Calculation and Analysis of Hit Spread for Straight Running Torpedo Salvo

Some issues concerning the calculation of hit spread (HS) for straight running torpedo (SUT) salvo are studied. HS is a very important torpedo fire parameter and guaranteeing that the attacked target does no t escape from two salvo torpedoes. Methods for calculating HS of SUT for various cases are given and analyzed, and the proportional relation between HS of SUT and tangent of the lead angle is discovered. An interesting phenomenon is observed that a reverse firing order o f torpedoes may actually become a forward firing order if the target with high speed is not long enough and the torpedoes are launched with longer time interval. In addition, the software Matlab 6. 5 is adopted to visually reveal the properties o f the HS calculation formulas.