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Saturday 28 September 2013

U.S.N. in the channel

Today, we were meant to be trying F.O.G. ECW with Jimi, sadly, Jimi got his hand injured at another club in a freak accident, so is Hors d' combat for a week or so!

We had not done a Coastal Forces game in a long while, so we got the little ships out again!
Just for a change, we used Higgins 78 footer PT boats to attack a German convoy!

We used my rules Coastal Forces rules - Tyneside Wargames club - the solo rules included ran the Germans.
We used a mix of markers representing ships and some dummies, then removed some of them from the mix so we had no idea what we were facing, or where they were!


The markers (a third are dummies) representing the German convoy and its escorts.
 Lawrence placed his boats near the front of the convoy.
Ian had his near the middle... 
..And mine were near the rear. 
 My ships rapidly spotted a marker. This became an 'R' boat, dangerously armed with 20mm and 37mm cannons which outgunned my boats.
Ian's boats found another Raumboote... 
Lawrence failed to see anything!  
Ians boats, still unseen, turned towards the front of the convoy. 
 Lawrence pushed on to close the distance and make spotting easier.
 Ian spotted a Verpostenboote (VP boat) to the rear of the 'R' boat.
 Unfortunately for me, as I closed, the 'R' boat spotted one of my boats. 
 Still unseen by his 'R' boat, Ian fired some torpedoes (and dummy markers) at it.
 Lawrence split his boats to look for targets.
 He spotted a VP boat..and a freighter!
 My boats had only spotted and been spotted by the 'R' boat and a VP boat. Hard targets!
 long range fire from the VP's 88mm was ineffective.
Ian was having the same trouble as me, only spotting the escorts. 
Ian's torpedoes approached the unsuspecting 'R' boat. 
The 'R' boat spotted the torpedoes and nimbly evaded one 

 A second hit the 'R' boat but failed to explode...but a second wave of torpedoes were coming!
 The 'R' boat headed forward to comb the advancing 'fish'. 
 My boats managed to straddle the 'R' boat that was shooting at me.
 We swept past the enemy ship, and got a hit on the 'R' boats bridge.
 A torpedo I had fired hit the VP boat that had shot at me, but again it was a dud! 
 Lawrence's ships had shot a swarm of torpedoes at the merchantman...
1 torpedo hit, and caused a lot of damage. the ship was virtually dead in the water. 
 Ian had spotted a second merchantman behind the first. A hit on the bow damaged the ship. 
A hit amidships was another dud!
 My boats, leaving the out of control 'R' boat behind, fired all my remaining torpedoes at merchantman Ian had damaged.
 Lawrence, meanwhile, got more torpedoes away against his immobile victim... 
 The ship broke in two, and began to sink!
A VP boat engaged Lawrences boats, straddling one. 
Behind it, the freighter went to its watery grave. 
My boats, with no more torpedoes, cut and ran for home. 
 Lawrences  boats shot their last torpedoes at the second freighter.
 My torpedoes caught the crippled freighter which exploded!. 
 Undamaged, all the US boats melted of into the darkness..and home!

It was interesting using the American boats, their heavy torpedo armament allowing players to shoot less carefully!
We managed to destroy the Axis convoy, a great victory!

...and good fun to play as well!

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