File - GIUK - Battle of North Cape, 26 December 1943

[broncepulido]

File Name: Battle of North Cape, 26 December 1943

File Submitter: broncepulido

File Submitted: 12 Sep 2009

File Category: GIUK

 

Christmas 1943, bad day for sailing in the Far North.

 

Picture: BC Scharnhort, circa 1939. Source: Wikipedia from German Federal Archives/Kommando der Volksmarine - Bildbestand (DVM 10 Bild), Accession number DVM 10 Bild-23-63-12

 

With BB Tirpitz damaged by attack of midget submarines, BC Scharnhorst remains the only Kriegsmarine capital ship available to be utilized against the Arctic convoys from Great Britain to Soviet Union.

Admiral Fraser, Home Fleet commander, decides to set a trap to the last operational German capital ship, reinforcing the convoys escort, and using HUMINT from Norwegian agents for request information about the Scharnhorst movements.

At the closing hours of December, 25, 1943, westbound convoy RA55A was converging with eastbound convoy JW55B, near the Bear Island area, while the German group, coming from Altafjord, was approaching the area from south.

At 0755 on December, 25, 1943, Konteradmiral Erich Bey on command of BC Scharnhorst orders his accompanying DDs of the 4th Zerstorer-Flotille to explore in search of the convoys. Bad transmitted orders, bad weather and bad luck, and the BC and the DDs lost contact one with the others.

It's the time of the British trap execution ...

 

Some links:

http://www.scharnhorst-class.dk/scharnhors...rnostfront.html

http://www.naval-history.net/Cr03-56-00NorthCape.htm

http://www.9thflottilla.de/9s130.htm

For U-Boat patrols on this date:

http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_1673.html

http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/search.php

 

Enrique Mas, September 2009.

 

Click here to download this file

[broncepulido]

Tags and picture added.

[broncepulido]

April 14, 2013: It was one of my first scenarios, group speeds added now, a few ships changed to more historically accurate names.

[CV32]

Some further inspiration here:

 

BOOK REVIEW – Battle of North Cape, the Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943

[broncepulido]

Another source of inspiration, I think this boardgame was not published when I designed the scenario:

http://www.avalanchepress.com/gameArcticConvoy.php

[Grumble]

Pardon my ignorance, would you please point me at the part of the FAQ describing how can I load this (a) scenario properly?

 

Just downloading Mavgaz's WWII BS intuitively did not cut it, guess I'll need a WWII DB too and perhaps there is more to it. Better do my homework, but where shall I start? The BattleSets FAQ topic is overview only. Thanks!

[broncepulido]

The Databases are here:

http://harpgamer.com/harpforum/index.php?/files/category/3-databases/

 

You should use the HCWW-xxxxxx for this scenario (and the other WWII scenario I designed, very simple and most of them builded to test the Game Engine (GE) in those enviroments).

[broncepulido]

It's played in the usual EC2003 GIUK GAP Battleset.

[Grumble]

Thanks, got it.

This has brought back childhood reading memories. The Graf Spee, Bismarck and the Tirpitz episodes.

 

And the scenario is good, I remember how the book was about that the superior British radars put the Scharnhorst at disadvantage.

[broncepulido]

Yeah, childhood memories me too ...

[broncepulido]

Very minor change May, 5, 2013: Zerstorer Z38 version changed from the more advanced Mob (Type 1936A)(1945+) configuration (probably only applied to Z39, and losing the central p/s main gun), to the older configuration Z33 (Mob 1936A)(7/1942+), more adjusted to this time period.