Technology and Operations
This forum is for discussing technological & operational matters pertaining to U-boats.
Re: damage from blast & long shots
Posted by:
kurt
()
Date: June 22, 2004 02:57PM
I'll take a stab at this.
The 'average' range for attack was on the order of 1000 - 2000 m. A 'real' number could be made by analysis of attack reports, etc, but it gets a bit uncertain, since most attacks did not estimate distance to target well (the tendency was to think the target was farther - and bigger - than it really was).
Shots longer than a few thousand meters were extremely rare and even less likely to hit - the chances of hitting a fleeting object were just too small. It would be extremely rare to take a shot, and even rarer to hit, at over 4000 m. No one could aim and hit a target at the extremes of the ranges the torpedoes were capable of travelling.
I'm sure someone somewhere has a number for the longest range hit by a U-boat - someone got lucky with a long shot somewhere.
The longest documented hit by a submarine in any war was the 'lucky shot' by the Japanese sub I-19 that went past its intended target and unintentionally hit the USS BB North Carolina - at a range of 22,000 m. The I-19 also sank one carrier and damaged another - the most successfull salvo of any sub in any war.
Kurt
The 'average' range for attack was on the order of 1000 - 2000 m. A 'real' number could be made by analysis of attack reports, etc, but it gets a bit uncertain, since most attacks did not estimate distance to target well (the tendency was to think the target was farther - and bigger - than it really was).
Shots longer than a few thousand meters were extremely rare and even less likely to hit - the chances of hitting a fleeting object were just too small. It would be extremely rare to take a shot, and even rarer to hit, at over 4000 m. No one could aim and hit a target at the extremes of the ranges the torpedoes were capable of travelling.
I'm sure someone somewhere has a number for the longest range hit by a U-boat - someone got lucky with a long shot somewhere.
The longest documented hit by a submarine in any war was the 'lucky shot' by the Japanese sub I-19 that went past its intended target and unintentionally hit the USS BB North Carolina - at a range of 22,000 m. The I-19 also sank one carrier and damaged another - the most successfull salvo of any sub in any war.
Kurt
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Torpedo Stats
|
Eric | 06/14/2004 07:23PM |
|
Re: Torpedo Stats
|
Brian | 06/17/2004 02:08PM |
|
Re: Torpedo Stats
|
Eric | 06/17/2004 05:47PM |
|
Re: Torpedo Stats
|
Ken Dunn | 06/17/2004 07:55PM |
|
Re: damage from blast & long shots
|
Brian | 06/18/2004 04:25AM |
|
Re: damage from blast & long shots
|
kurt | 06/22/2004 02:57PM |
|
Re: damage from blast & long shots
|
Ken Dunn | 06/22/2004 07:35PM |
|
Re: Torpedo Stats
|
Natter | 08/28/2011 05:39PM |