Depth charges on surface ships?

[callumwaw]

Recently I've noticed many BB/CA players target other surface ships with their plane-dropped depth charges.  Are they so confused that they actually think everybody has the Dutch carpet bombing gimmick now?  Or do depth charges actually do damage to surface ships? (which I highly doubt, I never got a single point of dmg when targeted like that)

[RenamedUser_92906789]

Wows player base, what do you expect.

 

The only thing those planes are good for is to roughly determine the location of enemy ships.

 

Even if the DC planes do not detect a surface ship directly, you still can see enemy AA fire in case they havent turned it off. A viable usage would be flying them into the cap, to see roughly where the enemy DD is (if he has AA on), or over the island for example.

 

As for the BB players doing runs on surface ships.. they're just potato, as depth charges do no dmg to them.

 

 

[ColonelPete]

They are just bored and do something.

[Nibenay78]

4 minutes ago, callumwaw said:

Recently I've noticed many BB/CA players target other surface ships with their plane-dropped depth charges.  Are they so confused that they actually think everybody has the Dutch carpet bombing gimmick now?  Or do depth charges actually do damage to surface ships? (which I highly doubt, I never got a single point of dmg when targeted like that)

Many probably think so. Other options are to stress the other player during the heat of the battle. 

 

It can be usefun as "spotter" if they forget AA on.

 

Im sure I have seen the depth charges impact on my deck for no effect. 

[MementoMori_6030]

Vor 7 Minuten, callumwaw sagte:

Recently I've noticed many BB/CA players target other surface ships with their plane-dropped depth charges.  Are they so confused that they actually think everybody has the Dutch carpet bombing gimmick now?  Or do depth charges actually do damage to surface ships? (which I highly doubt, I never got a single point of dmg when targeted like that)

The thing is called "airstrike". Don't expect the average simpleton in this game to delve deeper into the mechanics of WoWs. They are already overtaxed with WASD and the mouse buttons.

[Lootboxer]

They are playing for fun and according to The Spreadsheet they love to drop depth charges.

[RenamedUser_92906789]

4 minutes ago, Nibenay78 said:

Many probably think so. Other options are to stress the other player during the heat of the battle. 

 

It can be usefun as "spotter" if they forget AA on.

 

Im sure I have seen the depth charges impact on my deck for no effect. 

 

Same as shot down planes if they hir your ship.

[illy]

sometimes it's worth doing over an island and see if any AA lights up, it can give you an idea where an unseen surface ship might be

[Mad_Dog_Dante]

Most are probably just bored and love to use depth charges in general cuz survey said so.

[Yedwy]

59 minutes ago, callumwaw said:

Recently I've noticed many BB/CA players target other surface ships with their plane-dropped depth charges.  Are they so confused that they actually think everybody has the Dutch carpet bombing gimmick now?  Or do depth charges actually do damage to surface ships? (which I highly doubt, I never got a single point of dmg when targeted like that)

Well sometimes you have nothing else to do while you wait for the reload so why the hell not...

Sometimes one might not know that those dont to sh*t to surface ships and if you drop them they might move just slightly to get into your firing line...

Sometimes you want to see AA to find the enemy ship...

[MementoMori_6030]

Vor 19 Minuten, Yedwy sagte:

Sometimes you want to see AA to find the enemy ship...

As I have not used the crap, because there is no ASW at T4... aren't the planes coming out of your ship's direction, so they are giving your position away as well?

[Yedwy]

2 minutes ago, MementoMori_6030 said:

As I have not used the crap, because there is no ASW at T4... aren't the planes coming out of your ship's direction, so they are giving your position away as well?

Does it matter if you are say hunting a cruiser hiding between islands? She already knows where you are...

[Hugh_Ruka]

Same why DDs pop DCs when there are no subs ... to create a nice bubble bath for the crew to relax ...

[Chaoskraehe]

I use it sometimes to check if someone hides behind islands if they have their AA activated

[tocqueville8]

2 hours ago, callumwaw said:

Are they so confused that they actually think everybody has the Dutch carpet bombing gimmick now?  Or do depth charges actually do damage to surface ships?

I think they're just confused.

 

But, correct me if I'm wrong, shouldn't depth charges actually damage surface? They did in real life, right?

[Itwastuesday]

Seems to me also that some depth charge launchers launch a bunch, pause, then launch a bunch, such as in trashcan. Also :

 

ASW war part 1

 

ASW war part 2

 

Try dodging submarine torps from 2km, even without ping. hue

[Shirakami_Kon]

Well, ASW airstrikes don't damage enemy ships, but they actually have one utility besides trying to attack submarines.

 

In CV games where the enemy CV leaves a fighter squadron outside of allied AA, but close enough to provide spotting, you can send an ASW airtrike against the fighter flying around your area, that airstrike is enough to deplete the fighter effect, so basically you were given a tool to get rid of CV passive spotting with fighters.

[tocqueville8]

18 minutes ago, SHDRKN4792 said:

Well, ASW airstrikes don't damage enemy ships, but they actually have one utility besides trying to attack submarines.

 

In CV games where the enemy CV leaves a fighter squadron outside of allied AA, but close enough to provide spotting, you can send an ASW airtrike against the fighter flying around your area, that airstrike is enough to deplete the fighter effect, so basically you were given a tool to get rid of CV passive spotting with fighters.

Except cruiser airstrikes have pathetic range, so that's only for BBs 

[Chaoskraehe]

Vor 58 Minuten, tocqueville8 sagte:

I think they're just confused.

 

But, correct me if I'm wrong, shouldn't depth charges actually damage surface? They did in real life, right?

As far as I know, ASW need pressure to arm, if they hit a ship nothing happens. 

[Nibenay78]

7 minutes ago, tocqueville8 said:

Except cruiser airstrikes have pathetic range, so that's only for BBs 

And all prem BB iirc.

[BrusilovX]

4 hours ago, ColonelPete said:

They are just bored and do something.

I must admit that I have dropped depth charges on DDs in the past for something to do between reloads.

 

I know that the planes don't spot but can it activate the AA on the ships in the area to light them up?

[tocqueville8]

1 hour ago, Chaoskraehe said:

As far as I know, ASW need pressure to arm, if they hit a ship nothing happens. 

That's not what I meant.

 

If they *sink* near a ship, and the pressure makes them detonate, won't they also damage the keel/hull of the ship?

Maybe not as much as a torpedo, but they should do *some* damage, I reckon...

[Ronchabale]

Firing depth charges with no subs in game, why not, to see what happens, like firing your def fire AA in a game without CV:s, giving the amount of boredom this game offers from time to time I can very well see myself firing depth charges at the enemy ships

[callumwaw]

5 hours ago, tocqueville8 said:

That's not what I meant.

 

If they *sink* near a ship, and the pressure makes them detonate, won't they also damage the keel/hull of the ship?

Maybe not as much as a torpedo, but they should do *some* damage, I reckon...

 

Too difficult to model.  But you're right, there were situations in WW2 where a surface ship would tear its own stern off by dropping depth charges set at minimum depth when going too slowly. 

 

 

Thanks for all your answers guys, so basically it's like I thought, no damage can be done,  but you gave me two good ideas:  using ASW strikes to spot careless DDs who haven't turned off their AA,  and to deplete enemy fighters.  Cheers!

[lafeel]

24 minutes ago, callumwaw said:

Thanks for all your answers guys, so basically it's like I thought, no damage can be done,  but you gave me two good ideas:  using ASW strikes to spot careless DDs who haven't turned off their AA,  and to deplete enemy fighters.  Cheers!

As a somewhat ironic side note, doing just that cost a team a match over in KOTS last weekend as using ASW strikes is strictly prohibited.