Question about torpedoes.

[dashyr]

Im using both TMO and OTC. I like having some realism inthese games but is it realistic to take like 3 torpedoes to sink a ship? There is surely something I do wrong so feel free to explain a bit. Im fairly new to these games... having played a bit of SH3 (Awesome game.. but sadly I find torpedo aiming to be a bit of a chore for german uboat.) im just wondering if its an actual problem with the game or I just need to gitgud and s*** it.


edit: i want to had that I waited like 2 days next to a medium tganker with HUGE gapingholes in its sider and it just stayed there..... id expect it to flood and sink.

[Majestik 909]

Having a background in the Navy, let me address your questions. Torpedo damage has many variables. In general, freighters will withstand much less damage than a multi-compartment warship. However, a review of actual u-boat war diaries mentions many accounts where a freighter was still afloat after multiple torpedo hits and the u-boat abandoned the attack.

The U.S.S. Hornet CV8, upon which my maternal Grandfather served as a DC, took 12 torpedo hits, 4 bombs' 2 Kamikaze's and 369 rounds of 5" shells without sinking, all of which is documented in the after-action report.

So it is indeed possible that a ship could survive the damage you describe...

[dashyr]

Thank you for your answer. I had recorded my gameplay so I watched it again. And it wasnt a merchant (wrong ID) . A warship so the multi compartment thingy is probably what happened. Thanks for the answer.. xD

[dashyr]

while I got you here. If im enjoying sh4... is sh5 worth it considering i dont really care much about graphics? is sh5 nothing more than a graphic update? (Considering im playing sh4 even if its almost the same than sh3, i just prefer american subs.)

[SilentPrey]

If you prefer American subs then SH4 is your game.

SH5 changed more than just graphics but it's back to U-boats.

[Majestik 909]

Multi-compartment warship construction is sometimes referred to as a torpedo defense system. It consists of a four-bulkhead system. The outboard layer of tanks is filled with liquid. Fuel oil service tanks in the second and third layers make up the rest of the system...somewhat like a honeycomb.

The fuel oik tanks can be counter-flooded with sea water to correct a list, a practice used extensively on Yamato.

I only have experience with SH4, so maybe one of the experts will chime in....

[Aktungbby]

dashyr!

[TorpX]

Originally Posted by Majestik 909

Multi-compartment warship construction is sometimes referred to as a torpedo defense system. .......

I only have experience with SH4, so maybe one of the experts will chime in....

I can't remember where I read this, but the later designs of BB's had some very elaborate systems. Different nations used various ideas; some with empty space areas, liquid tanks, some used wood pulp, some using hollow tubes (that were supposed to absorb energy as they were crushed), armored bulkheads to stop metal fragments, and such. I got the impression that while ingenious, they were very expensive to build.

I'm not sure if any system was ever found to be better than the others. It seems that none were entirely satisfactory, but certainly made ships so protected, harder to sink.

I suspect that the most well protected battleships would be more vulnerable to bombs than torpedoes. Well designed bombs could still penetrate into the hull, and start fires, even if torpedoes could not seriously rupture the main hull compartments.

[ColonelSandersLite]

Originally Posted by Majestik 909

In general, freighters will withstand much less damage than a multi-compartment warship. However, a review of actual u-boat war diaries mentions many accounts where a freighter was still afloat after multiple torpedo hits and the u-boat abandoned the attack.

I did some digging on this subject to satisfy my own curiosity a while back. I don't have hard numbers. Basically, I just spent several hours looking into ships that got torpedoed, how many hits they took, etc. Both in the atlantic and the pacific. I have seen accounts of ships that took really stupendous amounts of damage without sinking. A few of the vessels I saw even took massive amounts of damage in multiple separate instances and survived.

That being said, as far as merchant targets are concerned, the opposite tended to be true. From what I saw, most merchant vessels where generally doomed if they took even a single torpedo hit.



In SH4, I find two torpedoes to be enough to get the job done most of the time. Assuming they both hit and don't malfunction.