Depth charge limit ?

08-06-08, 06:47 AM

That's right, but I was asking an other question. Why often crew were counting explosions of depth charges. I bet they knew how many depth charges specific destroyer could carry ? If that was true it would be nice to see these quantitys in ship recognishion manual

Koondawg · 08-06-08, 07:24 AM

If a destroyer was to run out of charges he would soon become the hunted if it was known by the sub crew...

robbierob2005 · 08-06-08, 10:23 AM

Below 300 meters the DD's sensors can't find you anymore. So you can escape running at full speed and no DD's following you.

Jimbuna · 08-06-08, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Contact

That's right, but I was asking an other question. Why often crew were counting explosions of depth charges. I bet they knew how many depth charges specific destroyer could carry ? If that was true it would be nice to see these quantitys in ship recognishion manual

Every vessel carried it's own specific number depending on ready stockpiles and the skipper (in some instances) deciding what other piece of equipment/storage space he was prepared to sacrifice.

In general terms x class of ship was designed to carry y number, but it was never an exact science.

The same went for U-boats. Take deck gun shells as an example.....one IX was recorded as carrying 355 shells on a caribbean patrol.

GoldenRivet · 08-06-08, 11:56 AM

another thing about counting depth charges:

if you are being attacked by 3 or 4 destroyers it does you little good to count the charges, as you dont know specifically which ship is dropping them at the time.

what if a destroyer is sitting still in the water while you think only 3 are attacking.... you cound enough where you think they have run out and then this 4th guy you didnt know was there jumps into the fight.

another thing:

i believe i red somewhere that sub crews would cound depth charges so they could relate the story back in port as bragging rights "Holy cow man the tommies dropped 250 charges on us!"

sure - you could estimate when they would run out by counting them, but as jimbuna said, there was no exact way to tell when they would run out simply based on counting the charges. however you could estimate approximately when they would be getting low.

finally - i think it would be very foolish for an inbound convoy to spend all of their depth charges in one massive attack when they are still out to sea, i think that for the most part they would save a lot of them for later in case they needed them. use a sort of hit and run tactic to scare the u-boat off so to speak.

08-06-08, 02:50 PM

So is it possible in early war to force an escort to waste their charges in deep waters, making noises, then get back to periscope depth and let them feel the taste of torps ?

I think making noises in deep waters can let destroyers hear you, but prevent from the use of sonar to get depth and bearing right ?

Yeah i know it sounds wild a little, but I can't help myself with not thinking on how to fool escorts

FIREWALL · 08-06-08, 04:25 PM

Gwx has more dc's than DC's destroyer's have. :p :rotfl:

Woof1701 · 08-06-08, 05:56 PM

@GoldenRivet
Early in the war the escorts weren't very well organized and many convoys only had one to four escorts. In addition not all escorts would attack the uboat, because they'd leave the convoy defenseless. Therefore if a uboat crew suspected which destroyer was attacking them they could at least give themselves an idea of how many of the ashcans would rain down on them. During the attack all the noise and explosions will probably cloud the judgment and you might estimate a completely different number of depth charges, and counting also gave them something to take the mind off the fear, plan an evasion and probably hope the attack would soon stop. I believe the last thing on their minds then was how they could brag about it later. Every DC attack was potentially dangerous and you shouldn't forget that one single hit would mean that you were inside a steel tube that would implode and you had a pretty good chance of dying by the explosion of the DC, by waterpressure, exposure if by chance you made it to the surface or asphyxiation if you got trapped inside an undamaged section. (Although they still might've bragged about it when they got away)

@Contact
Don't waste your eels on escorts that cannot harm you

.

08-06-08, 11:56 AM	#5
GoldenRivet Subsim Aviator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 8,726 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	another thing about counting depth charges: if you are being attacked by 3 or 4 destroyers it does you little good to count the charges, as you dont know specifically which ship is dropping them at the time. what if a destroyer is sitting still in the water while you think only 3 are attacking.... you cound enough where you think they have run out and then this 4th guy you didnt know was there jumps into the fight. another thing: i believe i red somewhere that sub crews would cound depth charges so they could relate the story back in port as bragging rights "Holy cow man the tommies dropped 250 charges on us!" sure - you could estimate when they would run out by counting them, but as jimbuna said, there was no exact way to tell when they would run out simply based on counting the charges. however you could estimate approximately when they would be getting low. finally - i think it would be very foolish for an inbound convoy to spend all of their depth charges in one massive attack when they are still out to sea, i think that for the most part they would save a lot of them for later in case they needed them. use a sort of hit and run tactic to scare the u-boat off so to speak. __________________

08-06-08, 04:25 PM	#7
FIREWALL Eternal Patrol Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: CATALINA IS. SO . CAL USA Posts: 10,108 Downloads: 511 Uploads: 0	Gwx has more dc's than DC's destroyer's have. :p :rotfl: __________________ RIP FIREWALL I Play GWX. Silent Hunter Who ???

08-06-08, 06:47 AM	#1
Contact Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	That's right, but I was asking an other question. Why often crew were counting explosions of depth charges. I bet they knew how many depth charges specific destroyer could carry ? If that was true it would be nice to see these quantitys in ship recognishion manual

08-06-08, 07:24 AM	#2
Koondawg Grey Wolf Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pasadena, Ca Posts: 852 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	If a destroyer was to run out of charges he would soon become the hunted if it was known by the sub crew...

08-06-08, 10:23 AM	#3
robbierob2005 Watch Officer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Beneath the surface..... Posts: 334 Downloads: 83 Uploads: 0	Below 300 meters the DD's sensors can't find you anymore. So you can escape running at full speed and no DD's following you.

08-06-08, 02:50 PM	#6
Contact Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	So is it possible in early war to force an escort to waste their charges in deep waters, making noises, then get back to periscope depth and let them feel the taste of torps ? I think making noises in deep waters can let destroyers hear you, but prevent from the use of sonar to get depth and bearing right ? Yeah i know it sounds wild a little, but I can't help myself with not thinking on how to fool escorts

08-06-08, 05:56 PM	#8
Woof1701 Commodore Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Munich, Germany, Home of U-96 Posts: 633 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	@GoldenRivet Early in the war the escorts weren't very well organized and many convoys only had one to four escorts. In addition not all escorts would attack the uboat, because they'd leave the convoy defenseless. Therefore if a uboat crew suspected which destroyer was attacking them they could at least give themselves an idea of how many of the ashcans would rain down on them. During the attack all the noise and explosions will probably cloud the judgment and you might estimate a completely different number of depth charges, and counting also gave them something to take the mind off the fear, plan an evasion and probably hope the attack would soon stop. I believe the last thing on their minds then was how they could brag about it later. Every DC attack was potentially dangerous and you shouldn't forget that one single hit would mean that you were inside a steel tube that would implode and you had a pretty good chance of dying by the explosion of the DC, by waterpressure, exposure if by chance you made it to the surface or asphyxiation if you got trapped inside an undamaged section. (Although they still might've bragged about it when they got away) @Contact Don't waste your eels on escorts that cannot harm you .