Question - Torpedos - REALISTIC? - Page 2

trongey · 03-28-08, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurtz

I've just been reading Hoyt's book on American submarines, these were plagued by unreliable magnetic pistols. Apparently some skippers disabled the magnetic pistols whilst they were on patrol, from this I surmise that this was not an easy switch job, yeah I know different torpedoes.

Yeah, when I played SH1 some guys dug up a lot of detail about the US fish. It's a wonder they ever blew anything up:
1) Torps ran about 2m deeper than they were set for.
2) Impact pistols deformed and failed if contact was made near 90deg at high speed (oh, you mean the preferred shot setup?).
3) Magnetic pistols were basically non-functional near they equator ( like, the heart of the Pacific Theatre, doh!).
4) Torps had a weird habit of turning 180deg if they breached in rough seas. At least one confirmed self-sinking.

Tony

kurtz · 03-28-08, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trongey

4) Torps had a weird habit of turning 180deg if they breached in rough seas. At least one confirmed self-sinking.

Tony

Hoyt mentioned this too apparantly there was an anti circular running device in the torpedoes, but it was disabled as top brass thought it would be good to shoot hunting destroyers with as the then official US shooting method was to shoot from depth using sonar/guessing.

As you say a wonder they ever bagged anything.

moscowexile · 03-29-08, 08:22 AM

In an attempt to answer some of the enquiries posed above, I should like to quote at length an extract from "Blood, Toil, Tears and Folly" (Deighton, Harper Collins, 1993), which extract may shed some light on the technicalities concerning the use of torpedoes in WWII:

"... The whole purpose of submarines was to fire torpedoes. These big G7 - seven metres long - devices were no less complicated than the submarine itself, and, in some respects, exactly like them. They were treated with extraordinary care. Each torpedo arrived complete with a certificate to show that its delicate mechanisms had been tested by firing over a range. It had been transported in a specially designed railway wagon to avoid risk of it being jolted or shaken. One by one, with infinite concern, the 'eels' were loaded into the U-boat.... All through the voyage, each and every eel would be hung up in slings every few days so that the specialists could check its battery charge, pistols, propellors, bearings, hydroplanes, rudders, lubrication points and guidance system.

To make an attack, it was necessary to estimate the course and bearing of the target. Usually, the submarine was surfaced and the captain used the UZO (U-Boot-Zieloptik)...and from it the bearing, range and angle of the target was sent down to the Vorhaltrechner. This calculator sent the target details to the torpedo launch device, the Schuß-Empfänger, and right into the torpedoes, continuing to adjust the settings automatically as the U-boat moved its relative position. By means of these instruments the U-boat did not have to be heading for its target at the moment of launching its torpedo. The torpedo gyro mechanism would correct its heading after exiting the tube. Thus a 'fan' of shots, each on a slightly different bearing, could be fired without turning the boat. This device was coveted by British submarine skippers, who aimed their torpedoes by heading their submarines towards the target."

To go off the topic of this thread, though what I shall quote is certainly no less interesting, Deighton then describes the living conditions of German submariners:

"...There were no bathing facilities, and only one lavatory which could not be used when the submarine dived. When under attack, the lavatory might well be out of action for twenty-four hours. No one shaved and most didn't change even one article of clothing for the entire voyage. The stink of human bodies was mixed with those of oil and fuel. There was also the pervading smell of mould, for in the damp air everything, from bread to log books, went mouldy. The men - mostly young, for only young men could endure the hardship and the stress - were apt to douse themselves in Eau de Cologne to exchange one smell for another."

Mr. Deighton should have written Kölnischwasser instead of Eau de Cologne! And I don't think that His Majesty's Royal Navy submarine commanders would have taken it too lightly being called "skippers" either: "skippers" command tugs and fishing boats!

:hmm:

03-29-08, 08:22 AM	#18
moscowexile Navy Dude Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Moskau, Rußland. Posts: 174 Downloads: 206 Uploads: 0	In an attempt to answer some of the enquiries posed above, I should like to quote at length an extract from "Blood, Toil, Tears and Folly" (Deighton, Harper Collins, 1993), which extract may shed some light on the technicalities concerning the use of torpedoes in WWII: "... The whole purpose of submarines was to fire torpedoes. These big G7 - seven metres long - devices were no less complicated than the submarine itself, and, in some respects, exactly like them. They were treated with extraordinary care. Each torpedo arrived complete with a certificate to show that its delicate mechanisms had been tested by firing over a range. It had been transported in a specially designed railway wagon to avoid risk of it being jolted or shaken. One by one, with infinite concern, the 'eels' were loaded into the U-boat.... All through the voyage, each and every eel would be hung up in slings every few days so that the specialists could check its battery charge, pistols, propellors, bearings, hydroplanes, rudders, lubrication points and guidance system. To make an attack, it was necessary to estimate the course and bearing of the target. Usually, the submarine was surfaced and the captain used the UZO (U-Boot-Zieloptik)...and from it the bearing, range and angle of the target was sent down to the Vorhaltrechner. This calculator sent the target details to the torpedo launch device, the Schuß-Empfänger, and right into the torpedoes, continuing to adjust the settings automatically as the U-boat moved its relative position. By means of these instruments the U-boat did not have to be heading for its target at the moment of launching its torpedo. The torpedo gyro mechanism would correct its heading after exiting the tube. Thus a 'fan' of shots, each on a slightly different bearing, could be fired without turning the boat. This device was coveted by British submarine skippers, who aimed their torpedoes by heading their submarines towards the target." To go off the topic of this thread, though what I shall quote is certainly no less interesting, Deighton then describes the living conditions of German submariners: "...There were no bathing facilities, and only one lavatory which could not be used when the submarine dived. When under attack, the lavatory might well be out of action for twenty-four hours. No one shaved and most didn't change even one article of clothing for the entire voyage. The stink of human bodies was mixed with those of oil and fuel. There was also the pervading smell of mould, for in the damp air everything, from bread to log books, went mouldy. The men - mostly young, for only young men could endure the hardship and the stress - were apt to douse themselves in Eau de Cologne to exchange one smell for another." Mr. Deighton should have written Kölnischwasser instead of Eau de Cologne! And I don't think that His Majesty's Royal Navy submarine commanders would have taken it too lightly being called "skippers" either: "skippers" command tugs and fishing boats! :hmm: __________________ "Die Lust der Zerstörung ist gleichzeitig eine schaffende Lust." (The lust for destruction is at the same time a creative lust.- Mikhail Bukhanin.)

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