Deck gun location preference

[STEED]

ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK.

Bow for me.

[AirborneTD]

Aft mounted for me--always.

[ryanwigginton]

Aft for me. If I'm using the gun for defence chances are my boats knackered and I cant dive, so I'll be trying to keep as much distance between myself and the destroyer. You won't get far in reverse.

[orangenee]

On the bow, I use it for picking off merchants that are on their own that would only use a valuable torpedo which would be better used on something a lot bigger.

[Hitman]

Historically the deck gun was orginally thought of as a last ditch defenseive weapon. Hence the aft mouting. (handy if somethings chasing you) Some more aggressive skippers found other offensive uses for it, and mounted it forward. (handy if your chasing something down).

Correct There is a record in "Clear the Bridge!" or in "Wahoo" (Can't remember right now) where O'Kane comments how much he had to insist for being allowed to mount his deck gun forward....doctrine of that era considered the deck gun as a defensive weapon for subs that were unable to dive and had to run away in the surface, so they could shoot meanwhile at the pursuer.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Bow, but a nice option in-game to move it around


RDP

[Bluesub 6]

I had SS Balao with two 5"/25 guns, 1945.
Edit!

[longam]

AFT - not much of a gunner

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Bluesub 6

I had SS Balao with two 5.25 guns, 1945.

More likely they were 5"/25 cal.

[Steeltrap]

Originally Posted by Hitman

Correct There is a record in "Clear the Bridge!" or in "Wahoo" (Can't remember right now) where O'Kane comments how much he had to insist for being allowed to mount his deck gun forward....doctrine of that era considered the deck gun as a defensive weapon for subs that were unable to dive and had to run away in the surface, so they could shoot meanwhile at the pursuer.

In fact it was the reverse: in Clear the Bridge, O'Kane recalls the discussion he had about wanting the gun located aft of the tower - see page 161 for complete discussion, but, FYI, here's the pertinent quote:

"During construction I had argued to at least have our gun moved aft of the conning tower"

I think he was absolutely correct in his reasoning. The trouble with the deck gun is that it is far too powerful in the sim, and, perversely, your sub seems too durable against shell hits. A hit from a decent sized gun would have a good chance of crippling a sub, or, at least, rendering it unable to dive. That's not the case in the sim, so it's possible to expose your sub to fire that a real skipper would never do if given a choice. Even Morton wouldn't hang about when receiving any sort of fire - I remember well the passage in Wahoo mentioned earlier.

I've only ever used it finishing unarmed cripples.

[cavenaugh]

Forward of the conning tower.It´s easier to keep a good position and speed. :hmm:

[Hillsy_]

Stern for pursuing destroyers. Match your stern to the bow of the destroyers and they cannot fire there own guns due to damaging themselves. Good tactic, very useful when being pursued. Stern mounting can also be used against merchant ships Yes, you cannot fire in front but you can get ahead of them and fire across the beam. Watch out for some enemy merchants as they do fire back and are pretty deadly.

[cdrsubron7]

I've always preferred my deck gun forward instead aft. I prefer to close on my target instead of running away.






cdrsubron7

[Frederf]

I'm amazed folks consider the deck gun a viable weapon in any situation where folks are shooting back. If there are rounds incoming I'm scraping the bottom of the Marianas Trench.

[Xapp696]

AFTAFTAFT. There is only a 20 deg. left and right "blind spot" when firing forward. My gun is always aft, and I am constantly chasing wounded foe with my sub, all I do is fire at an oblique angle while chasing, or run abeam of the target and blast away. The main reason for the gun aft (for me) is the odd time I run afoul of an escort while surfaced, I can gun easier while keeping a better aim on the target. Think about it: you are attacking a dest. on the surface, you try not to close too fast, lets say 10 kts, while the dest is closing at 25-30 kts. That's a combined speed of 35-40 kts, meaning with a forward gun you are constantly having to change your aim (and no, I do NOT let my gunners handle an escort, the ratio in another thread of 1 to 6 successful hits appears to be right, I do my own gunnin' on them). Meanwhile, with an aft gun, you go flank away from the target, leaving their closing speed to a piddly 5-10 kts. As well, subchasers cant even keep up to you when you are going flank, so when you find the "sweet spot" where you can still hit them while their gunners have stopped firing, you can sink them with no fear of getting damaged yourself. For those that think its more manly, sporting, aggressive, or whatever, to charge forward on a deck gun attack, all I can say is, I love my sub and I bet mine is prettier than yours at the end of a patrol.