One thing that you definately won't be able to do by hand, if you ever even tried it with the TDC to begin with, is to plan simultaneous impacts of several torpedos on multiple targets. I do it all the time against convoys on 30-40% realism (to make sure I get the major targets before they're alerted to my presence), but there's no possible way to do it without the automated tracking. Heck, even with zero realism it's still a serious time crunch. Generally there's a 35-second interval between consecutive ships in a large convoy, during which you have to scan for your second target (having just launched a fish at your first), lock it, check it's draft, switch to the TDC and adjust the depth, make sure the torp won't hit a ship it's not meant to, and then launch *precisely* at the right time. When it works, it's gorgeous. There's nothing like hitting three T2's and a T3 with crippling blows all within a second of each other.
It's hard enough to do it post-1940, what with the destroyer escorts and the weaving targets. Manual targeting? Forget it.
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