Sonar Frequency question

[SquidNeko]

Skipjack have medium frequency sonars while all others have low frequency.

I dont get what is better and why.

I have googled and all the things people say dont really lead me to understand if low, medium or high is better. If any with high even exists.

Skipjack have Medium. So does it mean it can detect stuff better? Or worse?

[Antti-san]

Low-frequency is the best, high-frequency the worst. So, compared to other US boats, the Skipjack is worser.

[HardworkingSlacker]

The higher the frequency of your active(!) sonar is the faster its ping gets absorbed while travelling through the water.
Low frequency active sonars have long range but rather coarse resolution (good enough to locate big vessels like submarines and surface ships).
High frequency active sonars trade range for sharper resolution which is needed to locate small objects in the water (like mines for example).
For more information read the wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonar#Active_sonar

I hope i was able to shed some light on this topic!

Sincerely

A little edit:
Passive sonars also have frequencies.
Because low frequency sound waves travel farther than higher ones your passive sonar listens to those sound waves.
The medium frequency active and passive sonar on the Skipjack has less range than the sonars on other submarines.
In return, the Skipjack delivers a better resolution of the submarines that are in range of its sonar.
It can be said that the Skipjack excels at shorter ranges while being rather weak in long range engagements.
It is also good for infiltration missions because it detects minefields faster!

[SquidNeko]

Originally posted by affige_alliteration:

The higher the frequency of your active(!) sonar is the faster its ping gets absorbed while travelling through the water.
Low frequency active sonars have long range but rather coarse resolution (good enough to locate big vessels like submarines and surface ships).
High frequency active sonars trade range for sharper resolution which is needed to locate small objects in the water (like mines for example).
For more information read the wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonar#Active_sonar

I hope i was able to shed some light on this topic!

Sincerely

A little edit:
Passive sonars also have frequencies.
Because low frequency sound waves travel farther than higher ones your passive sonar listens to those sound waves.
The medium frequency active and passive sonar on the Skipjack has less range than the sonars on other submarines.
In return, the Skipjack delivers a better resolution of the submarines that are in range of its sonar.
It can be said that the Skipjack excels at shorter ranges while being rather weak in long range engagements.
It is also good for infiltration missions because it detects minefields faster!

Thank you. This gives me the info i was looking for. =3