Damn the torpedoes!

Laconic · 11-19-09, 07:58 PM

My first patrol with TMO 1.9, in a newly-commissioned Porpoise (had been in an S-Boat up until this point).

This was my second enemy contact of the patrol, a small cargo ship. After chasing him from behind for about six hours, I finally got into attack range. I fired three fish, figuring that if one was a dud the other two should be enough to sink her.

After firing the spread I went to external cam to watch the fireworks, and noticed that my third torpedo was a circle runner, the first one I've ever had:

Luckily, as standard procedure I dive deep after firing, so the circler passes harmlessly above me.

In spite of the circle runner, the attack seems to be a success: the first fish hits. I figured that the second fish would finish her off, right?

*KLUNK* Wrong.

Crippled, the maru's not going anywhere, but with only one hit that includes "down." Wary of the circler still cycling astern of me, I maneuver into position and fire my final forward tube.

Hate to be on the DC team, right?

*KLUNK* Wrong.

I contemplate firing my aft tubes, setting up a solution.

Noticing that the maru is unarmed, I decide to save the rest of my nigh-useless ammo and go at her with the deck gun.

After a 15-minute or so meele, the maru finally slips under the water. Four torpedoes (one hit, two duds, one epic fail) and a good twenty deck gun rounds. That's a lot of ordinance for one stinking little cargo ship, but at least I'm not the one breaking up and headed for the locker.

11-19-09, 08:19 PM

i find if you pull up close to it like 300-500m you can make sure every round is in a different spot and below the waterline to reduce the number of shots needed

Laconic · 11-19-09, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WEBSTER

i find if you pull up close to it like 300-500m you can make sure every round is in a different spot and below the waterline to reduce the number of shots needed

I did that once in 1.4, shooting at point-blank range. Unfortunately, the tanker I was shooting at blew up rather than sink, and my boat was so close that it was almost sunk as well (about 70% damage). Ever since, I've kept a wary distance from targets. Even at that range, though, the gun crew managed to do a decent job, missing only one or two shots.

Edit- And in that screen, even though it looks like the shell is short, you can see the fire blossom where it connected underwater.

Armistead · 11-19-09, 11:10 PM

hate circle runnners. Just started playing again and lost 3 patrols in a row to circle runners. Dang things hitting at periscope depth, even when I set them to 5 feet...

sergei · 11-20-09, 05:53 AM

After a few scares I now switch to the hydrophone after firing and do a quick sweep around the angle I was firing the torps on.
You can clearly hear if the torpedoes are running straight or if one is circling round.
Picked up a few circle runners that way, dived and evaded them.

Armistead · 11-20-09, 11:59 AM

Well, the good thing about them is they will often take out a DD. Not a bad defensive weapon. They go in a circle over you and along comes a DD on a run and gets hit. Always fun to sink them that way. Wish I could just set one to run in a circle and dive deeper, course better if it's a M18 so they don't evade, but they rarely miss if a DD is making a run.

Ducimus · 11-20-09, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sergei

After a few scares I now switch to the hydrophone after firing and do a quick sweep around the angle I was firing the torps on.
You can clearly hear if the torpedoes are running straight or if one is circling round.
Picked up a few circle runners that way, dived and evaded them.

Can you hear it? Arguably the most famous phrase ever uttered by a soundman in WW2. No, it's not "depth charges in the water".....

it's, "Torpedo's running hot, straight, and normal!

11-20-09, 12:10 PM

I'm seeing a lot of those happening lately. Lost my boat last career because of two in a row.

Started new career yesterday, and sure enough, second attack, third torpedo veers off and decides to 'come home'.

Managed to avoid that time, but damn it's crazy having to wonder if 1/3 of all torpedoes that leave the boat are going to come back!

Were circle runners really that prevalent? I thought it was quite rare?

Ducimus · 11-20-09, 04:20 PM

It's random. There's a 1.5 to 2% chance of it occuring if i remember correctly.

G2B · 11-20-09, 10:24 PM

Not another one of these bad JU-JU threads, after the last circle runner thread I had one within a couple days that left me a sitting duck outside enemy harbour with engines destroyed and batteries at 25% and a thousand mile to get home

The bright spot is I'll get to install TMO 1.9

Prophet · 11-20-09, 10:28 PM

What I like to do with the deck gun, and what usually works, is to open up a vertical gash beneath the stack with about 3 AP rounds, then put 5-7 HE rounds directly into the gash. It seems to work pretty consistently.

I'd almost like there to be a torpedo rudder control in order to induce a circle runner for the same reason Armistead said. That would be pretty handy in a tight situation, especially if it's from the aft tubes!

Bubblehead1980 · 11-21-09, 05:08 PM

I think it would be rather unrealistic to be able to porposely fire a circle runner.

Circle runs occured because they failed to put collars on submarine torpedos that prevented the rudder from jamming once it was launched and gyro tried to set it on the proper bearing, they did install them on destroyer launched torpedos, which prevented this.

Circle runs are properly simulated in the game but do wish one hit and your boat would be finished, no sub could survived a torpedo hit, period.

Armistead · 11-21-09, 09:18 PM

I've never been totally destroyed by a circle runner. What I think is strange how they always hit when I'm at scope depth and usually hit below the con tower. I always leave them at 5ft. You would think giving them another 10ft possible more depth they still wouldn't hit you at around 50 ft deep.

I agree, one torp should basically do your boat in, but usually I get between 50-70% damage, but recently one took out both engines and that did me in.

11-19-09, 07:58 PM	#1
Laconic Soundman Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 142 Downloads: 109 Uploads: 0	Damn the torpedoes! My first patrol with TMO 1.9, in a newly-commissioned Porpoise (had been in an S-Boat up until this point). This was my second enemy contact of the patrol, a small cargo ship. After chasing him from behind for about six hours, I finally got into attack range. I fired three fish, figuring that if one was a dud the other two should be enough to sink her. After firing the spread I went to external cam to watch the fireworks, and noticed that my third torpedo was a circle runner, the first one I've ever had: Luckily, as standard procedure I dive deep after firing, so the circler passes harmlessly above me. In spite of the circle runner, the attack seems to be a success: the first fish hits. I figured that the second fish would finish her off, right? KLUNK Wrong. Crippled, the maru's not going anywhere, but with only one hit that includes "down." Wary of the circler still cycling astern of me, I maneuver into position and fire my final forward tube. Hate to be on the DC team, right? KLUNK Wrong. I contemplate firing my aft tubes, setting up a solution. Noticing that the maru is unarmed, I decide to save the rest of my nigh-useless ammo and go at her with the deck gun. After a 15-minute or so meele, the maru finally slips under the water. Four torpedoes (one hit, two duds, one epic fail) and a good twenty deck gun rounds. That's a lot of ordinance for one stinking little cargo ship, but at least I'm not the one breaking up and headed for the locker.

11-20-09, 12:10 PM	#8
Sevrin Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Circular I'm seeing *a lot* of those happening lately. Lost my boat last career because of two in a row. Started new career yesterday, and sure enough, second attack, third torpedo veers off and decides to 'come home'. Managed to avoid that time, but damn it's crazy having to wonder if 1/3 of all torpedoes that leave the boat are going to come back! Were circle runners really that prevalent? I thought it was quite rare?

11-20-09, 10:24 PM	#10
G2B XO Join Date: May 2009 Location: Guam, I think Posts: 420 Downloads: 80 Uploads: 0	Not another one of these bad JU-JU threads, after the last circle runner thread I had one within a couple days that left me a sitting duck outside enemy harbour with engines destroyed and batteries at 25% and a thousand mile to get home The bright spot is I'll get to install TMO 1.9 __________________

11-21-09, 05:08 PM	#12
Bubblehead1980 Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Florida USA Posts: 7,105 Downloads: 605 Uploads: 44	re I think it would be rather unrealistic to be able to porposely fire a circle runner. Circle runs occured because they failed to put collars on submarine torpedos that prevented the rudder from jamming once it was launched and gyro tried to set it on the proper bearing, they did install them on destroyer launched torpedos, which prevented this. Circle runs are properly simulated in the game but do wish one hit and your boat would be finished, no sub could survived a torpedo hit, period.

11-19-09, 08:19 PM	#2
Webster Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	i find if you pull up close to it like 300-500m you can make sure every round is in a different spot and below the waterline to reduce the number of shots needed

11-19-09, 11:10 PM	#4
Armistead Rear Admiral Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: on the Dan Posts: 10,880 Downloads: 364 Uploads: 0	hate circle runnners. Just started playing again and lost 3 patrols in a row to circle runners. Dang things hitting at periscope depth, even when I set them to 5 feet...

11-20-09, 05:53 AM	#5
sergei Sea Lord Join Date: May 2008 Location: London UK Posts: 1,788 Downloads: 405 Uploads: 29	After a few scares I now switch to the hydrophone after firing and do a quick sweep around the angle I was firing the torps on. You can clearly hear if the torpedoes are running straight or if one is circling round. Picked up a few circle runners that way, dived and evaded them.

11-20-09, 11:59 AM	#6
Armistead Rear Admiral Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: on the Dan Posts: 10,880 Downloads: 364 Uploads: 0	Well, the good thing about them is they will often take out a DD. Not a bad defensive weapon. They go in a circle over you and along comes a DD on a run and gets hit. Always fun to sink them that way. Wish I could just set one to run in a circle and dive deeper, course better if it's a M18 so they don't evade, but they rarely miss if a DD is making a run.

11-20-09, 04:20 PM	#9
Ducimus Rear Admiral Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,987 Downloads: 67 Uploads: 2	It's random. There's a 1.5 to 2% chance of it occuring if i remember correctly.

11-20-09, 10:28 PM	#11
Prophet Seaman Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 33 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	What I like to do with the deck gun, and what usually works, is to open up a vertical gash beneath the stack with about 3 AP rounds, then put 5-7 HE rounds directly into the gash. It seems to work pretty consistently. I'd almost like there to be a torpedo rudder control in order to induce a circle runner for the same reason Armistead said. That would be pretty handy in a tight situation, especially if it's from the aft tubes!

11-21-09, 09:18 PM	#13
Armistead Rear Admiral Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: on the Dan Posts: 10,880 Downloads: 364 Uploads: 0	I've never been totally destroyed by a circle runner. What I think is strange how they always hit when I'm at scope depth and usually hit below the con tower. I always leave them at 5ft. You would think giving them another 10ft possible more depth they still wouldn't hit you at around 50 ft deep. I agree, one torp should basically do your boat in, but usually I get between 50-70% damage, but recently one took out both engines and that did me in.