Optimal fire angle to target in scope at different ranges and speeds

[Paul Riley]

Many thanks for your replies on this issue,it is appreciated.
I am taking careful notes from all this info and will keep my answer here short to reflect that.Can't really say any more on this now

[Paul Riley]

Finally ironed out my firing woes,everything is back on track.Been practicing a lot using 30kt torpedoes,to simulate the slower electrics,and to be honest I was quite thrilled by my level of accuracy,from many different angles and ranges

[RoaldLarsen]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

1) Set the TDC to Auto.
2) Go to the periscope view and lock on to the target, then unlock the scope. Between now and step 5 do not move the scope and do not change course.
3) Set the TDC to Manual.
4) The bearing in the TDC will now match that of your scope as it was when you unlocked it (and you have not moved it since then). Taking as long as you need, and using any method you like (map plotting, whiz wheel, etc.) calculate the AOB that the target ship had when it was at the bearing shown on the TDC i.e. the AOB it had when you unlocked the scope in step 2. Enter that AOB into the TDC, along with the target speed.
5) Set the TDC to Auto. You may now move the scope, but you must still not change course. Go to the periscope and lock it to the target.
6) This bit does need to be done as quickly as possible. Calculate the current range to the target using whatever method you like. As soon as you have calculated the range unlock the scope, set the TDC to Manual, enter the range into the TDC, set the TDC back to Auto, lock the scope to the target again (or manually aim the scope at the part of the ship you want to hit) and fire.

Wow!

Of course, that works perfectly. I'm kicking myself for not having worked it out on my own.

Thanks, OLC.

[onelifecrisis]

[RoaldLarsen]

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

I think this is the crucial factor,as far as releasing the torpedo in good time.You mean the gyroangle that rotates when locked on the target,something I DONT look at if I was to be honest,I have been looking soley at the bearing in the scope when to fire.

From your descriptions, that's what I figured, so that's why I wrote the instructions as I did. If you are setting yourself up 90 degrees to target course, you really should be firing with a gyro angle of 0, which means you really should be reading the gyro angle. Otherwise you are giving up the advanatge of being at 90 degrees.

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

To try and be more precise,lets say I am at 500m,and I have an electric ready,and the target is passing me right to left on a good perpendicular intersection,tube is open well in advance,I released the torpedo when the ship was just entering bearing 10 in the scope.

Which is why you are missing. I don't buy the "It's a bug" explanation. Yeah, there's a bug, but even if you set your torp speed properly, you'd still miss a smaller ship by about 20 meters with the solution you were using.

How did you happen to select 10 degrees, BTW?

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

You mention fire when bearing is 0 in gyroangle,bottom right of screen.If I am correct in what you are trying to explain to me this is something I havent been doing.

Please,bear with me,it is simply something that has momentarily put me on the back foot,after many good successes prior to this incident with the electric,and can strangely put you back to where you started many years ago it seems.Back to square one as it were.

I'll get it sorted before long,dont worry,its coming clearer now

There are three places you can read the gyroangle. On the <F6> TDC screen, it is produced on the two dials in the botom right part of the screen. However, the better place to read it is on the periscope screen or on the UZO screen. In stock, and some supermods, you will find a readout that looks a bit like an older car's odometer on the right hand edge of the screen, just above the forward torpedo ready indicator lights.

[Paul Riley]

[quote=RoaldLarsen;1102613] Which is why you are missing.

How did you happen to select 10 degrees, BTW? quote]

I havent normally being missing,I have had some good successes lately,admittedly using STs,and not ETs.That one event with the ET was the first major miss ive had in a long time.It was a simple error and misunderstanding on my part,and I believe is now sorted out,finally.

I guess the 10deg was guesswork on my part,and I obviously wasnt paying enough attention to the gyroangle readout.I may have also been using the STs speed advantage too much,without considering what would happen if the speed was set to slow...and thats exactly what happened

BTW,sorry about highlighting the quote,I seem to be having an issue displaying the default quote with the box around it.

[RoaldLarsen]

OLC and Pisces have made me think about this even more, and I now think there is an even better method to fire at an arbitrary angle from an arbitrary course, if you know target's course and speed:

0. Select tubes, torpedo depth, torpedo speed, and salvo spread, and open tube doors any time before step 9
1. Unlock periscope from target.
2. Rotate periscope to bearing 0 degrees (or 180 for stern tube shot).
3. Decouple periscope from TDC to allow manual input.
4. Enter target speed on TDC.
5. Set AOB on TDC as 180 minus the difference between your course and target's course. (or AOB = difference in course for stern tube shot)
6. Couple TDC to periscope.
7. Rotate scope to target
8. Lock scope on target
9. Get a range reading
10. Instantly unlock scope from target.
11. Instantly decouple periscope from TDC to allow manual input.
12. Instantly enter range on TDC
13. Instantly couple scope to TDC
14. Instantly rotate scope to desired aiming point.
15. Fire immediately

And to avoid having to take a range reading, if you can afford to wait for a 0 gyro angle shot:
0. Select tubes, torpedo depth, torpedo speed, and salvo spread, and open tube doors any time before step 9
1. Unlock periscope from target.
2. Rotate periscope to 0 degrees. (or 180 for stern tube shot).
3. Decouple periscope from TDC to allow manual input.
4. Enter target speed on TDC.
5. Set AOB on TDC as 180 minus the difference between your course and target's course. (or AOB = difference in course for stern tube shot)
6. Couple TDC to periscope.
7. Rotate scope to target
8. Lock scope on target
9. Fire when gyroangle reads 0.

To fire at an aiming point other than centre of target, adjust final steps as in my earlier post ITT.

[onelifecrisis]

Yup, that works, in fact it's the same as my method except you assume that the player knows the target course. The method I described was more generic: it will work with any type of AOB calculation, including the use of an AOB Finder (U-Jagd Tools mod and all derivatives) and/or an eyeball estimate, neither of which require the target course to be known.

[Paul Riley]

Originally Posted by RoaldLarsen

5. Set AOB on TDC as 180 minus the difference between your course and target's course. (or AOB = difference in course for stern tube shot

I was just wondering,is it neccessary to input the actual AOB at that moment?,as the TDC updates the AOB when you set it back to auto.What I have been doing is,if firing at SB side of a ship set angle of bow to 90deg SB respectively,and bearing to 90deg PS,set to auto and the correct AOB at that moment is updated,of course checking all other settings are correct.
Again,am I missing the crucial thing here?

Thanks.

[onelifecrisis]

Paul, that's actually the method I use when I know the target course and my own course is perpendicular to it (which is at least 90% of all my attacks).

They say the best mathematician is a lazy mathematician.

[Paul Riley]

So we are not so different after all...just seperated by a small act of fate,that lousy 10deg shot with the electric!
I know that won't be happening anymore!.

[RoaldLarsen]

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

I was just wondering,is it neccessary to input the actual AOB at that moment?,as the TDC updates the AOB when you set it back to auto.What I have been doing is,if firing at SB side of a ship set angle of bow to 90deg SB respectively,and bearing to 90deg PS,set to auto and the correct AOB at that moment is updated,of course checking all other settings are correct.
Again,am I missing the crucial thing here?

Thanks.

I'm not sure I entirely understand "and bearing to 90deg PS". If you are going to fire at the SB side of the target, and you are on a course perpendicular to target's course, then AOB is 90 when bearing is 0 or 180, and only then.

The TDC isn't magical. All it is doing when it updates AOB is simply adjusting the old AOB by the change in bearing, on a degree for degree basis. If you set AOB to 20, and then the bearing changes by 10 degrees, the TDC auto-updates the AOB to 30.

So if you want the TDC to maintain a correct AOB, you must input a correct AOB before you set the TDC to auto and move the scope. And if you set the TDC to accept manual input, then you must unlock the scope from the target while in manual input mode, so the scope doesn't rotate while the AOB is not being auto-updated.

[Paul Riley]

Originally Posted by RoaldLarsen

I'm not sure I entirely understand "and bearing to 90deg PS". If you are going to fire at the SB side of the target, and you are on a course perpendicular to target's course, then AOB is 90 when bearing is 0 or 180, and only then.

In that last description I was actually talking about an attack running parallel to a target,and firing when the UBoat is 90deg to the target,or at bearing 270 in the scope.
This type of attack I have found very successful before,when I am satisfied all critical data is correct,only in the future I will be watching the gyroscope readout,and not the bearing in the scope.

[RoaldLarsen]

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

Roald,

In that last description I was actually talking about an attack running parallel to a target,and firing when the UBoat is 90deg to the target,or at bearing 270 in the scope.
This type of attack I have found very successful before,when I am satisfied all critical data is correct,only in the future I will be watching the gyroscope readout,and not the bearing in the scope.

Oh.

You do understand that if you are running on a parallel course to the target that it will be impossible to get a 0 gyro angle shot, don't you?

The gyro angle is the number of degrees that the torpedo will turn from your course once it is launched. A 0 gyro angle shot goes straight ahead out the front, (or back) of your sub.

If you are running parallel to target, and target is at bearing 270, his AOB is 90, and your gyro angle to hit will be something close to 90. If his speed is 0, the gyro angle will be more than 90, if he is sufficiently fast, it will be less than 90.

[Paul Riley]

Sure,I know that
I have had some very good 90deg hull contacts at this position,and is one of my fav attacks.My problem started going perpendicular with a speed I was unfamiliar with.Do you follow me here Roald?,what happened,and the confusion it has caused (but no more now,thanks to you and OLC,and I think Pisces joined in on this).
I guess this concludes a VERY controversial topic then?