shooting torpedoes
 

If you have hit a boat with a torpedo and it has it's engines off will the magnetic fuse still trigger when the torpedo goes under? I had a boat disabled, so it was barely moving, and I put two torpedos underneath it at 2-3m below it's keel and neither went off. I finally had to settle for the impact.

I do have duds on, but isn't the percentage on those only 10 or 15%?

Also...don't duds typically explode prematurely?

Finally...does the TDC automatically update range when targeting either manually or via the notepad? In other words if I take the range when my target is 40 degrees off my bow, and enter the speed, does the TDC compensate/triagulate the range from there as the target moves closer to me? Or is range like AoB...should it be what it will be when you actually fire the torpedo?

About the magnetic pistols: They are completely untrusted. No , the ships engines make no effect for the magnetic pistol. It is the hull of the ship that has a magnetic signature strong enough to activate it. Sometimes though a magnetic pistol might go off and denotate the torpedo if a high wave has such a signature. This is why you should not use magnetic pistols in rough seas. The sound of the engines is for acoustic torpedoes (TIV , TV and TXI) to lock on and follow the target.
The dud torpedo could be : 1. an impact pistol torpedo that hits the target and fails to explode. 2. A magnetic pistol torpedo thet either expoldes prematurely or does not read the magnetic signature to trigger the fish.(your case)

Was the ship you fired against big or small? Bigger ships have larger magnetic signatures.

If you want my advice ,use only impact pistoled fishes on merchants and save one magnetic for an escort that has cornered you. In fact avoid playing with escorts at all costs any time ofthe war.

I only use impact and 99% of the time they go off, only the odd 1% they don't due to being to shallow angle.

As others have said, magnetics are fickle beasts, especially early in the war.

Since you had already damaged the ship with one fish it's possible that she had begun to settle a few meters by the time you fired your magnetic. If you set the depth '2-3 meters beneath her hull' then it is possible that the hull had settled beneath that depth so that the magnetic torpedo impacted harmlessly against the hull rather than passing under.

I know magnetics are supposed to default to impact, but I can't recall when I've ever seen that happen in game.

Having said that, I've also seen magnetics just plain not work and pass under the target and go their merry way.

Took me me 5 torpedoes(both impact and magnetic) to finally put down a fast armed large cargo on my last patrol.

Impact-Hit
Impact-dud
Magnetic-passed under vessel without detonating
Magnetic-prematured
Impact Hit

I had the torpedo cam on, so I know the shot was good. It didn't bounce.

Haven't used event camera in a long time.

When mine fail, I only know if they premature. Otherwise just 'nothing'.

Sad truth is sometimes they just don't work.

isn't 2 to 3 meters a bit deep for a magnetic torpedo anyways? I though you always wanted it within a meter of the target ship's keel depth.

That's my SOP, in a calm sea.

I've set them as high as 1 meter above it, in choppier water, in case the ship rises upward too much as the eel approaches. As a result I've had quite a few that actually hit the ship rather than passing under. Only had one that I know of that hit and bounced off without detonation, which I assumed was a dud.

My understanding of how the magnetic fuses work is that they are set off by the EM field created by the ship's hull, and therefore will detonate if/when they pass through it (if they are going to detonate at all) regardless of whether this means they pass through it under the keel or on their way to a direct impact some place higher up. If this is not correct (or at least not how it works in-game) I'd like to know that for sure, as I have not been concerning myself with AOB on magnetic shots regardless of depth the way I do with impact-only.

Usually the only times I resort to the magnetic trigger at all is if the AOB of the target is extreme or I am making a desperation shot at a escort.

I've always assumed that the only solid hit from a magnetic(in game) would occur when the torpedo passed under the keel. Can't say for sure because I don't use the event cam and I usually have the water clarity set so murky I wouldn't see the torpedo anyway.

Interested to hear what others think.

They are set off by the EM field, but they need to have enough "exposure" to detonate it. If you got a hit dead against the hull from 90 AOB, I suspect it was the impact pistol.

I wish someone would create a series of training missions where we could practice and test this knowledge, though.

Well that would explain a lot. Usually when I do get an impact, it's still very low on the hull, well down towards the keel - so presumably it's been near enough long enough as it passes under the curvature for the magnetic fuse to be set off. It probably just looks like a detonation on impact. The one that didn't detonate I must've miscalculated the depth because it ended up hitting in a spot where I'd normally aim an eel set for impact, and I prolly wasn't too worried about AOB because I'd set it for magnetic. Or if I was aiming higher than usual because of the sea state it's possible the ship was being pushed lower into the water rather than higher just at the time the eel got there. Just enough to have it run right at the "flat" side of the hull instead of getting down under the curvature.