May I make a suggestion? I suggest we compensate for the games deficiencies by making better use of the fire control party. In real life, ship ID was not critical. It was critical to make sure you werent firing on a friendly or a neutral, but you could make that decision at the last minute and cancel the attack. In the game, ship ID is critical because you cannot enter the range of the target without it. In real life the fire control party could use a number of methods to estimate range, most of which did not depend on a precise id of the ship. To compensate for this flaw in the game design, I let the weapons officer ID the ship. Then I go to the TDC screen and manually set the range at 1,500M. I also set all torpedos to run at the fastest speed. Then I mark the location of the target on the map and mark its progress at one, two and three minute intervals. Then you simply divide the distance travelled by the time elapsed and determine the speed. Six knots +246 meters per minute. The longer period of time that elapses for this purpose the more accurate your estimates will be. Once you determine the speed, which you can do while the target is still far away, you enter that on the TDC manually, then set the TDC to auto. Then , plan your attack by using the ruler to draw the targets track, and decide how you will approach the target track. Always try to set up a 90 degree attack, that means your boat will be headed right at the targets track, your boats course will be at 90 degrees to the targets course. Use the ruler to find the spot on the map between 1,000 and 1,500 meters from the target's course, and get there in time to submerge and wait for the target to approach . Set the angle on the bow 90 left or right depending on the circumstances and wait till the target is starting to cross your bow. fire two or three torpedos at five or six second intervals and you should get hits every time if your speed estimation is reasonably accurate. Speed is the most critical factor. Angle on the bow is important too but at under 1,500 meters you can be a few degrees off and still get hits.
This method is realistic enough for me. It allows me to plot the target on the map and estimate speed just like a fire control party would do. I set up and plan the attack and manuver into position. I use the scope to track the target and update the info and needed, making corrections as required, The fact that I rely on the crew to do some of the work which a fire control party would do in real life does not upset me. To each his own, of course. I hope you find this usefull. Keep in mind that range is the least important element of a fire control solution, speed and angle on the bow are most important, and getting into position and firing without being detected is most important. if you are detected, the target will change course and speed. Good luck, Joe S
|