Anti-submarine warfare.

Probably the thing to do is build prototypes of the sub & the weapon to defeat it. A test/demonstration is worth more than all the words we could all type. People could see for themselves. Rules can be changed, if enough people believe that a proposed change is worthwhile. If it means adding fun to the sport, & can be demonstrated to work, it shouldn't be too tough to get passed.

JM

 

Good point, Maybe, we can do a test of how far the BB goes under water. A peice of Wood with ONe inch holes sheeted with whatever balsa a sub would be sheeted with, then someone with a bb gun would atempt to blow out some of the holes in the block of wood.... How's that sound?

But unfortunately I'm Short one item to do this test........... A BB GUN..... So if anyone would like to try and do this experiment..... Notify ME of the ReSults

 

OK, I have a few comments to add.

Comment 1: Having fought submarines, been sunk by submarines, and had my butt saved by submarines, I can tell you straight up that submarines are rarely a threat to other warships. A submarine must be faster than its target in order to launch an attack, and since all submarines travel at the minimum allowed speed for whatever club they are in, that only happens when the skipper of the target has screwed up in construction or taken on water. Any ship that is as fast or faster than a submarine only needs to sail straight ahead at full speed and the submarine will never get a shot. Its only real use is as the coup-de-grace, to finish off damaged or disabled ships that are unable to avoid its torpedoes, and in that role it is terrifying indeed. But as long as you build your ship well and battle smartly, you should never have to worry about submarines.

Comment 2: A few months ago, I ran several penetration tests, one of which was 1/4" balls water penetration test, using 1/8" balsa as testing material. During the test, I fired shots at legally tested operating pressures, into the target at varying ranges and depths. What I found was that heavy 1/4" balls can only travel through 3-4 inches of water before losing their ability to penetrate 1/8" balsa. Now 1/8" balsa is thicker than submarine armor, but at best you'd get penetration out to 8 inches. And 8 inches is a very easy depth to reach in a submarine. With that in mind, the "downward-firing cannon" depth charge idea becomes practically useless. All it would do is force the submarine to stay down, which isn't very useful since the sub isn't very effective anyway.

Comment 3: Sunken submarines are really hard to find. If you think finding a 6-foot long battleship is hard to do when visibility is less than 3 feet, try finding a 3-foot submarine. And submarines have this nasty habit of gliding underwater a long way before they hit the bottom, so if one sinks you've got to search the entire pond. I'd rather not sink submarines if I can help it, because I'm usually the one to go swimming for sunken ships.

Comment 4: If you really want an ASW weapon, try trawling for submarines. The way this works is you drag a fishing hook through the water on a 1.5-foot line suspended from the back of your destroyer/cruiser. You drive over the submarine (just like you're making a depth charge attack) and try to snare the submarine. Once you've caught it, you then drag it back to port. This allows you to counter any threat from submarines, while keeping recovery and maintenance of the submarine within reasonable do-ability. I can get a working prototype up and working fairly easily, all that remains after that is for someone with a submarine to sail out so I can test it.

 

I like it. A simple weighted hook, used to grapple for a submerged opponent. You'd be a sitting duck for the sub's surface companions if you did hook it though, so a release mechanism may be in order. And perhaps a small, brightly colored float so that it could be easily recovered? Same weapon as I originally envisaged, but with a different and I think, better method of use. This is why we put our ideas out here, to get feedback and new perspectives. Thanks to all for your inputs, now lets get on the water and sink something.

 

I think the Hook is a good idea

 

Hey i have a question about some things ive heard i heard that in big gun you can arm the ship by what it had in real life so if that ship had torpedos how would you use a torpedo in a battle?

 

i was thinking about how you guys were saying subs arent to much of a threat i would like to know there arnament and i had an idea about the torpedos. What if on subs you made 4 to six holes on there side, then made a gun like on ships but slightly bigger. You then get a torpedo shaped cylinder put it into each of the 4-6 tubes. The torpedos would make a natural seel to keep water out. Then you would need to put a o-ring at the mouth of the tube so the co2 could be pressurized when the button is pushed. This would result in propelling the torpedo at the target the sub is aiming at. These could also be put on ships that had them.

If you see something wrong with my plan please let me know.

Tyler

 

another way of fighting a sub could be by attaching a magnet to some fome and weighting it down like a depth charge then when a sub would hit it the magnet would stick to it whereever some small squares have been put on the inside of the sub

 

Torpedoes are just 1/4" ball bearing guns, aimed at a short range (12", etc.).

JM

 

where are they located on the ships

 

and are they aimed at the water line like real torpedos

 

lastly what do you think of my depth charge idea?

 

I have made up a depth charge to use in combat. I am just waiting for a submarine to come to a battle. It follows my earlier idea about trawling for submarines.

Comment 4: If you really want an ASW weapon, try trawling for submarines. The way this works is you drag a fishing hook through the water on a 1.5-foot line suspended from the back of your destroyer/cruiser. You drive over the submarine (just like you're making a depth charge attack) and try to snare the submarine. Once you've caught it, you then drag it back to port. This allows you to counter any threat from submarines, while keeping recovery and maintenance of the submarine within reasonable do-ability. I can get a working prototype up and working fairly easily, all that remains after that is for someone with a submarine to sail out so I can test it.

As for submarine torpedoes, look in the WWCC photo gallery. There are several submarines in the Events Photos section, and in Ken Hoffman's Projects section.
www.westernwarshipcombat.com

 

The hook is a great idea but i think i see a few flaws. 1. what if the fishing line gets tangled into your propeler? 2. how is a fishing hook going to get caought in the submarine. But its a great idea.

 

LOL sry it hought that sounded funny when i read it to my self

 

And if the hook happens to catch on diving planes, superstructure or any other protruding part of the sub, including the props, well it works just as well.
As to independently powered projectiles, ie: gas powered torps, suicide boats, kaiten, and the like, I would be consider them to be vessels in their own right, and subject to the "no-ram" rule.
Add to this the fact that they would be unguided, and capable of causing injury, and I'm pretty sure that just for safety reasons, they won't be allowed. Ever. Pyrotechnics and other explosive devices are STRICTLY forbidden. Period. Hope this ends discussion on these subjects.

 

well in that case i will start my own club and allow i agree these discussions are ended

 

o and necesarily a torpedo is not a vessel its a under water missile