Taitennek

SPOILER ALERT AAR Old versus new #2, Part 1. Before starting the game, I always explore the scenario [Where is what] and make notes on paper; I launch the aircraft I need in the first stage [mostly, available AEW/EW/ASW and fighters] and re-arm aircraft if necessary; I plot course for the naval taskforces and submarines, plot ASW-missions with the formation editor, etc. etc... It is always a challenge to engage the massive and technical advanced Armed Forces of the USA. In this second [of 3] scenario, I play Europe. This scenario is btw, one of my favourites: +++ Here are the Freek’s orders: #2.0 BATTLE FOR EUROPE This is the second scenario in the series exploring US vs. EU war. THIS SCENARIO SHOULD BE PLAYED WITH THE NUCLEAR OPTION ENABLED. Second battle The Atlantic war continues. Air units are replenished, task forces re-located, and preparations made for invasion. This scenario lasts 15 hours and can be played from both sides (US is recommended first). This is a large scenario. This scenario has been built for the PlayersDB v7.4.7 Orders for Europe The air battle over Europe was undecided. We lost more fighters and our bases were hard hit but neither side has air superiority. This is the time to attack! Intel USAF and Navy aircraft are out of action due to heavy losses over UK and FR. US carriers have minimal air wings operational and are moving to N-Sea and Med. Amphibious convoy is approaching in Mid-Atlantic. Closest fully operational carrier is 1500 miles West of Ireland. We expect that it will ferry F-14s and F-18s into theatre. Mission 1. Close on the amphibious forces with all available UK and FR fleet units. Ferry Harriers to Illustrious/Ark and coordinate an attack together with Etandards/Rafales off Charles de Gaulle. 2. DE, UK, and FR Naval aircraft have been assembled at hidden bases in N-UK. FR has launched two satellites from Kourou last night. Use their reconnaissance to attack Nimitz somewhere North of Scotland. Continue the attack until the carrier is significantly damaged. 3. Don’t let anything pass Gibraltar Victory conditions are to destroy 1/3rd of US fleet and significantly damage at least one of the carriers. +++++ 4 June, 2002, 10:00:00 Zulu Time… First impressions, first moves: Gibraltar Area: About 40 Aircraft are stationed on 1 airbase and 1 road base. 2 ships of the Royal Navy, a DDG and FFG, together with submarines, the Superb and Splendid are now patrolling in the East Med. I have set up ASW patrolling Mission in the Strait of Gibraltar. The Dutch S803 Tonijn is patrolling in the AO, 60nm west of the entrance to the Strait. 2 Tornado F.3 are airborne, but I have launched another 6 F.3’s, as well as 1 SH-3D AEW. Atlantic Ocean: 3 Carrier Groups and submarines are operating 360nm west of Ireland. 4 Rafale M are in the air, but I launched another 4, together with an E-3C Hawkeye. I have plotted ASW patrols around the Carrier Groups. XX British Harriers are on their way to the British VTOL carriers. It will take at least 1.5 hrs. to complete the transit, and another 6 hrs. to re-arm the aircraft. Scotland Area: About 50 aircraft, armed with ASM, are available on 9 Dispersed fields. 2 ships are patrolling off coast the Orkney Islands. 4 aircraft are in the air, but launched all available Tornado F.3. France: There is at the moment no a real threat for France. I launched the 2 Sentry’s, 1 to guard the Northern area, and the other one for AEW-duties above the AO southwest of France, as well as 1 Atlantique Brequet ASW units, and 2 fighter groups. Game on! Within minutes, my screen was filled with all kind of contacts. As soon E-2 Hawkeye from the French aircraft carrier R91 Charles de Gaulle turned on her radars, a large surface group became visible west of the EC carrier groups. She detected airborne contacts southwest of the CTF Ark Royal. I have reasons to believe that the US aircraft are underway to the aircraft carrier operating nearby Gibraltar. 4 Tomcats are operating northwest of the CTF’s. 2 Tornado’s [Northwest of the Shetlands] detected surface and airborne contacts north of Scotland. And finally, the area around Gibraltar… An unknown submerged contact has been detected in the Med, just outside the entrance to the Strait. The British FFG is patrolling nearby and now is underway to investigate the just detected contact, together with 1 helicopter. There is some air activity east of the Strait. 2 airborne Tornado’s have been ordered to investigate the contacts. I launched more Tornados’ from GIB AB. I also launched 2 extra ASW-helicopters to assist in the hunt for the enemy submarines in the Strait of Gibraltar. Soon, ships were detected, operating south of the Iberian Peninsula. I now have a clue where the enemy forces are operating. Time for tactical decisions: NORTH: I do expect massive attacks with Tomahawk cruise missiles. Intelligence reports that at least 1 CG and 2 DDG, as well as 1 DD are escorting the USS Nimitz. Submarine threat is unknown. Attack with all Rafale fighters, armed with AM.39 Exocet Attack with all Tornado fighters, armed with AS.34 Komoran only, Attack with all Tornado fighters, armed with AS.34 Komoran/AGM-88A HARM, Attack with all Buccaneer Bombers with BAe [P3T] Sea Eagle ASM EW mission with the [only] EW available EF-111A Raven, Radar Picket duties by the British TG, as well as ASW-duties with onboard helicopters. CENTRAL: I do expect attacks with Tomahawk cruise missiles, but it will take some time before they arrive at the scene. The only thing I can do right now is to launch aircraft to protect the airfields in France, the Central Command facility in Brussels and bases in NL, and in the South UK. 8 Mirage 2000 will assist in the interception of the plane group, that has been detected in the AO, and will land at Gibraltar [if they survive]. SOUTH: I do expect attacks with Tomahawk cruise missiles at my assets around Gibraltar as well; The aircraft that have been detected in the AO could attack Gibraltar first and land on the Enterprise. If this happens, I might loose the Gibraltar assets. Together with the launched Mirage F2000 from Brest, I will try to destroy the aircraft with Tornado F.3 from GIB before they reach target/destination. Another point of concern is the narrow Strait of Gibraltar… US submarines could lay in ambush positions… I launched 4 helicopters to ‘sweep’ the Strait, but ordered the captains of the 2 ships to stay out of the strait to avoid torpedo attacks. The ships are moving at maximum speed away from the Strait, it is only a few miles to reach waters that can’t be reached by US MK48 ADCAP torpedoes. The 2 British submarines will travel through the Strait and together with the Dutch SSK, they will attack the Enterprise Group. 8 Tornado fighters, armed with AGM88A and AS34, will launch an attack on the Enterprise group. If I succeed to destroy incoming Navy fighters, , the Enterprise is nothing more than a 300m long sitting duck without her aircraft for the submarines and ships… But I have to survive the attacks first of all. WEST: A large surface Group, centred around 3 or more LHA, LHD, LPD, with moderate escort is moving east, towards the UK. Their intentions are unknown, but they are there and therefore a threat to our assets in the area and the European mainland. I do expect attacks with cruise missiles as well. 3 submarines are available in the area, but they are not within strike distance for the couple of next hours. They will close in and finally attack the surface Group. = In the following hour both sides suffered losses: the F.3 Tornado fighters are simply not capable to match the Super Hornets and Tomcats with their AIM-54 Phoenix and AIM-120 AMRAAM. I managed to kill few enemy aircraft, but, only with massive missile attacks [ 5:1]. Meanwhile, a swarm Tomahawks was detected, all underway to the UK. Airborne F.3 Tornado fired missiles, took [almost] out of all of them, but with the result that some of my fighters did not have any AAM left to engage enemy fighters [a game failure; the airborne F.3 had to ignore these incoming missiles and do the job, intercepting enemy fighters instead of spoiling air-to-air missiles] Ground based AAA can handle that. I had to call them back to avoid being destroyed. Units of the enemy Carrier Group North of Scotland are firing missiles continuously. I bet it are Tomahawk Cruise Missiles. Nasty thing: fighters are escorting the Tomahawks. Already in an early stage of this battle, Helicopters detected 2 enemy submarines in the Strait of Gibraltar. Both submarines were destroyed almost instantly by Marconi Stingray torpedoes. This hurts. 2 capital units, destroyed within less than 10 minutes. The aircraft in the Northern area are underway for a strike mission against the US CSG. I took out most of the incoming missiles. The 2 British naval units took care of all remaining incoming missiles so far, but ships of the enemy group are launching cruise missiles continuously. Losses in the Atlantic were moderate; Only few Tomcats were responsible for the loss of very valuable assets. The enemy plane group, operating somewhere in the Atlantic is clearly heading towards the USS Enterprise. I have put in 8 aircraft [based at Gibraltar highway to engage this group. The USS Enterprise is harmless without the aircraft. I hope that the French Mirage 2000 perform better than the Tornado F.3 8 Tornado IDS are approaching the Enterprise group. Armed with HARM and Komoran. A single Tornado F.3 is underway to take out 2 airborne contacts west of the E-Group [later identified as 1 E-2C and 1 EA-8B]. The sky is clear, no enemy fighters are in the air and I took out all AEW/EW units. At 11:05:00 I started the attack on the Nimitz Group: The 2 Dutch F-16 are almost within firing position: targets, the E-2C and helicopters. 4 other Tornado fighters are assigned to assist, in case that the carrier launches fighters. First I ordered the 16 Tornado IDS to attack with HARM/Komoran ASM; after launching the HARM against the CG 54, DDG 52, and DDG 53, all aircraft closed in at maximum speed at low altitude to launch the Komoran ASM. The US escorts almost reacted instantly with a swarm SM2MR II and III. I managed to launch all Komoran ASM. Now, it is time to get the hell out of there. The second wave contains 16 Rafale with Exocet ASM. Target: the USS Nimitz: Then the 8 Tornado’s with Komoran ASM only: And finally the 12 S.2B Buccaneer with the BAe [P3T] Sea Eagle ASM to finish the job. 28 planes survived the attack. Losses after the first 90 minutes [including the losses of the first attack on the Nimitz Group] USA: Aircraft: 33 fighter, 6 AEW. Helicopters: 13 Ships: 2 Submarines: 2 Damaged units: Ships: 3 [including USS Nimitz 85%] Europe: Aircraft: 61 Helicopters: 2 Facilities: 1 4 June, 2002, 11:30:00 - Zulu Time… Meanwhile I started the attack on the Enterprise Group with 8 Tornado IDS. I managed to launch all missiles and all aircraft returned to base safety. At least 6 missiles hit the USS Enterprise, the cruiser USS Leyte Gulf and 1 of the Arleigh Burke class destroyers, the USS Stout. I repeated the attack, but without success and against the loss of 1 Tornado. The aircraft need 5 hours to re-arm. Gibraltar is out of order, after a Tomahawk attack. Only 1 cruise missile came through, but it destroyed the ammo dump…… The attack against the Nimitz Group was partly a success: I managed to sink two ships and damage all other units, but, against what prize: I started the attack with 52 aircraft. Only 28 aircraft managed to survive the attack. It is now rather difficult to attack the surface group. Almost all Tornado IDS were destroyed. Attacking a surface group with a cruiser, frigates and 2 LHD, without HARM makes no sense. That is just spoiling ASM and aircraft. But I have to. Back to Gibraltar…… I have reload magazines of the two British submarines [HMS Splendid and HMS Superb] with Harpoon missiles, launched them against the USS Perry and USS Spruance. Both ships were hit and sank almost instantly. Then the HrMs Tonijn was finally in position to attack the carrier group… First I attacked the Enterprise with 4 Mk48 ADCAP as well as the AOE, the USS Sacramento with 2 Mk48. Minutes later, the Enterprise was a burning wreck and the USS Sacramento on her way to the bottom of the Ocean. Later, the HMS Splendid and HMS Superb finished the job by killing the remaining escorts. This was a big hit. No submarines were lost, Tornado F.3 intercepted the helicopters in the first place and later the fired ASROC, launched by the enemy escorts. There is no direct threat to Gibraltar anymore. I will transfer all the available aircraft to UK airbases. My navy assets will keep on patrolling in the area. In fact the two ships are now useless; no enemy to hunt for and no weapons left to fight. The HrMs Tonijn is now underway to the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar. The 2 British nuclear submarines are now heading northwest at maximum speed to the area west of Ireland/UK. I can put them in action again against the surface group. After all, if the enemy group is heading to the UK for an amphibious assault operation, they must close in xxxnm. My submarines are on scene before they arrive. Enough Spearfish left in the magazines… The situation in the Atlantic Ocean: After the aircraft on the bases in UK were re-armed again, I launched them for an attack on the surface Group. The Amethiste, the French nuclear submarine was able to close in within firing range to launch Exocet missiles. I managed to hit A Perry Class frigate. The ship later disappeared from my screen. Meanwhile the Aircraft arrived on the scene. I only attacked the combatants and managed to damage some vessels, but the air attack was not a success and the losses were high. I am running out of aircraft, others need to reach base and re-arm first. All I know is that the American surface group used large amount of SAM against my missiles. I consequently conducted patrols nearby the surface group with fighters and took out almost all aircraft/helicopters. The American version of the Harrier, the AV-8B’s, armed with AIM-9 only, were no match against the Rafale and Naval Harrier F/A.2. [my favourites in this scenario: the Rafale fighter with her 8 Mica IR/Radar air-to-air missiles and rather good survival score, as well as the British Harriers, armed with the AIM-120, onboard the British VTOL carriers]. After the Amethiste launched the Exocet’s, she closed in to launch torpedoes. But she was detected and a torpedo was launched. The game is out for this unit. I immediately dived to maximum depth with maximum speed to close in and launch my torpedoes. I was not able to reload all the magazines again; the Amethiste was hit by the torpedo and destroyed. The launched torpedoes, however, damaged/destroyed 4 enemy units. Meanwhile, A Eurocopter NFH [Charles de Gaulle Group] detected a submerged contact. I ordered to attack the contact. Another Eurocopter is underway to assist. Suddenly, the contact, now classified as an American submarine fired torpedoes. The French Destroyer D 610 Tourville is under attack. The Tourville was stationed 30nm ahead of the Charles the Gaulle group for ASW sprint drift operations together with 4 ASW-helicopters [Eurocopter NFH]. I launched Murene torpedoes. The first enemy torpedoes did not make any victims and the submarine did not launch other torpedoes, so, I must conclude that the submarine was hit by a Murene. The HMS Torbay and HMS Trafalgar [both at 50nm] are closing in to the enemy surface groups as well, but have no Harpoon missiles onboard. So, the old fashion torpedo attack is upcoming in a couple of hours. North of Scotland: The USS Nimitz is, despite the damage [85%], still capable to launch aircraft; At least 8 A/F-18E Super Hornet are approaching the UK mainland. No doubt that they are on a strike mission against my airfields. I have launched all available fighters to intercept the incoming aircraft. I want to avoid that the few strike assets which are available, will be destroyed in their hangars when they are re-arming]. Suddenly, at 18:30:00 Zulu time, I reached VC. [at that time, the USS Vincennes finally sank, she performed very well! I only could break her after her magazines were empty. Chappeau!]. The score at 18:30:00 Zulu time: Losses USA: Aircraft: 65 Helicopters: 38 Surface combatants: 9 [including 1 aircraft carrier] Damaged: 4 Surface support vessels: 3 Damaged: 1 Submarines: 3 Losses Europe: Aircraft: 84 Helicopters: 2 Submarines: 1 Installations: 5 But I continue to play some longer to launch all available aircraft for a “Coupe de Grasse” against all enemy assets. We Europeans know how to die, but we are familiar with the art of killing as well. I will use the land based aircraft for the attack on the Nimitz group. This group counts 3 ships, and all units are more or less heavily damaged. 18 aircraft are available [Rafale, Tornado IDS, and Buccaneer]. Too bad that I can’t the aircraft based at Gibraltar Highway and the French airfields for the final strike. These aircraft should land to refuel first. I think, the 18 will be enough for the “Coupe de Grasse”.. If necessary, I will put the HMS Argyll into action. The frigate is equipped with 8 Harpoon ASM, and her Sea Wolf VLS is fully loaded. The HMS Nottingham is out of decent SAM. I have split the group and the HMS Nottingham is underway to safe waters of Scotland. The remaining ships of the enemy surface group, 9 ships, 2 of them are damaged, heading a northeast course, are almost within firing range of the 2 British submarines, eta 19:45:00. So, the HMS Trafalgar and HMS Torbay, will strike first. Within 4 hrs, all remaining strike aircraft, [xx] on the 3 carriers will be ready again for action. In the meantime, I will keep fighters in the area to take out all helicopters that might be a threat to my submarines. I can close in pretty much; the escorts do not launch SAM’s, I bet, the magazines are empty. 6 Harriers, armed with Mk83 1000 lbs bombs, Sea Eagle, and Brimstone ASM, are underway to the surface group [they were airborne at 18:30:00]. I will try to take out remaining escorts. Only 1 thing really concerns me: the submarine threat is still unknown! 18:30:00 -23:47:00 Zulu Time, I first attacked the remaining escorts with Sea Eagle ASM. Both ships were hit. The Perry class frigate is on fire. Then I attacked other ships with Mk83 bombs. I managed to destroy a supply vessel, damaged a cruise liner and the LHD Tarawa. And finally, at 20:48:00 the HMS Torbay arrived at the scene and finished the job by sinking all remaining ships. I ordered the 3 carrier groups to start the voyage home. In the UK more and more aircraft became available again. I launched them for the final strike, at 23:47:00 32 Sea Eagle missiles ended the voyage of the USS Nimitz and her escorts. The only survivors are the enemy submarines I could not detect. This scenario was a real challenge! These aircraft carriers are really hard nuts to crack. I finally reached VC, but against a very high prize. The American escorts performed very well and were responsible for the slaughter of my aircraft. But at the end, they were out of SAM’s and useless for the defence of the aircraft carriers. Freek, thanks for sharing this scenario with the community!

UnRep times: To calculate a [rough] unrep you need to know factors: With UnRep operations at sea you got 2 possible transporting options: 1: by cables between the ships 2: helicopter shuttles What I know about transportation by cable is that the sea must be relative calm; the ships rolling during this operation due to the displacement and speed of the ships so close to each other [about 10-20 meters]. Photo: US Navy The transport between the ships by cable line is relative slow. Electro engines or people running the cables. So it takes at least minutes to bridge the distance between the ships, but you must also calculate time to click on/off the payload from the cable line and make room for the next load. There is of course a maximum weight that can be handled per single shuttle. And do not forget the safety/safety protocols…… You cannot say “Oeps” when a container splashed into the water. The navy uses helicopters to transfer ammunition from the support vessels to the receiving ships. US helicopter lifting ammunition containers Photo: Us Navy Transferring these crates and containers by helicopters goes much faster, but, just as transferring by cable, there are limitations as well: A helicopter can carry limited weight They transfer 1 item at the time, I have a collection of photographs showing UnRep operations; on all pics you see the helicopter carrying 1 or 2 items. The smaller the receiving ship, the longer it takes, due to limited space [helicopter deck] and security protocols. The metrological circumstances: UnRep a vessel in stormy weather takes much more time than when it is a calm day. This is my 1 cent contribution for now. I personally doubt that the transferring time per item is 15 seconds. snarF

Japan: Type 93 Surface to Air Missile. http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/type-93.htm http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/wor...1-sam-specs.htm Type 88 SSM http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/wor...ype-88-pics.htm http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/wor...pe-88-specs.htm Type-87 self-propelled anti-aircraft machine-gun http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/wor...7-aaa-specs.htm Atago class destroyer [improved Kongo, 2 ships in service] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atago_class_destroyer Hyuga class DDH [1 is in service, or about to becommissioned] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyuga_class_h...opter_destroyer Thanks! The snarF

When you say USS Stout, it means nothing to me.... when you say DDG 55 USS Stout, most players [i think so ] know what ship it is. Is it possible to implement the hullnumbers into the shipslist of the next DB version? I offer help. The snarF PS. Don't forget to vote for the Harpooner's election of the pooner of the year See you next year

SPOILER ALERT AFTER ACTION REPORT Operation Jaya Wijaya, designed by Freek Schepers. I am in command of 7 destroyers, 2 submarines and 38 aircraft on 1 airbase and 2 airstrips. I have to defend the Dutch interests over the Archipelago and stop the Indonesian invasion of New Guinea. I have to stop the Indonesian invasion of New Guinea, sink 30 vessels and prevent 4 units [surface vessels],and 20 units [aircraft] from taking 100% damage. For comprehensive orders, click on the little flags below. Orders for Netherlands Orders for Indonesia 18 August 1962. 12:00:00 – 14:30:00 Zulu Time. Right after start the HMS Dolfijn detected several surface contacts. A fast rise to periscope depth learned me that a convoy of 15 ships was heading west. Her position is 70nm north of Ambon City. Soon I was able to fire a torpedo, but missed. A second torpedo hit the FF Surapati. Later enemy torpedoes splashed into the water, but I was able to survive the attack and managed to destroy another escort, a Skoryy-class destroyer. Close-up of a Dutch Hawker Hunter, based at Biak Meanwhile 2 Hunters flew over 2 patrol craft and manage to sink the boats with onboard weapons. As soon more aircraft became available, I was able to perform recon operations to track down enemy convoys. I used the Hunters from both airstrips to assist the HMS Dolfijn. I managed to sink all ships with torpedoes, bombs and onboard weapons, except 1 escort. This last vessel, however, was damaged and on fire. One of the Hunters discovered another large convoy [13 ships] 152nm north east of the first convoy. The HMS Dolfijn is too far away to intercept the convoy and has only few torpedoes left. 2 of my surface groups, however are more or less in the neighbourhood. I both ordered to make best speed to intervene. A smaller convoy of 3 ships was detected east of Seram. I attacked the convoy with 2 Hunters and managed to kill the three ships. Several unknown/enemy aircraft have been spotted/located. Most of them are Reconnaissance units and flying at very high attitude. Enemy aircraft even attacked Bathurst Airbase in Australia with Badger Bombers, but so far, no enemy aircraft attacked Dutch assets, and no enemy aircraft were shot down by Dutch fighters/ AAA-systems. Enemy Gannet AS.4 desperate trying to locate the HMS Dolfijn, but so far, without success. After I have destroyed the second large convoy, I will change tactics from offensive to defensive operations. I will intensive Reconnaissance Operations with the Neptunes. Unconfirmed presence of Soviet submarines in the region is concerning me. The Navy is ready for action, but in those times, ASW-Ops were quite different and not that modern. No SH-60 Helicopters with Barracuda torpedoes. Just some Depth charges and the ERIKA ASW rockets onboard the Holland and Friesland Class Destroyers. Overview of the Dutch Airfield of Biak 14:30:00 – 15:45:00 Zulu Time. Suddenly, a third convoy was located 30nm north of Utara Island. 7 ships. Smaldeel 4.3 will intercept that convoy. 1 Neptune with MK83 1000lb is available on Biak, as well as 8 Hawker Hunters. I will use them as well to attack the third convoy. But first I have to figure out what the composition is of the convoy and sent 1 Hawker Hunter to shadow the convoy. 2 more patrol craft were detected in coastal waters of Waigeo Island, east of Sorong Airstrip. I have no aircraft available to attack these patrol crafts, but, I know where they are and these boats are no party for my destroyers, in fact they would try to attack Smaldeel 4.3. 2 Hunters, armed with MK83 bombs had to return to base due to limited range, fully loaded, shame…. 3 Neptunes, armed with MK83 bombs and Zuni Rockets are nearby, but don’t want to attack the convoy with these aircraft on medium/low attitude. I’ll have to wait until fighters are available to attack the escorts with onboard weapons [really powerful, these onboard weapons of the Hawker Hunter, the attacks were very successful so far]. I managed to sink one of the escorts of the second convoy, the D 203, on the way back home with machineguns. Short after 15:00 hrs. I attacked the second convoy with the 3 Neptunes from high attitude, targets: the escorts…. I managed to destroy 4 more escorts. The convoy is now defended by a single patrol craft. Suddenly, a Neptune discovered a submarine at short distance of Smaldeel 4.1. I immediately started the hunt for this new threat. The submarine fired a torpedo, but the 3 ships survived the attack. One of the Neptunes arrived on the scene to assist Smaldeel 4.1. 15 minutes later, the unknown submarine was identified as a Soviet Whiskey-Class submarine. I managed to sink the submarine with Depth Charges. Hr Ms Overijssel [my father served on the D815 during this conflict] Some minutes later, a report about the destruction of the village of Modowi. I directed a Hawker Hunter to the area to investigate the incident. 15 Minutes later, another village was attacked by Paratroopers. At 15:45:00, I reached VC; I managed to sink 15 escorts, 3 patrol craft, 7 supply vessels, 5 LST and 1 submarine against the loss of 4 Hawker Hunter T.53 and 1 Neptune. The Indonesian invasion force managed to attack two small villages with Paratroopers; Modowi and Rabia village. Thanks for sharing this scenario with us

SPOILER ALERT MATCHPLAY #4 for Harpoon ANW 3.7.0 Scenario designed by Freek Schepers Reporter: Taitennek. Side: Netherlands. I have only limited aircraft under my command. 86 fighter/attack, 12 of them are armed with AMRAAM. My orders are to establish local air-superiority over NL and central UK, destroy Luton EW System, 10 ground targets, 100 aircraft, and sink 2 ships. I must prevent more than 15 NL facilities from being hit. [For comprehensive orders visit PlayersDB Scenario Depot]. Date : 29 September 2004. Time : 04:00:00 Zulu Time. First I plotted course for my frigates and submarines. Stanfornz and TF38 will group together west of Den Helder [not on map], The HMS Dolfijn, cruising in the English Channel, will try to destroy English warships in their homeport Portsmouth, the HMS Bruinvis will do the same off coast central UK. The two other frigates will patrol west of The Hague. Game on: 2 F-16 are ready in 5 minutes, as well as a P-3 Orion. Soon, Radar picked up airborne contacts from the British Island, as well as many ship movements in the Channel and on the North Sea. After 15 minutes I launched 6 more F-16. The KC-10 Extender is in position for aerial refuelling of fighters heading southwards. My biggest handicap is that only few AMRAAM-missiles are available. I must engage the enemy in the first stage of this battle with Sidewinders only. I directed immediately 2 F-16 to fly south with maximum speed for refuel and managed to reach the UK. The hunt for the AEW-aircraft began. The Luton AEW system was destroyed by canon fire, as well as 4 Sentry-AEW units with Sidewinders. The English are now more or less blind……If I survive the first 2-3 hours, I give myself a good chance to learn the Brits a lesson they not will forget. 05:00:00 Zulu Time. I have to deal with 2 problems: first of all the lack of medium range air-to-air missiles [AMRAAM], the limited ammo available on my ships [Group North], and the number of F-16’s left that can carry out defensive/offensive operations. The second problem is the number of SAM’s fired during the first stage of this battle; The Patriot Batteries at the Dutch coast are about out of ammo. I only can rely on short range AAA-facilities and only few F-16 left for self defence of NL-ground facilities. I have, however, over 30 F-16 available for offensive ground-attack actions against the UK. The loss of UK AEW capability after the successful action of only 2 F-16 fighters, armed with Sidewinder missiles [!!!!!!!] against the Luton Battle Management System [destroyed by cannon fire] and airborne AEW units, and the absence of defence systems in the southern part of UK between Portsmouth-NB and Wattingham-AB, gives me the possibility to carry out a deep strike mission on English bases. I realise that I can’t attack the bases in the Northern part of the UK without tanker capability [only 1 tanker, positioned in the south to provide refuel-capability for an attack from there, due to my decision to fly in at low attitude at high speed from the south], so I focus for an attack on the British bases in the central and southern part of the UK. I Launched 12 aircraft [load out: MK82, MK84 bombs and AGM-65 Maverick], escorted with 6 F-16 armed with AMRAAM. Targets: Wattingham, Wittering, Cottismore, Marham, Cottishall, and Waddington airbase. A second wave is planned 45 minutes later. 05:30:00 Zulu Time. All aircraft are on their way to their targets. Again, British fighters are inflicting loss to my aircraft, but the bombers were able to attack the airfields. Wittering, Cottismore, Marham, Cottishall and Wattingham were destroyed completely and 2 other bases were severely damaged. Meanwhile British aircraft attacked the naval Taskforce near Den Helder. They managed to sink 1 frigate and damaged two other ships. I managed to take out 1 British frigate with bombs. 06:45:00 Zulu Time. Both nations were hit hard by each other. I have only few aircraft [6] left, destroyed almost 280 enemy aircraft and 28 ground facilities, but I am not able to go on. The Taskforce near Den Helder could attack the British ships east of England, but it cannot defend herself against incoming anti-ship missiles. It would be suicide to go on with only two ships and one submarine left [the ships are cruising west of The Hague and the remaining submarine is positioned east of UK]. I could not reach VC, I only managed to sink one ship instead of two. Thanks Freek for sharing this exiting but very difficult scenario with us! Results: English Losses: 276 planes and helicopters 1 ship 28 facilities Dutch losses: 88 aircraft and helicopters 1 ship 1 submarine 6 facilities Cheers, Taitennek

ANNOUNCEMENT The scenario download page of the PlayersDB Depot has been upgraded and contains all scenarios for the PlayersDB for Harpoon3 3.6.3., as well as for Harpoon ANW 3.7. Your scenario there as well? contact me! [only scenarios designed for the PlayersDB]. Check this link: Scenario Download-page Cheers, Taitennek.

DO IT!!!!!!!

[spoiler ALERT] Scenario: The hunt for Red Xia Author: Herman Hum / Claudio Magnatti AAR by: Frans Koenz Side : Russia The story. The counter-offensive is almost ready but, prior to making this move, the Chinese nuclear option must be eliminated first. Thanks to strong co-operation from US intelligence, the defensive arrangement of the two nuclear sites along with the position of the Chinese SSBN has been obtained. A coordinated attack has been prepared and the Xia must be sunk within 30 minutes from the air attack on the missile silos in order to avoid a nuclear response. My orders: Proceed to the reference point and sink the the SSBN Xia in co-ordination with the pre-planned air strike on the Chinese ICBM sites. The air strikes are scheduled for 02:30h June 22. You must destroy the Xia by 03:00h. The SSBN may be sunk earlier if you have the opportunity, but NOT earlier than 01:00h. Otherwise the Chinese could retaliate with their ICBM’s. Destruction of the SSBN is paramount, ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS ARE SUBSIDIARY…….. Stage 1: Approach. Game start: 21 June 2010, 05:00…. I’m in command of the Gepard, an Akula-II (Project PLA-971M) class nuclear submarine and positioned ±180 miles away from the reference point in the southern part of the Yellow sea at a depth of 60m. Almost immediately my sensors picked up several surface contacts, commercial and military, west and southwest from my position. I realised that a direct course to the reference point could give away my position. So, I first plotted a northerly course to avoid direct contact with Chinese ASW-units. From-time-to-time, I rose to periscope depth for position checks and discovered Chinese ASW-aircraft searching for my submarine. After several hours of manoeuvring, I reached a position northwest of the reference-point, distance: about 25 miles. Stage 2: Attack. It was clear that I had surprised the Chinese, because there were no surface vessels in the area that could prevent me attacking their SSBN. Soon my sensors discovered the SSBN Xia and I closed in very carefully. At this point my submarine was very vulnerable to detection because there was no room for vertical manoeuvres (30m depth). Finally, at 02:00h, 21 hours after game start, I fired 2 USET-80 wired-guided torpedoes and managed to sink the Red Xia, realising that a big part of the Yellow Sea would be polluted for many years. The torpedoes were the only 2 weapons fired in this scenario. Mission Accomplished. I reached Victory Conditions within time. Another exiting scenario to play, thanks to the designers! THIS SCENARIO REQUIRES PDB 5.9.7. You can get it at: www.taitennek.nl - The PDB Scenario Depot SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

[spoiler ALERT] Scenario: Opening Moves Author: Herman Hum / Claudio Magnatti AAR by: Frans Koenz Side : Russia After an unprovoked attack on Russia by the PRC, Petropavlovsk remained operational and the deployed fleet elements only had the barest of weapons required for self-defense. My orders were to bring back the nuclear submarines to Petropavlovsk for replenishment and re-armament within 80 hours. They have only been loaded with limited munitions in accordance with the restricted training schedule. Only a few air-assets were available at Vladivostok. I was advised to engage only the units that posed an immediate threat. The game: 4 SS(G)N (Tomsk, Tambov, Nerpa and Pskov) must reach the marked Nav zone. 2 KILO-class submarines are located near Vladivostok. After starting the game the 2 Kilo's were surrounded by enemy submarines. I ordered the 2 Helix A helicopters for assistance in my attempt to destroy the submarines. I managed to sink 3 submarines, but lost both helicopters. They were attacked by a Chinese fighter from the mainland. The SSGN Tomsk and SSN Tambov had to pass the Tsugaru Strait. As expected, there was a Chinese blockade with submarines and surface vessels. I managed to pass the strait without any problems and reach the marked zone without problems. The SSGN Tomsk managed to sink 1 submarine. The two other submarines ( SSN Nerpa and SSN Pskov) were located in the East Chinese Sea and nearby the Ryukyu Archipelago and had to pass other Chinese blockades. The SSN Nerpa managed to sink 1 submarine and a Luhu-class (051B) and managed to reach the safe Pacific Ocean after passing a blockade. The PRC did attack the 2 Kilo class submarines with torpedoes, fired by Harbin ASW Aircraft, but could not damage or destroy the submarines. My tactic was to travel with maximum speed at maximum depth through the blockades and I did manage to reach the victory conditions within time. PRC losses: 2 Ming class Subamrines 2 Kilo class Submarines 1 Han class (type 091) Submarine 1 Luhu class (type 051B) Frigate Russian losses: 2 Helix A ASW helicopters 1 Mi-14 Haze helicopter Thanks for the nice scenario! THIS SCENARIO REQUIRES PDB 5.9.7. You can get it at: www.taitennek.nl - The PDB Scenario Depot SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Hey Brad! Thanks for the response These sites are on my favorite list already. The Hazegray Underway site has not been updated since 2003, GS (global Security) is for my the main guideline and I have the Harpoon 4 paper rules at home. I'm using many more sites for reference (I will post a list later on this forum). Most of the sites do have informations I'm looking for (technical data), but I need more informations about the historical data. That's not a problem with the well known submarines, the problem is to find data of types which are not in service anymore or data of submarines of which only few have been built. These are the data I'm really looking for. I invite all forum members to deliver as much historical data as possible. You lads can send it to my private e-mail adress: frans-koenz@wanadoo.nl. I promise to give feedback on the results (special topic on submarines). Thanks, Frans.

Hi all! Working on textdescriptions for Herman's PDB, I kindly ask you to help me.... with links to submarine sites. I am looking for usefull links of the German submarines (type 205-214), but all replies about submarines are welcome! Cheers, Taitennek