Realistic sinking times, how long can they be?

GoDeep · 05-04-08, 08:43 AM

I have a question about the realistic sinking times, in combination with GWX 2.1.
Twice now in my current career I have had to leave a ship still floating after hitting it with a single, last torpedo. I'm in a Type II, so I try to do the "one eel, one kill" thing, but it's not always possible and I realize that.
However, yesterday I came across a small 2000 ton merchant which I thought would be a good target for my final torpedo. The torpedo stuck just aft of the smokestack, which stopped the ship dead in the water. I watched as she got lower and lower in the water...and that was it. With her deck just above the level of the water, she just sat there. I knew that the sinking could take some time, and I also know that historically, some ships survived for more than 24 hours after being struck be a torpedo.

Because I wouldn't get the credit for the kill if I just sailed off, I waited nearby to see if she would go down. I waited there for over 8 hours, before being chased off by a task force of several destroyers. They forced me to run deep and silent. I never got the "She's going down" message, so I didn't get the credit for the kill.

This is not criticism but I am just wondering if a 2000 ton vessel could last that long after a torpedo impact in rough seas (wind speed was 6 or 7). The torpedo hit deep below the waterline, so I am imagining that flooding was pretty serious. I can understand a big ship being able to take quite a pounding, but such a little one?
I know that this sort of thing must have happened to the real kaleuns back then and it is very frustrating from having to leave your wounded prey like that. Just decided I would ask, because this is the second time in two patrols that I had to leave a ship dead in the water, without her sinking...

05-04-08, 08:43 AM	#1
GoDeep Planesman Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Netherlands Posts: 188 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Realistic sinking times, how long can they be? I have a question about the realistic sinking times, in combination with GWX 2.1. Twice now in my current career I have had to leave a ship still floating after hitting it with a single, last torpedo. I'm in a Type II, so I try to do the "one eel, one kill" thing, but it's not always possible and I realize that. However, yesterday I came across a small 2000 ton merchant which I thought would be a good target for my final torpedo. The torpedo stuck just aft of the smokestack, which stopped the ship dead in the water. I watched as she got lower and lower in the water...and that was it. With her deck just above the level of the water, she just sat there. I knew that the sinking could take some time, and I also know that historically, some ships survived for more than 24 hours after being struck be a torpedo. Because I wouldn't get the credit for the kill if I just sailed off, I waited nearby to see if she would go down. I waited there for over 8 hours, before being chased off by a task force of several destroyers. They forced me to run deep and silent. I never got the "She's going down" message, so I didn't get the credit for the kill. This is not criticism but I am just wondering if a 2000 ton vessel could last that long after a torpedo impact in rough seas (wind speed was 6 or 7). The torpedo hit deep below the waterline, so I am imagining that flooding was pretty serious. I can understand a big ship being able to take quite a pounding, but such a little one? I know that this sort of thing must have happened to the real kaleuns back then and it is very frustrating from having to leave your wounded prey like that. Just decided I would ask, because this is the second time in two patrols that I had to leave a ship dead in the water, without her sinking...