Torpedo Search Depth

[Avio]

Have been setting USET-80 torpedo in the Kilo to search at certain depth (such as 100m) with ceiling at 5m and floor at 200m but notice the torpedo just swim at 100m after going active. Shouldn't it search up and down between 5m and 200m?

By the way, the search depth setting sometimes seem to have a problem -- at times I can only increase the value to 99m maximum. It is only when I set the floor to 200m or less that the search depth value can be increased to 100m or more. Is there an issue on that?

Any advice much appreciated.

[Avio]

I did some tests and it seems the torpedo only starts searching up and down IF and WHEN it goes active very near the target. If it goes active too early, it would just swim at the preset search depth without attempting to move up and down.

Is this behaviour correct? I would expect the torpedo's cone of detection to be quite narrow, right? If so, it may not be able to "see" anything that is a little off from the preset depth.

As for the depth setting, it can go beyond 99m provided the floor is set to greater than 100m. Had overlooked on that.

[Pisces]

It has been DW vanila (and SC) behaviour that torpedoes stay at their launch depth until they reach the enable range. Then they follow their depth parameters. From another thread I suspect you are asking about RA behaviour. I am not too familiar with that. I know they did change a lot to how the torpedoes changes search-paterns based on depth settings. I guess the right place to look is in the doctrine files. Last time I looked it seemed a reasonably clear language to interpret. But that was from the LWAMI mod and vanilla DW. RA might contain Russian descriptions.

[p7p8]

Answers of your questions are in DW manual and Weapon guide manual for RA.
This second manual is MANDATORY for RA

USET-80 is wireless torpedo - it means you cannot change searching depth after launch.

In RA some of wire-guided torpedoas has abilities for changing depth to under/above layer - all informations are in "Weapon guide" manual.


P.S. if you don't like to read manuals, you should stay with vanilla DW

[Avio]

I read the manual and understood it all. But no, the torp stays put right at the preset depth after going active, although it does follow snake search pattern as set.

[p7p8]

From DW manual:

Depth: Set the depth at which the weapon travels.
Ceiling: Set the depth above which the weapon does not travel.
Floor: Set the depth below which the weapon does not travel.

It means torpedo will ignore all targets above ceiling and below floor.

It doesn't means torpedo will continuously change depth from ceiling to floor and vice versa.

But if target detected between ceiling and floor, will go for example deeper, torpedo will follow this target.

BTW in DW torpedo travels at your sub launch depth until manual activation or reaching RTE. After this point torpedo change depth to value from pre-launch settings (depth).



Ceiling - discriminates all targets above (useful if you don't want to hit civilian or allied ships)

Floor - discriminates all targets below.



In RA ceiling can active additional modes of engaging:
1. ASW+ASuW
2. ASuW only
3 ASW only

Floor changes search pattern.

[Avio]

Thanks folks. But is the real world torpedo cone of detection wide enough that it is able to "hear" and zoom in to a sub that is at a very different depth from its search depth? Does RA model the torp close to real world in terms of depth search?

Btw is there a way to at least estimate what depth another sub is at, both in the sim and in real world?

[FPSchazly]

The search cone is indeed wide enough such that depth is not an issue at all, provided the torpedo enables far enough away (which wouldn't be that far. I think the only way depth would help is if the torpedo is enabling just a few dozen yards away from you and there's quite some vertical separation). Any game where it's easy to avoid a search cone by changing depth is doing it for gameplay purposes. You do however want to change depth as you're doing hard rudders in your evasive maneuvers, anything to try and out turn the torpedo at the last second (advice for the very last ditch effort part of torpedo evasion lol).



In terms of depth, no there isn't really a way to do that in real life (unless you're very close to them perhaps, forget it at 10k yards) and it's not possible in Dangerous Waters besides "is it above or below the layer?"

[p7p8]

Originally Posted by Avio

Btw is there a way to at least estimate what depth another sub is at, both in the sim and in real world?

If layer is strong, you can chack where signal is stronger: above or under

[Avio]

In Hunt for Red October, the Dallas boasted of tailing the Red October just right on their tail at same depth. And it is said there had been real incidents of such tailing around in the real world, with occasional underwater fender-bender incidents even !!

So somehow they must know the other sub's depth.

[Pisces]

Well, with the high frequency active sonars in the game you will notice depth differences. But it's range is limited.

[FPSchazly]

Originally Posted by Avio

In Hunt for Red October, the Dallas boasted of tailing the Red October just right on their tail at same depth. And it is said there had been real incidents of such tailing around in the real world, with occasional underwater fender-bender incidents even !!

So somehow they must know the other sub's depth.

Eh... I love that end scene, I love that movie, but all those boats are flying around at flank in that scene. They ain't hearing nothing.

If you're in close, yes, you may able to tell at least whether a sub is above or below you. But at long distances, like a few miles, the sound rays bend around a lot. It's not like seeing something in the air where light moves in straight lines. Sound goes through all kinds of weird distortions under water.

[Avio]

And in that novel there was also mention about "elevation angle" of target sub, that let them deduce about the opponent's depth.

Is that even possible?

[FPSchazly]

Originally Posted by Avio

And in that novel there was also mention about "elevation angle" of target sub, that let them deduce about the opponent's depth.

Is that even possible?

What scene is that from? Is the opposing submarine close or far? It has been a while since I read the book.

From what I've heard, the sonar (in real life) reports the incident angle of the sound waves it receives, so if a submarine is in pretty close, you could use this to deduce some kind of depth. It doesn't really matter how deep the opposing sub is, though, the torpedo sorts all of that out. It's more about "are they above or below a layer?"

[Avio]

I was referring to the part of the book near the end where the Red October was escorted back to US (stolen) and they were discovered by the Soviet sub.

In the ensuing cat-and-mouse the sonar guy seems able to tell about "elevation angle" of the other sub. Amazing.