Quote:
Originally Posted by Raven Morpheus
I've read that it's common for this to be the case as it was thus in real life, but is there a way to reduce the problem - I simply cannot believe US sub captains knew there was such a problem and just had to live with it (i.e. they didn't find some tactic/workaround whatever to deal with it)?!
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It was quite a scandal. The straw that finally broke the camels back was the notorious incident in 1943, when a U.S. submarine commander crippled a large freighter with a spread of two torpedoes, then carefully squared off his boat and fired no less that thirteen additional torpedoes at a theoretically perfect angle of impact at the theoretically perfect range. Not one detonated. After taking his last remaining torpedo home for examination the problem was finally sorted, but even that came after having to prove to the Ordinance Bureau that the torpedoes ran deeper than set, and the magnetic exploder didn't work. Two and a half years into the Pacific War.
Historically, a quick fix after the torpedo defects were finally acknowledged, was to encourage "glancing" shots (which cut the number of duds in half),until a permanent solution could be found. A direct hit on the target at a 90 degree angle, as recommended in training, would result in a failure to detonate. The exploder only functioned when the torpedo impacted the target at an oblique angle.