You are correct Ken. in order tho release a Torpedo the Skipper would have to be on Periscope depht which means going up to 35 meters in most cases and dive deeper after the torpedo left the tube at which time the tube outer door will be closed again. Can you send me an e-mail plus your e-mail address regarding this please. Thanks Paul MengelbergKen Dunn wrote:
>
> Oops... I forgot something. With the outer torpedo tube door
> open the U-boat couldn't dive very deep as the only thing
> keeping the water out of the boat was the inner torpedo tube
> door and it wasn't that strong. This is also part of the
> reason that torpedoes couldn't be fired from great depth (I
> think the depth keeping mechanism inside the torpedo was also
> part of the problem but am not sure) and of course the air
> pressure necessary to fire a torpedo at great depth was a
> part of the problem too. At some point in the war (toward
> the end I think) some of this problem was overcome and
> torpedoes could be fired from a greater depth than they could
> be at the beginning of the war but it still wasn't all that
> deep. The Type XXI could fire torpedoes from a deeper depth
> than the Type VIIs and IXs I think but of course the Type XXI
> was developed too late to make a difference. Sorry for all
> of the speculation but it is the best I can do. I am hoping
> someone else will clear up the fuzzy areas.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ken Dunn