Torpedoes

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Torpedo basics.

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How It Works.

Torpedoes are an excellent weapon at medium to close range against large or unaware ships who have a difficult time dodging. These self-propelled waterborne projectiles are slow to reload and slow to travel, but deliver devastating damage. They are usually launched by destroyers, submarines or torpedo bombers from aircraft carriers, but a fair number of cruisers also carry torpedoes as a secondary armament and even some battleships do. It may be difficult to make your torpedoes hit their target every time, as they take more time to travel than shells and are a lot easier to dodge than shells if spotted. Unlike firing guns, firing torpedoes does not increase a ship's detectability radius. This makes them good stealth weapons.

Aiming Ship-Launched Torpedoes

When torpedoes are selected (default key 3), the firing arcs of the torpedo launchers will be shown. The arc will be green if the corresponding launcher is loaded, or yellow if it is still reloading. Overlapping arcs are shown with a dashed line. The inner edge of the arc indicates the minimum arming distance of the torpedoes. If no arc is showing on selecting torpedoes, the torpedo armament has been incapacitated.

A highlight shows the current direction and spread of the launcher. The desired aim direction is shown with a red line. The traverse rate of torpedo launchers is generally quite fast, but finite.

If an enemy ship is targeted, a white cone shows the angle at which the torpedo spread will hit the center of the enemy ship, provided it maintains its current speed and heading. This provides a useful landmark.

With most ships, pressing the torpedo select key when they are already selected toggles between a wide spread and a narrow spread of all of the launcher's torpedoes. Generally the narrow spread is more useful when attacking specific ships. Some ships instead let the player choose between launching only one torpedo and launching all of the launcher’s torpedoes. These ships are: British cruisers and destroyers (except Campbeltown), premium/special Commonwealth cruisers and destroyers, British battleship Incomparable and Pan-American destroyer Juruá.

Launcher Mountings

There are roughly four types of mounting configurations:

• Side: The most common configuration, these launchers can fire only to one side of the ship, with a varying arc size---some can fire close to directly forwards to close to directly backwards (Admiral Graf Spee), some can fire in a moderate side arc (most cruisers), some only side-backwards (Japanese cruisers of Tier 6 and above), and some only in a narrow side arc (Mutsu). Ships with this configuration tend to carry more total torpedoes, though they can only fire at most half in a single direction at a time.
• Centerline: Found on most destroyers, these launchers can fire to either side of the ship, generally with good arcs. This gives them more flexibility than side-mounted launchers, though it may take a few precious seconds to traverse from one side to the other. A few ships (Mahan, Udaloi) have a mix of side- and centerline-mounted torpedoes, allowing them to fire a large salvo on one side followed by a smaller one on the other.
• Forward: Found on low-tier German destroyers, these launchers can fire in a narrow forward arc.
• Bow/Stern: Found on all submarines, their torpedoes are launched directly in front or behind them.

Reloading

After a torpedo launcher has fired its torpedoes it must reload before it can fire again. Generally, the more tubes in a launcher, the longer it takes to reload, though there is variation beyond this.

When a ship with optional single-launching of torpedoes fires torpedoes one at a time, the launcher does not automatically start reloading until all of its torpedoes have been fired. But the reload process can be started earlier by selecting torpedoes and pressing the reload key (default F). This does not change the reload time.

On submarines, the reloading of torpedoes depends on the number of bow and stern loaders. For example, Salmon has two bow and stern loaders, and so can only reload two torpedoes at a time for each group.

There are several ways to speed up the reload time of torpedoes:

• Fill the Tubes: This Level 3/2 commander skill for destroyers and cruisers reduces torpedo reload time by 10%.
• Torpedo Tubes Modification 2 : This upgrade is available to ships of Tier IX and above, and reduces torpedo reload time by 15%.
• Adrenaline Rush: This Level 3 commander skill will incrementally speed up the reload of both torpedoes and main battery guns as a ship takes damage.
• Torpedo Reload Booster : This consumable is available on some destroyers and cruisers, and reduces the reload time of torpedo tubes to either 5, 8, or 30 seconds.
• Torpedo Crew Training: This Level 2 commander skill for submarines reduces torpedo reload time by 15% while the submarine is detected.

Spotting

Ships can spot torpedoes from a fixed range based on the torpedo model.

The Hydroacoustic Search  consumable temporarily increases the range at which a ship can detect torpedoes to a fixed distance.

Note that if a ship is spotted and is in torpedo detection range while launching torpedoes, the torpedoes are also spotted. Once a torpedo is spotted, it remains spotted for the rest of its run.

Reaction Time

Torpedo reaction times, i.e. the time it takes for the torpedo to travel across its Detectability Range, can be computed assuming a stationary target. It follows that moving towards the torpedo will reduce the reaction time, while moving away will increase the reaction time. The torpedo's Detectability Range is shown when hovering the mouse over the Torpedo Tubes heading in the port's ship specifications. To compute the reaction time, the Detectability Range must be divided by the torpedo's speed. Because the torpedo's speed is shown in knots, the value must be converted to meters per second; however, since in-game units do not correspond directly to real-world units, a unique conversion factor must be applied to convert the torpedo's speed in knots to meters-per-second.

Following considerable amounts of testing by numerous users, a conversion factor of 2.6 was arrived at and has been derived with relatively precise accuracy. Note that the 2.6 figure converts knots to meters-per-second, rather than kilometers-per-second. For the (unitless) formula to work correctly, we must take that into account by multiplying the answer by 1000. Thus, the formula is:

D_range / (V_torp * 2.6) * 1000 = T_reaction

Alternatively, one could use a conversion factor of 0.0026 rather than multiplying the result by 1000:

D_range / (V_torp * .0026) = T_reaction

As an example, the reaction time of an incoming Japanese Type F3 torpedo, acquired beginning with Yugumo, would be:

1.9km / (76 knots * 2.6) ≈ 9.6 seconds

Whereas the reaction time for an incoming Japanese Type 93 torpedo — found aboard stock Shimakaze — would be:

2.5km / (62 knots * 2.6) ≈ 15.5 seconds

Note the above figures were calculated with data from Update 0.5.7.

Ship-Launched Torpedo Specifications

See Torpedo Data.

Destroyers without torpedoes

Most destroyers have torpedoes but these do not: IX Friesland, IX Groningen, X Druid and X Ragnar.

Ships with two torpedo types in battle

Most ships with torpedoes have only one torpedo type in battle but these ships have two:

• Many submarines (acoustic homing torpedoes and normal or deep-water torpedoes)
• Destroyers Tier IX Minegumo, Tier ★ Dalarna and Tier ★ Yamagiri (two types of normal torpedoes)
• Cruiser Tier X Kitakami (normal torpedoes and deep-water torpedoes)

It takes time to switch between the torpedo types (torpedo-type switching time, a few seconds depending on the ship).

Deep-Water Torpedoes

A stat card for a deep-water torpedo. Note the "strikes ships" section indicating what classes of ships can be hit by these weapons.

Deep-water torpedoes are a special type of torpedo that are restricted in the types of targets they can hit. Currently, they are found only on many Pan-Asian and few Japanese ships. What makes them different from regular torpedoes are their unique stealth and ship targeting properties. With an average spotting distance of 0.9 km, deep-water torpedoes are much more difficult to detect than normal torpedoes. However, the price for that advantage is that they are unable to hit and damage destroyers and submarines. The Japanese deep-water torpedoes do not hit cruisers either.

These ships have deep-water torpedoes:

Nation	Ship Type	Tier	Ship	Ship Kind	Exceptions	Hit cruisers	Hit battleships, aircraft carriers	Hit destroyers, submarines
Pan-Asia	Destroyer	II+	all	all	Anshan, Loyang (B)	yes	yes	no
Pan-Asia	Cruiser	V+	all	all	Huanghe, Dalian, Mengchong	yes	yes	no
Pan-Asia	Submarine	VI	Xin Zhong Guo 14 (1 of 2 torpedo types)	premium		yes	yes	no
Japan	Destroyer	VIII	Asashio (B)	premium		no	yes	no
Japan	Battleship	IX	Tsurugi	premium		no	yes	no
Japan	Cruiser	X	Kitakami (1 of 2 torpedo types)	special		no	yes	no

There are several ways to help captains counter attacks with deep-water torpedoes:

• Hydroacoustic Search  extends the detection of torpedoes by a fixed amount (while active) and stacks with Vigilance.
• Torpedo Lookout System sets base torpedo detection range to 1.8 km.
• The commander skill Vigilance is great for spotting enemy torpedoes sooner and with the high stealth of these torpedoes, any advantage is helpful. Stacks with both TLS and Hydro.

It is worth noting that on destroyers, the deep-water torpedoes do not set off the torpedo alarm, nor do they show an indicator on the UI for which direction they are coming from like normal torpedoes. As well as this, deep-water torpedoes simply pass underneath a destroyer harmlessly and continue on their way. This can lead to some interesting team play, stacking torpedoes under allied destroyers.

Top: What is shown when targeting a destroyer with deep-water torpedoes. Bottom left: icon of deep-water torpedoes that can hit the captain's ship. Bottom right: icon of deep-water torpedoes when driving a destroyer.

Acoustic Homing Torpedoes

Found only on submarines, acoustic homing torpedoes, like their name implies, home in on their target. For the homing to take effect, a submarine must ping the target with their sonar, either before or after they launch homing torpedoes. Once pinged, the torpedoes will home onto their target up, taking lead into account until a certain distance, with which the homing will shut off and the torpedoes continue in a straight line. The first ping (highlighted white) on a ship enables the homing. The second ping (highlighted yellow) improves the homing capabilities and extends the time the ping lasts on a ship. These torpedoes can also be launched unguided, if no ship is pinged, or, if a ship is already pinged, by pressing G to remove the ping. If there is insufficient time for the torpedoes to reach their target, an indicator appears alerting the player.

The indicator that homing torpedoes do not have enough time to reach their target.

The distance at which homing torpedoes stop homing depends on the class of the target ship, the tier of the submarine, and if the sector is single or double pinged. The tables below list the exact values:

——  Homing Cut-off Distance Data  ——

Tier VI Submarines
Class	Single Ping	Double Ping
Aircraft Carriers	0.90 km	0.90 km
Battleships	1.50 km	1.35 km
Cruisers	1.20 km	0.60 km
Destroyers	0.40 km	0.20 km
Submarines	0.20 km	0.10 km

Tier VIII Submarines
Class	Single Ping	Double Ping
Aircraft Carriers	1.08 km	1.08 km
Battleships	1.80 km	1.50 km
Cruisers	1.32 km	0.66 km
Destroyers	0.44 km	0.22 km
Submarines	0.22 km	0.11 km

Tier X Submarines
Class	Single Ping	Double Ping
Aircraft Carriers	1.26 km	1.26 km
Battleships	2.10 km	1.60 km
Cruisers	1.44 km	0.72 km
Destroyers	0.48 km	0.24 km
Submarines	0.24 km	0.12 km

I-56
Class	Single Ping	Double Ping
Aircraft Carriers	1.08 km	1.08 km
Battleships	2.40 km	1.20 km
Cruisers	1.44 km	0.72 km
Destroyers	0.48 km	0.24 km
Submarines	0.24 km	0.12 km

Alliance
Class	Single Ping	Double Ping
Aircraft Carriers	0.54 km	0.54 km
Battleships	0.90 km	0.75 km
Cruisers	0.65 km	0.33 km
Destroyers	0.22 km	0.07 km
Submarines	0.11 km	0.07 km

S-1’s stock acoustic homing torpedoes
Class	Single Ping	Double Ping
Aircraft Carriers	1.08 km	1.08 km
Battleships	1.80 km	1.50 km
Cruisers	1.32 km	0.66 km
Destroyers	0.44 km	0.22 km
Submarines	0.22 km	0.11 km

S-1’s and L-20’s researchable acoustic homing torpedoes
Class	Single Ping	Double Ping
Aircraft Carriers	1.08 km	1.08 km
Battleships	1.80 km	1.50 km
Cruisers	1.32 km	0.66 km
Destroyers	0.44 km	0.22 km
Submarines	0.20 km	0.11 km

K-1’s researchable acoustic homing torpedoes
Class	Single Ping	Double Ping
Aircraft Carriers	1.26 km	1.26 km
Battleships	2.10 km	1.60 km
Cruisers	1.44 km	0.72 km
Destroyers	0.48 km	0.24 km
Submarines	0.20 km	0.12 km

The base duration of single and double pings for submarines is listed in the table below:

Submarine	Nation	Single Ping Duration	Double Ping Duration
Tier VI		25 s	50 s
Tier VIII		25 s	55 s
Tier X		25 s	65 s
S-189		25 s	30 s

Submarines and their torpedo types

Nation or Submarine	Tier	Acoustic Homing Torpedoes	Non-homing Torpedoes
all	VI	yes	no
UK	all	yes	no
U-4501	X	yes	no
Xin Zhong Guo 14	VI	yes	deep-water
USA, Germany, Alliance, Japan, USSR	VIII+	yes	normal

All submarine torpedoes deal reduced damage within the first 3 kilometers they travel. Up to 2.9 km, they only deal 10% damage, while from 2.9 to 3 km, their damage scales up to 100%.

Non-homing torpedoes cannot be launched at maximum depth.

When a submarine has two torpedo types, the non-homing ones usually have higher damage.

Torpedo Turning

The Torpedo turning mechanic, found on the British battlecruisers (the Indefatigable — St. Vincent line, Renown '44), Japanese light cruisers Tier VII+ (Omono — Yodo, Tokachi), Anhalt and submarines, serves to expand the aiming possibilities of fixed torpedo tubes. In the game, it allows fixed torpedo tubes to launch their torpedoes in directions they cannot physically turn towards. When a torpedo with the mechanic is launched, it immediately turns towards the direction that was specified. After completing a fancy turning animation, the torpedo continues in a straight line.

It should be noted that the animation and mechanic as a whole are purely visual for the most part, and the torpedoes are not guided like the homing torpedoes found on submarines. Torpedoes with this mechanic typically have a significantly longer arming distance than normal torpedoes.

Hit Effects

Once a torpedo hits a ship or landmass, or runs out of range, it is destroyed. If it hits a ship, it deals damage to it and may cause flooding, provided it has had time to arm.

Arming Distance

Torpedoes have a minimum arming distance. If a torpedo strikes a target before it has reached the minimum arming distance, it will not explode and will not damage the target ship. Once the torpedo is armed, it will always explode when hitting a ship; duds, non-explosions or ricochets are not planned for the game.

Damage

Every torpedo has 2 types of damage, splash and alpha. The listed damage in the port is calculated with "alpha / 3 + splash". Splash can also hurt the neighboring sector such as superstructure, casemate and so on.

1. Torpedo hits into bow/stern -- deals 16.5% of alpha and splash damage to "entire hull" and "bow/stern" respectively.
2. Torpedo hits into citadel -- reduced damage. Coefficient can be found here. Alpha damage of torpedo is multiplied by a value on the table. Torpedo Protection also decreases the chance of flooding.
3. Torpedo hits the mid-section of a destroyer -- reduced damage. 33% of alpha damage.

After Update 0.7.11, a torpedo hitting a ship in any such part will cause guaranteed damage of 10% of the maximum damage it could potentially cause.

Flooding

When a torpedo hits a target, it has a chance to cause flooding. Base flooding damage is 0.5% (for battleships & large cruisers), .25% (for carriers, destroyers, and cruisers), .33% (for submarines), or .375% (for Admiral Graf Spee) of the target's base hit points per second for 40 seconds (30 seconds for submarines and carriers), although this may be modified by several factors. Multiple floods can be dangerous without any assistance (i.e. repair party or damage control), especially if the target has taken previous damage, so if you catch someone while their damage control is on cooldown, flooding will result in a high amount of damage (up to 40% of base health) and there is an increased chance of the target being eventually destroyed by it.

Flooding can only occur in two places, unlike fires. Additional floods caused will simply reset the timer.

The chance of flooding varies depending on torpedo size as well as an undisclosed probability flooding coefficient that reduces the chance to flood based on the ship hit. For example, the Japanese 610mm Type 93 Mod 3 has a guaranteed chance to cause a flood with a 406% chance. On the other hand, the air-dropped Type 91 Mod 1a from Japanese torpedo bombers has a 63% chance to flood. However, one may notice that even these high flood chances may not cause a flood immediately (in the Japanese air-dropped torpedoes they may never cause a flood). This is because all ships have a probability coefficient based on their torpedo protection that reduces the chance of flooding. Typically, destroyers have the lowest at a flat 1.00 while battleships have much lower coefficients.

Offensive Tactics

Friendly Fire

Since update 0.10.5, it is no longer possible for friendly torpedoes to deal damage to allied ships. However, it is still possible to be penalized for hitting friendlies too many times with torpedoes, and it can be frustrating to have part or all of a torpedo salvo be blocked by allies. To prevent friendly fire incidents from occurring, avoid launching torpedoes from behind friendly vessels and be sure to check your line of fire (including the speed of allies) before launching.

Damage Control Party

If you can, bait your opponent into using their Damage Control Party using fires before hitting them with torpedoes. They will then be unable to repair any flooding caused by your torpedoes, leading to extra damage. By the same token, if you hit an enemy with torpedoes and cause flooding, the enemy will be obligated to use Damage Control Party---a perfect time to set them on fire or cause more flooding!

Stealth Torpedoing

Some ships, particularly destroyers, have greater torpedo range than their detectability radius. This allows them to fire torpedoes at a target without being detected by that target, making this a relatively safe method of employing torpedoes. Indeed, this is the standard operating procedure for most Japanese destroyers. However, this tactic does have its weaknesses:

• The launching ship may still be detected by ships other than the target.
• The longer travel time at range means hits are less likely:

• The target has a longer window to move out of the way.
• There is more opportunity for the torpedoes to be spotted by other enemy ships.
• The torpedoes will be spread wider when they eventually arrive, potentially allowing the target to slip between them.
• If the target was moving away to begin with, the torpedoes may outrun their range - they not only need to catch up to the initial position but then also make the extra distance the target travels during their run.

Even ships with a slightly shorter torpedo range than detectability radius can perform stealth torpedoing in the right circumstances: even if the enemy ship is out of range at the moment the torpedo is fired, if the ship is approaching they may nevertheless sail into the torpedo. However, this will generally result in a lower chance for a hit since they are presenting a bow-on profile.

Smoke

Smoke is another option in order to be able to torpedo without being seen. While ships firing artillery from smoke can sometimes be traced by their shell arcs, the delay and lower visibility of torpedoes makes it harder to precisely determine the location of a ship firing torpedoes out of a smoke cloud.

However, keep in mind that smoke works both ways. A smoke cloud is an attractive target for some torpedoes of the enemy's own, as a ship parked in a smoke cloud will have trouble spotting and dodging them. Even if the target does evade the torpedoes they may be forced out of the smoke cloud in the process. Also, smoke will not block Hydroacoustic Search  or Surveillance Radar . Finally, players will often turn away from smoke in order to minimize the damage they take from a source they cannot fire back at.

Island Ambushes

Another option is to hide behind an island as an enemy ship passes by, and then ambush them at close range. This is often the best way of ensuring a large number of torpedo hits---the element of surprise and the short range makes it difficult for the enemy to dodge the torpedoes or sink you before you can launch. Even a higher-tier, full-health battleship can be sunk in seconds this way.

The main difficulty is setting up the ambush---it is often more of a matter of opportunity than anything else. In the early game there are often too many ships about to set up the ambush undetected. Guess where opposing ships, especially lone ships, may be headed and note any islands they may be passing by. If you can get behind one of those islands first, you can try setting up an ambush.

Note that as with smoke, islands will not block Hydroacoustic Search  or Surveillance Radar . Furthermore, aircraft can see over islands. Ships will automatically detect each other at a range of 2 km regardless of islands or other factors. Finally of course, other ships may also be able to spot. If the enemy has these measures, they may be able to avoid your ambush and/or counterattack. On the other hand, if you have these measures they can aid in the ambush.

If the enemy ship is moving quickly and/or you have slow torpedoes, you may be able to launch even before the target has line of sight to you. This is safer than the conventional charge around the corner, but the delay makes it less reliable.

Head-on Attack

In a pinch it may be necessary to attack a target without benefit of stealth or a close-range ambush. Here it is best to attack head-on: torpedoes are liable to run out of range and are extremely easy to dodge in a chasing situation. Furthermore, in a chasing situation it takes far too long to close to a range where torpedo hits can be ensured.

Even if in a position to attack head-on this is an extremely risky proposition. You will likely become the priority target for all nearby enemies, and at close range they are likely to hit and at least some are likely to be able to shoot at your broadside.

Various tips:

• Get as close as you can before being detected and noticed. Hold your gun fire if you are not detected, and consider continuing to hold or shoot a different target if your rush target has not noticed you yet.
• It is good to have local numerical advantage. Allies can distract the target for a few crucial seconds as you close, and discourage the target from turning and fleeing for fear of showing a vulnerable broadside. Unfortunately, if the situation is so desperate that rushing is a good idea, you are most likely rather at a numerical disadvantage.
• Move towards the side the target's guns are not pointing towards. Again, allies can be helpful here.
• Don't fire your torpedoes too soon. While getting sunk or having your torpedo tubes incapacitated or destroyed before you can launch is unfortunate, so is launching from too great a distance and giving your target a chance to dodge. If you can wait that long, launch just before you pass alongside the target, just far away enough to guarantee that your torpedoes arm.
• If the attack ends up with you in a position likely to be quickly sunk, consider ramming. But be aware that the target may try to do the same to you if they are at a disadvantage!
• If you have torpedo launchers mounted on both sides of your ship and the first pass fails to sink your target, consider turning away from the target so you can get the other side's torpedo launchers to bear rather than trying to keep your guns on the target. If the target tries to keep their guns on you, they will run into your other side's torpedo arcs quite quickly.
• Risks are magnified if your target also has torpedoes. If your target knows what they are doing, it is likely that the duel will end with both ships sunk, so be sure you are willing to risk this outcome before making a head-on attack against another torpedo-armed ship. It is often better to be the second to launch, provided you don't get sunk before you can launch:

• By launching later and closer it will be harder for your opponent to dodge your torpedoes than vice versa.
• If your opponent launches first and fails to sink you, you can move to an optimal launching position with much less risk.
• As a bonus, even if you get sunk after you launch, you have a good chance at the "It's Just a Flesh Wound" achievement and its reward of India Bravo Terrathree signal flags (reduces post-battle service cost).

Aiming Torpedoes

If you suspect that your target is somehow obligated to keep their current course (e.g. to avoid presenting broadside to your allies, or to reach a capture point as quickly as possible), is distracted, or is simply not very good, and that they will simply continue sailing on their present course and speed, you can just aim directly at the white predictive marker.

Make sure that you have the correct target selected (default X to change targets) before you make any judgments from the marker. If the enemy is clustered, it may also be a good idea to check the markers of multiple targets---if multiple markers are close together you may be able to threaten multiple enemies with a single torpedo salvo.

If your target is broadside to you and traveling at full speed, the only things they could do to change where they end up relative to the predictive marker are to slow down and/or turn in or out, both of which will put them behind the marker by the time the torpedoes get there. Both are also common reactions to spotting torpedoes. In this case it is a good idea to aim some of your torpedoes behind the marker.

Likewise, if your target is accelerating or turning towards broadside they may end up ahead of the marker, though this is less common than the above.

Sometimes the marker is not necessary at all:

• If you predict the enemy will soon come through a chokepoint, you may want to fire torpedoes through the chokepoint regardless of the current marker position, or sometimes even if there is no enemy currently visible to get a marker from.
• If a target is stationary in smoke and firing shells out of it, you can fire torpedoes towards the shell origin.

The torpedo marker can also be a good way of measuring the enemy's speed, direction, and acceleration for the purpose of leading artillery fire.

Area Denial

Damage is not the only reason to use torpedoes. They can also be used to force enemies to take or avoid a particular course, which in turn can be useful when you and/or your allies are trying to make an escape, get a shot at their broadside, and so forth. If nothing else they may serve as a distraction as your opponent tries to determine how to avoid them.

Defensive Tactics

Before Torpedoes Are Spotted

Effective torpedo defense starts before the torpedoes---and sometimes before their launcher---are spotted. If there is any risk of incoming torpedoes, it is a good idea to frequently change course and speed (known colloquially as "WASD hacks") in order to foil long-range torpedo prediction. Pointing one's bow or stern towards the direction of expected threats will reduce the target area.

If sitting in smoke, avoid presenting a full broadside to the direction of likely enemy torpedo attacks. This will make it less likely to be hit if the enemy fires torpedoes into the smoke. However, a moderate angle may be useful in dodging laterally.

Even if you are undetected, you are not immune to torpedoes. Be careful when passing into obvious chokepoints near where enemy destroyers may have pre-fired them. Unless you are actively trying to spot torpedoes using a maneuverable ship or Hydroacoustic Search, try to avoid sailing between friendly ships and any enemies that may be trying to torpedo them, as you can still be hit by torpedoes that were not intended for you.

Defending Against Rushes

If an enemy is trying to rush and torpedo you at close range, consider these tips:

• If you can do so safely, turn away and start kiting. It is difficult to rush even a slow ship that is kiting away, and at the very least it will delay them. However, turning around may not always be safe; if you are too close you could be torpedoes during your turn, and turning might expose your broadside to artillery fire.
• Shoot at the rushing enemy. You may be able to sink them before they launch; disable or destroy their torpedo tubes, engine, or rudder; or cause them to panic and launch too early, allowing you to dodge more easily.
• Get your allies to shoot at the rushing enemy too. Designate the target for your allies by aiming at them and pressing default F3.
• Most ships need to show broadside in order to launch torpedoes. Take this as a signal---and if they are a cruiser or battleship, an opportunity to shoot them in the citadel!
• Turn unpredictably while pointing your bow or stern roughly towards the rushing enemy; this will make it harder for them to hit you. Even near-point-blank torpedoes can sometimes be dodged this way!
• If you have torpedoes of your own, prepare to use them---see the offensive tactics above.
• If all else fails, go for the ram. Better for you to trade ships than for the enemy to sink you and survive.

When Torpedoes Are Spotted

Once incoming torpedoes have been spotted it is time to try to dodge them ("torpedobeat") if necessary. When facing a spread of torpedoes, there are three main options:

1. Try to make the spread pass ahead of your ship. Apply hard rudder to bring your ship parallel to the path of the torpedoes, and cut your throttle.
   • To turn in or away? Turn in the direction that will get you parallel faster if one is clearly faster---for example, if you are already close to parallel or you are already committed to a turn. Otherwise, it is generally advised to turn towards, rather than away, from the torpedoes---although this shortens the time of approach, this also reduces the time of exposure to the torpedoes and restores your freedom of movement faster. Furthermore, a stern hit risks disabling your rudder. Finally, as you are looking ahead, there is less risk of accidentally turning the wrong direction.
   • If turning away from the torpedoes, keeping your throttle down will shorten the time it takes for the torpedoes to pass you.
2. Try to make the spread pass behind your ship. Sail close to broadside to the torpedoes, apply full speed ahead, and don't turn more than necessary. This is often riskier, as giving a broadside increases your target area and makes you more vulnerable to artillery fire from the direction the torpedoes came from, especially if you sail in a straight line to keep your speed up. However, it may sometimes be necessary, especially if your opponent launched behind your path expecting you to take option #1.
3. Try to sail between the torpedoes, or, if not possible, to minimize the number of torpedo hits. This can be very risky, and it will be difficult for you to maneuver until the torpedoes are past. Again, however, it may sometimes be necessary. As with the first option, it is generally best to turn into the torpedoes.
4. If you know that a ship with torpedoes are coming at you, try to shoot at their torpedo tubes in incapacitate or destroy them.

Which option to use depends on whether the torpedoes were launched more ahead or behind your ship, and on the broader tactical situation.

If you are at slow speed:

• Do not try to reverse direction unless the torpedoes are extremely far away. Ship deceleration is extremely slow, and even propulsion upgrades do not improve the rate of deceleration.
• On the other hand, accelerating is fine, especially in a destroyer, British cruiser, or ship with the propulsion acceleration upgrade.

Against Torpedo Bombers

• Travel close to friendly ships, especially those with good AA capabilities. This will increase the chance of shooting down bombers before they reach you.
• If you have Defensive AA Fire and/or Catapult Fighter consumables, an enemy bomber attack is a good time to use them. In addition to shooting down more planes, Defensive AA Fire will cause a panic reaction, increasing the spread of any torpedoes dropped.
• If the torpedo bombers are far away and you have very good AA, you can turn away from them. This will force them to spend more time inside your AA range.
• Very fast ships (Russian destroyers) can even outrun air-dropped torpedoes (provided they do not lose too much speed by turning---but also keep in mind that driving in a straight line will make you more vulnerable to cross-drops and artillery fire).
• Otherwise, turn into them. This present a smaller target to the torpedoes and make your path harder to predict. Additionally if you are lucky the bombers will drop too close and the torpedoes will not have time to arm.
• If the bombers are approaching from a shoreline, being close to that shoreline will force them to go to the other side, as torpedoes do not function if they are dropped on land. On the other hand, if the bombers are coming from the other direction being close to the shoreline will restrict your options for maneuvering.

Near Closest Approach

• The stern of many ships is elevated above the water, so it is possible for a torpedo to pass under the stern without hitting the ship.
• Remember that a ship's rudder takes time to shift, and the inertia of a ship will tend to cause it to drift towards the outside of a turn. British cruisers are particularly infamous for this. If you are aiming for a narrow gap between torpedoes, you should start straightening out before you reach the gap.
• Counterintuitively, if a torpedo is coming from close to directly ahead and would hit near your stern, it may be possible to get your stern out of the way by turning towards the torpedo as your bow clears it.
• If you are in a battleship and being hit by a torpedo is inevitable, try to take it in the center section---this way your torpedo protection system will reduce the damage and chance of flooding. However, keep in mind that center section torpedo hits count as citadel damage and are thus less eligible to be repaired by the Repair Party consumable.

Smoke

As mentioned before, smoke tends to attract enemy torpedoes. Some tips to avoid being hit by enemy torpedoes when in smoke:

• Don't present your broadside to directions enemy torpedoes may come from, as presenting such a large area will make it difficult to dodge.
• Even with smoke, landmasses can be useful to reduce the possible directions torpedoes may come from, and to duck behind when you see torpedoes coming.
• Laying a longer smoke cloud and moving slowly back-and-forth in it will make it harder to predict your current and future position if you are firing your guns. However, when actively dodging torpedoes, keep in mind that it takes a long time to switch between forward and reverse. Also keep in mind that your ship is less maneuverable when reversing.
• Smoke does not last forever, and sometimes it may be best to leave the smoke cloud early to avoid torpedoes and other threats. Always have an escape route planned.