Hitting an actively maneuvering target

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by Razoleg

Hi Folks,

So, I am in the middle of the enemy convoy with 5 carriers and I already sank a battleship by mistake and injured two carriers in the bow, also kind of by mistake (you see, all three torp spread was meant for one guy, but the first one hit a heavy cruiser dead centre, right behind Hiryu, the other one hit the target and the last - carrier behind her). They are up to their towers in the water, but are still doing good 7-8 kts speed and are maneuvering vigorously in extremely bad weather (waves so high, my boat is exposed at 35 ft in water).

So, I am in the middle of the convoy, going flank speed with destroyers right behind me and a crusier to my port side, so close that I can see people having cigarettes on its decks. These two carriers are doing zig-zags from -30 to +30 degrees in front. I have three torps left in my S-18, but it's extremely hard to see or target them (periscope gets maybe 1-2 seconds of view in these waves), they are about 700-900 meters away in front of everybody.

My question is: do you have a tactic for engaging a zig-zaging target (as a bonus: in bad weather in the middle of convoy w/o being detected)?

Undetected is unlikely. However, a good tactic is to get as close as possible on the port or starboard side(whiever works best) , make sure have their speed correct, aim for middle of target, and fire when they begin to zig towards you they will basically run into the torpedoes. Of course being close is a big help so fish meet them in time and they dont have time to speed up and evade.Tough situation but possible.