It is possible that what you think are radar contacts are really reported sightings. Click on the "contact" and if it has a time stamp, it is a radioed report at that time, not a radar report. As has already been revealed, your only radar is one that detects airplanes only. Every contact will be moving "very fast."
Torpedoes take as long to load as they did in R/L according to the devs who set it up. Of course that value is somewhat subjective, as it varied with sea conditions, so you may object if you want. When you get a Gato you'll have ten tubes. That's a machine gun if you're used to a U-Boat! American boats could dish it out!