One shot kills

[donna52522]

Originally Posted by Carthaginian

Something I have noticed is that it is impossible to hit immediately below the stack. The targeting routine contained within the game seems to have all your torps hit abaft the stack- sometimes nearly at the screws. Is there anything that corrects that problem?

I've hit ships directly under the funnel many times. Are you playing auto or manual targeting? Back when I played auto targeting I noticed that the torpedoes fall a bit short on moving targets, you can compensate by adjusting the torpedo angle by a degree or so, depending on the range.

[Carthaginian]

Originally Posted by donna52522

I've hit ships directly under the funnel many times. Are you playing auto or manual targeting? Back when I played auto targeting I noticed that the torpedoes fall a bit short on moving targets, you can compensate by adjusting the torpedo angle by a degree or so, depending on the range.

Auto targeting- and that effect is precisely what you are talking about.
I'm wanting to get into manual targeting... but I haven't gotten the time together to teach myself how to do it.

[donna52522]

Originally Posted by Carthaginian

Auto targeting- and that effect is precisely what you are talking about.
I'm wanting to get into manual targeting... but I haven't gotten the time together to teach myself how to do it.

You can still change the torpedo angle on the dial while using auto targeting.

[RickC Sniper]

Also make sure you open the torpedo doors ahead of time. Not doing that delays the firing procedure and causes your hits to be aft, or miss aft entirely.

[donna52522]

Originally Posted by RickC Sniper

Also make sure you open the torpedo doors ahead of time. Not doing that delays the firing procedure and causes your hits to be aft, or miss aft entirely.

Good point

[Armistead]

The main thing to remember is you're not going to get many one torp kills, unless the ship happens to be loaded with ammo or fuel, depending on stock or mods, I would say only 30% of ships carry such cargo.

The other issue is because of ships being able to go into turbo speed or stops, they often can dodge one torp, spreads are used to fix the ships speed, simply if you aim at the bow, he can slow quickly to make it miss forward, so more torps to cover the length of the ship will get some hits.

Also, even if one torp hits, the ship may not lose speed, you'll be evading why it takes off, escaping or requiring you to end around and attack again, risk getting killed...If you can pull off an attack without the escorts catching you, it's better to finish ships off quickly with one attack.

If you're wanting high tonnage scores, don't waste torps on small merchants, sink only big ones, go after capital ships, BB's, Carriers, etc., Learn to damage ships and make them blow up near each other, to take each other out. Use the DG, 40bofars do great damage.

My highest tonnage on one patrol, no refits using TMO/RSRD in 1944 with a very hard tweak AI was 278K tons...., Maybe one day I'll try and break the 300K ton mark.

[Carthaginian]

Originally Posted by donna52522

You can still change the torpedo angle on the dial while using auto targeting.

Yes Ma'am!
I have already been doing that to a limited extent... generally for a spread effect. I guess I'm going to have to figure out the 'speed error' that my crew is making when launching torpedoes and have a pre-prepared offset to compensate. Gotta hit those boiler/engine rooms- big rooms mean faster flooding and faster sinking!

[Armistead]

Originally Posted by Carthaginian

Yes Ma'am!
I have already been doing that to a limited extent... generally for a spread effect. I guess I'm going to have to figure out the 'speed error' that my crew is making when launching torpedoes and have a pre-prepared offset to compensate. Gotta hit those boiler/engine rooms- big rooms mean faster flooding and faster sinking!

I shoot spreads by aiming by the wire. I use the stad, etc., just when I get ready to shoot, I unlock target, place the wire where I want to aim, set a new bearing and fire. You need to set a new bearing for each aiming point right before you shoot.....

[doulos05]

Actually, I think the bit about opening doors is likely your problem, particularly if you're hitting as far aft of MoT as the screws. Opening the torpedo doors takes 2-3 seconds. That's definitely enough to make you miss MoT all the way back to the screws. As soon as I ID the target, I decide which fish I'm firing, set them up (speed, pistol, depth), and open their respective doors (press Q while the tube is selected).

Additionally, if the target notices your torpedo, they will take evasive action. This almost certainly includes a radical change in speed (either Ahead Flank or Back Emergency, depending on what the captain thinks will avoid the fish). That also explains misses astern of aiming point.

[Hylander_1314]

Also, firing from too far away. The point is, to get in as close as possible, and let 'em have it. And yes as stated above, have the torpedoes set as per pistol, depth, and if there is an option, speed settings.

Open the outter tube doors, the "Q" key, and even then, I just aim a little ahead of where I want the torpedoes to hit.

Over time, you good a estimating it for different distances. If you like longer range shots, then load up with the Mk 18 electric fish, but they run slower and have a short range. But I add a bit of lead when I aim using them.

[Carthaginian]

Originally Posted by doulos05

Actually, I think the bit about opening doors is likely your problem

No, my tube doors are always open- all of them.
I open tube doors generally on the surface, or as far out as possible if submerged. This is one of the loudest things that a sub can do... so it is done when it is least likely to give the escorts a 'hot noise' to home in on. Once I line up my shot, I have already done everything necessary to make the attack happen except fire the fish.

I also am sure to lock the target... generally on several occasions, as the strength of my shooting solution depends on observations during this period- and consequently, the more times I observe/lock the target, the better my solution will be. Whether this is entirely true in game mechanics is beside the point- that's the way it is in life... so that's how I play it.

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by Carthaginian

Yes Ma'am!
I have already been doing that to a limited extent... generally for a spread effect. I guess I'm going to have to figure out the 'speed error' that my crew is making when launching torpedoes and have a pre-prepared offset to compensate. Gotta hit those boiler/engine rooms- big rooms mean faster flooding and faster sinking!

I also like hitting engine rooms. Not only lots of flooding space, but you can leave her a cripple and line up a second shot with precision. Once a ship goes dead in the water, I usually choose an unflooded compartment as my target, rather than trying to make the engine room flood faster with my second torpedo. In my most recent career with TMO, I almost never needed more than two fish for merchants up to 4,000 tons.

[Hylander_1314]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

I also like hitting engine rooms. Not only lots of flooding space, but you can leave her a cripple and line up a second shot with precision. Once a ship goes dead in the water, I usually choose an unflooded compartment as my target, rather than trying to make the engine room flood faster with my second torpedo. In my most recent career with TMO, I almost never needed more than two fish for merchants up to 4,000 tons.

My favorite place to hit ships in general, merchants or warships! Although with the latter, a nicely placed shot in the forward magazine can make for some very cool pyrotechnics!

[doulos05]

My first shot always goes under the stack. But that's efficiency. If I fail to sink her, I'll almost certainly stop her. If I stop her, every follow-on method of sinking her becomes infinitely easier. Even if I just slow her down, I've still made it measurably easier to make her into an artificial reef.