Torpedo tube destroyed!

[siber]

Nov 1940.
U-99 is ordered to patrol off the Rockall banks, presumably to intercept convoys heading into and out of the Irish sea. Soon, a convoy comes steaming towards us and U-99 positions itself in an ideal place to attack.

However, even though submerged, engines stopped and under orders for silent running, the convoy front-escort vessel somehow detects us and races in with depth charges. Quickly U-99 crash dives but is caught by a depth charge on the way down. Off with silent running, stabilise at 90m and contain flooding. We continue to get depth charged until the flooding is stopped, the water pumped out and the ship set back to silent running.

I have two questions: Firstly, how on earth was I detected? The escort (Black Swan I think) passed within 500m or so, but we were COMPLETELY silent. The swan was motoring at 10kts+!

Secondly, in the attack and subsequently after repairs, torpedo tube #4 was destroyed. Does that mean that I cannot now use the torpedo loaded within it? Or, can I unload the fish and then put it into another tube? If so, how do I do this?

Thanks in anticipation of helpful responses!

[U49]

Last time I had an un-repairable tube, the torpedo was lost, I couldn't retrieve it.

500m is a possible range for ASDIC I think, 10kts is slow enough for an echo.

I don't trust them under 1000m-1500m. If they come that close I always think about readying one or two tubes and shooting at them.

[NiclDoe]

Torp tube destroyed means destroyed by being jammed open or closed. if the door is open i believe it will fire it but it will not be able to be used after that. I had a problem a while ago and my tube 1 was destroyed and i had to keep blow ballsting for an hour. Another funny easy way is to stuff Bernard into the tube and he can swin to his target. :rotfl:

[bookworm_020]

Switch off the auto load for the torpedos, then click and drag it back to an internal stowage space. I think I did this awhile back when I lost 2 tubes to a depth charge attack.

Give it a go. I don't know if I got lucky or I had some day dream, so I can't say if it will work.

[Metl]

you were probably detected based on your angle to him. If you were broadside, you gave a very clear reflection on his active ping.

[Fenris_Wolf]

Perhaps it could be that your periscope was raised too high above the surface. This is something that many kaleuns get careless with.

[siber]

Originally Posted by bookworm_020

Switch off the auto load for the torpedos, then click and drag it back to an internal stowage space. I think I did this awhile back when I lost 2 tubes to a depth charge attack.

Give it a go. I don't know if I got lucky or I had some day dream, so I can't say if it will work.

Thanks I'll give that a try.

Still trying to work out how I was detected ... periscope was down, escort wasn't pinging, we weren't doing anything except waiting: I was being a 'hole in the water'.

[Captain Nemo]

Originally Posted by siber

Secondly, in the attack and subsequently after repairs, torpedo tube #4 was destroyed. Does that mean that I cannot now use the torpedo loaded within it? Or, can I unload the fish and then put it into another tube? If so, how do I do this?

If you think about it, if one of your tubes is destroyed the damage inflicted most probably would keep that tube flooded and if you were to open the inner tube door to remove the torp inside you would probably end up flooding the forward torpedo room ultimately sending your boat to the bottom. The movie 'Ice Station Zebra' springs to mind when they opened the inner tube door whilst the outer tube door was open to the sea.

Nemo

Yeah, somehow them destroyers always have a feeling somethings out there you know? It's either they felt like depth charging and got you by luck, or they just KNEW you were there. Same with planes..I'd be under water and they'd know my EXACT location, I wonder how that was possible but they got me when they bombed.:hmm: Makes me think..same in many other games, the enemy always knows your location!

[NiclDoe]

Instead of runing from planes with bombs fight them and show them whos boss around here. Or just throw Bernard at them!

[siber]

Thankfully my outer torpedo doors were closed while under attack, and I could remove the eel from tube 4. However, Bernard, leading the torpedo detail, then loaded it back in for me. While Bernard was in the john, I then instructed the team to unload again, this time ensuring that the 1st officer locked Bernard in the bog. (Switched off the auto-load function). This way, I've got my torpedo back, which was subsequently used.

Thanks for your advice!

[Brag]

If you had your engines stopped, quite possiblythe top of the conning tower broached the surface.

I always approach a convoy doing 2 knots so as to have accurate depth control.

[siber]

Perhaps... :hmm:

Aren't you supposed to be grafting on your book?

Originally Posted by Brag

If you had your engines stopped, quite possiblythe top of the conning tower broached the surface.

I always approach a convoy doing 2 knots so as to have accurate depth control.

If your conningtower was still a little above the water, that's an easy sound contact for those destroyers out there...even though if silent running. If you go deeper within a time limit they shouldn't spot you.

Sometimes it takes 0 seconds for a destroyer to spot you by sight,sound,radar. And for planes.. they already know where you are if they come.

[Kaleu. Jochen Mohr]

Originally Posted by AdlerGrosmann

they already know where you are if they come.

becouse they get called in by the warship wich spotted you
and if you didnt got spotted (perfect example is near brittan without a contact in 500km) they are just on patrol, they wont engage if your submerged becouse they cant see you then

usualy i shoot the buggers down and torpedo the DD's to surface and torpedo/gunn the merchants

as for the conningtower theory, set deapth at 15m and you will be at a nice deapth

also, in my previous runn for WaW i was spotted by escorts whyle trying to get in a convoy, got DC-ed pretty bad, lost half the firepower (IXB, 6 tubes - 3 destroyed = 3 functional) wounded everywhere ans crippled back to base