Minimum arming range for a Mark 14?

scubamatt · 12-01-15, 06:48 PM

How close can I be, and still have enough time for the torpedo to arm and explode on a target? Does contact only vs contact/influence make a difference?

I was closing in on a slow moving convoy this morning, on the surface and in extremely bad weather, radar was intermittent, and visibility was total crap. It finally showed a ship icon 600m from my sub. I was watching from the bridge when the ship finally became visible at just over 400 yards.

I fired the torp I had ready and crash dived, making a hard turn to port (opposite the targets line of travel) and nearly rammed him as my torpedo exploded. Took some light damage, but not sure if it was from scraping the target ship or backblast from my own torpedo exploding.

I got to thinking about that, and so I came here to ask.

cdrsubron7 · 12-01-15, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scubamatt

How close can I be, and still have enough time for the torpedo to arm and explode on a target? Does contact only vs contact/influence make a difference?

I was closing in on a slow moving convoy this morning, on the surface and in extremely bad weather, radar was intermittent, and visibility was total crap. It finally showed a ship icon 600m from my sub. I was watching from the bridge when the ship finally became visible at just over 400 yards.

I fired the torp I had ready and crash dived, making a hard turn to port (opposite the targets line of travel) and nearly rammed him as my torpedo exploded. Took some light damage, but not sure if it was from scraping the target ship or backblast from my own torpedo exploding.

I got to thinking about that, and so I came here to ask.

I think the arming distance for the Mark14 is somewhere around 300 yds. Not sure what that is in meters.

Barkerov · 12-01-15, 07:29 PM

If you go to the submaine loadout screen and click on a mk14 that should show you information including arming distance.

From memory I think its 450 yards (411m)

chadwicknight · 12-09-15, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barkerov

If you go to the submaine loadout screen and click on a mk14 that should show you information including arming distance.

From memory I think its 450 yards (411m)

This

Aktungbby · 12-09-15, 05:35 PM

chadwicknight!

Jimbuna · 12-10-15, 09:41 AM

Welcome

Gunther Hessler · 08-27-16, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barkerov

If you go to the submaine loadout screen and click on a mk14 that should show you information including arming distance.

From memory I think its 450 yards (411m)

Hi, if you go to edit sh4\data\upcdata\upcunitsdata\ammunition.upc fill these fields "info" and "notes" "[Ammunition 9] ID=Mk14Torpedo NameDisplayable= Mark 14 Torpedo Type= AmmoTorpedo Subtype=Mk14TorpUS AmmunitionIntervalOptionCurrent= NULL, NULL, 0 AmmunitionIntervalOptions1= 1931-01-01, 1950-12-31, 0 Volume= 1 PackSize=1 Info= Notes=" like Info=Mk14TorpInfo Notes=Mk14TorpNotes you will see notes on game, on mission PS: bug in stock game

Aktungbby · 08-27-16, 08:47 PM

Gunther Hessler!

450 yards: An arming impeller was an additional safety device: the firing pin could not move until the torpedo had travelled a preset distance.

The Mark 6 exploder was a big problem for the mark 14 torpedo. http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mark_6_exploder & http://archive.hnsa.org/doc/torpedo/#pg17

aanker · 12-01-15, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scubamatt

How close can I be, and still have enough time for the torpedo to arm and explode on a target? Does contact only vs contact/influence make a difference?

I was closing in on a slow moving convoy this morning, on the surface and in extremely bad weather, radar was intermittent, and visibility was total crap. It finally showed a ship icon 600m from my sub. I was watching from the bridge when the ship finally became visible at just over 400 yards.

I fired the torp I had ready and crash dived, making a hard turn to port (opposite the targets line of travel) and nearly rammed him as my torpedo exploded. Took some light damage, but not sure if it was from scraping the target ship or backblast from my own torpedo exploding.

I got to thinking about that, and so I came here to ask.

I would guess back-blast from your torpedo .... if you look at DC's blast damage & radius of blast for critical damage charts, 400 yards is very close. Of course this is a torpedo, not a DC - plus if this is later in the War you could have Torpex which is approx 50% more powerful than TNT.
However, you said you're on the surface and crash-dived, so there could have been a collision.....

I'm surprised it had enough time to arm at 400 yds, even if set to slow-speed.

Because after (now famous) extensive testing the influence exploder was found to be defective, I always use the 'contact' setting beginning around the time period the order went out.

There is a lot of math necessary to figure this one out... lol

I guess 450 yards : )

Happy Hunting Captain!

Aktungbby · 12-01-15, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aanker

I guess 450 yards : )

http://archive.hnsa.org/doc/torpedo/ '...and as a result the spring contact of the switch is forced down, making electrical contact with the fixed contact. As soon as electrical contact is made, the condenser is discharged through the electric detonator (Fig. 8A), s etting it off, thus detonating the booster and the main charge in the war head.
Note: The exploder mechanisms are issued to the service with a pick-up coil and thyratron tube installed on their base. These devices are applicable to the influence feature only and will not be described in this publication.
Booster Above the exploder mechanism, when installed in the war head, is a thin sheet-copper container holding a charge of tetryl. This is known as the booster. It is so shaped that it fits inside the pocket at the top of the exploder casing, and rests snugly upon the top of the safety chamber. The detonator, during the arming operation, is moved up out of the safety chamber into a recess in the bottom of the booster; thus, the detonation of the detonator can set off the booster. Before the exploder is fully armed, the detonator holder is within the safety chamber, where it can explode without detonating the booster. It is not until the detonator holder is well extended from its safety chamber that it can detonate the booster; thus any accident which might cause the detonator to explode while the torpedo is still aboard, or close to its firing vessel, cannot cause detonation of the war head, since the torpedo must travel about 350 yards through the water before the detonator can fire the booster. ?? In some other articles the distance for a Mk 13 is 200 yards. The arming distance of a MK-15 is 450 yards http://www.simhq.com/_naval/PDF/naval_009print.pdf

fireftr18 · 12-01-15, 10:42 PM

I think the manual said all torpedoes in game are 400 yards. I don't fire if under 500 yards.

Sniper297 · 12-01-15, 11:21 PM

I have the download version and the PDF manual mentions arming distance but doesn't specify what it is. Using Silent 3ditor to open torpedoesUS.sim, they all say 220 meters, which is 240.6 yards. Actual distance varies since the range to the target is not what arms the torpedo - it's the distance the torpedo runs. A target coming toward you head on at 30+ knots and a zero gyro angle, if you fire at 300 yards the torpedo might only travel 200 before the collision with the target and go "BOINK!" instead of bang. With a high gyro angle the torpedo travels some distance (300 or 400 yards? dunno) in a straight line before turning, and if the fish is chasing the target from behind you might find that firing from 200 yards range to target it actually travels 1000 yards or more before impact.

All that said, however, the damage radius of the stock MK14 torpedo is 3 to 7 meters so you would have to be within 8 yards of the explosion to get the minimum damage from it. I have, however, been damaged by secondary explosions when close enough - example running under a cruiser when the main magazine explodes, or past a sinking carrier when the boilers blow up.

TorpX · 12-02-15, 06:07 AM

As Sniper said, it is not the range to the target, but the distance the torpedo travels that is important.

Generally speaking, the arming distance was determined not only by what was required for the attacking boats safety, but also by what was thought to be necessary for the torpedo to make a normal run. That is, for it to reach set depth, make any turn, and 'settle in' on it's run. I imagine that was the main factor for the Mk. 13. An aerial torpedo is going to fall deep, come up shallow, and possibly make another oscillation or two, before it evens out.

Blast radii in the game are pretty small, so even if the torp exploded as it armed, you shouldn't take any damage. At least not with stock torps and boats.

12-01-15, 06:48 PM	#1
scubamatt Mate Join Date: May 2008 Location: Lithonia, GA Posts: 51 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 0	Minimum arming range for a Mark 14? How close can I be, and still have enough time for the torpedo to arm and explode on a target? Does contact only vs contact/influence make a difference? I was closing in on a slow moving convoy this morning, on the surface and in extremely bad weather, radar was intermittent, and visibility was total crap. It finally showed a ship icon 600m from my sub. I was watching from the bridge when the ship finally became visible at just over 400 yards. I fired the torp I had ready and crash dived, making a hard turn to port (opposite the targets line of travel) and nearly rammed him as my torpedo exploded. Took some light damage, but not sure if it was from scraping the target ship or backblast from my own torpedo exploding. I got to thinking about that, and so I came here to ask.

12-09-15, 05:35 PM	#5
Aktungbby Gefallen Engel U-666 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: On a tilted, overheated, overpopulated spinning mudball on Collision course with Andromeda Galaxy Posts: 30,019 Downloads: 24 Uploads: 0	welcome aboard! chadwicknight! __________________ "Only two things are infinite; The Universe and human squirrelyness?!!

12-10-15, 09:41 AM	#6
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,571 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	Welcome __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

08-27-16, 08:47 PM	#8
Aktungbby Gefallen Engel U-666 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: On a tilted, overheated, overpopulated spinning mudball on Collision course with Andromeda Galaxy Posts: 30,019 Downloads: 24 Uploads: 0	Welcome aboard! Gunther Hessler! 450 yards: An arming impeller was an additional safety device: the firing pin could not move until the torpedo had travelled a preset distance. The Mark 6 exploder was a big problem for the mark 14 torpedo. http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mark_6_exploder & http://archive.hnsa.org/doc/torpedo/#pg17 __________________ "Only two things are infinite; The Universe and human squirrelyness?!! Last edited by Aktungbby; 08-27-16 at 09:15 PM.

12-01-15, 10:42 PM	#11
fireftr18 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Kentucky Posts: 2,528 Downloads: 77 Uploads: 0	I think the manual said all torpedoes in game are 400 yards. I don't fire if under 500 yards. __________________ Of all the forms of Martial Arts, Karaoke causes the most pain!

12-01-15, 07:29 PM	#3
Barkerov Soundman Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Australia Posts: 147 Downloads: 42 Uploads: 0	If you go to the submaine loadout screen and click on a mk14 that should show you information including arming distance. From memory I think its 450 yards (411m)

12-01-15, 11:21 PM	#12
Sniper297 The Old Man Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Philadelphia Shipyard Brig Posts: 1,386 Downloads: 160 Uploads: 19	I have the download version and the PDF manual mentions arming distance but doesn't specify what it is. Using Silent 3ditor to open torpedoesUS.sim, they all say 220 meters, which is 240.6 yards. Actual distance varies since the range to the target is not what arms the torpedo - it's the distance the torpedo runs. A target coming toward you head on at 30+ knots and a zero gyro angle, if you fire at 300 yards the torpedo might only travel 200 before the collision with the target and go "BOINK!" instead of bang. With a high gyro angle the torpedo travels some distance (300 or 400 yards? dunno) in a straight line before turning, and if the fish is chasing the target from behind you might find that firing from 200 yards range to target it actually travels 1000 yards or more before impact. All that said, however, the damage radius of the stock MK14 torpedo is 3 to 7 meters so you would have to be within 8 yards of the explosion to get the minimum damage from it. I have, however, been damaged by secondary explosions when close enough - example running under a cruiser when the main magazine explodes, or past a sinking carrier when the boilers blow up.

12-02-15, 06:07 AM	#13
TorpX Silent Hunter Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 3,975 Downloads: 153 Uploads: 11	As Sniper said, it is not the range to the target, but the distance the torpedo travels that is important. Generally speaking, the arming distance was determined not only by what was required for the attacking boats safety, but also by what was thought to be necessary for the torpedo to make a normal run. That is, for it to reach set depth, make any turn, and 'settle in' on it's run. I imagine that was the main factor for the Mk. 13. An aerial torpedo is going to fall deep, come up shallow, and possibly make another oscillation or two, before it evens out. Blast radii in the game are pretty small, so even if the torp exploded as it armed, you shouldn't take any damage. At least not with stock torps and boats.