underwater kills?

[RICH12ACE]

hi was there many underwater sub v sub kills in ww2??

[Quillan]

Not a single one, as far as I know. The only recorded one, to the best of my knowledge, was an attack against a surfaced submarine. They couldn't attack submerged boats; they didn't have homing torpedoes yet.

[Calbeck]

As a general rule, subs weren't sent after subs anyways. To make a submerged kill would require the best sonar of the day coupled with a spot-on targeting solution, the torpedo being set to the exact right depth within a half-dozen feet in either direction. That's a narrow, highly precise shot, fired blind on instrumentation alone.

Could be done...but a sub duel under those conditions would be a lot like watching a pair of blindfolded Old West gunfighters.

[Seaman_Hornsby]

There were a number of occasions during WW2 where US subs torpedoed enemy boats on the surface, (USS Batfish sank three surfaced Japanese subs on one patrol in the space of a few days) and one US sub, the Corvina, was torpedoed on the surface by a Japanese sub. The problem under the water was getting accurate firing data from just the hydrophone. You might be able to get a reasonable bearing and speed estimate, but what about target depth? Very tricky stuff with unguided torpedoes, so subs underwater generally avoided each other.

[caspofungin]

actually, there was 1 case -- hms venturer sank u-864 off the norweigan coast, both were at periscope depth.

[Kant Schwimm]

Originally Posted by caspofungin

actually, there was 1 case -- hms venturer sank u-864 off the norweigan coast, both were at periscope depth.

Yup he's right

[IsaanRanger]

You could probably do it by locking on the periscope of the enemy sub

[perisher]

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Venturer_%28P68%29

Incidentally, subs were sent on anti-sub patrols, but with the intention of catching their prey on the surface near its base. In WW1 the most effective submarine killer was, another submarine. The British WW1 R Class was designed as a sub killer.

[Seaman_Hornsby]

Originally Posted by caspofungin

actually, there was 1 case -- hms venturer sank u-864 off the norweigan coast, both were at periscope depth.

Hmm, very interesting. Nice one!

Another brief account here.

[nfitzsimmons]

Originally Posted by Seaman_Hornsby

Hmm, very interesting. Nice one!

Another brief account here.

Comcast had a Discovery Channel documenrary about the incident on on-demand last month, including interviews with one of the seamen and one of the officers of the HMS Venturer. Very good show.

The U-864 was carrying plans, parts, and technicians for the Jumo engines used in the ME-262, along with 60 tons of mercury as ballast. The mercury has seeped into the sea floor around the wreck, and the Norwegians have placed the surrounding area totally off limits for fishing. They're still trying to come with a plan for dealing with the pollution.