Herman Hum
15 Feb 05, 03:19
The Wall: #1 Surge
This was the first scenario I ever tried with Harpoon 3. From the NATO side, it was truly a challenge. I never realized how difficult it was to generate a targeting fix on detected enemy units. I started off by trying to set up picket lines of subs and ships along the GIUK barriers and evacuating the Norwegian air force to Scotland. I realized that there were not enough ASW aircraft to patrol the gap properly. Only later, did I realize that AI-dropped sonobuoys do not work at all. I immediately had to bring more firepower to bear and ferried the carrier aircraft to Iceland. Once they were ready, I immediately conducted continuous standoff airstrikes on the SAGs. The ECM environment was incredible. I could picture myself walking on a carpet of electrons by the effect it had on my seeking weapons. I do not know if the early version of the database meant that there were problems with the seeking abilities of the harpoon missiles but I fired hundreds with very few results. Finally, I was able to knock out both surface groups with the assistance of the Penguins from the Falcons just before they crashed into my makeshift GIUK barrier of ships and submarines. Amazingly enough, the Penguin missiles seemed to have much better guidance systems than the Harpoons.
Even with the GIUK gap patrolled by stationary sub/surface units, I was unable to generate sufficent contacts for my ASW aircraft to pounce upon. I eventually lost the scenario. I think that I lost it in part due to the ineffectiveness of the AI-controlled sonobuoys. Whenever I set up ASW aircraft for an intercept, I tried to take a hands-off approach which usually led to a lost contact.
I played with unlimited magazines. Having now experienced the poor guidance abilities of the Harpoon missiles, I find it very difficult to believe that the P-ASW aircraft alone could ever generate sufficient damage to stop or even hinder the SAGs. Had I elected to use non-standoff munitions, I am certain that the carrier aircraft would not have survived their initial strike. With the new readiness times, I was barely able to put enough ordnance on target to stop the SAGs.
An excellent welcome to the world of Harpoon 3.
From the Soviet side: The setup is almost exactly the way I would do it myself. I would crash the GIUK barrier with SAG's providing air cover for the follow-on subs. I took some time to assemble the huge fleets of subs. Once amassed, I ordered them to follow behind the SAG's as they plowed their way through the barrier. They also provided bait for the P-ASW aircraft and allowed me to shoot most of them out of the air as they tried to perform ASuw missions.
Although I had just played the NATO side, any advantage of knowing the location of NATO forces was irrelevant as the reconnaissance efforts of the WP friendly aircraft allowed me to get close to the CVBG with an OSCAR and then destroy the carrier. With the carrier out of the way, I was able to annihilate all of the remaining NATO SAGs with relative ease through the use of the Blackjack and Backfire bombers. To remove the AAW threat, I created SAM ambushes by situating recon aircraft behind my SAGs and having the F15s fly over the SA-6 ships. I found this tactic to be extremely effective.
As the sub groups followed my SAG's into the Atlantic, I plowed aside any resistance and was able to fulfill most of the victory conditions except for the required destruction of NATO submarines.
Get WWIII in 1989: The Wall #1 - The Surge here (http://www.harpoonhq.com/harpoon3/original_cd_scenarios/index.html).
This was the first scenario I ever tried with Harpoon 3. From the NATO side, it was truly a challenge. I never realized how difficult it was to generate a targeting fix on detected enemy units. I started off by trying to set up picket lines of subs and ships along the GIUK barriers and evacuating the Norwegian air force to Scotland. I realized that there were not enough ASW aircraft to patrol the gap properly. Only later, did I realize that AI-dropped sonobuoys do not work at all. I immediately had to bring more firepower to bear and ferried the carrier aircraft to Iceland. Once they were ready, I immediately conducted continuous standoff airstrikes on the SAGs. The ECM environment was incredible. I could picture myself walking on a carpet of electrons by the effect it had on my seeking weapons. I do not know if the early version of the database meant that there were problems with the seeking abilities of the harpoon missiles but I fired hundreds with very few results. Finally, I was able to knock out both surface groups with the assistance of the Penguins from the Falcons just before they crashed into my makeshift GIUK barrier of ships and submarines. Amazingly enough, the Penguin missiles seemed to have much better guidance systems than the Harpoons.
Even with the GIUK gap patrolled by stationary sub/surface units, I was unable to generate sufficent contacts for my ASW aircraft to pounce upon. I eventually lost the scenario. I think that I lost it in part due to the ineffectiveness of the AI-controlled sonobuoys. Whenever I set up ASW aircraft for an intercept, I tried to take a hands-off approach which usually led to a lost contact.
I played with unlimited magazines. Having now experienced the poor guidance abilities of the Harpoon missiles, I find it very difficult to believe that the P-ASW aircraft alone could ever generate sufficient damage to stop or even hinder the SAGs. Had I elected to use non-standoff munitions, I am certain that the carrier aircraft would not have survived their initial strike. With the new readiness times, I was barely able to put enough ordnance on target to stop the SAGs.
An excellent welcome to the world of Harpoon 3.
From the Soviet side: The setup is almost exactly the way I would do it myself. I would crash the GIUK barrier with SAG's providing air cover for the follow-on subs. I took some time to assemble the huge fleets of subs. Once amassed, I ordered them to follow behind the SAG's as they plowed their way through the barrier. They also provided bait for the P-ASW aircraft and allowed me to shoot most of them out of the air as they tried to perform ASuw missions.
Although I had just played the NATO side, any advantage of knowing the location of NATO forces was irrelevant as the reconnaissance efforts of the WP friendly aircraft allowed me to get close to the CVBG with an OSCAR and then destroy the carrier. With the carrier out of the way, I was able to annihilate all of the remaining NATO SAGs with relative ease through the use of the Blackjack and Backfire bombers. To remove the AAW threat, I created SAM ambushes by situating recon aircraft behind my SAGs and having the F15s fly over the SA-6 ships. I found this tactic to be extremely effective.
As the sub groups followed my SAG's into the Atlantic, I plowed aside any resistance and was able to fulfill most of the victory conditions except for the required destruction of NATO submarines.
Get WWIII in 1989: The Wall #1 - The Surge here (http://www.harpoonhq.com/harpoon3/original_cd_scenarios/index.html).