Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadoWarrior
Destroyers and light cruisers are particularly poor (and dangerous) targets for subs. And the US didn't have all that many subs early on. But the US could have begun crippling the Japanese merchant fleet sooner, had they had properly working torps. Wouldn't have affected Guadalcanal much, but it would have been felt in other areas and it would have lessened the Allied losses in the war. But shortened the war? I don't think so.
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In the early war years, US submarines often found themselves with dream shots, only to have their torpedoes fail.
Consider the USS Growler at the Battle of Midway, the only US sub to attack a Japanese warship in the battle, she was able to get close enough to put four torpedoes into one of the carriers, hit the carrier with all four shots, only to have all of them fail to explode! To add insult to injury, the air flask from one of the torpedoes floated to the service and was used by several Japanese sailors as a floatation device....its no wonder that US submariners wanted to travel to the east coast and commit barbarous acts upon the persons of certain officers working with Weapons Development!
What finally conviced the lab rats was a submarine that set up and fired twelve torpedoes (he reloaded!!!) at a stationary target, at the recommended range, using the recommended settings and got to watch all twelve torpedoes hit the target and fail to go off.
It doesn't get much worse than that!