TDC

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by ColonelSandersLite

OK, so here's a thing. Ive seen you say or at east imply a couple of times now that the US tdc could be set up to receive constant bearing updates from the periscope, which would automatically calculate aob once course was entered.

If you (or someone else) can show me good proof of that, I might have an idea of a way to make that work in game.

I don't even want to try without knowing for sure though as the temptation to use it anyways would be pretty strong...

I learned that from Nisgeis. However, what I've seen from the manuals for the Torpedo Data Computer, Mark 3, Submarine Torpedo Fire Control Manual, Target Bearing Transmitter, Mark 9 and Submarine Periscope Manual, I can find synchro motors transmitting gyrocompass data to the various instruments, but no input from periscope or TDC directly to the TDC.

It's possible that someone with a better working technical vocabulary than I could read the same material and say "You dummy! Right there it is." But my eyes are swimming around aimlessly right now and my brain is overloaded analyzing some pretty deep stuff.

So my provisional and falsifiable answer is that it doesn't look like the periscope operator had any controls to automatically send bearing and range to the TDC, whether with a momentary send data switch or with continuous data feed.

I'm headed over to the Submarine Fire Control Manual for Attack Procedure and find instructions for one of the two TDC operators:


So it looks like he CHECKS to see that the radar values input automatically match the announced data, but he ENTERS "observed values as announced.....for a stadimeter or telemeter observation."

I'm going to have to say that unless conflicting evidence is found our game has it right on this one.