Mk 16 torpedo tactics?

WH4K · 03-04-11, 01:02 PM

How do you use the Mk 16 torps? Or do you? I've found them quite useful for blowing away docked ships without getting anywhere close, but it's hard to really use their maximum range.

Some of the difficulty probably reflects historical limitations of submarine fire control equipment, but some is just because it's a computer game. Here's what I mean.

The chief problem is, it's very very difficult to hit anything moving from anywhere near the maximum range of over 6 nautical miles. The slightest error in TDC inputs (range, AOB or target speed) means your torp misses aft or astern. Not good for relatively expensive (in Renown points) shots.

Part of that is the difficulty of seeing and measuring things with the limits of the computer display. I've mitigated those factors somewhat by using things like the Ship-Centered Accuracy Fix and MaxOptics IV, but the small margin for error remains.

Historically, I'm fairly sure skippers would have wanted to shoot from as far away as possible. They couldn't simply re-load a savegame if things went south. Stuff I've read about the Mk. 14 employment tactics suggests that they tended to use the long-range, "slow" speed setting whenever possible.

Also lots of shooting spreads, as a means of compensating for errors in the fire control solution.

I've also been wondering whether the significantly larger warhead makes a difference. There seems to be some disagreement on the size of the Mk. 16's warhead. Wikipedia says it carried 723 lb. Torpex vs. the Mk. 14's 643 lb. payload. However, when playing with TMO 2.0, the game told me the Mk. 16 packed a whopping 900+ lb. warhead.

That should mean I need fewer Mk. 16's to sink a given ship vs. Mk. 14's, based on the game's "hit points" sinking model. But I haven't noticed this to be the case. Seems like I need just as many Mk. 16 shots as I did Mk. 14 shots to sink a Nippon Maru, for instance.

Nevertheless, I have had a few perfect shots, for example taking out a Nagana Maru with a pair of Mk 16's from about 5 n.m. after stalking its convoy from afar over the course of a day or so. It was just awesome to see that ship down like a cable-cut elevator, and be far enough away as to be able to thumb my nose (metaphorically) at the escorts.

03-04-11, 01:02 PM	#1
WH4K Frogman Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 291 Downloads: 56 Uploads: 0	Mk 16 torpedo tactics? How do you use the Mk 16 torps? Or do you? I've found them quite useful for blowing away docked ships without getting anywhere close, but it's hard to really use their maximum range. Some of the difficulty probably reflects historical limitations of submarine fire control equipment, but some is just because it's a computer game. Here's what I mean. The chief problem is, it's very very difficult to hit anything moving from anywhere near the maximum range of over 6 nautical miles. The slightest error in TDC inputs (range, AOB or target speed) means your torp misses aft or astern. Not good for relatively expensive (in Renown points) shots. Part of that is the difficulty of seeing and measuring things with the limits of the computer display. I've mitigated those factors somewhat by using things like the Ship-Centered Accuracy Fix and MaxOptics IV, but the small margin for error remains. Historically, I'm fairly sure skippers would have wanted to shoot from as far away as possible. They couldn't simply re-load a savegame if things went south. Stuff I've read about the Mk. 14 employment tactics suggests that they tended to use the long-range, "slow" speed setting whenever possible. Also lots of shooting spreads, as a means of compensating for errors in the fire control solution. I've also been wondering whether the significantly larger warhead makes a difference. There seems to be some disagreement on the size of the Mk. 16's warhead. Wikipedia says it carried 723 lb. Torpex vs. the Mk. 14's 643 lb. payload. However, when playing with TMO 2.0, the game told me the Mk. 16 packed a whopping 900+ lb. warhead. That should mean I need fewer Mk. 16's to sink a given ship vs. Mk. 14's, based on the game's "hit points" sinking model. But I haven't noticed this to be the case. Seems like I need just as many Mk. 16 shots as I did Mk. 14 shots to sink a Nippon Maru, for instance. Nevertheless, I have had a few perfect shots, for example taking out a Nagana Maru with a pair of Mk 16's from about 5 n.m. after stalking its convoy from afar over the course of a day or so. It was just awesome to see that ship down like a cable-cut elevator, and be far enough away as to be able to thumb my nose (metaphorically) at the escorts. __________________ Windows 10 Pro (x64)