After Action Report: Operation Lancette

 

NOTE: Usual spoilers follow. Play the scenario yourself before reading further

 

Operation Lancette, 15 May 1981.

 

In the heydays of the Cold War at a time of particular tension, two days after the Pope John Paul II assassination attempt in Rome instigated by the Bulgarian/Soviet Secret Services, was the moment of one of the most scaring naval situations in the Cold War. Just when the Clemenceau CVBG and his reduced peacetime escort was sailing from Toulon for the exercise Coriolan, was detected a submarine contact by the ASW picket (DDs Georges Leygues and Guepratte) only 50 nautical miles from Toulon and actively stalking the carrier group. The subsequent Operation Lancette was launched, resulting in the chase of the unknow submarine continuosly for more than eighteen hours and with the submarine alternating creep speeds with peaks of 28-30 knots and even passing below the Georges Leygues towed sonar array. La Royale (French Navy) employed both forward escort destroyers, Lynx helicopters and Atlantic ASW planes based in the very near BAN Nimes-Garons, and at last forced she to surfacing. Ultimately she was visually identified on surface at night from a Lynx helicopter of the Georges Leygues as a Soviet Victor-type SSN and compelled to quit the area.

 

But this scenario represents the posibility of the things going wrong and hot, and both sides firing in anger at the enemy forces.

 

This scenario also could gives an idea of the difficult submarine hunting, the difficult of hunting surface ships with submarines without long range target determination, the limited sonar ranges and convergence zone feasability on a sea with high levels of salinity and density, the high limitations of small diesel-electric submarines employed as hunter-killers against SSN (the French SSN force was then yet two years on the future), and about the necessity of employing half of the French Aeronavale ASW forces to catch only one submarine, even when she was fortunately emplaced very near to a main ASW air base.

 

Given the scenario - a peacetime exercise - I decided to employ a strict ROE.

 

With a large contingent of Atlantique maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft based with Flotille 21F at Nimes-Garons, I could afford to set up a sizeable anti-submarine patrol in the area south of Toulon.

 

Four such aircraft were directed to conduct formation patrols in the area, two in the zone extending to 120 nm, and two more at the 180 nm distance, in order to sanitize the intended path of the carrier group.

 

Alouette, Lynx and Alize aircraft were also sent aloft from their host ships to provide a close zone patrol.

 

Three and a half hours out of Toulon, the T-47 (Surcouf) class destroyer Guepratte picked up a subsurface contact, roughly 8,000 yards ahead and about 14,000 yards off the starboard bow of the carrier Clemenceau.

 

For 30 long minutes the crew of the Guepratte attempted to localize and identify the sonar contact, until finally it was identified ... a biological. A whale, to be more specific.

 

An hour after the first encounter, the Daphne class submarine Doris picked up a new subsurface contact. Distance about 12,000 yd ahead.

 

The contact was also just west of - and much closer to - her close escort, the Arethuse class boat Argonaute. An older type, Argonaute had not yet picked up the contact.

 

Then all hell broke loose.

 

The contact was suddenly confirmed as a Project 671RTM (NATO Victor III) class nuclear powered attack sub, and just as quickly, there was a torpedo in the water.

 

40 knots and closing fast.

 

Argonaute loosed two L5 Mod 4P torpedoes of her own at the target - still not quite localized - and turned to run from the incoming torpedo.

 

Run wasn't really an apt term, though. At maximum speed, the dimunitive Argonaute could only manage 16 knots. It was a losing proposition.

 

On 15 May 1981, some 23 years after first entering French service, the Argonaute was sunk with all hands lost by a Soviet torpedo.

 

War had begun in the northwestern Mediterranean.

 

Meanwhile, Doris had slowed to steerage speed and was trying to make sense of the furor when the sound of high speed screws lashed the hull from close aboard.

 

Sonar had never detected these incomers. Two Soviet torpedoes smashed into the stern of Doris, and her wreckage joined that of Argonaute on the ocean floor.

 

Caught by surprise in a horrific way, an Atlantique was immediately directed to the datum post haste.

 

The aircraft soon detected and localized the Victor III, and dumped a Mk 46 Mod 5 NEARTIP lightweight torpedo on the contact.

 

It soon lost contact with the racing Victor, and a second torpedo was deployed.

 

The second Mk 46 ran hot, straight and normal - right to its target - and killed the Victor III outright.

 

Minimum victory was awarded thereafter.

 

14 hours after Clemenceau had departed Toulon, its escort Guepratte picked up a new subsurface sonar contact.

 

It was close, probably inside 6,000 yards and dead ahead. Mere heartbeats later came the frantic call.

 

"Incoming torpedo!"

 

45 knots and closing ... from point blank range.

 

Guepratte set up and fired the Malafon standoff ASW missile and then began aggressive maneuvers as her boilers roared, the ship reeling and shuddering as she worked up to her maximum speed of 30 knots.

 

The Malafon missile blazed from its rail back aft and raced off to the southwest, dumping its L4 torpedo payload in what was hopefully terminal range of the attacking enemy submarine.

 

It missed.

 

Guepratte continued its frantic maneuvering but the Soviet torpedo continued to close, eating up the distance. Aboard ship, a deck crew worked to reload the Malafon launcher.

 

Finally, with a new missile aboard the launcher, Guepratte fired another shot.

 

This time, the L4 torpedo was dropped much closer to the target, and the weapon homed in on the signature of the evading Soviet boat and struck home.

 

It was enough to sink the submarine, an ageing Victor I.

 

Unfortunately for the crew of Guepratte, they would never know of their success. The Soviet torpedo (a Type 53-65K) had found them.

 

Total victory followed, but it was cold comfort. The brave crews of two submarines and a destroyer had been lost.

 

Synopsis:

 

Great ASW oriented scenario. Basic, as Enrique says, but covers most all of the fundamental principles and has sufficient action to boot.

 

When you employ a restrictive ROE, ASW can become a serious challenge, especially in the surface ship vs submarine scenario.

 

Even having an ample supply of airborne ASW assets did not give an overwhelming advantage. To destroy the enemy, one must first find him.

 

Thank you Enrique.

 

(Now if we could only localize and destroy that 'submarine movement' bug. )

Fascinating narrative

The idea about the scenario comes from the reading of the operational history of Guepratte and her participation on Lancette, when I was cheking the last entries in the DB, followed by a bit of parallel research, and the constatation of the assassination attemp against John Paul II was only two days earlier

Casually I've drived many times in front of BAN Nimes-Garons from 1981, the last time the past september a few time after his closure, I've never be in the BAN properly but I've see the Atlantics 1 and 2 on his taxiways, and I was feeling sad after his closure and this scenario is also a little tribute ...