the reason I want it to skim along the surface is so we can get more boat design training and can make better boats, ships, and float-planes(and they wouldn't be to hard to make controllable if we get that far). Does anybody know if we still get the penalty for designing outlandish weapons IF we we don't use anything that isn't already know?
The way I see it, a skimming torpedo is both more complicated to design and brings us less experience. Why?
More complicated: The weapon system needs to hit enemy ships. Therefore, it needs to travel in a reasonably straight line. When going over waves, the course is going to change slightly for every wave. So you either need to correct that (complicated) or can't hit anything.
Less experience: The most complicated part is the rocket design. In many ways, the rocket is going to be our first-designed one, bringing us valuable information about rockets in total due to the engine. Contrary to that, I believe the torpedo brings us less experience with ship design than all the other things we already have: Protectors, Sharks, Cods.
Can we explain why we are developing the second transport submarine? With same free space, and troops (Why we need troops on a sub for, BTW?)
I agree on that. Troops can be transported with the other one already (we have a hundred tons cargo space. Install benches, they're only going to be underway for half a day or a bit more).
For a dedicated attack/commercial attack sub, I'd do a completely new design. we need speed, we need diving depth and we need armament. Therefore:
The Swordfish class submarine: Four torpedo tubes with spares (2-3 per tube), an underwater speed of at least 20km/h and a diving depth of over a hundred metres. Design it only to be used submerged, with a snorkel. No deck gun. I do not care about the overwater speed.It's only to be used submerged with torpedoes. A deck gun would make it slower underwater and could only be used against unarmed targets anyway. Eliminating it frees tonnage.
Thoughts on that?