Effective torpedo distances?

Paul Riley · 07-20-11, 08:36 AM

I tend to always fire from 1000m if I can,or as close as 300 - 500m in low visibility like fog,or a dark stormy night.

Not sure why you have more success the further out you are,but I know the minimum range is 300m (any closer and the torpedo will not arm),and I would have to say the maximum range would be about 8000m,or the limit of visibility range.When you get radar you may even be able to fire beyond this range,but the chances of hitting anything would virtually be nil.Its always better to get closer for two main reasons:
1 - the closer you are the less time the target ship will have to evade and zig zag
2 - even if the torpedo should lose its depth it should still hit the target

In real life most commanders fired from about 600m,in an ideal situation that is.

I recommend the following book,a lot of technical information is in it,there is even a section on attacking distances
http://www.amazon.co.uk/U-Boat-Comma.../dp/0939631210

07-20-11, 08:36 AM	#2
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	I tend to always fire from 1000m if I can,or as close as 300 - 500m in low visibility like fog,or a dark stormy night. Not sure why you have more success the further out you are,but I know the minimum range is 300m (any closer and the torpedo will not arm),and I would have to say the maximum range would be about 8000m,or the limit of visibility range.When you get radar you may even be able to fire beyond this range,but the chances of hitting anything would virtually be nil.Its always better to get closer for two main reasons: 1 - the closer you are the less time the target ship will have to evade and zig zag 2 - even if the torpedo should lose its depth it should still hit the target In real life most commanders fired from about 600m,in an ideal situation that is. I recommend the following book,a lot of technical information is in it,there is even a section on attacking distances http://www.amazon.co.uk/U-Boat-Comma.../dp/0939631210 __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes Last edited by Paul Riley; 07-20-11 at 10:41 AM.