[TorpX]

Very interesting thread here...............................


I'm amazed that anything so intricate could be built in the 1600's.

The S-boats would have used the Torpedo Angle Solver Mark VIII.

I'm still waiting for someone to make a printable version of it, though.

That would be sweet.

What would you suggest as a realistic compromise?

This is what I do:
I worked out the neccessary equations for the firing solution (for a zero gyro angle), and programed them into my TI-85. This reduces the amount of button pressing and last minute fiddling. I think it works quite well (as long as my data is good), but precludes course changes and attacking multiple targets at the same time.

Anybody read anything about fleetboat captains having to use those?

Normally, the XO would be on the TDC, with someone else, the Captain at the scope. But other arrangements were used as well. James Calvert talks about this some in his book, SILENT RUNNING. The XO was not good at operating the TDC, since he wasn't trained on it at the academy, so the skipper put Calvert on it, eventhough he was a junior officer. There were about 6 men in the group to plot and track, for an attack.

As Razark said, all boats had the mk VIII angle solver as a backup. It was often used to check solutions as the attacks were made. The reason the TDC came about, was that with the mk VIII, the time it took to generate the firing solution and set the gyros, often allowed the target to get by. I believe this was learned in prewar exercises.