Transient launch noise
 

is there a way to reduce transient launch noise?

any tips or tricks for reducing the odds that an enemy will hear you shoot?

IIRC there were nuke subs with "swim out" launch options... and as for the 1968 campaign, the Mk-37 was a swim out weapon... i will have to see if this is simulated in game.

the purpose of the sub is stealth... hard to maintain that if the target you spent all that time stalking is just going to hear you pull the trigger and get away or evade you and snapshot you 100% of the time.

seems as if the element of stealth and surprise is not found in modern sub warfare :hmmm:

keep in mind, i am a WW2 skipper... outside of 688i back in the late 90s i have not commanded nuke boat games outside of Cold Waters

Mk37 definitely is swim out. I have had some success in launching and/or letting the torps run beneath a strong layer before activating them - torps are slower and make less noise when inactivated, and the layer may hide them.

I'm not sure if the layer is also modeled to conduit sound when the sound source is directly in the layer, or if that even is a thing in real life, but, I've also seen ships react to my transients at great ranges when I've launched in the layer when the layer has been shallow. It could have been towed array or helicopter's hydrophone dipping into or below the layer.

Pay attention to ambient noise level too, it actually seems to be very important. I've managed to sneak Mk37s as close as 1 k yrd from an escort in a storm even without a layer, then flash radar to make him turn, speed up and run blind into the torp. :)

I found a strong layer, got above it about 15Kyds from target, and pointed my snout straight at him. My contact with him was very weak as he was below the layer.

in this demonstration, i fired one MK48 at an offset of about 30-40° to the starboard side of my own boat. i wire guided the waypoint in an attempt to steer the weapon into his baffles, it got about half way to the target before he turned and fired a spread.

I noticed however, that he fired the spread in the direction of the torpedo, which by now was some distance away from me. he had fired at the point where he first detected the torpedo.

the snapshot spread was the usual three torpedoes, but due to the distance between me and my MK48, it was evident that his torpedoes wouldnt come anywhere near me. i enabled the weapon and steered it toward him, it promptly locked on and found its target shortly thereafter.

a lot of the avoidance of launch transient detection, has to do with the ambient noise and layers as i think would be obvious to even a dufus like myself... however, in some environments the ambient noise may be low, or there may be no layer at all.

in those situations, it is important to spend a LOT of time maneuvering your boat into the most favorable firing situation possible. which - may not be possible in the majority of encounters where there are multiple hostiles.

im learning... as much as i LOVE cold waters - i still think spamming out the map with 15+ torpedoes is unrealistic. and i have observed several instances since the beta where enemy units sink their own. I am working on finding a shooting style that avoids having every torpedo in the soviet arsenal hurled at you at once.

I read, saw, watched somewhere that firing a torpedo from the side of the boat that is away from the target reduces any launch disturbance caused by the launch.

I imagine that their are many variables and technology levels to be considered.

I also prefer to fire when I am deep. Seems the enemy doesn't notice it as quickly.

I, also, have my torpedoes wear sneakers.

Putting the bulk of your submarine between the noise and enemy sonar might help dampen it, of course you risk breaking your guidance wire.

In the weapons text file you can find the particular torpedo you're interested in and insert the line:

swimout=TRUE

somewhere among the list of attributes.

Look at the file for the MK 37 as an example and copy it.