Hi
I'm nearing the end of the book I am reading, "Silent Victory", so I thought I'd add some real life vs game data to this debate.
Initially, the magnetic exploders were seen by the US Navy as a secret weapon that would give the US a significant advantage. On top of that, there was a big shortage of torpedoes. Hence, US skippers were
ordered to use the magnetic exploders because that way they could sink ships with fewer torpedoes. Skippers have been known to forge their reports to hide that they turned off the magnetic exploders and/or tampered with the depth settings on the torpedos.
Then, after much dispute between top skippers and their commanders, Lockwood & Christie, Lockwood ordered a test at the start of 1943. During the test he found out that the magnetic exploder was unreliable (His team still didn't find out about the failing contact exploders. That was for another test a few months later). He then
ordered all boats under his command to no longer use the magnetic exploder. Christie, under orders of Nimitz, had to follow a couple of months later.
So,
- Prior to mid-1943, skippers were
under orders to use magnetic exploders
- After mid-1943 (this happened later for the Brisbane and Fremantle boats than for the Pearl boats), skippers were
ordered to turn the magnetic exploders off
- The magnetic exploder issue in the torpedoes was *never* fixed!
Real life vs simulation
- It seems we have a choice button that does not work. That in itself is fine, as in reality there was not really a choice either. Skippers were under orders. Disobaying these could lead to retirement. So, if you support the view that SH4 is a simulation, the button should be removed and/or turned into an indicator.
- However, why offer the choice but then not implement it?
- A single cut off date for switching from magnetic to contact does not work as Christie only allowed them to be switched off several months after Lockwood had ordered so (I don't recall the exact dates). Boats on the exchange program between the US and Australia would sail without magnetic exploders when going from Pearl to Australia and with magnetic exploders enabled when going from Australia to Pearl.
Questions
- How reliable are the magnetic exploders in the game? Do they fail often or is it a (near) 100% hit rate?
And thanks for the great research on this so far Nomad_delta!
