Torpedoes in RFB

[RFB Team]

Thought I'd put this out there, since many might be wondering about torpedo performance with out mod:

Note: the Mark 16 is not covered here, since it was never employed in combat.

Mark 10:

Background: a World War I-era torpedo, it is the standard torpedo of the equally old S boats. Fleet boats also took these out on patrol early in the war, when the Mk. 14 was in short supply:

Pros:

• Cheap, easily-produced torpedo widely available to the fleet
• Reliable impact detonator

Cons:

• Relatively slow and short-ranged
• More prone to gyro angle and circle-runner errors than other torpedoes, due to their age
• TNT warhead makes it not as powerful as standard fleet submarine torpedoes
• Depth-keeping errors of up to 4 feet (all throughout the war)
• Leaves a trail of bubbles on the way to the target

Mark 14/23:

Background: designed in the 1930s to the be the standard fleet submarine torpedo, the Mk. 14's secret weapon was its magnetic influence detonator. However, as the war soon proved, the Mk. 14 had a whole host of problems that weren't fully resolved until September 1943. The Mark 23 is identical to the Mark 14, except that it doesn't have a low-speed setting (to save production costs). However, as Japanese ASW improved, existing Mark 23s were changed back into Mark 14 configuration.

Pros:

• Fast, powerful torpedo with very good range
• Magnetic influence detonator can break a ship's back, splitting it into 2 pieces
• Less prone to gyro angle errors and circle runners as compared to the Mark 10

Cons:

• Complicated to produce and in short supply early in the war
• Very high (up to 70%) chance of a dud up to September 1943
• 10-12 foot depth-keeping errors up to August 1942
• Unreliable magnetic influence detonator
• Prone to premature detonations with the magnetic detonator enabled
• Leaves a trail of bubbles on the way to the target

Mark 18:

Background: the Mark 18 was developed by Westinghouse from captured German G7e electric torpedoes. Beset by teething troubles early on in its service life (nothing that can be simulated in SH4), the Mark 18 eventually comprised 65% of all torpedoes fired by fleet submarines by war's end.

Pros:

• Cheap and easy to produce
• Very reliable impact detonator
• Largely immune to depth-keeping errors
• Leaves no trail of bubbles on the way to the target

Cons:

• Relatively slow
• Not as powerful as the Mark 14/23

Mark 27:

Background: the Mark 27 was developed from the Mark 24 air-dropped anti-submarine torpedo, which had proved its worth in the Battle of the Atlantic. Designed to be launched from a stern tube up to a depth of 150 feet, the Mark 27 was designed to home in on a warship's propeller noise. The intention was that the torpedo would either blow off a propeller or rudder, thus disabling the ship, or sinking it outright. The hit rate of the Mark 27 was approximately 1 in 3 by war's end, thus making it comparable to German homing torpedoes.

Pros:

• Good anti-escort weapon
• Good range
• Leaves no wake on the way to the target

Cons:

• Small warhead
• Slow speed
• Can home in on player's propeller noise if one is not careful