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Originally Posted by wahchewie
Basically the info i've found is that it was tedious and difficult; and winches were involved; but have found few specifics about how they did it; especially in battle conditions.
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Das Boot gives a pretty good representation of torpedo loading from the inthernal cradles to the tube. Unfortunately the constraints of even a 5-hour movie keep the entire procedure from being shown. Everything was done by hand.
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I have no doubt how dangerous the torps were as well- even without the detonator ( T1 powered by Decalin which produces explosive gas when exposed to air ) and being that the bloody things weighed 1.5 tonnes it must have been a nightmare.
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This is one thing that so far has been left out of all the games. Procedure was to fire all tubes then dive deep to reload. Reloading was never done until the boat was safely away from all potential counter-attacks. A sudden steep dive angle could result in a torpedo breaking free of its chains and crushing hapless sailors, and possibly even punching a hole in the boat, which would not be a good thing. Games usually have torpedoes being reloaded automatically, no matter what the situation.
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The fact they had to grease em for them to fit in the tubes is news to me, sounds like an inefficient design; i wonder if they still do this today.
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If the tube is much more than a millimeter or two wider than the fish itself, windage becomes a problem. This means that the torpedo can leave the tube crooked, even if only by a tiny bit, which will throw it off its intended path. Gyro angles correct the travel based on the angle the fish leaves the tube, so if its initial path is off the gyro can't correct for that. Also even if the torpedo is floating inside the flooded tube there is a good chance the sides will come into contact. The grease is vital to smooth operation. As to whether they do it today, I have no idea.