[Hylander_1314]

Yep! US torpedoes really sucked bigtime until about mid to late 1943.

One account of a sub Skipper said that of all 24 torpedoes fired only one detonated on target.

The key to success early in the war,

1. Don't use magnetic detonators! Ever!

2. Set torpedo depth as shallow as the dial will allow. The Mk 14 fish were known to run as much 10ft deeper than the depth setting. This was due to something with original test firings not having the weight of the warhead in them when they were tested, so this never got addressed until the torpedoes were fired finally, in anger.

3. Always set up your attack, so the fish will hit at at least a 45 degree angle. The closer to a 90 degree impact, the greater the possibility of the contact firing mechanism being bent or broken before it can strike the firing pin.

4. Until these issues were solved later in the war, it is not recommended to set up attacks in medium to heavy seas. The wave action of strong winds and whipping seas can cause premature detonations. The highest wind speeds I fire early in the war are 5 to 8mps winds. Anything above, is usually a waste of torpedoes.

And trust me, it sucks letting a juicy target go unmolested on it's merry way.

But if you follow the above guidelines, you can count on anywhere from 75% to 90% success ratios for your torpedoes doing what they were meant to do.