if I can go for a Yamato double! I'm already thinking what they will say back at Pearl!:arrgh!:

Play the odds
 

IMHO, best to take the targets most likely to result in success. Your efforts will be appreciated even if you do not sink a high profile target like the Yamato.

Then the:arrgh!: in me takes over and says fortune favors the brave so get in there and take out so major targets that would really demoralize the rest of the TF.

(It is a pity that such things are not accounted for in the AI, Flagship sunk = 15% drop in morale & poor performance from all units within visual range)

That would be cool, but I don't know how you account for something as complicated as morale when it comes to the very aggressive Japanese especially. Some might feel dispirited. Others would burn for revenge. At Midway the Japanese would have been wise to withdraw after the shocking loss of three carriers. Instead they continued with the one and eventually lost the Hiryu, but not before disabling the Yorktown. That's the problem with AIs. Unpredictable human nature is hard to duplicate. :cool:

Morale
 

Maybe the AI could role the dice to see whether the sinking demoralized or strengthend resovle. This in itself would be dependant upon which ship was sunk, how many in a TF/ Convoy had beeen hit/sunk, when in the war it was (early war= better for IJN), how many DDs left to defend the rest of the TF/Convoy.

I think all of these things could be accounted for in a way to create more realistic behavviour from ships.

I could see that. Kind of a 'beserker' rule in which disaster causes some go wild while others break and run.

I'd normally say go for the BB's but you don't have the torps plus you need to do a U-turn to shoot your aft fish.


Use 3 bow torps on a Yamato, If she don't sink, save some aft torpedos. As long as you don't get all duds you should at least slow down a BB with 3 side hits. then either go for a heavy cruiser or the tankers. Remember though, tankers can also take a few fish to sink so do fire all your ammo on the first spread.

I am sure that such things must have happened in real life, inexperienced crew panic and lose efficiency where as those who have faced battle are more resiliant and less likely to be demoralized

Tankers
 

Go for the tankers. BBs CCs, DDs, ACs.... need oil to move. Sinking two tankers may not help to much but you deprived the enemy of precious resources.:arrgh!:

While the whole 'war effort helped more by sunk tankers' argument has some merits, the loss of a battleship represents the loss of a huge investment in material, capital, trained crewmen, etc, and I certainly wouldn't pass up the chance to torpedo one.

Given the torpedo loadout, I don't know if I'd go for the Yamato or not. I might, though...since even if I just damaged her, she'd be out of action for a loooong time.

Japan had only 12 battleships total in the Pacific War. She had about 80 dedicated tankers and plenty of provisional ones. I'd go for the BBs.:arrgh!: However if it was a choice between CVs and BBs the CVs win hands down.

Strategically the tankers are a more important target. As BBs were superceded by CVs they no longer represent a worthwhile investment in time/resources trying to sink them, they can easily be bye-passed. Certainly they are a potent weapon in a surface action, but the CV battles were the ones that had real effect on the war. For example, if USN had sunk 4 BBs at midway it would have been a major loss for the IJN but it would not have won the battle for the US.

Tankers were in short supply and as Japan had no natural oil supplies, the loss of the tanker fleet would fataly cripple the Japanese war effort.

If there was a CV though that would automatically be the priority, damage it at all costs! :arrgh!: