Looking for some thoughts on playing a scenario involving fast boats in the Med. I'm thinking an RN attack on a RM destroyer or supply ship sheltering near the shore, with RM fast boats defending. The equivalent of a night action, since no aircraft (or just foul weather). Anyone gamed such a scenario?
Those who don't remember their history are bound to do something or other...
The only way to make fast boats (torpedo boats) worth taking especially in a night action is for the attacker to roll a die to determine whether they (fire control director) has locked-on and tracking in order to shoot the fast boat. Night actions and rough seas should make it difficult to shoot the fast boats.
Their ship their coffin The cruel dark sea their grave.
Or have the firing ship make a roll to acquire just like a A/c makes a roll to find a ship at night. Same principle except the small fast boat is harder to see at night much less acquire.
Ship makes an acquire roll and if the fast boat is hit, it makes its high speed evasion roll... A simple thing and it makes fast boats (torpedo boats) much more of a viable option for night operations.
Their ship their coffin The cruel dark sea their grave.
Or have the firing ship make a roll to acquire just like a A/c makes a roll to find a ship at night. Same principle except the small fast boat is harder to see at night much less acquire.
Ship makes an acquire roll and if the fast boat is hit, it makes its high speed evasion roll... A simple thing and it makes fast boats (torpedo boats) much more of a viable option for night operations.
Their ship their coffin The cruel dark sea their grave.
I think we ought to think about sighting rules, especially at night or foul weather for spotting and shooting at Torpedo Boats/PT Boats. I was a Radar operator when I was in the Navy. Seeing a wooden boat is dam hard on radar since there is hardly any radar return, image fiberglass boats which is harder. That being said there was no really good WWII radar on naval units and all navies used the Mark One eye-ball so spotting something really small at night is near impossible. Read the historical actions of Torpedo Boats in the Pacific.
My proposal is that each unit shooting at Torpedo Boat day or night needs to make a spotting roll. At Range 3 (20,000 yards or 10 miles) you need a 6, at Range 2 (15,000 yards or 7+ miles) you need a 5+, at Range 1 (10,000 yards or 5 miles) you need a 4+, and at Range 0 you need a 3+. Also since each Range sector is 5,000 yards, primary guns on CL, CA, BC, BB should not be able to shoot at Torpedo Boats in the same sector as the shooter is having a problem of deflecting their main guns low enough to hit a small target that is at point blank range. That is what secondary and tertiary guns are for or their AA...
Their ship their coffin The cruel dark sea their grave.
Post by mnnorthstars on Sept 10, 2018 21:49:22 GMT
It’s not easier to see them when they are shooting their guns and making wake? Torpedo boats in this game come screaming across the board with guns blazing. Might as well have the stereo turned up too.
At range 3 (20,000 yards or ten miles) no lookout will see a torpedo boats wake... In our games as soon as a torpedo boat gets at range 3 they are sunk by gunfire before they even get into torpedo range.
In the dark making a torpedo attack against a capital ship the small guns on a motor torpedo boat will not hurt capital ship must less a CA or CL... That is what their torpedo's are for... Just a matter of tactics... Personally I think torpedo boats are pretty useless and rarely sink their point worth in enemy ships.
Their ship their coffin The cruel dark sea their grave.