SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - LuftWolf and Amizaur's Realism Mod Poll #11: Adv. Torpedoes

Henson · 05-08-06, 04:02 AM

I may be a little late here, but 10nm (20kyd) is about right. We measure the length of the wire in feet, not yards, if that tells you something. We also don't worry too much about running out of wire...the in-game tactics of running a torpedo out for several miles is, IMO, unrealistic in today's tactical environment. Submarine battles are turning into knife fights, and while a torpedo at low speed will run forever, at high speed it eats up gas pretty fast.

A wire-guided torpedo runs a little bit differently at the very beginning (pre-enable) than an AMO (dumb, straight-run) weapon. It does something called a 'wire-clearance maneuver,' one of the effects of which is to allow the guidance wire to achieve that equilibrium I referred to earlier. That maneuver separates the motion of the torpedo from that of ownship, and has the added benefit of separating the wire from the screw. I don't see reason to model this in-game any further than what has already been recommended however.

Are there limits on O/S maneuvers while launching weapons? YES, but they vary by platform, and are so extreme that it's unlikely you would ever reach those tolerances. One of the main concerns, getting the wire wrapped around the screw in a turn, has been fixed by the wire-clearance maneuver. That limits some platforms in speed at time of launch, but not nearly enough to be a problem. If you're launching weapons at that speed you have bigger problems than losing a guidance wire.

The main limitations in course changes come from turning across the wire at high speed and catching it in the screw (note that this doesn't happen if you turn into it instead), and limitations that are placed upon the weapon before it enables designed to keep it from acquiring ownship (look to the experience of Dick O'Kane to find the reasons for that). There is a limitation on how far 'over-the-shoulder' we can launch an ADCAP because of that, but once again, it's a very small area that we're talking about, and not likely to ever be a concern. If it is a concern it's always possible to steer anyway, and is not very tactically limiting.

05-08-06, 04:02 AM	#6
Henson Planesman Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 185 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	I may be a little late here, but 10nm (20kyd) is about right. We measure the length of the wire in feet, not yards, if that tells you something. We also don't worry too much about running out of wire...the in-game tactics of running a torpedo out for several miles is, IMO, unrealistic in today's tactical environment. Submarine battles are turning into knife fights, and while a torpedo at low speed will run forever, at high speed it eats up gas pretty fast. A wire-guided torpedo runs a little bit differently at the very beginning (pre-enable) than an AMO (dumb, straight-run) weapon. It does something called a 'wire-clearance maneuver,' one of the effects of which is to allow the guidance wire to achieve that equilibrium I referred to earlier. That maneuver separates the motion of the torpedo from that of ownship, and has the added benefit of separating the wire from the screw. I don't see reason to model this in-game any further than what has already been recommended however. Are there limits on O/S maneuvers while launching weapons? YES, but they vary by platform, and are so extreme that it's unlikely you would ever reach those tolerances. One of the main concerns, getting the wire wrapped around the screw in a turn, has been fixed by the wire-clearance maneuver. That limits some platforms in speed at time of launch, but not nearly enough to be a problem. If you're launching weapons at that speed you have bigger problems than losing a guidance wire. The main limitations in course changes come from turning across the wire at high speed and catching it in the screw (note that this doesn't happen if you turn into it instead), and limitations that are placed upon the weapon before it enables designed to keep it from acquiring ownship (look to the experience of Dick O'Kane to find the reasons for that). There is a limitation on how far 'over-the-shoulder' we can launch an ADCAP because of that, but once again, it's a very small area that we're talking about, and not likely to ever be a concern. If it is a concern it's always possible to steer anyway, and is not very tactically limiting.