Proper use of homing torpedos
 

First post here, and fairly new to the game. I'm playing the stock game, since my older graphics card can't handle the more beautiful and interesting Wolves mod.

It took a lot of stupid behavior and three deaths before my current career, which is on patrol #21. I have reached summer of '42, and things seem really to be changing.

My first patrol in 1942 resulted in an aerial ambush in the Bay of Biscay. 7 or 8 pairs of flying boats dove on me. Luckily, they only bomb the point where I go underwater, and not along my last projected course. Dummies.

Still, it keeps me on lower time compression now. Particularly since they started showing up at night, too, and in light fog. Radar or bad luck?

I've got some questions, even though I've been reading the forum for a few months.

What's the best technique for my shiny, new homing torps (for escort reduction)? Just launch in the general direction and dive deep? Launch as carefully as an unguided torp? Let the escorts know where you are and shoot down the throat? From what distance? Do escorts actively dodge them? How dangerous are they to me? Are the historical methods appropriate?

Thanks for any replies, thanks to this community for being cool and well-informed, and thanks to the creators of the game and its mods!

I usualy fire them when they are infront of me and fire. Stay quiet and let the torpedo follow them, Then BOOM (usualy).;)

Welcome aboard Nangleator. :D

Task force's advice is sound.

Yes welcome Nangleator, welcome to subsim.;)

'Stay quiet' sounds like it could be tricky. Just from my imagination I can picture this... I'm at a dead stop at PD, peeping a look at the pesky escort in front of the convoy. I lose my nerve at about 2 or 3 or 4 kilometers and loose the torpedo. (Is a T4 called a Gnat?)

I hold still to watch the fun, then I'm informed I'm being pinged and I see the escort turn towards me and speed up. Now I don't know if the torpedo is headed in the right direction, and maybe he'll get away from it. I should be headed down. But I can't be headed down, because then maybe the torpedo suddenly wants to return to me.

My life becomes stressful. My CE makes stern faces at me.

You still can go at 1/2 knots, and dive. The torpedos cant go up or down.;)

Thanks, all! I've had some success this patrol, but haven't run into any escorts yet. I'm about to try the Irish coast. The flurries of bombers are starting to get old. Also, the horrible, horrible summer weather. I can't wait for winter and beautiful, calm seas.

The long winter nights used to be so peaceful, but now it's scary in the dark.

Do I get a radar detector in '43? It would certainly help.

I believe so.;)

Bottom left of the forum is a link called "--haylazblue". Click on it and choose "--SmartDark". This will do two things for you. Firstly it will let you see this forum in all it's non-white-therefore-no-eye-bleeding-brightness awesomeness and secondly let you see how impossible to read black on grey is. :) Default font colors for the win!

depends on the situation. If you meet a bunch of ship make sure to isolate on ship and then launch a homing acoustic torpedos. Dont lauched on a group of ship. The one who makes the loudy noises will interfere your pre-targeted

yes sorry but on the other side of the table you can also change your background to white to read it :yep:

White background hurts mosts eyes.;)