Torpedo Launch Turn

[pizzaboy150]

Hi Chaps,

Just a quicky if anyone knows? When you launch a torpedo from a bearing other than 0 degrees the torpedo launches then turns to the required heading.

So my questions is does the torpedo launch then track the desired angle or does it try to compensate its self for the extra distance and the turn when it launches.

for example if i am firing to my periscope bearing then does it launch then turn to that exact heading and continue?

Also does anyone know the turn radius of the standard gas torpedo? I would assume this to be different at different hi / lo?

Thanks

[Oleander]

This could get really complicated to explain but I'll try to keep it simple.

The TDC "programs" your torpedo to track a target according to the info you supplied. Basically, if you tell the TDC that on scope bearing 50 your target is 3000 meters away at an AOB of 10 degrees to port, it will track the AOB accordingly but not the distance. As far as wear the torpedo tracks that is according to the target speed.

If the target is moving at 10 knots, the TDC will calculate what bearing the torpedo will need to travel to hit the target based on the info you've provided. That being said, the information put into the TDC is the information of the target at the moment of launch.

German subs don't have a position keeper like the ones in SH4, so the TDC doesn't compensate anything aside from the AOB based off scope position.

The gyro angle is what determines what bearing the torpedo fires. If you set up a solution where the target will have an AOB of 90 degrees port on scope bearing 0, the gyro angle will read something like 344. That means if you fire at a point on the ship that is crossing the line on your scope at 0 degrees, the torpedo will run out about 200 meters and then turn to bearing 344 and hit the ship at whatever the AOB is when the ship gets there. If you want to hit the ship at exactly 90 degrees, you'd have to fire as the ship passes the scope bearing where the gyro angle equals 0.

Its a lot more complicated than that but the the gyro is what tells the torpedo where to go. The only time the torpedo will follow the scope bearing is if speed is 0.

As far as turning goes, I believe they run out to 200 meters before they turn. I don't know how tight the turning radius is but I think it is around 100 meters.

[Aktungbby]

^ And welcome aboard pizzaboy 150 I just get within 700 meters and blast away intuitively myself; saves on math and Excedrin. The turning radius, of a FAT steam(slow) torpedo at least, is 102 meters with some slight variance!

[pizzaboy150]

Thanks for the response.

Usually in the game I will place my self ahead of the target then position my self with a 90 degree offset instead of messing with the TDC I just use the target speed and torpedo speed and use a simple trig function to calculate the offset from from my periscope usually around 10 degrees and launch the torpedo with a 0 degree track so I don't have to worry about range this way which works very well!

What I am thinking is if I were parallel with the target and set the torpedo course say 90 degrees to my left and waited till the target approached the offset on my periscope I am curious if the torpedo will track the course i enter or will it correct for its launch and turn even if the torpedo track angle was set 90 degrees?

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by pizzaboy150

Thanks for the response.

Usually in the game I will place my self ahead of the target then position my self with a 90 degree offset instead of messing with the TDC I just use the target speed and torpedo speed and use a simple trig function to calculate the offset from from my periscope usually around 10 degrees and launch the torpedo with a 0 degree track so I don't have to worry about range this way which works very well!

The simplest way is often the best and the closer you are to the target so the level of ease increases.

Welcome to SubSim

[Oleander]

If you want the torpedo to turn to 90 degrees either side of you then just turn the scope until the gyro reads either 90 or 270, right and left respectively. The torpedo should run forward a bit and then turn and run straight.

EDIT: The TDC comes in handy in case you need to fire and get out of Dodge before the seaweed hits the fan. Makes firing by sound quite a lot easier as well, which I had to do the other night against the BB Queen Elizabeth the other night. That one deserves a write up, I'll get to it eventually.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by pizzaboy150

Usually in the game I will place my self ahead of the target then position my self with a 90 degree offset instead of messing with the TDC I just use the target speed and torpedo speed and use a simple trig function to calculate the offset from from my periscope usually around 10 degrees and launch the torpedo with a 0 degree track so I don't have to worry about range this way which works very well!

What I am thinking is if I were parallel with the target and set the torpedo course say 90 degrees to my left and waited till the target approached the offset on my periscope I am curious if the torpedo will track the course i enter or will it correct for its launch and turn even if the torpedo track angle was set 90 degrees?

Way too much English on the Q ball there! Ten percent angle is good and always within 1000 meters or your generally wasting the Ubootwaffes' $10,000 reichmarks per eel...better spent on diamonds for your 'itchy neck' Kaleun! Primarily, think of yourself as a submersible gun boat with eels to augment your firepower. Go after single targets, not convoys, as they are lower percentage of error targets, and use only one eel per target and finish crips with the gun. Anything under 3,000 tons, not armed, is always taken with the gun. The war must pay for itself! My particular favorite tactic is to get dead astern of the Liberty at 500+- meters and send one on zero scope right up the stern set at 4.5 meters. The engine room is kaput and the rear 6" gunwell will be below water( her poop awash, if you will.) Staying astern and surfacing, the front 6" gun cannot fire rearwards and so you get a tough ol' Lib with one eel and a little help from the gun. This tactic also works inside a convoy; but you of course wait till the escorts are well away for le coupe d'grâce!Good hunting Herr Kaleun!