Split Torpedo Tubes

[jazman]

I guessed I missed the discussion, and my searching isn't yielding the meaty discussion of them. What are split torpedo tubes?

[Puhis]

Torpedo tubes used to be like 1 x 6 tubes.
Split tubes are like 3 x 2 tubes.

[jazman]

Does that mean they the subs with split tubes fire in sets of two fish?

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: jazman

Does that mean they the subs with split tubes fire in sets of two fish?

Yes, and it means more.

The code fires a "line" of weapons at a time. No matter how many individual weapons it is, if they are all defined on one line of code, they all fire together.

Also, the code has been enhanced so that a sub might fire more than one line of weapons at a target, depending on what the sub thinks (FOW) that target is. If the sub thinks it's an xAK, it will likely get 1 line fired (2 torpedo tubes). If the sub thinks it is a CV, it will likely fire all lines that bear (remember forward tubes versus rearward tubes), for example a subs with 3 lines of 2 tubes each facing the target would fire all 3 lines (6 torpedo tubes).

The net result is that big targets still get "full service" provided that the sub correctly identifies them (always remember FOW), but small targets get fewer torpedoes resulting in the sub staying on station longer and making more attacks. Deadlier subs overall.

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: jazman
Does that mean they the subs with split tubes fire in sets of two fish?

Sub split-tubes are a combination of data and code. If the appropriate data is in place, the code will determine that:

ORIGINAL: Don Bowen
A sub will fire the "appropriate" number of torpedoes at each target, limited by the split of the tubes.

Appropriate is determined by the sub skipper's idea of what kind of target (including fog of war). As always, there is some random chance. And the fog of war can be important. A freighter that is mistaken for a carrier will get a carrier's worth of torpedoes.

Within these parameters, the code will determine a number of torpedoes to fire at each target. Minimum is one, maximum is all, any variation in between is possible. It will then attempt to find the number of tube slots that bear to fire this number. If necessary, it will over shoot. That is, if it wants to shoot three torpedoes but it's selection is limited to 2 tubes/ 2 tubes/ 2 tubes; it will fire four. It it wants to fire three and the tubes are defined as 2/2/1/1, it will fire three. Remember: that bear. All forward or all aft - forward preferred but selected with some random.

If the appropriate data is not in place, the code will default to firing whatever is available, i.e., 4 or 6, at every target.

[ny59giants]

Since the split torpedo tubes work so well, why isn't the main turrets on your larger warships split according to the number of turrets?? Some BBs have 4 turrets with 3 guns each, but the device list them as 6 forward and 6 rear rather than having 2 forward device lines and 2 rear device lines.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

The net result is that big targets still get "full service" provided that the sub correctly identifies them (always remember FOW), but small targets get fewer torpedoes resulting in the sub staying on station longer and making more attacks. Deadlier subs overall.

I've been playing with split tubes for about four months, and they are great. Everything you said is true. I also find that the longer time on staiton makes designing good patrol zone shapes to be more important than before. Putting subs in tanker transit choke points really pays off now since they have a 3x greater chance, more or less, to still be on station when the tankers finish loading and head for the HI. You get a lot more milage out of the supplies and fuel you haul to forward bases for subs as well.

[minnowguy]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Since the split torpedo tubes work so well, why isn't the main turrets on your larger warships split according to the number of turrets?? Some BBs have 4 turrets with 3 guns each, but the device list them as 6 forward and 6 rear rather than having 2 forward device lines and 2 rear device lines.

WW2 warships used "directors" to aim their guns. A director has really good optical telescopes and rangefinders (optical, radar, or both) and is placed as high on the ship as possible so it can see targets at the furthest possible range.

Normal practice was for the turrets to be slaved to the director and for all the guns available to fire at once (a "salvo"). This increased the odds of any one shell hitting the target. It was pretty uncommon for more than one shell from a single salvo to hit the target; ships could and did fire hundreds of salvos for only a few hits.

So ... the split would be by number of directors and not by by number of guns or turrets. Only a few large ships had more then one director, and they were usually organized with one forward and one aft. The second director was more of a spare -- in case of damage to the primary -- and it was pretty rare to split the fire of the main battery between different targets. (According to my reading; there are real experts on this forum, so please correct me if I'm wrong.)

If all the directors were damaged, it was possible to fire the individual turrets in "local control". This was an emergency measure since the turret optics were much less capable than the optics in the director and were so much closer to the waterline that they could only observe and engage relatively nearby targets.

The torpedo tubes were split to conserve rare ammunition. A sub only carries a few torpedo reloads for each tube, so only firing a few fish at a low value target is a realistic tactical choice. Ships, on the other hand, carried thousands of rounds of main-gun ammunition so conserving ammunition was almost always secondary to increasing the odds of a hit.

[Itdepends]

Agree with minnowguy- firing in salvos decreased the chance for the target to be able to dodge the fire and gave more "impact" psychologically.