Sinking Battleships with GWX

[the dark knight]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Or you could very well be right. Since the magazines were under the turrets it's kind of hard to tell what did happen. The only evidence the sources I've read cite is that all three were seen to take turret hits.


Here is what I think is the best documentary ever made on the subject. Baron von Mullenheim-Rechber, the ranking survivor of Bismarck, addressed the controversy with one of my favorite quotes of all time: "You can say to both sides 'Yes. You sank the Bismarck'."

That is a good one, and one of my favorites as well.

You could be right about Jutland as well.

Back on topic, the closer you can get, the better off you will be. One convoy I got in front of had the HMS Rodney in the middle. I got myself into position where Rodney would pass 600m in front of me. I went silent, all stop and kept to scope down. At the last possible second, I raised the scope, made last minute adjustments and fired at the Rodney. I found this will prevent them from seeing the bubble trails (if using the G7a).

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by the dark knight

Back on topic

Thank you. I fear my penchant for answering anything that draws my attention gets more threads derailed than it should. Especially when I don't have anything to add to the thread proper.

My apologies to zosX.

[gi_dan2987]

Originally Posted by the dark knight

I found this will prevent them from seeing the bubble trails (if using the G7a).

Aren't the TII electric torps supposed to have their magnetic pistol and internal depth keeping mechanisms fixed after the Norway campaign? So anytime after the spring of 1940 electrics are the way to go, unless you need the range or speed of the steam torps of course. I like to switch it up. If I have time to set up properly for a shot, I use electrics. If I need to blast off a fast one, I switch to steam. I guess it's just preference. What torps do you like to use and in what order?

Somebody should start a thread on the different types of SH3 torpedoes, their dates of availability, and uses/capabilities.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by gi_dan2987

Aren't the TII electric torps supposed to have their magnetic pistol and internal depth keeping mechanisms fixed after the Norway campaign? So anytime after the spring of 1940 electrics are the way to go, unless you need the range or speed of the steam torps of course.

In real life all magnetic pistols were removed in 1940. They weren't replaced until December 1942.

The short version:
http://www.uboataces.com/articles-wo...orpedoes.shtml

The best version:
http://digitalcommons.georgiasouther...99&context=etd

[gi_dan2987]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

In real life all magnetic pistols were removed in 1940. They weren't replaced until December 1942.

Well right now I'm in the middle of 1940. I don't normally use magnetic as I do find them to detonate way too early. I had that happen out of a spread of 4 eels against an ammunition ship. 2 were launched magnetic and 2 launched for impact. The magnetic ones exploded prematurely, and the impact ones were the only ones that hit. The ship limped home under the cover of destroyer escorts. For historical purposes I'll stick only with impact until December 1942.

Excellent reading by the way. I just finished the intro.

[zosX]

Too much to reply to here directly. First of all thank you all. I could spend days just reading through threads here. The historical information you people present is pretty darned amazing. Thanks so much for the post on the battleships and their weak spots with the handy chart. I took everyone's advice to heart and reran my attack. The waters were exceptionally calm so I tried some magnetic fuses. I decided that if I could get one to hit in a weak spot the whole ship should go down pretty much instantly. I set depth to 10m and all three torpedoes hit at a range of 4300m. I used a 2-3 degree spread to keep my pattern tight. Bagging a battleship yielded and instant promotion and a decent amount of renown, but still not enough to upgrade to a VII(!!). I mean really? I just sank a battleship and I don't get an instant boat upgrade from fleet command from my type II? Bummer.

PS. feel free to derail any thread I start. I love the excursions into historical accuracy!

The HMS Revenge doesn't look so good...

[zosX]

BTW, this was my first capital ship I've ever sunk in SH3. The thrill of watching that BB slide into the water was indescribable.

[gi_dan2987]

Originally Posted by zosX

The HMS Revenge doesn't look so good...

Just the fact that you wiped out the Revenge is a feat in itself!

The fact that you did it at OVER 4,000 meters is another

The fact that you did it in a Type II just blows my mind.

Tell me? Did you use the fixed wire method as I explained? If so, I told ya it's simple and effective! Accept no substitute! If you didn't, please explain in detail how you executed this attack. I have never in my years of playing SH3 EVER sunk the Revenge, much less ANY capital ship. I've damaged a couple, but never actually got a kill.

Excellent job skipper!


P.S. About the whole promotion thing.. We're talking about a whole new command here. U-boats are not cheap, and the good ones only go to the skippers who can perform. Either request a transfer to a flotilla that uses the larger boats, or put in your tonnage until you can request one.

Oh and Welcome Aboard!

[Jimbuna]

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!!

[gi_dan2987]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!!

Oh stock SH3, you truly are NOT missed by this Grey Wolves fan!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by gi_dan2987

Oh stock SH3, you truly are NOT missed by this Grey Wolves fan!

LOL

[gi_dan2987]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

LOL

Stock SH3 was sort of like a rusty old Camaro sitting in a barn. She had no tires, dings in the body, and an engine beyond repair.

The SH3 Modding community took this heap of garbage and turned it into a totally restored Camaro, complete with glass packs.

It truly is like driving a restored hot rod. Nothing beats the feel of a classic!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by gi_dan2987

Stock SH3 was sort of like a rusty old Camaro sitting in a barn. She had no tires, dings in the body, and an engine beyond repair.

The SH3 Modding community took this heap of garbage and turned it into a totally restored Camaro, complete with glass packs.

It truly is like driving a restored hot rod. Nothing beats the feel of a classic!

No arguments there then

[zosX]

I'm a cheater. I had my weapons officer calculate a plot for me. I love subsims, but never found calculating solutions for torpedoes all that much fun. Especially when you you have a destroyer barreling down on you. I played mostly fleet boat sims over the years, so I grew accustomed to having a TDC calculating firing solutions for you. I play with everything on realistic except for torpedo firing solutions. I also leave the external camera enabled, because its fun to fly around and watch the action. I did break radio silence to report my success. Their reply: The first round is on us when you return to port. The funny thing was that the destroyers didn't even break from the convoy to search for me. Those early british escorts aren't too aggressive are they? Another nice thing: setting the depth low and using magnetic fuses allowed me to run my torpedoes right under any ships in my line of fire. So from 1940 on they quit using magnetic fuses historically? Bummer. They work well in calm seas.

[gi_dan2987]

Originally Posted by zosX

I'm a cheater. I had my weapons officer calculate a plot for me.

BOO! jk. Everybody has their way of doing things, some like it more arcade, some like it more sim. I like mine sim all the way, so everything is 100% realism, plus I hold myself to realistic historic parameters for example:

1. Not raising the scope while going faster than 2 knots submerged (historically the water pressure would bend the scope shaft if you went any faster, causing it to jam in the up position, something that's not modeled in SH3).

2. I travel the "great circle" routes when doing long voyages, but SH3 is designed for traveling on a "loxodrome", which is actually a longer distance on the earth's curved surface, but on a flat map, loxodromes are shorter.

3. I don't use magnetic detonators from mid-1940 until the end of 1942, as historically they were removed from service to be re-engineered due to their high failure rate.

4. I consider each and every torpedo very expensive (as they were), and as a result, Kaleuns were careful in their targeting to ensure a hit each time. Obviously combat dictates the situation, but Kaleuns would rarely if ever fire "willy nilly" as I'm sure many who play this game do. A Kaleun who returned to port time and again with empty tubes and little to no tonnage would find himself out of a job before long. The German high command took this very seriously! Torpedoes were approximately 50,000 Reichmarks a piece! So I am careful as to how many torps I fire at a ship. I figure one torp per every 5,000 tons. If that doesn't work, use the deck gun. But ONLY use another torp as a coup de gras if it's obvious she's not going to sink, and when surfacing is out of the question.

5. I only carry steamers in my external tubes, and I always have a solid mix of steam and electrics in my main hold, as it was historically.

As you can tell, I'm an insane hardcore player, but it makes the kills that much more rewarding.

Originally Posted by zosX

I love subsims, but never found calculating solutions for torpedoes all that much fun.

It's not that difficult once you get the hang of it and hone your skills. Practice makes perfect, like with anything.

Originally Posted by zosX

Those early british escorts aren't too aggressive are they?

Early war they still had limited resources to attack subs, and ASW tactics were still in their early stages. The British escorts weren't so much lacking aggression as they were lacking cohesion on an attack. By 1944 though, they pretty much had it down to such a science, that if you tried a conventional convoy attack they would have you sunk before you could even get close enough to shoot!

Originally Posted by zosX

So from 1940 on they quit using magnetic fuses historically? Bummer. They work well in calm seas.

As they're designed to do lol. Throw in a nice north Atlantic chop, and you might find impact pistols to be a little more reliable.