Enemy Coast Ahead (dambusters raid)

Started by Silent Disapproval Robot, March 08, 2015, 02:58:08 AM

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Staggerwing

What's harder, getting your approach vector right or keeping your altitude in the zone?
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

Silent Disapproval Robot

You have a veteran crew so you'll get more chances to make altitude adjustments during your run, especially if the weather stays clear.  I'd say approach vector is a better bet.

Staggerwing

Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

undercovergeek

awesome - i was going to choose wave 3 - let the bombing commence!

Silent Disapproval Robot

#19
Bartheart, here's your flight.






Staggerwing, here's your flight.




UCG, here's your flight.





Silent Disapproval Robot

Quote from: Scenario briefingFlight of the Main Force
Scampton: 2130 hours, May 16, 1943
Wing Commander Gibson organized nine Lancasters into three sections (three bombers each), taking off at approximately 2130 hours.  Each wave flew separately but on the same route, crossing over the Dutch coast at about 2300 hours.  Gibson's vanguard by then had drifted south of the intended landfall point, but after climbing to 300 feet, and with the moonlight, Gibson's navigator was able to recalculate an adjusted course to the next turn point on the route.  Avoiding German nightfighter bases and known concentrations of anti-aircraft batteries, the Lancasters turned at the Rhine, but by then Gibson's two wingmen had lost him.  They continued on course but were engaged by flak from river barges and again near Dorsten, wounding two of AJ-M's crew and damaging one of its four Merlin engines. 

AJ-A led the second wave on the first's tail but also encountered flak and navigational glitches, AJ-L falling away from the other two bombers and ultimately arriving at the target a few minutes late.

The third wave followed and AJ-B piloted by Flight Lieutenant Astell struck an electrical wire pole as it made a navigational adjustment.  Its ordinance bounced and roll, and then exploded several hundred feet away.  None of the crew survived.

AJ-G arrived at the Möhne dam first and made an initial low-altitude pass to survey the defenses and the configuration of the dam and its approach.  This may have alerted the flak gunners.  Using VHF radio and Very light flares, Wing Commander Gibson oriented the rest of the pilots while he made the first run.

After verifying the breach in the dam, Gibson led the three Lancasters that still carried ordnance to the secondary target (Eder Dam).  The other bombers returned to base.  AJ-Z was hit by flak and crashed at approximately 0230.  AJ-A was hit by flak on the Dutch coast and crashed at 0300. 

After the last Upkeep was loosed on Eder Dam, breaching it, Gibson led the remaining Lancasters back to Scampton.  Although the plan was to regroup at Möhne, the bombers returned by a variety of individual routes.

Primary and Secondary targets
Möhne Dam is the Primary Target of all Main Force bombers.  Their Secondary Target is the Eder Dam.  Sorpe Dam is their Target of Last Resort.

Your goal is to breach two dams, but don't be shy about breaching a third if you can.  You've got the best flyers in 617 Squadron and probably all of 5 Group but you're flying on the deck and flak awaits at Möhne.  Much rides on the outcome, including an aeronautical engineer's career.


Your primary target is the Möhne Dam in the Ruhr.  Reconnaissance flights have been conducted (recon level two in all hostile zones and at all dams).  Photos indicate that the reservoir is completely full which should make breaching the dam easier.  There is heavy flak at the Möhne but no searchlights or barrage balloons were detected.



Should you successfully breach the Möhne and still have Upkeep ordnance left, you are to proceed to your secondary target, the Eder Dam in the Weser region.
Reconnaissance indicates no defenses present at the Eder.  The reservoir is completely full.


In the event that both the Möhne and the Eder are both breached, or should an attack on either become untenable, you are to attack the Sorpe Dam in the Ruhr.  Again, no defenses were detected and the reservoir is full. 






The enemy alert level is 1.  They're at their posts but aren't expecting anything out of the ordinary.



All bombers have successfully taken off and formed up into 3 waves over 617 Sqn's home field at Scampton, England. 


Silent Disapproval Robot

The game runs through a 10-step Flight Turn phase until the bombers reach their targets and then we drop down into the attack phase.

Here's a copy of the flight turn sequence.  It starts at the bottom and climbs up.


Silent Disapproval Robot

#22
While we're waiting for Bart, we can proceed through part of the first turn.

The first step is the co-ordination phase.  When a wave's formation gets compromised for whatever reason individual bombers may get separated from the wave, get lost, etc.  Also, if a wave arrives at a target in an uncoordinated formation the bombers will arrive at random times during the attack phase.  During the co-ordination phase bombers can attempt to rejoin waves, formations can try to re-coordinate, and two or more individual bombers can try to form a new wave.

As all formations are in good order this turn we can skip this phase.

The next phase is the Wireless telegraphy phase.  Commanders can attempt to assign new targets to bombers during this phase but in this scenario no changes can be made until after the Möhne has been breached so we can skip this phase.

Next is the movement phase.  Any aircraft that isn't lost or delayed and still has an upkeep bomb attached must move along the flight path towards the target.

QuoteAt 2100 hours all three waves left England at treetop level and proceeded out over the coast of England.




Next is the navigation phase.  Each wave must attempt to pass a navigation check.  As the waves are all in good formation it's the navigator in the flight leader's plane who makes a check.

All three flight leaders have veteran navigators so each of you please roll 2D6 and post the results.  You need to score 6 or higher to pass your nav check.





Staggerwing

OK, here goes:

[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 1, 1, total 2[/blockquote]
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

Staggerwing

#24
Damn, snake eyes  :(


BTW, for those who dont know, forum code for rolling dice is {roll}1d6{/roll}, only with ['s instead of {'s, and 1= how many dice while 6 = how many sides the die has. If you only have one die you still need the '1' in there. You can also use the button above the posting window.

Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

Silent Disapproval Robot

Ooh, that's bad luck. 

If Bart takes Gibson as his elite crewman on AJ-G, he could use his special once-per-mission re-roll ability to let you have another crack at it but, IMO, that'd be a huge waste to expend it this early in the game.

Barthheart

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 08, 2015, 04:26:54 PM
Looks like you can't go back and add to a post with a die roll.  Anyway, both rolls were 1 so:

1st Wave: Bartheart

2nd wave: Staggerwing

3rd Wave: Undercovergeek

Bartheart, you'll need to decide which elite crewmember you want for each of your 3 planes

AJ-G for George: (pilot Guy Gibson: can re-roll any single check for any plane, once per mission.  Front gunner G.A. Deering: -1 to front gunnery checks.  Rear gunner R.D. Trevor Roper: -1 to rear gunnery checks)
AJ-M for Mother:  (pilot J.V. Hopgood: ignore 1 map error result per mission.  Front gunner G. Gregory: -1 to front gunnery checks.)
AJ-P for Popsie: ( pilot H.B. Martin: ignore 1 damage result.  Navigator J.F. Leggo: +1 to all navigation checks)



Staggerwing, you'll have to select which crewmember you want for AJ-L.
AJ-L for Leather: (pilot D.J. Shannon: rolls 1 extra die for dam approach vector checks.  navigator D.R. Walker:  can draw 1 extra altitude chit during dam approach run)

AJ-G expert will be Gibson
AJ-M will be Hopgood
AJ-P will be Martin
Hmmm... all pilots.....

Barthheart

My roll:

[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 1, 2, total 3[/blockquote]

Barthheart

Jeeze... not good either.... but I don't want to use Gibson yet for either roll....  :o

Silent Disapproval Robot

#29
LOL.  Well this is going well.



QuoteNot long after the navigators look their last sightings off the receding English coastline, several bomber crews lost sight of their flight leaders and the formations began to spread out.  Whether this was due to nerves or the darkness was anyone's guess.



OK, Bart and Stagger, your formations are now compromised.  We'll have to wait to see if UCG can make it 3 for 3.


Once he does that, we will proceed to the next phase which is hazard placement.  Since this is the English Coast and relatively safe, only one hazard marker is drawn.  Since this is a non-hostile zone, the hazard cannot be evaded.  Bart, as Wing Commander you get to choose which wave will get afflicted with the hazard.  Once that's been decided, the flight leader of the wave with the hazard will assign it to one of the three planes in his wave and I will then reveal what it is.