Manual TDC vs Destroyer...

I have used manual TDC against cargo ships from about 90deg. But how can I hit a Destoyer from the front???? Even if I get the torp to hit it doesn't explode, should I be using magnetic?

[Dissaray]

Your best bet with distroyers is to avoid detection with verious sneekey manuvers seeing as the distroyers are basicaly biult to kill you and frankly these uboats die fairly easy. Failing that a magnetic pistol is your best bet. Quickly identify the target and open up your recog. manual and find the depth of the keel of your target. Then set your torpido to magnetic and set the runing depth to .5-1m lower than the keel. As the torpido slips under the target ship the thing should detonate and if your lucky the distroyer will be killed out right as the powder mag goes up; eather that or you will strike the fule bunker or the engens. Eather situation is good for you as the ship will be out of the fight.

[Weiss Pinguin]

I'm not sure why you'd aim at the bow. One eel aimed at the middle of the ship is enough. They're considerably less armored than most merchants, and they carry far more ordnance.

[sharkbit]

Originally Posted by Weiss Pinguin

I'm not sure why you'd aim at the bow. One eel aimed at the middle of the ship is enough. They're considerably less armored than most merchants, and they carry far more ordnance.

Hard to do when the destroyer is charging at you with a bone in her teeth.
I assume the OP is talking about shooting a destroyer after it has detected him and is attacking. The classic down the throat shot.

[Immelman]

Your best bet against a DD is to run and hide the highland way Love that movie... Besides I hate wasting a perfectly good eel on anything less then 3000 tons.

[Weiss Pinguin]

Originally Posted by sharkbit

Hard to do when the destroyer is charging at you with a bone in her teeth.
I assume the OP is talking about shooting a destroyer after it has detected him and is attacking. The classic down the throat shot.

Ah yeah, for some reason I was thinking of the 'stuck in the middle while they circle around' scenario.

Down the throat shots are easy to set up, but don't always count on them working.

[maillemaker]

Besides I hate wasting a perfectly good eel on anything less then 3000 tons.

Yeah, but if you can strip off all the escorts, then you can rape the convoy at your leisure!

Steve

[maillemaker]

Here is how you kill destroyers with head-on shots:

Run away from them at flank speed, placing your stern 180 bearing directly pointed at the incoming destroyer. Identify the destroyer to determine its keel depth. Set your stern torpedo at about one-half meter deeper than the keep depth of the target.

If you are lucky, the destroyer will not zig-zag. If so, wait until it comes within 500 meters, and fire. If you have auto-TDC, just keep your scope locked on the target. If you have manual TDC, set target speed to zero which makes the torpedo a point-and-shoot weapon, but you'll need to make sure you shoot as close to 180 bearing as possible.

If you are not lucky, the destroyer will zig-zag on its approach. However, at about 400 meters it will stop zig-zaggin and start a straight-in approach. You need to have your tube door open and be ready to fire as soon as he stops zig-zagging. You can't delay because much closer and your torpedo won't arm or come up to the proper depth to detonate.

If you have a noisemaker and a zig-zagging destroyer, as soon as the destroyer hits 200m drop the noisemaker and turn 90 degrees. The destroyer usually stops and hovers over the noisemaker for the duration it is active. You should be able to swing 90 degrees and pop the destroyer while it is broadside to you and stopped dead listening to the noisemaker.

In all cases you should be prepared to miss. If you miss, or your torp does not detonate, LOWER THE PERISCOPE, turn 90, dive to 25m, and pray. If you are lucky, you will escape the depth charges with minor damages and you can pop back up to periscope depth and re-engage the destroyer. You want to lower your scope during this procedure so it does not get snapped off by the destroyer running you over.

You should always man your damage control station to maximum whenever trying this.

If you only have bow torpedoes available, you can run straight at them or run back emergency with your bow pointed straight at them.

If the destroyer has hedgehogs you are screwed.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by maillemaker

If so, wait until it comes within 500 meters, and fire.

Will that give the torpedo enough distance to arm (350 meters)?

Lets assume the DD is traveling at 20 Kts or 10.28 meters per second
Let's assume the G7A torpedo is traveling at 44 kts or 22.5 meters per second.


If my cypherin is right...

If you fire at a range of 500 meters, the torpedo and the DD will impact each other after aprox 15.2 seconds at the point where the torpedo will have traveled aprox 343 meters and the DD will have traveled approx 156 meters.

This not taking into account the acceleration delay in the G7A, which will make the torpedo travel less than 343 meters.

Will the torpedo arm itself in 343 meters?

I think 500 meters is a bit close for a down the throat shot.

[maillemaker]

I think 500 meters is a bit close for a down the throat shot.

Farther is better, but zig-zagging destroyers won't stop zig-zagging until about 400m. I think I read somewhere that 200m is the arming range?

I routinely get detonations on DDs firing at 400m. Usually it goes off under the propellers, but sometimes not at all.

Steve

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by maillemaker

I think I read somewhere that 200m is the arming range?

You may be right.

The g7a used the Pi, P1, P2, and P3 pistols. They had an arming distance of 250 meters

http://www.uboatarchive.net/KTBNotesArmament.htm

Now, of course that is reality and we are talking about a computer game. It does not matter what the actual arming distance was, but what the programmers coded in to the game?

But from a reality aspect, you are correct. 250 Meters

Anyone know what the arming distance is for the pistols in either SH3 or SH3+GWX?

[jadervason]

Hmmmmm....if you go back emergency you now have the option of letting off a spread...

[pickinthebanjo]

I wouldn't do no emergency reverse with a DD charging at me, had enough depth charges hit me. The way I deal with destroyers that already found me is by letting them spot the scope so they tend to come on a strait path and launch an aft torpedo. Though I stopped attacking destroyers because they aren't worth the torpedo's unless there is only the one left then the convoys yours.

Best defense against escorts is not to get attacked by them, if you stay close to ships in the convoy you should be able to complete the attack without being depthcharged to much as they have a hell of a time navigating the columns in a convoy.

In SH4 I just drop a mine in the last 100m and nail them every time but until someone mods a mine torpedo into the game I guess that option stays in SH4