August 1988 Sea of Okhotsk skirmish 1.0.0

August 1988 Sea of Okhotsk skirmish, hypothetical scenario.

A Harpoon Commander's Edition scenario for Western Pacific WesPac Battleset and the HCDB2-170909 (or later) 1980-2025 era Platform Database. This scenario is designed with Advanced Scenario Editor Build 2017.013 and to be run with HCE 2015.008+ or later.

This scenario is designed to be played from the Blue/Japanese side or from the Red/Soviet side. You should play a few times first the Blue side to avoid spoilers, and only later play the Red side.

Image: JMSDF DDH-141 Haruna pulls into Pearl Harbor in 2008, previously to exercise RIMPAC 2008. 26 June 2008. (Released U.S. Navy photo by Michael R. McCormick, U.S. Navy, took by a US serviceperson on duty, and in consequence in public domain).

From the WWII end Southern Kuril Islands are in dispute between the extinct Soviet Union, and later our current days Russia, and Japan.

In this simple but not easy to win scenario, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JSMDF) Third Escort Flotilla confronts elements of the historical Soviet local forces, 10th Operational Squadron, better known as Pacific Squadron.

Third Escort Flotilla comes with its historical ship composition, reflecting the concept of eight ships and six helicopters by Escort Flotilla, previously to the later eight ships and eight helicopters system after the in service entry of the Hatakaze-class. In this concept are including different indigenous designs of anti-air warfare destroyers (DDG), with different ships carrying the Standard missile launchers in fore or aft position, to cover all the formation firing arcs.

This scenario is inspired in the great Sake in the Rocks scenario by Jay Wissmann, published in Admiral Trilogy Naval SITREP 58-59. At start I pretended to simply reproduce the scenario, but soon it evolved in a very different beast and year, and after some short-term Japanese ships and helicopters upgrades present in the Database.

Enrique Mas, 29 November 2020.