Harpoon 87 in the South Atlantic

We had a naval day at the club and was well attended with four players and three games going on. Thank you all for playing.

It was a sad day for submarine sailors. I ran two different submarine simulations with trying result for the submarine captains. The players did well in both cases with situations not their own entire making.

The first was Sink the Belgrano from the Falklands. In this one Captain Tony was trying to get past the destroyer escorts to go after the ARA Belgrano. Captain Chal ran an effective interference. So much so that his destroyer was sunk after firing off two ASW torpedoes at the HMS Conqueror. The lose of the ARA Hipolito Bouchard allowed the Belgrano to leave with Captain Mark covering her. The Conqueror would eventually catch the retreating ships but not before aircraft would arrive.

The Argentinians had issues with their sonar with at one point a ghostly image appeared near were they that the submarine was located. This caused the Argentines to be suspect of the real location of the submarine.

This battle can be found to be a success for both sides as Argentinian losses were smaller than historical and I am certain after this event that the Belgrano was going to stay in port. Which was what the Royal Navy was trying to do.

The second was a semi historical scenario with the ARA Salta was trying to get past two anti-aircraft escorts working with two Sea Kings. Captain Mark plan was to go deep and pass the patrols. Unfortunately a Sea King drops its dipping sonar less than a half a nautical mile away.

Ping, PIng, PINg, PING, PING! found you. The Salta was quickly found and a second Sea King dropped two Mk 46 torpedoes on her and it was over in less than 60 seconds.

I would like to run this again (Tony) with a longer approach. I am still uncertain that the ARA Salta can get through, but a lucky shot could cause a British destroyer to limp back to the repair facilities at Ascension Island. A big success for Argentina.

How well does a rule set that is 27 years old hold up? I have to say rather well, in my opinion. I may have to rewrite the play aid but I still prefer Harpoon 87 to Shipwreck or the current version of Harpoon. Your results may very.

Naval Battles for the Tabletop

As I am going over the forces for my two Falkland’s battles Mark brought up a point I hear often in running naval games in general and submarine actions in particular. That is “that Submarine Battles are the most boring things ever.” OK Mark, we have you on record stating this. And looking at the big picture he is correct. Naval actions are quick and nasty engagements. Forces have little time to react once weapons are away. Crew training and luck are what allows a ship or submarine to return to port.

Looking at modern engagement we have:

1973 Yom Kippur

• War Battle of Baltim 3 engagements lasting less than an hour and a half 
• Battle of Latakia 4 engagements lasting less than two hours 

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 
Two Type 14 (Blackwood-class) frigate of the Indian Navy against a Pakistani Daphne class submarine. (I do have a soft spot for the Blackwood Class). Indians had no knowledge of the presence of the submarine until the torpedo was fired. Unfortunately for the Pakistanis the torpedo failed to explode. A second was fired and the engagement was over in less than 30 minutes (possibly closer to 15 minutes).

Falkland War
Most of the fights were short, once both sides were engaged. This does not include time to set up the best possible solution.

So are these enjoyable to put on the table, I think so. Naval tactics in the Cold War era was based on finding, tracking and if necessary eliminating the target. Submarines trained in attack and counter measures. Even once a torpedo is in the water, the defending submarine can still launch what is called a “snap-shot” were they fire a torpedo down the path of the oncoming torpedo. This can disrupt the wire guidance of the attacker and if your luck is holding you may get a kill.

On the gaming table, modern naval actions will take longer to play out than it was to actually fight them. I am ok with that. I do not have a Fire Control Party to help me run my simulations. You learn why things were done historically.

Let me know what you think.

Jon
Royal Navy Toast for a Friday 
"A Willing Foe and Sea-Room"

Haze Gray and Underway

 My fleets for my up coming submarine games are now ready including aircraft.

The more famous fight is the HMS Conqueror against TF 79.3. In this action the Conqueror fired four torpedoes and hit two targets. While the ARA General Belgrano was hit by two torpedoes one of her escorts was lucky and was hit by a dud.

In this fight we have:

HMS Conqueror – Churchill Class SSN

ARA General Belgrano – Phoenix Class Light Cruiser
ARA Piedra Buena – Sumner Class Destroyer
ARA Hipólito Bouchard – Sumner Class Destroyer

The Belgrano was carrying an Alouette III but I am uncertain if it was used as a utility helicopter or as an ASW asset.  As I can find no record of the Argentines using the Alouette for ASW operations I will not use it in this game.
(Image is from Wikipedia)

In the next battle we have a more balanced ASW operation.

Here we have the ARA Salta trying to get closer to the British carriers.

ARA Salta – Type 209

HMS Brilliant – Type  22 Frigate
HMS Yarmouth – Type 12 Frigate
3 Sea King Helicopters No.820/826 Squadrons

It is reported that the Salta fired six torpedoes but they all misfired. While a blessing to the British it was a sad event for the Argentine.

Now I need to find a couple of able body sailors to take them to sea.