WWII Adventure Movie Scenario: Intercepting the Convoy

1) Is the scenario of the WWII destroyer intercepting the convoy plausible?

Calculate the speed the destroyer had to travel to arrive at the convoy and determine if the scenario is feasible.

Answer:

Since the maximum speed of a WW II destroyer is 35 knots, the destroyer could have traveled at a speed of 13.33 knots to intercept the convoy. Thus, the scenario is plausible.

To determine if the scenario is plausible, we need to calculate the speed the destroyer had to travel to intercept the convoy.

The submarine travels at 10 knots submerged during the 14 hours of daylight and at 18 knots on the surface during the night. Therefore, the submarine covers a distance of 10 knots * 14 hours = 140 nautical miles during the day, and 18 knots * 10 hours = 180 nautical miles at night.

Since the submarine takes two days to intercept the convoy, it travels a total distance of 140 nautical miles + 180 nautical miles = 320 nautical miles.

The destroyer receives word of the submarine's plans 24 hours after it has left the port. This means the destroyer has 24 hours to travel a distance of 320 nautical miles.

To calculate the speed the destroyer must travel, we divide the distance by the time: 320 nautical miles / 24 hours = 13.33 knots.

By calculating the speed, we can confirm that the destroyer would have been able to intercept the convoy, making the scenario plausible.