Herman Hum
19 Dec 05, 23:19
AAR: Hungry Lion [Spoiler Alert]
By Mark Gellis
It is 1990 and the world is at war. The Soviet Union has invaded and occupied Iran. The United States and its allies demanded that the Soviet Union remove its forces from Iran immediately and threatened to use force if necessary.
The Soviet Union responded with a series of lightning strikes that destroyed a large number of military bases in Europe. The Soviets then initiated a massive campaign of submarine warfare designed to cripple the West. Their goal does not appear to be to invade Europe but to leave the West so weak that it will be unable to force them out of Iran until their control of that country effectively becomes the status quo.
Blue Orders: Convoy AHS (Flag Bradley), Convoy AIS (Flag Scott), and Convoy ALS (Flag Wainwright) should proceed to Portsmouth. Avoid contact with enemy forces if possible, but you are cleared to defend yourselves against any threats.
All other available surface and submarine units should patrol the sea lanes between the United States and the United Kingdom. Engage and destroy any enemy vessels or submarines you encounter.
Air assets should provide support to the convoys and the surface action groups. Intelligence reports that the Soviets may attempt to attack British and French bases with long-range bombers. Be prepared to defend these bases.
http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/3154/lionstart4pq.th.gif (http://img382.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lionstart4pq.gif)
I was quite disheartened when I examined the forces under my command. With only 2-3 escorts for each convoy, I did not think that I had sufficient forces to screen the merchants. Instead, since all the convoys had the same destination, I decided to group them together so that they could share the escorts. This would make the single convoy a big, fat, and juicy target, but what choice did I really have? All three convoys were ordered to make a rendezvous just off of St. John's, Newfoundland.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/4396/lionusa1vw.th.gif (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lionusa1vw.gif)
From the orders, I expected an ALCM [Air-Launched Cruise Missile] attack on French and British bases. There should be plenty of fighters to defend the bases, but only if the Sentry was able to detect the attacks in the first place. I positioned the AEW right over the North Sea and prayed that she would get lucky. To support her, the EC-130 Compass Call was transferred to England and staged out of Portsmouth.
http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/1024/lionukstart4px.th.gif (http://img382.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lionukstart4px.gif)
As the merchants began to gather, the CanASWGru [Canadian ASW Group] was the first group to come under attack. Torpedoes were detected inbound. Three Sea King helos were immediately launched. With that much dipping power on hand, I did not expect much chance for a sub to escape. Unfortunately, as they dipped their sonar, they discovered that they were under attack by Type 65-76 torpedoes. The phenomenal range on these weapons likely meant that there would be no chance to out run these massive weapons. Surely enough, two of these 650mm brutes locked onto and ran down HMCS Annapolis and snapped her like a twig.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8500/lioncdnaswgru1pg.th.gif (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lioncdnaswgru1pg.gif)
Retribution was not far behind. The superb range of these weapons meant that they could have been fired from as far away as 40nm. That was a huge area to be searched, even with three Sea Kings. The trio just started working their way outward from the Task group and randomly dipped their sonar while also leaving a sonobuoy to mark their previous dip points. Just as luck was against the Annapolis, luck was with helos and a sub was quickly detected by sonobuoy. With three sub hunters angrily buzzing around her, a series of torpedoes were fired until enough finally managed to catch the Akula and send her to a reunion with the crew of the Annapolis. Although victorious, the three crews returned to the task group sullen over the lost of their crewmates.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8421/lionkeywestkill4qv.th.gif (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lionkeywestkill4qv.gif)
SSN Key West was next to detect a subsurface contact. She elected to call in a P-3 Orion on patrol nearby instead of claiming it for herself. The skipper reasoned that it would be easier for the P-3 to re-load torpedoes from base magazines than to expend ordnance from the limited inventory aboard the submarine. With cues from the SSN, the Orion quickly and easily prosecuted the submarine with two Barracuda torpedoes.
Another Akula was detected south of Ireland. Luck was with the Irish, this day. A Nimrod MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft] was only 40nm away. She quickly pounced on the contact and there was one less obstacle for the convoy.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/5527/lionfrenchaswgru8iw.th.gif (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lionfrenchaswgru8iw.gif)
The next group to score was the French ASW group. Sonar reported a contact and three Lynx were sent aloft to localize it. This particular skipper was very skilled indeed. After all six torpedoes were expended from the helos, he was still able to evade. A number of explosions had been registered, but he was still making sprints at 30 knots. The two Lynx helos held back in reserve were launched to relieve the original three hunters. They were finally able to localize him and put him down with their final torpedoes. Although the French were admiring a skilful operator, they were still anxiously relieved to have been able to kill him. A skipper of such skill could easily have wrought havoc from within the convoy formation.
Once the convoy cleared the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the voyage was mostly uneventful. Two Bears were encountered, but they were quickly killed by Eagles on long-range CAP [Combat Air Patrol] over the convoy. For quite some time afterward, the convoy sailed with baited breath over the possible appearance of Backfires armed with AS-4 Kitchen anti-ship missiles. As it turned out, none appeared so the Bears may have been killed in time to prevent them from sending a report to headquarters.
As the convoy was sailing along, only one ship had her radar emitting. This was done in hopes of denying the enemy full awareness of the convoy's contingent. Suddenly, the radar picket ship reported "Missiles Inbound!” Quickly, the convoy went to Air Action stations and defensive SAMs began to fly. Slowly, the number of Shipwreck missiles dropped. Unfortunately, the number was not falling quickly enough and an escort and four merchants went up in tremendous fireballs. Without any long range ASW assets available, the convoy could do little to search for the attacker. The entire action was over within three minutes of the alarm being raised.
The rest of the journey to Portsmouth was made without incident and all the survivors made port. However, victory was not granted since insufficient numbers of submarines had been hunted down to destruction. It was going to be a long, long war.
Thanks for sharing another scenario with the community.
http://img275.echo.cx/img275/3526/szologo47ty.gifSZO file archives (http://www.strategyzoneonline.com/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=697) - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB
http://img271.echo.cx/img271/7972/badger0ma.th.jpgFilesOfScenShare (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/FilesOfScenShare/)
http://img108.exs.cx/img108/5898/hgbanner33xr.jpg
HarpGamer.com (http://www.harpgamer.com) - Home of the HCDB.
By Mark Gellis
It is 1990 and the world is at war. The Soviet Union has invaded and occupied Iran. The United States and its allies demanded that the Soviet Union remove its forces from Iran immediately and threatened to use force if necessary.
The Soviet Union responded with a series of lightning strikes that destroyed a large number of military bases in Europe. The Soviets then initiated a massive campaign of submarine warfare designed to cripple the West. Their goal does not appear to be to invade Europe but to leave the West so weak that it will be unable to force them out of Iran until their control of that country effectively becomes the status quo.
Blue Orders: Convoy AHS (Flag Bradley), Convoy AIS (Flag Scott), and Convoy ALS (Flag Wainwright) should proceed to Portsmouth. Avoid contact with enemy forces if possible, but you are cleared to defend yourselves against any threats.
All other available surface and submarine units should patrol the sea lanes between the United States and the United Kingdom. Engage and destroy any enemy vessels or submarines you encounter.
Air assets should provide support to the convoys and the surface action groups. Intelligence reports that the Soviets may attempt to attack British and French bases with long-range bombers. Be prepared to defend these bases.
http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/3154/lionstart4pq.th.gif (http://img382.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lionstart4pq.gif)
I was quite disheartened when I examined the forces under my command. With only 2-3 escorts for each convoy, I did not think that I had sufficient forces to screen the merchants. Instead, since all the convoys had the same destination, I decided to group them together so that they could share the escorts. This would make the single convoy a big, fat, and juicy target, but what choice did I really have? All three convoys were ordered to make a rendezvous just off of St. John's, Newfoundland.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/4396/lionusa1vw.th.gif (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lionusa1vw.gif)
From the orders, I expected an ALCM [Air-Launched Cruise Missile] attack on French and British bases. There should be plenty of fighters to defend the bases, but only if the Sentry was able to detect the attacks in the first place. I positioned the AEW right over the North Sea and prayed that she would get lucky. To support her, the EC-130 Compass Call was transferred to England and staged out of Portsmouth.
http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/1024/lionukstart4px.th.gif (http://img382.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lionukstart4px.gif)
As the merchants began to gather, the CanASWGru [Canadian ASW Group] was the first group to come under attack. Torpedoes were detected inbound. Three Sea King helos were immediately launched. With that much dipping power on hand, I did not expect much chance for a sub to escape. Unfortunately, as they dipped their sonar, they discovered that they were under attack by Type 65-76 torpedoes. The phenomenal range on these weapons likely meant that there would be no chance to out run these massive weapons. Surely enough, two of these 650mm brutes locked onto and ran down HMCS Annapolis and snapped her like a twig.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8500/lioncdnaswgru1pg.th.gif (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lioncdnaswgru1pg.gif)
Retribution was not far behind. The superb range of these weapons meant that they could have been fired from as far away as 40nm. That was a huge area to be searched, even with three Sea Kings. The trio just started working their way outward from the Task group and randomly dipped their sonar while also leaving a sonobuoy to mark their previous dip points. Just as luck was against the Annapolis, luck was with helos and a sub was quickly detected by sonobuoy. With three sub hunters angrily buzzing around her, a series of torpedoes were fired until enough finally managed to catch the Akula and send her to a reunion with the crew of the Annapolis. Although victorious, the three crews returned to the task group sullen over the lost of their crewmates.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8421/lionkeywestkill4qv.th.gif (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lionkeywestkill4qv.gif)
SSN Key West was next to detect a subsurface contact. She elected to call in a P-3 Orion on patrol nearby instead of claiming it for herself. The skipper reasoned that it would be easier for the P-3 to re-load torpedoes from base magazines than to expend ordnance from the limited inventory aboard the submarine. With cues from the SSN, the Orion quickly and easily prosecuted the submarine with two Barracuda torpedoes.
Another Akula was detected south of Ireland. Luck was with the Irish, this day. A Nimrod MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft] was only 40nm away. She quickly pounced on the contact and there was one less obstacle for the convoy.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/5527/lionfrenchaswgru8iw.th.gif (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lionfrenchaswgru8iw.gif)
The next group to score was the French ASW group. Sonar reported a contact and three Lynx were sent aloft to localize it. This particular skipper was very skilled indeed. After all six torpedoes were expended from the helos, he was still able to evade. A number of explosions had been registered, but he was still making sprints at 30 knots. The two Lynx helos held back in reserve were launched to relieve the original three hunters. They were finally able to localize him and put him down with their final torpedoes. Although the French were admiring a skilful operator, they were still anxiously relieved to have been able to kill him. A skipper of such skill could easily have wrought havoc from within the convoy formation.
Once the convoy cleared the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the voyage was mostly uneventful. Two Bears were encountered, but they were quickly killed by Eagles on long-range CAP [Combat Air Patrol] over the convoy. For quite some time afterward, the convoy sailed with baited breath over the possible appearance of Backfires armed with AS-4 Kitchen anti-ship missiles. As it turned out, none appeared so the Bears may have been killed in time to prevent them from sending a report to headquarters.
As the convoy was sailing along, only one ship had her radar emitting. This was done in hopes of denying the enemy full awareness of the convoy's contingent. Suddenly, the radar picket ship reported "Missiles Inbound!” Quickly, the convoy went to Air Action stations and defensive SAMs began to fly. Slowly, the number of Shipwreck missiles dropped. Unfortunately, the number was not falling quickly enough and an escort and four merchants went up in tremendous fireballs. Without any long range ASW assets available, the convoy could do little to search for the attacker. The entire action was over within three minutes of the alarm being raised.
The rest of the journey to Portsmouth was made without incident and all the survivors made port. However, victory was not granted since insufficient numbers of submarines had been hunted down to destruction. It was going to be a long, long war.
Thanks for sharing another scenario with the community.
http://img275.echo.cx/img275/3526/szologo47ty.gifSZO file archives (http://www.strategyzoneonline.com/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=697) - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB
http://img271.echo.cx/img271/7972/badger0ma.th.jpgFilesOfScenShare (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/FilesOfScenShare/)
http://img108.exs.cx/img108/5898/hgbanner33xr.jpg
HarpGamer.com (http://www.harpgamer.com) - Home of the HCDB.