Now that was close.....

[Zakalwe]

Captain Zakalwe, in command of the small TF of PC "Askold" and "Boyarin" was on his way BTB. HIs TF had some small encounters, sinking one Maru, one Aux Cruiser and a Cruiser. "Boyarin" had only a few rounds left, so he ordered to return to base.

Unfortunatly , he ran into one major Japanese force, several BBs and ACs, escorted from 7 DDs. Flank speed he ordered, but his Cruisers weren`t fast enough to escape the fast DDs. So he regrouped his TF, ordering "Askold" to the trailing end as she had plenty Ammo left. When the DDs closed, he opened up on them at around 5,500 yrds.

WTF?

Only the gun on the stern of "Askold" firing??? Finally discovering the tactical abilities of his ships, he figured out the guns on the broadsides of "Askold" only had a 90° firing arc. Well done Captain!!! Range was down to 4,000 yrds when he ordered to turn to bring more guns into action.

Fortunatly, when the 7 DDs were at around 3,000 yrds range, "Askold" scored several hits on the leading DD. They immediatly turned away and saved the dumb a$$ of Captain Zakalwe. Had they pressed their attack, Captain Zakalwe would have been in deep trouble.

Lesson learned. Know your ships. :o

Z.

[Bullethead]

Hehehe, yeah, you can get lazy when you're used to ships with overly large firing arcs and then have to use one that's more realistic ;). Hopefully that'll all get straightened out soon.

[Mobeer]

I used Askold (12*152mm on sides) to attack Sai Yen (2*210mm on bow and 1*150mm on stern).

First I closed as fast as possible on Sai Yen's stern. Sai Yen scored 2 210mm hits as Askold approached, then Askold damaged Sai Yen's stern 150mm. After getting into position, Askold had to "tack" back and forth in order to use her broadside mounted guns.

I think the battle would have been over in about half the actual time if Askold had weapon arcs like other ships. Instead most of my efforts went into keeping Askold turning.