Quote:
Originally Posted by Cohaagen
For all the praise of the Argentine subs, successful ASW is determined by numbers of ships lost, not enemy submarines sunk, and by any measure it was a British success. Another reason for this might be revealed by looking at the difference between the two forces in terms of aggression and determination to prosecute the kill: San Luis fired from 10,000 and 5,500 yds in her attacks - much too far away, scoring no kills - Conqueror getting two good hits at 1,500 before escaping unmolested.
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The optimum distance to fire torpedoes is a function of the amount of improvement of pK achievable from a closer shoot versus the probability of counterdetection and counterattack from the other side.
Conqueror had to close to 1,500 because her homing torpedoes are anti-sub, have small warheads, slow, and are not the most reliable things forcing a reliance on straight running torpedoes for which closing to less than 2,000. Further, she was able to close because the Argies have crappy ASW in general.
If Conqueror had Spearfish torpedoes (after their reliability had been improved), if she still shot at 1,500 it might have worked because the Argies sucked but it'll still be foolhardy.
If Conqueror shot at 1,500 against a British formation, it will likely have been termed somewhere between stupid and suicidal.