Using FAR too MANY torpedoes!!!

Threesixtyci · 04-20-10, 05:13 PM

Magnetic will kill just about every ship with a single torp, but I'd avoid it in rough seas. 1 meter lower than the hull depth is what I usually set them to.

Platapus · 04-20-10, 05:36 PM

I use impact pistols only.

Generally I assign at least 1 torpedo for every 3000-4000 tons. However that is not taking into account duds.

I feel it is better to err on the side of using more torpedoes. It is better to sink ships with more torpedoes than to miss ships and save torpedoes.

Any target worth expending one torpedo is worth expending two.

sharkbit · 04-20-10, 05:44 PM

Another thing too-with escorted ships/convoys, if you hit them with one or two eels and they don't sink, you may not get a second chance since the escort may keep you down too long.

Even unescorted, if they don't sink, they start zigging all over the place for a while. If you're submerged, it may difficult to get in position again. If they're armed, you may not want to surface and finish them with the deck gun. I've had too many bad experiences with armed merchants.

I'm like platapus-I tend to err on a pretty liberal sprinkling of torpedoes to ensure a kill.

gazpode_l · 04-21-10, 06:20 PM

Hey guys
I've been reading with interest ALL the responses about the differing methods used by the community (well yourselves anyway) when shooting torpedoes.

Last night I had a go at the naval academy mission on torpedoes and played it through. I took out the medium cargo first, using three torpedoes, set for 5m running depth and impact pistols.

I had limited success with a tramp steamer i went after, hit with 1 torpedo, told by the game i'd killed him, though he hung around for another 20-30 mins before he slipped beneath the waves.

Then things began to get really spectacular as I ran after a small tanker, caught up with him and nailed him, first blow, smack in the middle. Now I'm sure I nailed him with an impact torpedo, but the damage profile (shown below) means I cld have used a magnetic

Chuffed to bits, I turned away and began running on the surface at flank speed to catch a nearby freighter, medium size....I caught up with him, but hearing all the noise I'd been causing he was zigzagging.

I shot a torpedo at him and missed. I was running low on torps so angrily I configured both my remaining torpedoes I had loaded for fast running and imact pistols and let both go as quickly as a could..First was on target and did alot of damage - the firework show had barely died when the second hit....KABLOOEY!!

I've not seen one go up like that in game with my own eyes - seen it done over the web in videos and screenshots but really nice to do it myself.

All in all, your tips are working great guys, and for that - I'm truely greatful!

Immelman · 04-22-10, 10:32 AM

Glad to hear its working out for you

No go out there and sink some real merchants and make us proud

desirableroasted · 04-22-10, 11:05 AM

And remember that the "faulty magnetic pistols" and "depthkeeping problems" are apparently not modeled in the game.

Your magnetics, of course, may prematurely detonate in rough weather because they "leap," and finding the right keel depth is harder in rough weather.

Platapus · 04-22-10, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desirableroasted

And remember that the "faulty magnetic pistols" and "depthkeeping problems" are apparently not modeled in the game.

Is this true with GWX?????????????

pickinthebanjo · 04-22-10, 11:15 AM

In SH3 I Only limit myself to using one torpedo to one ship, and only ships 4000+ tons. If called for I use a second but normally I will wait around for up to 12 hours to wait and see if she sinks. For merchants under 4000 ton I use the 105mm and the 37mm. Also I only take shots on moving targets if they are within 800m and the AOB is close to either 270 or 90. In response to Iranon's post stating that ships with an AOB of 0 or 180 have no viable solution, that is wrong. In order to hit a target with an AOB of wither 0 or 180 you slip in behind or in front of the target set range slightly shorter than needed (to make up for the fact the ship is closing fast) set you AOB accordingly then fire. Speed is irrelevant in this case because the target is on the same course. I disable many ships with 180 AOB shots, as the torpedo almost always destroys the propulsion systems.

Even a battleship can be sunk with just one torpedo:

Both the Southhamptons went under in one torpedo, that London class took three.

When attacking merchants, follow everyones advice and aim by the smokestack or just in front of the bridge. For naval ships, aim underneath the main guns. These are the ammunition stores.

When I use keel shots I aim for the center of the ship and set them just under the draft.

In the Type IX it is usually fairly common for me to pull in 60000ton patrols following these guidelines.

Immelman · 04-22-10, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickinthebanjo

In SH3 I Only limit myself to using one torpedo to one ship, and only ships 4000+ tons.

Umm ok but if it happens to be a dud you will want to hit your head against the bulkhead

unless its a single contact where you can easily reposition for another shot.

If its a convoy you just blew your attack and have nothing to show for it =

Now you have to evade DDs break contact run parallel to the convoy reestablish contact sneak in again without being detected reformulate your firing solution and hope to remain undetected long enough to fire.

As the war progresses this becomes more and more difficult. My advice is get it right the first time and fire two eels at worthy targets. If my stern eel bounces off that tramp steamer not biggy. But if I get greedy and decide to only fire one eel at that Large Tanker (when I have more eels on board) and it turns out to be a dud

I can't even blame that on Bernard I did it to myself, I got greedy...

sharkbit · 04-22-10, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickinthebanjo

For merchants under 4000 ton I use the 105mm and the 37mm.

Wait till those dastardly allies start arming their merchants and they start shooting back, quite accurately I might add.

There's a reason I removed my deck gun from my Med career boat in mid 1943. Now the temptation to shoot "defenseless" merchantmen is not even there.

Quote:

If its a convoy you just blew your attack and have nothing to show for it =

Now you have to evade DDs break contact run parallel to the convoy reestablish contact sneak in again without being detected reformulate your firing solution and hope to remain undetected long enough to fire.

I agree with Immelman here. You can spend alot of time setting up on a convoy only to see it wasted and having to start over. I try for a sure kill. (What's the saying about a bird in the hand?)
Later in the war, you might get lucky to even get in shooting position on a convoy before an escort picks you up and hedgehogs start raining down on you.
I've hit ships with one eel early on and watched them sail out of sight while I'm dodging destroyers for the next few hours, where two eels might have done the trick. I've tried the "one torpedo, one ship", ala Kretschmer, early on and it works, but as time progresses, it becomes more and more difficult. I've had to adapt my tactics as the war progresses.

Iranon · 04-23-10, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickinthebanjo

In response to Iranon's post stating that ships with an AOB of 0 or 180 have no viable solution, that is wrong. In order to hit a target with an AOB of wither 0 or 180 you slip in behind or in front of the target set range slightly shorter than needed (to make up for the fact the ship is closing fast) set you AOB accordingly then fire.

Keep in mind that I also specified rough weather, by which I meant sea state rather than visibility.
I wasn't referring to aiming problems but the reliability of turning a correctly aimed torpedo into an explosion. The sea state makes the magnetic setting unreliable, the AoB isn't kind to the impact one.

Quote:

Also I only take shots on moving targets if they are within 800m and the AOB is close to either 270 or 90

I don't quite get this in context of the rest of your post, especially...

Quote:

I disable many ships with 180 AOB shots, as the torpedo almost always destroys the propulsion systems.

It's definitely possible to sink ships in any sea state from any angle. However, for minimising duds and marginal hits, I'd try to manoever towards a 90°/270° impact shot in rough seas.
Would you recommend otherwise? If you think 0°/180° is as reliable with high waves complicating things, which depth and detonator setting would you recommend, under which constraints?

*

On another note, does a hit in the fuel bunker take into account whether a ship is powered by coal or oil? From my experience it's a great place to hit regardless.

04-20-10, 05:36 PM	#2
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,388 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	I use impact pistols only. Generally I assign at least 1 torpedo for every 3000-4000 tons. However that is not taking into account duds. I feel it is better to err on the side of using more torpedoes. It is better to sink ships with more torpedoes than to miss ships and save torpedoes. Any target worth expending one torpedo is worth expending two. __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

04-20-10, 05:44 PM	#3
sharkbit The Old Man Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 1,529 Downloads: 334 Uploads: 0	Another thing too-with escorted ships/convoys, if you hit them with one or two eels and they don't sink, you may not get a second chance since the escort may keep you down too long. Even unescorted, if they don't sink, they start zigging all over the place for a while. If you're submerged, it may difficult to get in position again. If they're armed, you may not want to surface and finish them with the deck gun. I've had too many bad experiences with armed merchants. I'm like platapus-I tend to err on a pretty liberal sprinkling of torpedoes to ensure a kill. __________________ “Prejudice is blind. There will always be someone who says you aren’t welcome at the table. Stop apologizing for who you are and using all your energy trying to change their minds. Yes, you will lose friends, maybe even family. But you will gain your self-respect. You will know your worth. Once you have that, nothing can stop you.”

04-21-10, 06:20 PM	#4
gazpode_l 中国水兵 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Chelmsford, Essex Posts: 280 Downloads: 50 Uploads: 0	feedback to ur comments Hey guys I've been reading with interest ALL the responses about the differing methods used by the community (well yourselves anyway) when shooting torpedoes. Last night I had a go at the naval academy mission on torpedoes and played it through. I took out the medium cargo first, using three torpedoes, set for 5m running depth and impact pistols. I had limited success with a tramp steamer i went after, hit with 1 torpedo, told by the game i'd killed him, though he hung around for another 20-30 mins before he slipped beneath the waves. Then things began to get really spectacular as I ran after a small tanker, caught up with him and nailed him, first blow, smack in the middle. Now I'm sure I nailed him with an impact torpedo, but the damage profile (shown below) means I cld have used a magnetic Chuffed to bits, I turned away and began running on the surface at flank speed to catch a nearby freighter, medium size....I caught up with him, but hearing all the noise I'd been causing he was zigzagging. I shot a torpedo at him and missed. I was running low on torps so angrily I configured both my remaining torpedoes I had loaded for fast running and imact pistols and let both go as quickly as a could..First was on target and did alot of damage - the firework show had barely died when the second hit....KABLOOEY!! I've not seen one go up like that in game with my own eyes - seen it done over the web in videos and screenshots but really nice to do it myself. All in all, your tips are working great guys, and for that - I'm truely greatful!

04-22-10, 10:32 AM	#5
Immelman Sparky Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 150 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Glad to hear its working out for you No go out there and sink some real merchants and make us proud __________________ Fotia kai tsekouri

04-22-10, 11:05 AM	#6
desirableroasted Grey Wolf Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: In the mountains, now. On the edge of the sea before. Posts: 933 Downloads: 47 Uploads: 0	And remember that the "faulty magnetic pistols" and "depthkeeping problems" are apparently not modeled in the game. Your magnetics, of course, may prematurely detonate in rough weather because they "leap," and finding the right keel depth is harder in rough weather. __________________ "Well, now, that's true... the IXC is a bit of a chick magnet..but you really can't beat the VIIB for off-road fun."

04-20-10, 05:13 PM	#1
Threesixtyci Torpedoman Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: CC, Texas Posts: 114 Downloads: 20 Uploads: 0	Magnetic will kill just about every ship with a single torp, but I'd avoid it in rough seas. 1 meter lower than the hull depth is what I usually set them to.

04-22-10, 11:15 AM	#8
pickinthebanjo Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 651 Downloads: 282 Uploads: 0	In SH3 I Only limit myself to using one torpedo to one ship, and only ships 4000+ tons. If called for I use a second but normally I will wait around for up to 12 hours to wait and see if she sinks. For merchants under 4000 ton I use the 105mm and the 37mm. Also I only take shots on moving targets if they are within 800m and the AOB is close to either 270 or 90. In response to Iranon's post stating that ships with an AOB of 0 or 180 have no viable solution, that is wrong. In order to hit a target with an AOB of wither 0 or 180 you slip in behind or in front of the target set range slightly shorter than needed (to make up for the fact the ship is closing fast) set you AOB accordingly then fire. Speed is irrelevant in this case because the target is on the same course. I disable many ships with 180 AOB shots, as the torpedo almost always destroys the propulsion systems. Even a battleship can be sunk with just one torpedo: Both the Southhamptons went under in one torpedo, that London class took three. When attacking merchants, follow everyones advice and aim by the smokestack or just in front of the bridge. For naval ships, aim underneath the main guns. These are the ammunition stores. When I use keel shots I aim for the center of the ship and set them just under the draft. In the Type IX it is usually fairly common for me to pull in 60000ton patrols following these guidelines.