Originally Posted by Drakken
I play 100% Realism, no map contact updates too. Wouldn't play otherwise, now.
I did have a lot of trouble at first, but now I reached at a point where I can confidently figure out a correct firing solution. On my last patrol in my current game for a GWX Career AAR on another website, I managed to sink a target being escorted by a ASW trawler from almost 6,000 meters with T1 torpedoes set to Medium speed. I had successfully deduced her speed to 11 knots by matching my speed with hers from afar on a parallel course, like real-life Kaleuns. When underwater, I gauged her approximate range using the stadimeter. When my sonar guy told me that she was no longer closing but now moving away, I knew that she was slightly over 90 degrees AOB. I entered it all manually and decided to fire two torpedoes; one hit and the other went underneath her.
And I began playing without God's Mode just a month or two ago, because I felt that using the map contact updates to chart a firing solution was both cheating and using a crotch. Just like you, I asked very basic questions and I took what I learned from more experienced Kaleuns to heart. The hardest part is to learn what tools and methods are available to you, then figure out how and when to use them. Sometimes I use the Notepad, sometimes I use the constant bearing attack method, sometimes I use my stopwatch to calculate her speed with the target's length, other times I just enter the data myself based on my feels. But I can definitely say that more you do it, the more natural it becomes.
Also, trust your instincts. What I would say to any beginner is if you miss a target, seek to understand why it failed and find ways to solve the issue. I use my Attack Map for this; even if you cannot see the target, you can see the bearing of your torpedo. If it's due to a faulty solution, most of the times the speed or the angle-on-the-bow that the problem. If the bearing of the torpedo matches your target's in the periscope when the needle reaches the sweet spot on the stopwatch, yet she stops/bounces/passes through, then it's not a miss; it's either a dud or it was set to the wrong depth.
Sinking ships inside convoys is actually easier. They sail at the same speed on a parellel row, heading on the same course. Part of the firing solution (bearing and speed) is already figured out for you. After placing yourself in position undetected (that's the hardest part), figure out a first target's range and AOB (ideally the one whose AOB is the closest to 90 degrees). When you aim your periscope to the next target it will match her AOB comparatively to the previous target. Measure her range, enter the data into the German TDC, open your tubes, and fire away.
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