Jerome (a.k.a Angle of Attack) had a little down time from flight operations tonight, so we decided to play Freek Schepers's, Nordkapp scenario, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

 

I took the Russian side to hunt for the Dutch PhibRon while Jerome played the NATO ships attempting to leave the area.

 

 

As soon as my helicopters were ready, I sent them airborne to scout for the enemy. They detected the FFG Zeven de Provincien, FFG Heemskirck and LPD Rotterdam hugging the coastline. I checked the range and it was only about 60nm -- I was well within SAM range! I prayed that I would be able to dive fast enough to get out of the SAM envelope. I guess my prayers were answered since no Standards arrived to blow my Helix helos from the sky. Whew! :smoke:

 

 

With a firm location in hand, my little force of frigates closed the range. I also managed to manoeuvre a sub in front of the Phibron. Everything looked perfect.

 

Once they were all in range, I decided to try and kill the FFG Heemskirck as a priority. Both FFGs held 8 deadly Harpoon missiles, but the Zeven should have been a much tougher nut to crack with here phenomenal SAMs. 8 Switchblade SSMs were allocated to the Heemskirck and 8 Sunburns to the Zeven. I only allocated the Sunburns to the Zeven to keep her busy. As it turned out, the Zeven didn't have her radar on, so she ate them and blew up in a huge fireball! Scooooooooooorrrrrre! :laugh:

 

 

The Heemskirck was actually able to shoot down all of her assailants. :OHNO:

 

She survived long enough to return fire with her Harpoons. Amazingly, the LPD turned around! Argggh. The sub had her in their sights, but wanted to wait just a little bit longer to minimize the run time on her torpedoes when she turned tail and ran. She'll never know how close she came...

 

 

However, Russians make good point defenses. A lone frigate salvo had no chance of penetrating and they were easily swatted aside. With all SSMs expended from both sides, the Russian frigate force manage to chase down the LPD and blast her from the water with old fashioned naval gunnery.

 

A really great round of MP play. Thanks to Jerome for a fun game and to HarpGamer for hosting it.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Jerome (a.k.a Angle of Attack) demanded revenge, so we decided to re-play Freek Schepers's, Nordkapp scenario, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. Same scenario, same sides.

 

 

Since we already knew each other's Order of Battle, I didn't try to hide my positions or identities. As soon as my helicopters were aloft, I immediately activated the radar and the jamming equipment aboard the ships to try and blind my enemy.

 

 

As our forces closed on each other, I tried my former tactic of quick attack. The FFG Heemskirck was slightly outside the protective SAM umbrella of the FFG Zeven de Provincien so I tried to launch a sneak attack in hopes of killing her and the 8 Harpoon missiles she carried. 8 Switchblade SSMs were fired in a volley once the prey had been fully localized. As they neared their target, I was about to rejoice in killing the frigate when, all of a sudden, they turned and struck a distant neutral cruise liner. Looks like a court-martial for me. I'll blame it on A Gust of Sunspot Interference.

 

 

Unfortunately, there was still a fully armed frigate out there. I had to fire my second salvo of SSM Sunburn missiles at her. Three managed to get through the defenses and leave her ablaze from stem to stern. However, she was able to unleash her own SSMs in reply before she was hit. As before, a single wave of Harpoon missiles were unable to penetrate my defences. This time, he also included the missiles from FFG Zeven. Luckily for me, the two attacks were sequential and not simultaneous. This allowed me sufficient time to shoot down all the SSMs even though it exhausted my SAM inventory on the Neustrashimyy.

 

 

With no additional offensive weaponry available, the little KUG [surface action group] tried to close for a gunnery engagement. The Adm. Chebanenko had a 130mm gun with a range of 9nm. Unfortunately, my ships were out-ranged by the FFG Zeven with her 127mm gun and 11nm range. Getting close was going to be a challenge.

 

This was to be my undoing. By only focusing on the gun range of my opponents, I neglected to take into account her SAM battery. Only when I was near the 12nm mark did I realize my short-sightedness. My squadron immediately broke up and tried to flee, but they were not successful. The SAM defences did an admirable job, but several Standard missiles struck the ships before they finally retreated outside of sight and SAM range. The damage suffered slowed down my ability to effectively chase the PhibRon.

 

 

On a second approach, I sent my sole undamaged frigate around the islands in an attempt to box in my prey while the other two ships pressed from the West. They started to launch USET-80 torpedo attacks from maximum range in order to herd the prey into a kill zone. Also, I was trying to distract attention from the ASW helos he had out hunting for my sub. If I was lucky, the sub would come into play as the hidden dagger.

 

But, today, I wasn't lucky. Jerome was very diligent with his dipping sonar and soon found my sub on her way to intercept the LPD. They dropped both depth charges and ASW torpedoes and she never even heard the weapon that destroyed her.

 

My futile surface torpedo attack failed miserably. The weapons simply didn't have sufficient fuel to reach their targets, but they did keep the PhibRon busy evading them. Long enough that we declared the game a draw.

 

A superb game from Jerome and thanks to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

Since our previous encounter left doubt in the mind who actually won and who lost the scenario, Jerome (a.k.a Angle of Attack) and I decided to settle our differences where matters of honour are normally handled; the electronic battlefield. We decided to help play-test one of the scenarios re-built for the impending HUD3 database release, Watch that First Step. A version of this scenario is also available for the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

 

One of the first steps to war is the deployment of the SSBNs to their patrol areas. Although the oceans offer a great many places to hide, there is only one submarine support base and only one way in or out. I took the USN side attempting to deploy the Ohio SSBNs and Jerome undertook the Russian side attempting to destroy them. The scenario starts just as the SSBNs begin to clear the Gulf.

 

 

Not long after, WHEC Hamiliton detected a sub nearly in her baffles! It was within 6nm. This was Danger-Close! At that range, she was vulnerable to all sorts of ASuW weapons. She immediately let loose a salvo of Mk46 torpedoes from her Port tubes as she desperately tried to leave the area at flank speed. Luckily, three helicopters and one Orion Maritime patrol plane were in the vicinity. If she were sunk, they could at least avenge her. Luck was with the USCG, today. No incoming torpedoes were detected, but the Mk46 appeared to have missed, too.

 

 

Soon enough, the helos arrived and began to prosecute the submarine. It turned out to be a Victor III class SSN and it was very capably driven. Although the sub as blanketed by sonobuoys, it struggled valiantly to break contact. Only after the expenditure of 16 aerially delivered torpedoes was she finally sunk. It was remarkable. If all Russian sub drivers were this good, it was going to be a long war.

 

As the forces began to unite, a second sub contact was detected by DDG Iroquois. One again, helos and Orions converged on the target. This sub turned out to be an Alfa-class SSN; a real sprinter. The contact was quite vague, so a very large area had to be searched. I decided to use the faster Orions for the general search and hold back my helos. I ordered the the SeaHawks to hover. Luck must be smiling on me, today, for one SeaHawk found herself right over the Alfa! This sub, too, required nearly 8 torpedoes to finally sink her.

 

 

Once the destroyers made their rendezvous with the SSBNs, they formed a wedge to 'plow' the path for their charges. Hopefully, any enemy sub would engage them before they could reach the Ohios. One SSBN reported a distant fuzzy sub contact. The accompanying Orion immediately took off to investigate. The vague nature of the contact meant another wide area search. After dropping a few sonobuoys near the Ohio, I guessed that the sub was quite a distance away. I measured out a distance of 34nm (the range to the first Convergence Zone [CZ] ) from the Ohio reporting the contact, placed a Reference point on the map, and flew towards it to start my search. When she arrived at the reference point, her very first sonobuoy found the lurking submarine. "X" really does mark the spot! It would also mark the grave of the Russian sub as 4 Mk 46 torpedoes caught her.

 

 

Just as the SSBNs were approaching their patrol area, a final sub was detected. This one turned out to be an Akula-class SSN, one of the best in the Russian inventory. Sonobuoy, after sonobuoy, was dropped in an attempt to localize her. However, I was never able to pinpoint the slippery character even though the sonobuoy field was thick enought that I should have been able to nearly walk on them. To add further shame to my frustration, the Akula managed to fire a long-range Type 65-76 wake-homing torpedo at my escorts 21nm distant!

 

Enough was enough. I decided to drop a single torpedo to goad my assailant into moving and it worked. The Akula sped off at 35kts and clearly revealed herself to everyone within 100 miles. Four torpedoes were sent after her and they caught her twisting and turning at maximum depth.

 

My SSBNs are only a few hours away from their final destination, so the game is well in hand. Barring a catastrophe, the game is all but won.

 

Another superb effort from Jerome and thanks to HarpGamer for the use of their HUD3 server. The HUD3 seems to be holding up very well with the submarines quite stealthy. The initial detections seem to appear at quite some distance even for supposedly quiet submarines, but attempts to localize them are a cast-iron b****.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Eds had some time this past weekend and was in the mood for a little ASuW action so we decided to play Matrix Siege, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

This scenario has a frigate and destroyer from the USN vs. a combined force of 15 European missile boats. The numbers looked good, but the capabilities were far from equal.

 

 

We both elected to remain under EmCon. I was hoping to close the range for my weapons before revealing my forces and Ed was hoping to remain undetected. We were both successful.

 

 

Just as my separate groups were about to trap his force in between them, a Sea Cobra helo appeared and my plans unraveled. It was quickly shot down, but not before it revealed the disposition of my southern groups.

 

Before I knew it, two ships exploded in fireballs. Since my presence was known, there was no sense in hiding so all radar became active. Unfortunately, Ed seemed to know my position, but I had no idea where his ships were.

 

As my missile boats went to flank speed to close the gap in hopes of launching their missiles before their destruction, a radar contact revealed the frigate and 8 missiles were immediately fired from the northern group; and none too soon as both missile boats blinked out of existence soon afterwards. Their crews would have been happy to learn that the enemy frigate soon joined them at the bottom of the Kattegat.

 

 

One target remained, the Arleigh Burke destroyer. Faced with 10 missile boats, this seemed like easy prey. However, never underestimate the power of a lone AEgis-equipped vessel. Soon, I was losing more gun boats to Harpoon SSMs. Luckily for me, he was expending his valuable ordnance on gunboats and not the more powerful missile boats; a group of 7 of which finally found the range. They loosed 22 SSMs at the Burke and turned to run for their lives.

 

I thought that the game was well in hand until 4 of the missiles suddenly veered off and struck a neutral cruise liner passing by. The rest of the salvo acted correctly and remained locked upon the destroyer. Several struck her, but could not sink her. With my missile tubes empty, there was no point in continuing the attack since the 127mm gun on the destroyer had far greater range than any projectile weapon carried aboard my puny vessels.

 

The game turned out to be a draw. I had lost too many ships in the pursuit of my objectives and the loss of the frigate prevented Ed from accomplishing his mission.

 

A superb afternoon of cat and mouse thanks to Ed and to HarpGamer for the use of their HUD3 server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

After beating Jerome (a.k.a Angle of Attack) during our first ASW confrontation in Watch that First Step, he asked for a re-match and we decided to switch sides to see if I could do any better . This scenario is made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

 

Having played the USN side last time, I had an idea of just how sensitive the sonar was on the SSBNs. I was hoping to catch the SSBNs as they deployed from the Gulf instead of trying to hunt them in the wide ocean. This proved to be my undoing.

 

 

I had an Alfa-class SSN closest to the mouth of the Gulf. She was super fast at 42kts, but she was also super noisy. I remembered picking up her acoustic signature almost immediately. I had to assume that she had already been detected. My long-ranged sensors quickly detected the 2 USCG WHEC cutters and the DDH Iroquois. I ordered the Alpha to attack and try to destroy the nearest cutter.

 

When she got within 12 nm, the enemy cutter turned away. I suspected that she had already been detected and that the Alpha would soon be under attack, so I ordered her to maximum speed. The Russians built her as an "interceptor" submarine and she would prove it today. The WHEC cutter could only make 29kts at maximum speed while the Alpha closed on her at 42kts.

 

At a range of 4nm, she started firing 70kt wake-homing torpedoes. I didn't know if they would start chasing targets on the other side of the ocean, so I ordered the Alpha to continue closing on the target. Meanwhile, Jerome had attacked with an Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft. I was hoping that my phenomenal speed would allow me to survive long enough to at least kill the cutter before my own death. A Mk46 torpedo (quite possibly fired from the target) caught the Alpha and imploded her titanium hull. She was soon joined at the bottom of the ocean by the cutter as three torpedoes slammed into her.

 

The next target was the Canadian destroyer, Iroquois. She had a respectable sonar and could carry deadly helicopters, so she had to die. A Sierra II-class SSN crept up on her and let loose with 2 Type 65-76 torpedoes. Although she did counter-detect the attack and managed fire a Mk46 down the bearing of attack, the fantastic range of the Type 65 allowed me to engage her from outside the range of the Mk46 return fire. The two torpedoes chased her down and broke her back. The Sierra returned to her hunt for the Ohio SSBNs.

 

The search for the SSBNs was not going well. My decision to attempt to interdict them near the coast was a bad idea. I had a smaller area to search for the SSBNs, but the enemy also had a smaller area to protect, as well. One Victor III-class SSN was creeping in when she detected a torpedo attack (probably from another Orion) upon her. With over four torpedoes chasing her, she knew it was only a matter of time to her destruction. In order to get some use from her weapons, she rose to shallow depth and fired off her SS-N-15 Starfish and SS-N-16 Stallions on Bearing-Only-Launch attacks. Right after she launched, a torpedo killed her. Fortunately, a nuclear-tipped Stallion also landed close enough to the surviving USCG cutter to take it out, too.

 

 

The pesky Orion MPA killed my Akula-class SSN and left me with only 2 submarines before I realized the folly of my decision. The two survivors retreated to conduct their hunt in deeper waters. With both sides creeping around at 5kts, it made for a very long game.

 

Occasionally, Jerome would drop a torpedo on a vague contact in hopes of goading me into moving and making noise. Once or twice, it nearly worked, too! I had to resist the temptation to react to every torpedo I heard in the water.

 

Finally, my two subs made a detection in the SW corner of the map. Unfortunately, so did Jerome. No sooner had I started moving towards the Ohios than a torpedo was dropped right in front of my surviving Victor III-class SSN. Damn, it was only 3nm away. I couldn't take the chance that it might have acquired me, so I hit the gas and ran at 30kts. Sadly, I was unable to evade and the Victor ate the torpedo at a depth of 600m.

 

 

My sole surviving sub was the Sierra II. She decided that this was for all the marbles so she loaded her tubes with every available Starfish and Stallion before creeping up to shallow depth. Once there, she gambled. Sonar estimated that the subs could be no further than the first Convergence Zone (34nm), so she decided to lob her two conventionally armed Stallions into the 34nm region in hopes of spooking the SSBNs into flight.

 

In the middle area, I dropped a couple of Starfish to provoke the same reaction. And, in case I had him in the direct path and he was close, I launched a USET-80 torpedo to cover the area from 0-10nm. I would save the nuclear-tipped Starfish / Stallion once he started moving for the coup de grace.

 

 

My plan worked like a charm. Once the torpedoes dropped into his neighbourhood, his SSBNs reacted and revealed themselves. It was easy to send him to the bottom with a final volley nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, the game ended in a draw since I had lost too many submarines in accomplishing my goals.

 

 

A truly superb game with many nail-biting encounters. Thanks to Jerome and to HarpGamer for the use of the server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Harpoon ANW welcomed an old Harpoon2 player, Michael Veksler (a.k.a Misha1971) back to the fold. He's been playing since the old H2 days and still remembers the floppies and the great manuals that came with H2. After experiencing much frustration using the OriginalDB and the ANW DB, he wanted some bug-free play so we selected Dawn Patrol, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

Misha was born in Minsk, so it was just natural for him to take the Russians while I played the NATO side. Although a bit rusty, Misha soon remembered all the commands that came with H2 and was soon employing them with great zeal.

 

Unfortunately, he turned on his radar and revealed his location thus allowing me to approach his position from three separate axes. A combined missile strike from 3 Hugin PTM missile boats was enough to overwhelm his anti-air defences and leave 2 Nanuchka-class boats burning on the water.

 

 

Misha fought back tenaciously and managed to kill 4 of the attackers before succumbing to a final volley from FFL Goteborg.

 

A nice game with another old-timer resurrected from the Harpoon2 community. Thanks to Misha for the game and to HarpGamer for hosting it on their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Wow, yesterday was a really busy day on the server. Three separate sessions were played with three different people and we welcomed a new Harpoon ANW player to the MP battlefield, Tracy Vierra.

 

TracyV was eager to start and said that he had been playing for nearly a year so we opted to jump right in with the recently revised Matrix Siege, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

This is an exercise between NATO missile and a USN destroyer/frigate combination. I commanded the polyglot force for NATO.

 

I was hoping to execute a pincer attack from the north and the south at the same time. Unfortunately, Tracy's Super Cobra stumbled upon my northern gunboat screen and revealed my intentions.

 

 

It was shot down, but it also drew and immediate USN reaction. Harpoon missiles slammed into two of them and left them sinking in the Kattegat. Luckily for me, he sank the less useful gunboats and left me with my missile boat intact.

 

 

A second helo came snooping. This one very expertly flown and wisely kept out SAM range. Nicely done, Tracy.

 

 

It was simply maddening to watch this helo sitting outside the edge of SAM coverage while directing a second Harpoon volley. This time, I lost two valuable missile-firing Flyvefiskin missile boats. Arggh, and I didn't have a clue where his ships were!

 

 

Finally, "Radar Contact to the NW Bearing 351!" Even then, they were vague. At the rate I was losing missile boats, I decided to fire now instead of waiting for a simultaneous attack with my northern groups. 24 missiles streaked towards the DDG Burke. Only one, maybe two, got through the withering SAM fire, but it wasn't enough to sink him. My boats immediately turned to run for their lives.

 

 

Only minutes later, the northern group came into range and volleyed their 16 Exocet missile. Once again, the impressive SAM defences swatted them from the sky. However, they did get very close. If only they could have launched together, the groups would have swamped the defences. As it stood, all my SSMs were expended and there was no way a gunboat was going to be able to survive a gun duel with a destroyer.

 

With nothing to stop him, Tracy sailed his force past Laeso Island for victory. A nicely played game for a newbie. Tony Eischens was observing the game and taping it for a soon-to-be-released video. He was also impressed how you managed to kill most SSMs with a single SAM. Great shooting!

 

Welcome to the world of Harpoon MP. Thanks for the game, TracyV, and to HarpGamer for hosting it on their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Another busy day for Harpoon ANW, PlayersDB, and the HarpGamer server. Three separate sessions were played with five different people.

 

Misha1971 came aboard hoping to continue our saved game of Sea Okhotsk. Unfortunately, we had to abandon it due to the server constantly dropping me out of the session from scenario size. It was a real shame since it was developing quite nicely.

 

Instead, we chose to play another PlayersDB scenario, Save the Queen. We barely got started, but it seems to be turning into a real barn-burner. I took the UK side while Misha commanded his motherland's forces. My orders were to defend the UK from Russian attack.

 

 

I had a pair of E-3D Sentry aircraft at my disposal so I decided to make the best use of them. Soon after launch, they picked up emissions from the approaching Russian task force. They took up position NE and NW of my CVH group and were accompanied by 4 Tornado fighters, each, as a Combat Air Patrol.

 

 

After the radar picture firmed up and, without much other activity, I decided to send my CAP on an offensive sweep to cull some of the enemy's CAP and AEW aircraft. Bad idea.

 

 

Four fighters, two AEW helos, and 2 ASW helos were confirmed. Both CAP flights crept in at Medium altitude to avoid radar detection. Once close enough to the enemy CAP, they let loose with AIM-120 AMRAAM and targeted 4 on each fighter with a pair on each AEW helo. Three were shot down along with the two helos. While preparing a second volley for the surviving fighter, my planes started disappearing! Apparently, Misha had deployed his BCGN and Slava cruisers (prime AAW defense platforms) far in front of his ASW screen!

 

What I thought were harmless ASW frigates turned out to be deadly SAM-spewing cruisers. They quickly blew 7 of the 8 Tornadoes out of the sky. Their loss was bad enough, but now there was nothing standing between the surviving fighter and my AEW aircraft! Son of a B...

 

 

As I desperately tried to scramble more fighters, his survivor got close enough to blast one Sentry and another group closed on the second Sentry. My surviving Tornado managed to get three of the Fulcrum interceptors, but the last one closed and loosed a single AA-10 Alamo that incinerated the AEW platform. Damn, and double-damn. Curse all sneaky Russians.

 

 

Now, I was essentially blind. I still had AEW helos from the CVH, but they were very limited in capability. Even so, Misha tried to punch out all my AEW with more Fulcrum flights. Luckily, a second flight of Tornadoes arrived in time to kill the Fulcrum. I am going to miss the Sentry coverage, though.

 

 

To make matters worse, Misha ordered his nuclear submarines to attack. He said that he was trying something with them and wondered if I had detected them. However, I am not someone who gives my opponents Free Intelligence during a game, so he can check this thread after we finish the match. I did detect his Akula and Victor (?) subs as they moved.

 

We saved the game at this point and will pick it up, tomorrow.

 

Great opening session, Misha. Curse all sneaky Russian bastages, though. Thanks to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

TracyV came back for his second ANW game right afterwards. This time, we chose to play Airlane Gambit, made with the community's favourite ANW database, the PlayersDB.

 

I commanded the NATO defenders of Lajes while Tracy controlled a Russian amphibious invasion force.

 

 

With my two Sentry aircraft, I was quickly able to locate the approaching task group and it certainly looked impressive with BCGN Frunze, CG Slava, and CG Azov as escorts. However, there were only two DDG Soveremenny-class destroyers as escorts, so I would play my ace-in-the-hole, SSN Seawolf.

 

 

With such impressive AAW ships, the matching ECM capabilities were awesome, too. Once they were activated, my radar picture was severely reduced.

 

To help in the penetration by the Seawolf, I launched an ASuW strike with my 8 available P-3 MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft]. They targeted both with 16 Harpoon missiles, each. Against such SAM defences, I thought I might have a 50% chance of killing both. As it turned out, one kill was all I got . Thankfully, it was on the side that the Seawolf was already making its approach.

 

 

The Seawolf was able to sneak in past the thin ASW screen and made her way past the Slava and Sovremennyy. She wanted the heavy amphibious ships. She timed her approach and attack to coincide with a second strike from Lajes airfield. 10 A-6E Intruders armed with 4 AGM-84 Harpoons each launched everything they had at the Slava along with 2 frigates firing 8 Harpoons each. As the missiles flew over the Seawolf, she added 8 more from her torpedo tubes. She hoped that the Russians would not realize that there was a submarine in their midst when they saw the Harpoons. Although 64 missiles might appear impressive, they were easily swatted from the sky by the defences. In retaliation, the Russians obliterated my two frigates with Shipwreck missiles.

 

As Seawolf vainly tried to re-load with torpedoes for her second assault, the computer kept re-loading with Tomahawks. After a number of tries, 6 tubes were re-loaded with Mk 48 torpedoes. This would have to suffice.

 

 

Once into the heart of the convoy, she aimed 3 torpedoes at the BCGN Frunze and one each at Ivan Rogov-class LPDs and support ships. The BCGN exploded in a thunderous explosion from a combined force of nearly 1500lb of explosives under her keel. along with the amphibious ships. Now, it was a race between the torpedo re-loading teams and the enemy torpedo crews.

 

 

Once again, the AI would only allow me to re-load one tube at a time with Mk 48 torpedoes. CG Azov managed to drop a torpedo right behind Seawolf. For all their surprise, the Russians reacted quickly and efficiently. Only a Mk3 decoy saved the Seawolf. In response, she fired her first torpedo back at the Azov when she turned on her engines and ran at flank speed. Her torpedo killed the Azov. Now that the escorts were out of the way, she took her leisurely time dispatching the survivors.

 

Once done, Tracy conceded defeat as he could no longer fulfill his Victory Conditions.

 

With the exception of the torpedo re-loading bug, it was a really fun time by both sides. Thanks for the game, Tracy, and HarpGamer for the use of the server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Misha1971 and I tried to finish our game of Save the Queen, made with the PlayersDB. It was another spell-binding engagement.

 

After slaughtering a good portion of my fighter cover, we settled into an uneasy "phony war". Neither side ventured forth with both just protecting their surviving assets. The situation could not last forever.

 

 

I tried to approach the Russian battlegroup for a submarine attack, but, evidently, one was detected as a swarm of ASW helicopters was detected in the vicinity of one. The RAF commander could not allow the RN to take such a heavy blow if the SSN were lost. One CAP flight was detailed to eliminate the hunters. From my previous experience with the phenomenal Russian SAMs, I ordered a dog-leg approach to minimize exposure to them.

 

 

Meanwhile, my other SSN also had an uninvited guest in the form of an Akula SSN. Once his general position was identified, a pair of Spearfish torpedoes was launched from a range of 15nm. It was going to be a long shot, but I felt that the 70kt torpedoes would be able to catch him. When they were half-way to the target, they must have been detected as he kicked his sub into high gear and ran at 35kts. However, he was unable to evade the Spearfish and they caught him at the end of their run.

 

 

Returning back to the other SSN, the Tornadoes were able to 'scratch the fleas' off its back. Hopefully, that would give him sufficient room to manoeuvre clear.

 

 

After the helos went down, the Sierra Strike consisting of Tornado GR.1B, Sea Harrier, and Nimrods made their ingress. The Tornado and Nimrods were able to successfully release their 64 combined Harpoons and Sea Eagles, but the Nimrods detected SAM emissions just as the last weapons fell off their racks...

 

We saved the game for future completion. I wonder which of my planes will survive.

 

Another great session, Misha, and thanks to HarpGamer for playing the gracious host.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Jerome (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) tried to finish off our scenario with Flight of the Governor, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

Having shot down the bulk of his Su-30s, the only thing left for me to do was evacuate the embassy personnel aboard the Maersk Explorer and the frigate, Van Galen. However, AoA wasn't giving up without a fight!

 

 

As the little rag-tag evacuation force made its way to St. Maarten, a submarine contact was detected

 

 

Normally, this would not present much of a problem. I ordered my SH-14D Lynx helicopter aloft to prosecute the contact. Luckily, I had kept my eye on the radar screen because coming out of the SE was another Flanker! (Just how many of those things did Hugo buy!?)

 

There was no way that my Lynx was going to survive an encounter with a Flanker, so I quickly ordered it back to the ship. So, another Mexican Standoff ensued. I could not prosecute the contact because it was protected by the fighter and the fighter lacked the ability to attack my ships.

 

 

Something had to give. As my orders directed me to make St. Maartens best possible speed, I would just have to close with the submarine and engage the old fashioned way, with a broadside torpedo launch.

 

I ordered the Van Galen to make flank speed towards the sub contact in hopes of screening my merchants from retaliatory attack. However, AoA had his own ideas. Once he knew that had been detected, he sent a lone torpedo towards my ships and hope that he could break contact while my ships evaded the diversionary attack.

 

It was a beautiful idea since it screwed up my plans and might just prevent me from achieving my Victory Conditions as I had to get my ships as close to St. Maarten as possible. My ships turned to run until the torpedo ran out of fuel. This burned both fuel (and Time!), since I was headed in the wrong direction.

 

In 'retaliation', I hinted to Jerome that I had a sub in the Aruba area waiting to return the favour.

 

In fact, I had no sub at my disposal, but it was entertaining to watch AoA pound the waters with his sonar searching in vain for a sub that wasn't there. This was probably as close to a real life situation as we could get. Just the mere hint of a submarine's presence can cause a frenzy of activity in one's enemy.

 

At this point, we decided to call it a night and saved the game for completion tomorrow, hopefully.

 

Thanks, AoA, for making this game so realistic and to HarpGamer for the use of their server. We crashed it three times, but it always came back up. Bravo

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Tonight, Jerome (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) and I were determined to finish off our scenario with Flight of the Governor, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

After evading the lone torpedo salvo, the evacuation ships quickly returned to their course for St. Maartens. There was another sub out there and no clue to it's location.

 

 

As usual, when it rains, it pours. Once again, a submarine was detected. However, soon afterwards, a second was detected, too. Free from the Su-30 threat at last, I launched the Lynx to prosecute the sub contact that lay astride our path. It was a calculated risk. Hopefully, the sub in the aft quarter was too distant to be a threat.

 

 

Soon after launch, the Lynx dipped her sonar and localized the sub about 11nm from the frigate and closed to point blank range before releasing her Mk46 torpedo. She didn't want to give the sub any time to fire a final barrage of torpedoes before her death. The plan worked and no torpedoes were detected from that quarter.

 

 

The stern quarter was another matter. 12 torpedoes were detected, but they were only running at 28kts while the ships were fleeing at 23kts. They soon ran out of fuel.

 

This was near the 12 hour game limit. The scenario expired and I think that I won, but can't be sure due to the ever-present Victory Condition bug.

 

Thanks, AoA, for making truly realistic and challenging game and to HarpGamer hosting it.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

A hearty welcome to Profeta with his debut in the ANW MP community. He's been playing Harpoon2 for years, so was quite accustomed to the interface. For his introduction to MP, we selected the classic Dawn Patrol, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

 

 

I took NATO while Profeta took the Russians.

 

We started out pretty much like two blind people searching for one another. I got lucky and stumbled over one of his Nanuchka missile boats with a Hugin and quickly loosed a salvo of Penguin SSMs and gunfire from a range of 2nm. She killed the Russian, but soon succumbed to an unseen missile.

 

 

This was pretty much the pace of the game. We both tried to maintain EmCon [Emissions Control], but it left us practically blind. Luckily for me, I had more boats than Profeta did so I could afford these point-blank encounters.

 

With his third and final Nanuchka boat, the same thing happened. Short-range detection followed by a brutal wave of SSMs. I survived the onslaught, but could not win the game because my Goteborg corvette was sunk in the "Hail Mary" riposte.

 

Excellent game, Profeta. Way to never give up and "fight for the draw" right to the very end. And thanks to HarpGamer for the use of their server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

Another long-time Harpoon miniatures player from Down Under made his debut appearance on the ANW server for his baptism of fire, tonight. Bungle has been 'taking the piss' out of some folks in the Harpoon community with his levity and now wanted to immerse himself in computer harpoon. We started out with Dawn Patrol, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB before moving onto Power Sweep.

 

On both occasions, Bung was quite an innovative and stealthy opponent. We had a devil of a time locating one another in Dawn Patrol since neither of us wanted to reveal our positions with active Radar. Finally, my boats stumbled across his 3 Nanuchkas and hammered them from a range of 2nm for the victory.

 

 

On Power Sweep, Bung did very well, indeed. As the Russians, I got a detection from close in. It turned out to be SS Kobben and she was dispatched by a pair of SS-N-15a Starfish. Whew. However, I never detected his second sub.

 

 

Apparently, this wily sub-driver had crept into the baffles (accoustic blind zone) of all three of my subs and was sitting there stalking them! He was just 15 minutes from firing on all three of them when they turned around to search for him. In a flurry of torpedo fire, he claimed my Victor-II SSN, but was, in turn, caught by another SS-N-15 Starfish from SS Tango.

 

Really good sub handling on his part. I would never have detected him if not for the fact that my units had arrived at the end of the map edge so I 'had' to turn back.

 

Thanks for a pair of great games, Bungle. And thanks to HarpGamer for hosting them.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

 

INVASION OF ANTILLES

Harpoon ANW scenario for the PlayersDB

Author: Freek Schepers

 

Jerome (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) came looking to try another scenario from Freek Scheper's Hugo's Folly battleset, made with ANW's most functional database, the PlayersDB. Having played the first one, we chose the second one in the series, "Invasion of Antilles" with Jerome continuing in his role of S. American aggressor.

 

 

Elections in the Netherlands Antilles have seen gains for the political party seeking closer ties to Venezuela and its President, Chavez.

 

The Government has fallen and the legal status of the islands is unclear; with Curacao an independent nation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba, and Bonaire seeking a similar status, and the three smaller islands of St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, and Saba being municipalities within the Netherlands. Early this morning, Venezuela carried out a sudden invasion of the ABC islands.

 

Netherlands has a standing presence in the Caribbean with an FFG (currently Van Galen), 2 companies of Royal Marines, and several Coast Guard Cutters to deter any aggression and interdict drug shipments. The 2 short companies of Royal Dutch Marines fought a gallant rear-guard action towards the airport and left the island in two Fokker patrol planes.

 

The Netherlands has announced that it will send a task force to retake the islands, and convened an urgent NATO meeting this morning. The NATO meeting ended in an uproar after the NATO president determined that Article 5 did not apply and recommended diplomacy to end the crisis. The Dutch ambassador announced that Netherlands was ending its NATO military mission in Afghanistan with immediate effect and that in fact the 1500 Dutch troops there were already packing. It looks like Netherlands will have to fight the first phase of the aggression alone.

 

With my successful escape from hordes of Venezuelan Flankers, now I was charged with the defense of St. Maartens. Any hope of a successful liberation of the ABC Islands would require use of St. Maartens as a springboard.

 

I ordered all my ships to flank speed to hurry back to the island and bolster her defences. There were reports of a paratroop drop on St. Eustatius with possible re-inforcements arriving by sea, air, or sub. As I had no idea what AoA intended, I launched my Maritime Fokker patrol planes out to eyeball the situation.

 

A quick flight over St. Eustatius was enough to confirm the presence of enemy paratroops on the island. I ordered the FFG van Galen to make a slight detour in order to smash the invaders with her naval guns. The Fokker continued on her way to classify and identify the shipping in the area. The last thing I wanted to find was a follow-on amphibious force. Suddenly, she detected more Flanker radar! (Just how many of the damned things did Hugo buy?!) She dove to the deck and shut down her radar all the while running back for the safety of St. Maartens. Unfortunately, she only made 278kts and was caught over 100nm away and shot down.

 

 

Soon enough, the Venezuelans discovered the FFG van Galen and sent in their Exocet-armed Mirage to attack. There were four Mirage, but they failed to execute a combined attack. Three Exocet were fired and then a final one followed minutes later. The frigate's Sea Sparrow easily defeated them. However, there were a finite number of missiles in the launcher.

 

 

Having failed to destroy the target, AoA ordered his bomb-laden F-16 Falcons to attack. (AoA is an ex-Argentine army pilot, so he remembered all the tales of bravado and daring from the Malvinas conflict.) He separated his Falcons and each came in on afterburner at low level from a different vector. The approach would have been called 'beautiful' if it were not for the fact that he was running down my throat! The van Galen got one of the attackers with her 76mm gun, but another managed to lay her stick of bombs right across the bow of the frigate. Unlike in the Falklands conflict, there were no fuzing errors and little warship blew up in a tremendous explosion.

 

 

The remaining strikers tried to suppress St. Maartens airport and only left it damaged after one of their number was shot down on the approach. At this time, we decided the game was a draw since neither side could achieve its Victory Conditions. My loss of the frigate and the destruction of AoA's paratroops meant that the game could only end in a draw.

 

AoA, you did the Aerea Fuerza Argentina proud, tonight. Thanks for a great game and thanks to HarpGamer for hosting the server.

 

Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.