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They're going to make an amphibious landing at Singapore? My God.
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Dec 28, 2017 05:25
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26 December 1943 The Battle of the North Cape! One of Germany's few remaining heavy ships, Scharnhorst, sorties from Norway to attack Russia-bound convoy JW 55B. Rear Admiral in Scharnhorst dispatched his escorting destroyers to increase his effective search area. In rough Arctic weather, the now-solo Scharnhorst's initial attacks were driven off by the close covering force of the cruisers Belfast, Norfolk, and Sheffield, which knocked out the Germans' radar without taking any hits of their own. Bey broke contact and attempted to circle around, but was again foiled by the close cover, albeit after inflicting some damage this time. At this point, Bey decided to retreat and was shadowed by Belfast using radar as the convoy's distant covering force, the powerful battleship Duke of York, the cruiser Jamaica, and four destroyers including the Free Norwegian Stord, maneuvered to intercept. Taking advantage of their radar in the terrible visibility, the British were able to close to within 12,000 yards before opening fire. At that range, Duke of York scored a dangerous hit on the first salvo, disabling Scharnhorst's forward turrets. Bey turned from the new threat and retired at 31 knots, but a lucky hit at extreme range knocked out one of Scharnhorst's boiler rooms, reducing her maximum speed to just 10 knots. Although repairs enabled her to resume 22 knots, destroyers closed to torpedo range and, scoring hits, once again reduced her to 10 knots. By now the German battlecruiser was doomed and, pummeled by torpedoes and 14-inch shells, gradually succumbed, finally capsizing at 7:45 PM. Of a crew of 1,968, only 36 were rescued due to the rough conditions and frigid water. Across the world off Cape Gloucester in New Ireland, JNAF aircraft sink the American destroyer Brownson.
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Dec 28, 2017 05:30
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Excellent! They've taken the Singapore bait; now we know where they are, and we can take them out all at once in a Decisive Battle!
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Dec 28, 2017 05:47
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Seriously the key to defending Singapore should not be the random destroyers in harbour, it should be a hundred or so land-based aircraft
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Dec 28, 2017 05:48
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If every sub takes 53 hits to go down, we can try to starve the Americans of their ammunition by having them expend it all on our tin cans!
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Dec 28, 2017 06:05
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The comination of Grey's lack of landbased air deployments and the AIs most deeply retarded tendencies have conjured up a surprising genious move! Except those two heavy cruisers probably saved the day. 
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Dec 28, 2017 06:23
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Somewhere an allied general is going “let’s do the one thing they won’t expect! Sail right into Singapore!”. And it might well work.... madmen!
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Dec 28, 2017 06:59
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Why the hell isn't that admiral working for YOU Grey?!
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Dec 28, 2017 07:55
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Dec 28, 2017 08:06
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Well, that certainly is a thing the Allies are doing there.
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Dec 28, 2017 08:16
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A base in Singapore, however tenuously held, puts your entire fuel supply lifeline in jeopardy. Better scramble everything you have.
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Dec 28, 2017 08:19
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OpenlyEvilJello posted:26 December 1943 I would like to add how badass the free Norwegian Stord maneuvered; after being ordered to close with and engage the German battleship, Captain Skule Storheill ordered the ship's battle ensign to be hoisted on the mainmast, so that "those bastards can see who they're dealing with!" she then proceded to go closer into the Scharnhorst than any other destroyer and unloaded her torpedoes at point blank range: " Stord went in as close as 400 yards (360 m) to the Scharnhorst before firing torpedoes. After the battle, Admiral Fraser sent the following message to the Admiralty: "... Please convey to the C-in-C Norwegian Navy. Stord played a very daring role in the fight and I am very proud of her...". " In an interview in The Evening News on 5 February 1944 the commanding officer of HMS Duke of York, Captain Guy Russell, said: "... the Norwegian destroyer Stord carried out the most daring attack of the whole action...". Ikonoklast fucked around with this message at 13:31 on Dec 28, 2017 |
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Dec 28, 2017 12:09
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In this universes Star Wars, the rebels will land their entire fleet onto the Death Star and engage it on foot. Well played AI Allied Admirals. This could be the turning point of the war!
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Dec 28, 2017 12:51
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Ikonoklast posted:I would like to add how badass the free Norwegian Stord maneuvered; after being ordered to close with and engage the German battleship, Captain Skule Storheill ordered the ship's battle ensign to be hoisted on the mainmast, so that "those bastards can see who they're dealing with!" she then proceded to go closer into the Scharnhorst than any other destroyer and unloaded her torpedoes at point blank range: She fired a whole spread of 8 torpedoes against a damaged battlecruiser from point blank range, but I believe the consensus is that she didn't score a single hit. Almost impressive in its own way.  Stord and Scorpion together scored one hit, but it was probably from Scorpions spread. The weather was horrible and a wave swept one of the torpedomen on Stord overboard to his death during the battle. The wave hit so hard the torpedo mount and a depth charge launcher was knocked off center and 12 depth charges were also lost, so aiming wasn't exactly easy. The waves were so high they had to set the torps deeper than normal to avoid being knocked off course. The post-battle signal traffic was also the most British thing ever: Duke of York: "Scharnhorst sunk" Admiralty: "Grand, well done"
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Dec 28, 2017 14:39
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400 yards?! That's point-blank range - the balls on those guys, good lord.
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Dec 28, 2017 14:44
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Caconym posted:Stord and Scorpion together scored one hit, but it was probably from Scorpions spread. Stord's aggressive maneuvering also forced Scharnhorst to steer into the torpedoes of Savage and Saumarez which 3 hits disabled her propulsion. Caconym posted:
Pretty normal for Norway in winter. The Murmansk Convoys were probably one of the toughest naval services in the war.
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Dec 28, 2017 14:51
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Sailing into a naval battle knowing that your survival time once immersed in the water is measured in minutes has got to suck
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Dec 28, 2017 15:14
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 megane and Galaga Galaxian
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Dec 28, 2017 15:16
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aphid_licker posted:Sailing into a naval battle knowing that your survival time once immersed in the water is measured in minutes has got to suck And they only recently started to receive the attention they deserve... 
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Dec 28, 2017 15:20
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OpenlyEvilJello posted:26 December 1943 I'm having flashbacks to North Atlantic Convoy Raider on the C-64. http://www.mobygames.com/game/apple2/north-atlantic-convoy-raider
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Dec 28, 2017 15:20
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Since we are in on the topic of the Murmansk Convoys i would like to present to you the potential tank vs. u-boat battle on the north pole that sadly never happened: "At the outbreak of the Second World War, Gradwell was commissioned into the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as a lieutenant. He was given command of the anti-submarine warfare adapted 575 long tons (584 t) Middlesbrough-built trawler MS Ayrshire, renamed HMS Ayrshire (FY 225), with a crew of volunteer fishermen. Attached as part of the defensive net around Convoy PQ17, on receiving the third order to scatter on 4 July 1942, Gradwell concluded that as he was heading north to the Arctic ice shelf, he might as well take some merchant ships with him. Leading his convoy of Ayrshire and three merchant vessels – the Panamanian-registered Troubador, the Ironclad, and the American-registered Silver Sword – he proceeded north using only a sextant and the Times World Geographic Pocket Book, as his vessel lacked charts for this part of the Atlantic. On reaching the Arctic ice pack, the convoy found itself stuck fast, so the ships stopped engines and banked their fires. Gradwell arranged a defence, formulated around the fact that the Troubador was carrying a cargo of bunkering coal and drums of white paint: the crews painted all the vessels white, covered decks with white linen, and arranged the Sherman tanks on the merchant vessels decks into a defensive ring, with loaded main guns. After a period of waiting, and having evaded the reconnoitring Luftwaffe aircraft, finding themselves unstuck they proceeded to the Matochkin Strait in Novaya Zemlya. They were found there by a flotilla of corvettes that escorted the four-ship convoy, plus two other merchant vessels, to the Russian port of Archangel, arriving on 25 July. Appointed Distinguished Service Cross on 15 September 1942, he later went on to command the ASW adapted whaler HMS Thirlmere (FY 206)" Ikonoklast fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Dec 28, 2017 |
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Dec 28, 2017 15:20
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Most of those north sea convoy dudes were volunteers. It attracted a type.
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Dec 28, 2017 15:28
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goatface posted:Most of those north sea convoy dudes were volunteers. It attracted a type. The Norwegian sailors on the convoys (there were a lot of them during WW2, 1,000 vessels and around 30,000 seamen), were basically forced to work as they either would face prison or the option to never get a job again.
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Dec 28, 2017 15:38
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Ikonoklast posted:Since we are in on the topic of the Murmansk Convoys i would like to present to you the potential tank vs. u-boat battle on the north pole that sadly never happened: This man was a great thinker.
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Dec 28, 2017 15:41
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Admiral Alcibiades going for the throat there in Singapore.
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Dec 28, 2017 15:41
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megane posted:Noooooooooooooo Do not grieve. She died a more noble death than in real life. Getting torpedoed after being mistaken for someone else.
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Dec 28, 2017 15:53
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Did Admiral Zapp Brannigan just pull off a stunning coup? My God.
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Dec 28, 2017 18:28
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An invasion force has managed to sneak into Singapore. If the carriers went without launching planes there would be no warning 
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Dec 28, 2017 19:58
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Look on the bright side, the coastal battery crews will now put their training to good use!
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Dec 28, 2017 22:09
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Speaking of interesting AI strategy, I've been playing through this game again as the Allies. The AI sent Yamato and Ise within 300 miles of Pearl with no air cover, I guess to raid merchant shipping? I had a carrier that just finished refitting there whose Dauntlesses put several dents in the armor (the Avenger pilots had a bad day), but a couple of the victims from the original Pearl raid had just finished repairing, so I also sent them out to see what would happen in a gun battle... BB Yamato, Shell hits 48, heavy fires, heavy damage, and in the follow-up engagement BB Yamato, Shell hits 17 and is sunk All of my BBs survived to tell the tale 
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Dec 28, 2017 22:19
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BurningStone posted:Did Admiral Zapp Brannigan just pull off a stunning coup? My God. "What's the most important base, men?" "Singapore!? Why hasn't anyone tried just going there. We shall capture it immediately!" Singapore is the iceberg of Malaysia. Then of course he sends two tin cans forwards to do the job alone. RA Rx fucked around with this message at 05:34 on Dec 29, 2017 |
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Dec 29, 2017 05:28
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   These suicide runs are becoming more regular it seems.  Okay, this is more effective.  It looks like yesterdays action has driven off that invasion force. Which is something of a shame.  We make a strike, but with no airbase in Singapore, (I deemed it to far back) they have to use bombs and miss.   Well that's just not cricket. Or Sumo. I don't know.   Crisis averted, but I'm going to reinforce Singapore now – that was to close to them landing troops! 
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Dec 29, 2017 05:47
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True sons of the empire 
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Dec 29, 2017 06:41
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28 December 1943 A substantial force of German destroyers and torpedo boats sorties to escort the blockade runner Alsterufer, carrying valuable cargo from Japan, into a French port. Unbeknownst to the Germans, the Alsterufer had been sunk by Allied aircraft (Liberators belonging to No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron and No. 86 Squadron, RAF) the previous day. Two British light cruisers, Enterprise and Glasgow, intercepted and engaged the German force. High winds and heavy seas negated the lighter destroyers' speed advantage and the cruisers were able to close to gun range. Multiple attempts by the destroyers to attack with torpedoes were thwarted, and the German ships split up and attempted to retire. The two cruisers sank the torpedo boats T25 and T26 with gunfire and the destroyer Z27 exploded following a hit to her magazine. Over the course of the battle, Glasgow received a single hit, while Enterprise suffered only near misses.
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Dec 29, 2017 07:32
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8IkbCeZ9to
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Dec 29, 2017 07:55
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Awww, I was hoping for months of amusement...quote:We make a strike, but with no airbase in Singapore, (I deemed it to far back) they have to use bombs and miss. Is there any chance the Allied AI got intel and acted on this, or did they just get lucky with Grey's land-based air priorities? Also, Singapore, yeah right. More like Java and Sumatra! RA Rx fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Dec 29, 2017 |
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Dec 29, 2017 16:22
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I started wondering the Alsterufer could have been carrying that had to come all the way from Japan. Nazi Germany was past its territorial height, but still had all sorts of captured resources. Turns out it was tungsten ore, a full year’s supply. That was one valuable ship.
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Dec 29, 2017 17:32
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That the AI sailed a full invasion force to Singapore Harbour unnoticed, then turned and fled in the face of slight resistance without even attempting a landing, is the most WitP thing i think ive ever seen.
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Dec 29, 2017 17:43
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BurningStone posted:I started wondering the Alsterufer could have been carrying that had to come all the way from Japan. Nazi Germany was past its territorial height, but still had all sorts of captured resources. Turns out it was tungsten ore, a full year’s supply. That was one valuable ship. Aww, think of all the useless, resource wasting superweapons that never saw the light of day because Hitler couldn't get his tungsten.  I gotta say though, making it from Japan only to get sunk one day before reaching France must be a real downer. Also, the drowning part, but I gather that was fairly popular in those years.
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Dec 29, 2017 19:27
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Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:Aww, think of all the useless, resource wasting superweapons that never saw the light of day because Hitler couldn't get his tungsten. Wikipedia seems to say they were rescued by 4 Canadian corvettes?
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Dec 29, 2017 19:32
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