S boats and Mark 10 Torpedos

Rockin Robbins · 10-22-09, 09:52 AM

Using the TDC to compute lead angle is important because it is very easy to misremember the torpedo speed you are using. After all, we have 46 knot, 31, knot and 10 knot torpedoes. The Mark 14 has two settings, 46 and 31 knots. If you accidentally choose the wrong column on the lookup table, you miss. If you forget to throw the switch into to high speed condition and pick the high speed column you miss.

The TDC knows the torpedo and its speed setting and automatically uses the correct one to set the lead angle. And the TDC allows you to pick any shoot bearing you want, setting the correct gyro angle automatically for your non-zero gyro shots. This versatility approaches that of the German TDC and beats pencil, paper and lookup tables to death!

Successful shooting is all about anticipating errors, eliminating the ones possible and mitigating the rest. In combat one absolute given is that you will make mistakes. The ability to make mistakes and still score is crucial. The only perfect people in war are the perfectly dead.

I always assume that if the WWII guys did it one way they had a good reason. They were just as smart and ingenious as we are. If it were not necessary to use precise terms and language when shooting torpedoes, they would not have done so. But the Submarine Torpedo Fire Control Manual has an entire 11 page chapter devoted to phraseology to implement clear and concise communications among the fire control team. They had no time to waste. If they did it, it was necessary.

Torpedoes don't have bearings, they have gyro settings. Bearings are in relation to submarines. Yes, a zero gyro angle shot in any World War II submarine fires up the submarine's zero bearing. However a 60º gyro angle shot DOES NOT fire up the submarine's 60º bearing. Therefore a separation of terms is absolutely necessary, not a frivolous semantic wordplay.

OH! Destroyers sometimes had aimable torpedo tubes! They were aimed at an angle offset from the ship's zero bearing. So a zero gyro angle shot was never a zero bearing shot there! Just more useless information that you can't use on your submarine, but hey, that's what you get from this neck of the woods.

10-22-09, 09:52 AM	#11
Rockin Robbins Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: DeLand, FL Posts: 8,900 Downloads: 135 Uploads: 52	Using the TDC to compute lead angle is important because it is very easy to misremember the torpedo speed you are using. After all, we have 46 knot, 31, knot and 10 knot torpedoes. The Mark 14 has two settings, 46 and 31 knots. If you accidentally choose the wrong column on the lookup table, you miss. If you forget to throw the switch into to high speed condition and pick the high speed column you miss. The TDC knows the torpedo and its speed setting and automatically uses the correct one to set the lead angle. And the TDC allows you to pick any shoot bearing you want, setting the correct gyro angle automatically for your non-zero gyro shots. This versatility approaches that of the German TDC and beats pencil, paper and lookup tables to death! Successful shooting is all about anticipating errors, eliminating the ones possible and mitigating the rest. In combat one absolute given is that you will make mistakes. The ability to make mistakes and still score is crucial. The only perfect people in war are the perfectly dead. I always assume that if the WWII guys did it one way they had a good reason. They were just as smart and ingenious as we are. If it were not necessary to use precise terms and language when shooting torpedoes, they would not have done so. But the Submarine Torpedo Fire Control Manual has an entire 11 page chapter devoted to phraseology to implement clear and concise communications among the fire control team. They had no time to waste. If they did it, it was necessary. Torpedoes don't have bearings, they have gyro settings. Bearings are in relation to submarines. Yes, a zero gyro angle shot in any World War II submarine fires up the submarine's zero bearing. However a 60º gyro angle shot DOES NOT fire up the submarine's 60º bearing. Therefore a separation of terms is absolutely necessary, not a frivolous semantic wordplay. OH! Destroyers sometimes had aimable torpedo tubes! They were aimed at an angle offset from the ship's zero bearing. So a zero gyro angle shot was never a zero bearing shot there! Just more useless information that you can't use on your submarine, but hey, that's what you get from this neck of the woods. __________________ Sub Skipper's Bag of Tricks, Slightly Subnuclear Mk 14 & Cutie, Slightly Subnuclear Deck Gun, EZPlot 2.0, TMOPlot, TMOKeys, SH4CMS Last edited by Rockin Robbins; 10-22-09 at 10:06 AM.