Torpedo Data Computer

I think WWII submarines are pretty neat. I read Thunder Below! by Admiral Gene Flucky and Run Silent, Run Deep by Captain Edward Beach. I even went and visited the USS Bowfin. I love how analog and human they are. I’m sure there is a better way to describe it.

I’m particularly interested in the Torpedo Data Computer, or TDC. It was a fully mechanical computer that can take continuous inputs from the submarine, calculate a firing solution, and program the torpedos until a second before firing.

It’s even more complex than a slide rule which is the same kind of analog I like. It can even do calculus.

I have an idea kicking around in my head for a pocket TDC using analog electronics, no microcontroller in sight. I still don’t know how that’s supposed to work, so I’m working on just figuring out the equations involved inside the TDC. It’s really simple right now, but it’s here.