[nomad_delta]

Originally Posted by PepsiCan

My comment wasn't about the torpedo but about a switch in the torpedo setup screen (the screen where you also set the spread angle and depth). You can set the switch to either Contact or Contact Influence. Nomad_delta has shown that switch not to work in the game. So, in the game there is no choice as to whether you want to fire your torpedoes using the magnetic exploders or not. Players see a switch but it doesn't work. Instead, there is a hardcoded date in one of the sim files that turns the magnetic exploder on or off, regardless of the choice the player has made.

Thanks for explaining that clearly, PepsiCan. Saved me the trouble of having to type up an explanation for them myself. I think I'll write a bit more just in case anyone else coming across this thread is confused:

The torpedoes themselves had all sorts of problems in real life, it's true. That's well documented, and no one here is debating that. In fact, the devs went to considerable trouble to model the various defects and deficiencies of the Mk. 14 and other torpedoes in the game: contact torpedoes will sometimes be 'duds' and just bounce off the target without exploding, and the magnetic exploders will sometimes detonate prematurely without ever having reached the target.

Unfortunately, we don't get to properly experience this part of the simulation because the "Contact/Influence" switch in the game isn't working. I've never heard any stories about the exploder switch on Mk. 14 torpedoes being defective as well, and I highly doubt that the devs would have put that switch into the game if they hadn't intended for it to do something.

nomad_delta