Oh Boy - This One Is Above My Pay Grade

[Daniel Prates]

Originally Posted by Anthony W.

Took a hit right on the nose - but flooding was contained - so I dove and sank it with my last 2 torpedoes

From what i've seen, capital ships always shoot at you with their secondary guns. I've never seen they bear the main weapons on small targets.

Yamato had 18' guns, didnt' she? If primary guns were fired upon you, we all know what that would mean.... ouch!

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Daniel Prates

From what i've seen, capital ships always shoot at you with their secondary guns. I've never seen they bear the main weapons on small targets.

Yamato had 18' guns, didnt' she? If primary guns were fired upon you, we all know what that would mean.... ouch!

Considering that the secondary armament of the Yamato was 6.1 inch guns and 5 inch guns. I don't think she would have to use her main guns. Ouch

Especially when she had six 6.1 inch guns and Twenty-four 5 inch guns!

She could probably take out a sub just with her One-Hundred and Sixty-Two 25mm AAA guns.

[Torplexed]

Accounts of the battle of Leyte Gulf suggest that possibly a few of Yamato's 18 inch shells punched through some of the American destroyers without exploding. The fuze delays on Japanese shells were literally ten times longer than in most foreign fuzes. That greatly increases the chances for through-and-throughs if you don't hit something solid. Still having a 14, 16 or 18 inch diameter object weighing 1800 to 3400 pounds, plow thru your ship even with out detonating, could mess you up badly. However, being able to train massive 18 inch batteries on a target as small as a submarine would be exceedingly difficult. That what quick-firing secondary batteries were designed for.

[Stealhead]

True but from a realistic standpoint even a shell hit from a 3 or 4 inch gun against a submarine is very bad news indeed and a 5,6,or 8 inch shell would do very serious damage if not fatal damage its hull wold be completely compromised.

A reason why one should pull the plug well away form a task force in clear weather conditions I would avoid getting within 12,000 yds of a task force when fully on the surface in good conditions just to be sure they don't see me.Get a good course plot and observe them for an hour or so if possible then set your self up to be in a good position you will have to run at flank speeds for a few hours if it is a faster force but the extra hours of plotting will help you out and allow you to attack at a better time like a night.Just saying these things as it seems that Anthony might have rushed in a little bit.Don't let the excitement of a task force overwhelm you track them well on radar and take the time to get well ahead for a better attack submarine warfare is about being patient and the art of course plotting can take some time but the rewards are worth it.

[Daniel Prates]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

Accounts of the battle of Leyte Gulf suggest that possibly a few of Yamato's 18 inch shells punched through some of the American destroyers without exploding. The fuze delays on Japanese shells were literally ten times longer than in most foreign fuzes. That greatly increases the chances for through-and-throughs if you don't hit something solid. Still having a 14, 16 or 18 inch diameter object weighing 1800 to 3400 pounds, plow thru your ship even with out detonating, could mess you up badly. However, being able to train massive 18 inch batteries on a target as small as a submarine would be exceedingly difficult. That what quick-firing secondary batteries were designed for.

Interesting that this considerations are somewhat similar to the 'stopping-power' issues reagarding pistol and revolver ammo.

[magic452]

I agree with Stealhead here, I think half the fun is tracking and siting up really good shots. You get into good position at the right time and the sinking of IJN ships all but takes care of itself. I've chased convoys and TFs hundred of miles just to get that perfect shot at the perfect time.

Magic

[Stealhead]

Another reason good tracking is very useful is that often task forces and even convoys will change course and if you went in really quickly you may end up in what you think is the ideal position only to have the whole thing change course like going from heading S to heading E if you track well and get into a good spot you will see the change in course in time to react to it effectively.

The best benefit of good tracking/plotting to me is observing the escorts once you figure out their pattern on the radar scopes and your plotting method(varies greatly how this is done map contact on/of etc.) you can set yourself to be in the best spot when the escorts are least likely to find you.

[Anthony W.]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

Another reason good tracking is very useful is that often task forces and even convoys will change course and if you went in really quickly you may end up in what you think is the ideal position only to have the whole thing change course like going from heading S to heading E if you track well and get into a good spot you will see the change in course in time to react to it effectively.

The best benefit of good tracking/plotting to me is observing the escorts once you figure out their pattern on the radar scopes and your plotting method(varies greatly how this is done map contact on/of etc.) you can set yourself to be in the best spot when the escorts are least likely to find you.

I couldn't reload my torpedo tubes fast enough to get a shot off before I was in range, nor could I make 15 knots submerged to close to range... I didn't have any Mk. 14's left, and I stayed at radar depth long enough to make sure I could come up to close without all the DD's from the task force now 30 miles away coming after me. I did what I had to do.

[WernherVonTrapp]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

Accounts of the battle of Leyte Gulf suggest that possibly a few of Yamato's 18 inch shells punched through some of the American destroyers without exploding. The fuze delays on Japanese shells were literally ten times longer than in most foreign fuzes. That greatly increases the chances for through-and-throughs if you don't hit something solid. Still having a 14, 16 or 18 inch diameter object weighing 1800 to 3400 pounds, plow thru your ship even with out detonating, could mess you up badly. However, being able to train massive 18 inch batteries on a target as small as a submarine would be exceedingly difficult. That what quick-firing secondary batteries were designed for.

I don't remember all the small details offhand but, the Yamato along with the other BBs and CAs may have been using armor piercing shells. During the course of the battle with Taffy-3, whose DDs and DEs were laying smoke screens and causing confusion by their aggressive attack, Kurita kept mistaking the ships in Taffy-3 for their larger counterparts (CVEs for CVs, DDs for CAs and DEs for DDs). Even their armor piercing HE rounds would've gone through both sides of a DE before detonating.