Sub Skipper's Bag of Tricks

[Rockin Robbins]

Okay guys, what's the greatest danger while you're setting up a shot? What can happen that will take away that shot, especially in the daytime?

Number one that comes to mind is getting your scope spotted. I just set up an attack like this: spotted a bogey on radar. Plotted the position, set a stopwatch for 3 minutes, marked that position. Gave me a speed of 10 knots and a course of 155º. So I extended the course past my sub. Waited about 10 minutes and observed his position a bit south of my projected track, so I adjusted the track. Ten minutes later he was still on the track, so I considered that I had his course and speed cold.

Then I maneuvered my sub to be 1000 yards off the track at right angles, a Dick O'Kane attack, with TDC set speed:10 knots, AoB 80º starboard. shoot bearing 350 and range at 1300 yards (not critical). What did I do next?

I set speed to half a knot and submerged to 90'. According to stock rules your tubes won't open at 100' of deeper, a gross innacuracy and I believe TMO is 150' still too shallow as fish were fired from as deep as 200' during the war and that was the target depth for shooting a Cutie. But 90' will get the job done. The important thing is that you don't get the message "too deep to fire torpedoes" when you go to open the tubes!

Now you just watch the sonar bearing. Set torpedoes to run fast, on the surface and magnetic exploder just for fun. Now we wait. No scope up. We're on the nav map screen or attack map screen. I prefer the attack map screen so I can see the torpedo controls. I like to shoot with the mouse and use the w key to switch tubes and shoot 2. I use TMOKeys so your keys may be different.

Watch the bearing and when it's at 348, shoot one. And when 352 shoot one. Kablooey! And he never had the chance to see you. You were 90' deep and nowhere to be seen.