First off gents, going to take me a bit to get serious with this AAR, as today's a pretty hectic day, but I'll start it here, in part to make sure I follow through :-". I'll add to it as I can.
The Scenario I'll do is one of the smaller ones, "Pink's Dilemma". It's set during the convoy battle of ONS-5 in May 1943 ("Black May"). The Germans had made a coordinated attack on the convoy which was largely unsuccessful, but a small group of ships had separated from the main convoy, under the escort of the HMS Pink (a Flower-class Corvette). Historically, the Pink prosecuted one contact with a sub, causing serious damage, but a second sub got into her mini-convoy (thus the dilemma).
So, looking at the image, I have two subs. Right now, I'm focused on the easternmost one. U-358. Light clouds with a wind of 10kts.
I have to leave in a second, but to give you a bit of idea of what you're seeing. The sub is surrounded by a number of circles, wedges and the like.
1) The yellow circle is current visible range. Though the clouds do break LOS. Note, this is the range at which I can see them. Subs are harder to see, but if you get close enough, they will spot you.
2) the Black 3/4 circle is your main gun. You don't have an aft firing arc because the gun is blocked by the Conning Tower. The gun fires automatically, though you can order it not to fire. (Handy for night battles when you don't want to reveal your position.)
3) The two blue arcs are your fore and aft torpedoes.
You'll notice on the lower left minimap that you have another sub off to the west.
I have to scoot to work now, so over the next few days, I'll share my misadventures in submarining. Then, my even worse misadventures on the bridge of the HMS Pink :D
Subscribing!! O0 :notworthy:
Thanks, so much for putting in this extra effort.
Quote from: besilarius on December 01, 2019, 11:48:11 AM
Thanks, so much for putting in this extra effort.
Ditto :clap:
Can someone give me a link to the game page so I can understand the game basics?
Game page: http://www.johntillersoftware.com/NavalCampaigns/Wolfpack.html?mc_cid=a93dd79bae&mc_eid=cddf15686c
Better than that, the manual is freely available from the game page as a pdf link! http://www.johntillersoftware.com/NavalCampaigns/Wolfpack/user.pdf
Though as an introduction the getting-started help file might be better? -- also linked on the game page. http://www.johntillersoftware.com/NavalCampaigns/Wolfpack/started.pdf
(I haven't bought the game yet but I'm interested; also in the prior Midway game using the same engine.)
Ok, getting back to it. (My work schedule on Sundays is odd. I have about 2-3 hours of free time mid afternoon, then gone for most of the day.)
Before I dig into the action itself, I'll note a bit more of the information on my sub.
If you look at the first screenshot, you'll see the sub info box (top left). The sub is listed as 100%(100%). The first number is the overall sub health. (Like John's other naval games, this one doesn't have detailed points of damage or the like. You can get flooding or burning status, but nothing more in depth than that.) Generally, as long as a ship is over 75%, it operates pretty well. After that, it begins to degrade. That said, subs are pretty fragile, so getting much damage can be a real problem.
The number in parenthesis is the current battery state. I'm running on the surface, so all is well. My sub is a hair short on torpedoes, as I only have 2 reloads for my forward tubes. This reflects the torps used in previous engagements against this convoy.
If you rightclick on that area, you'll get a bit more info on your sub, as in this screen shot.
Of note, you'll see that this is a Type VIIC U-Boat, and has armor by Reynolds :D
After this, I'll get into the AAR proper.
So, getting into the action. It's 11:30 in the morning, and I'm hunting any stragglers from the convoy we attacked previously. I have two subs, though they are too far apart to easily work together. No enemy air cover is expected even though it's daytime, so I can afford to run on the surface. For now, I'll run both subs on their current course (E), until I develop a contact. After that, we'll see how things develop.
We have contact! Enemy "K" (Corvette) at the far end of my view range (18000), ESE. Looks like the enemy convoy is currently headed WNW at 8kts. Since this is first contact, I don't have a full clue of its base course quite yet. I can likely stay on the surface a bit longer before the enemy corvette gets a peek at me. It may help me read the convoy's zigzags and figure out the base course. Still though, assuming it stays on a more or less W course, I'm well positioned to submerge and wait for them to come to me.
11:50:29
Enemy corvette is currently about 16500 out. I've turned on the range grid, each dot is 1000y. He's come to
SSW, so I'd guess that the base course is indeed, due W or maybe WSW. At this point, I'm going to drop my lead sub underwater and bring it to due S at 2 knots. If I've read his route properly, I'll come in on him from the north. My second sub will continue to close at max speed.
12:47:43
Reacquired contact. I was getting a bit nervous. For a fair bit of time, I had a cloud covering the area I expected to reacquire, and it was hard for me to be sure if the plan was working.
I've now spotted an AK 9000 just off of SE. I should be able to consider my basically south run with my lead sub, and will hopefully get a good shot at the merchie.
12:49:43
I've been pinged! You get an audio cue when it happens, and you can also see the line of bearing it comes from. I should be ok still. I'm far enough out that he won't get a return, but I still got the signal that the Corvette is at it.
That's all I have time for right now. I'll pick up with things when I get back or tomorrow. Am I more Prien or Klink? Tune in to find out!
Looking forward to this. Interested in the game as it's about subs unlike the excellent Steam and Iron and RTW2.
Back at it for the evening. Just getting started, so not a great deal of new situation.
I'm headed due S at 4 kts. I just took down my periscope, which will make it yet harder for them to find me. To help me keep track of locations in my mind, I placed a marker on the map on the location of th nearer target, with some info (most recent course and speed. In this case, 8kts SSW) As his zigzag seems to more or less have him on a SW-ish course, I should be able to get into good position on the flank of the enemy transports. I have also turned my rearward sub to ESE, to better intercept the further course of the enemy. It's still well out of spotting, so it's pulling full speed on the surface.
13:09:14. Things just got a hair more complicated.
I've continued my approach run, poking up my scope from time to time. I'm a bit further out than I would like, but not in terrible position.
But, things are a bit more complex than they appear. The convoy is currently WNW, which is still as expected. However, the Corvette is now moving ENE. Does that mean he has a snif of me?
All hail the mighty TDC :notworthy:
I decided to fire off a single torpedo at about 4000y, using the TDC (center the cursor over the target and then press crtl to get a bearing line). I lost sight of the ship during the run time, but I just got THIS notice. On the other hand, things are about to get very nervous, with the Corvette coming after me. I have a couple of choices. I can either go deep, hope for a thermocline and see if I can evade, or I can try to go down the throat of the Corvette.
As you may have noticed, I'm not a Prien. I think some nice deep water sounds good. I'll also turn to WNW, see if I can clear datum.
13:30:08
Looks like I may have shaken the Corvette. I haven't heard any pings or DC or Hedgehogs, so I may have gotten away. A bit too early to try to climb above the layer though.
On the other hand, my second sub is closing into the area. If I'm lucky, while the Corvette is messing with U-358, U-584 may be able to feast.
Ouch. Spoke too soon. I guess the Corvette had a better line on me than I thought. I'd heard a few DC, but wasn't damaged, but then I got this:
Quote from: GaryMc on December 02, 2019, 08:55:29 PM
Ouch. Spoke too soon. I guess the Corvette had a better line on me than I thought. I'd heard a few DC, but wasn't damaged, but then I got this:
What was the proximate cause of death? Hedgehogs? I'm assuming that based on the lack of warning.
Quote from: Tripoli on December 02, 2019, 09:03:08 PM
Quote from: GaryMc on December 02, 2019, 08:55:29 PM
Ouch. Spoke too soon. I guess the Corvette had a better line on me than I thought. I'd heard a few DC, but wasn't damaged, but then I got this:
What was the proximate cause of death? Hedgehogs? I'm assuming that based on the lack of warning.
Probably, but not entirely sure. You don't get an ID of if you were killed by DC or Hedgehog, but I didn't hear a full pattern, so Hedgie is more likely.
And now, here we go again. My second sub has gotten into visual range of the Corvette. It's due E of me. I haven't seen the transports yet, but I'll bet that they are well S of the Corvette. If I have it in Periscope range, it's too tight for me to consider a speed run on the surface, so going to bear S, and hopefully get a good bearing on the merchies. If the Corvette comes for me, I'll do my best Mush Morton and go for down the throats.
Here we go again. Looks like I'm in a bit better position right now. The corvette is far enough N of the transports that I think I'll be able to get much closer to the transports, and if I'm really lucky, fire my fish, go deep and clear the area before the corvette is able to isolate me. That's the plan at least. You know what they say about plans.
14:31:09
Just raised my scope for another look, and things are looking really, really good. I should be able to get shots at the remaining transports at around 2000 yards, and that cursed Corvette is 5000 yards behind me. Plenty of time for me to fire, go deep and clear datum. What will happen? :crazy2:
Didn't get quite as close as I thought I would, but this should be good enough. The line you see is the suggested torpedo course from the TDC. I think I'll fire two, reserving two more for the other ships.
Yup, take a long odds shot at 4500 yards and manage to tag something, fire at 2200 yards with a 2 torpedo spread and it's a clean miss. It's possible I'll pick up one of the later ships, as the last time I saw them, I had some overlap on targeting.
Nice read, a 4000 yard hit, damn. How do you get more than one ship picture to show on the side? i use the new UI, can this be done on that UI?
No, only in the older UI. One of the reasons I prefer it.
Ok, closed into 1500 meters. Fired a spread of 3 at the transport. I did it by eye instead of TDC, so we'll see if my old Jutland torpedo skills are still up to par ::) Also fired a reciprocal bearing shot at the Corvette coming up my backside. Doubt it'll hit, but we shall see. No, go deep, head due E at low speed. Run silent, run deep.
To update, (no pic this time.) I got one hit with my three spread, but that's all I know for sure at this point. Now, it's evade that corvette and figure out the course for Brittany.
And, so I go running at the end, and the final result... a draw!
I lost a U-Boat, and the British lost 2 transports.
And here's the final on map positions. You see that the HMS Pink went the wrong direction this time. My evasion East got me out of his way. Maybe a bit more aggression would have gotten me another shot, or maybe not.
In a few days, I'll play it from the ASW side, but this is my hectic time of year. O:-)
Thanks for posting this. I would be interested in seeing it played from the escorts \Royal Navy side
Thanks for your report. You have written "Ok, closed into 1500 meters. Fired a spread of 3 at the transport....."
Probably I have missed something but how can you tell the exact distance to the target?
If you turn on the range grid, each dot is 1000 yards apart. After that it's just a matter of eyeballing :) So yeah, maybe 1400 or 1600 or something, but I've done this across 5 Naval Campaign Games at this point, so my eyeball is fairly well trained.
Quote from: GaryMc on December 04, 2019, 10:07:27 AM
If you turn on the range grid, each dot is 1000 yards apart. After that it's just a matter of eyeballing :) So yeah, maybe 1400 or 1600 or something, but I've done this across 5 Naval Campaign Games at this point, so my eyeball is fairly well trained.
Thank you very much. Game bought and looking forward to play tonight. :D
Going to restart the AAR another time, deleting message.
Again, need to restart AAR.
Again, need to restart AAR. this is what I get for doing it on the fly.