NationStates Jolt Archive

ooc:Heh, yeah, WoS's position really does make Atlantic raiding harder for you.. we'll just have to be a bit liberal with distances and that or else there'll be scores of torpedo planes on top of a raider whenever it comes close to a convoy.

Edit:Oh, DK; WoS is currently striking out across north Africa http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=72881&highlight= ..thus far we've only gone through French colonies, promising not to interfere with their self rule since the fall of France, but we're on the Libyan borders now, so I'm trying to figure out who has authority. Erco is out in the Atlantic rather than actually being Italy, so, are the Italian colonies possesions of Germany now? As I say there, I don't mind who plays the Italians/occupying power, and I'll do it myself (after reading up a bit on what they might have) if it's convenient, blah blah, but I'd rather not go blundering in without seeing if you have any opinions.

Nah, Italy would maintain control of her African holdings, at least for the time being. If they prove unable to defend them from a move from the east, it may be a different story.

Oh good, 'cause we're coming from the west ;)

Aerial Recon? Hmm... out in the atlantic all the Germans would have would be long range bombers, Ju-88 type things, and while not so High flying, have a look at my ship stats, they around... somewhere, the one coming fast has 7 seaplanes on the rear deck and all her guns on the front deck to make room. standard method for my cruisers. the AA is carried drapped over the superstructure. Radio would be standard in planes by now, so hows this for a post...


A Calarcian SeaAeroFlyer from the Admiral Coney noticed a dark dot up high in the dizzy blue sky, Not sure which nationality it was, but certain that at that height and distance to be still visible it would have to be a long range patrol craft. Climbing higher the Calarcian pilot told his navigator/torpedo aimer/rear gunner tokeep his eyes on the horizon and sea as he climbed to see what the circling dot was so interested in.

"Great Scott James, theres a smoke smudge on the horizon to the north east." exclaimed the navigator.

"Right, warm up wireless mate, and I'll head over to see what it is."

The Marlin nudged over into a shallow dive, gaining speed as it headed for the smoke... Some time later a ship came into sight and the circling dot above them also began to descend, anxious to investigate this interfearing aircraft.

"German warship sir." commented the navigator with his binoculars glued to his eyes, "Admiral Scheer at a guess if our briefings and intel are right. It won't be the Sharnhorst anyway.

Quickly turning away from the plane above the Marlin dipped into another dive and picked up speed away from the ship, busily reporting it's location over the wireless set.




Ships here (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1430220#1430220)

http://www.naval-history.net/ww2mBattle4105Bismarck.gif

OOC- Fair enough. Keep in mind that Admiral Scheer is still close enough to occupied France to be under the protection of the Luftwaffe for at least a while longer. Be aware also that if lookouts aboard the raider realize that an aircraft has spotted them (or pick up her radio signal), she may not head into the North Atlantic, but rather head south with the Deutschland untill the threat passes, or try to lure your ships into range of Luftwaffe torpedo-bombers. I'll wait to see what your forces end up doing here (not hedging my bets or trying to threaten you, by any means), and focus on Deutschland for now.

IC- Once she and her sister parted ways, Capt. Hans-Peter Grunwald of the Deutschland steered his ship south. He intended to keep well out to sea, to avoid possible interdiction by the Gibralter Fleet, which could be found on either side of the Rock. The last thing the captain wanted was to have his cruise cut short already by a chance encounter with a British patrol. The raider steered for the open sea, her lookouts watchful for enemy aircraft, which might signal the appearance of the Arc Royal or her escorts. All seemed clear, and the weather was turning bright and sunny. Capt. Grunwald would prefer fouler skies to cover his sailing, but the sun felt good on his face, and the men were in high spirits.
Deutschland sailed on.

Back Aboard the Admiral Coney the message raised a fuss.
the four seaplanes remaining on the stern were immediately prepared for takeoff and winched over the side with a torpedo under each, rapidly taking off and heading for the reported position, hoping to make it there before any air cover could be called up from Vichy/Occupied France to protect the german ship. The returning seaplane which had sighted the Scheer and the remaining two on patrol were immediately recalled to refuel and to provide cover to the retreating torpedo planes on the return.
Meanwhile the Admiral Coney repeated the message on the Scheer's location over her much more powerful wireless to the main airbases on Britain and WoS, A few coastal command torpedo bombers would come in handy.

The Admiral Coney slowed and turned towards the position of the Scheer, running at an easy 30 knots, still two knots faster then the Scheers rated speed.

OOC: over to you DK, do my Marlins make it there before the air cover from france? if it's coming?

OOC- Almost without a doubt. Admiral Scheer would be looking to get to the Western Approaches with all possible speed, and Fleet Command don't want the Allies coming wise that they missed the main effort by turning out a massive air presence.
By notifying Britain and WoS, however, you let Fleet Command (and possibly the Scheer herself) know that you're there, and your approximate position as well. The message itself is still a secret, of course; if a strike by torpedo bombers follows that up, the identity and intent of that message won't be hard to guess. My guess at this point is that Scheer will have to try and fight her way back through either the Channel (which I, for one, would prefer) or the Denmark Strait. While I certainly would not send the raider north, where I know heavy fleet units have been sighted, RAF and Walmingtonian aircraft may make a breakout through the Channel too risky to try again. The straits more north of Iceland should be relatively clear by now (I figure it's around May-June 1940?), but the thing is I know the British have a battleship and a battlecruiser, plus Lord knows how many cruisers, submarines, and aircraft in the area. Scheer's fate really depends on who she bumps into next; the radio intercept is going to come as a big suprise to her.

IC- "Something coming over the wireless, Captain."
Capt. Tillman (God, I'm running out of German names!) took the hardcopy, scanning it over quickly. The message was from one of the U-boats operating southwest (I assume that's where you are now? If not, there are more than enough U-boats to cover the immediate area.) of England. Apparently, she had spotted a convoy of cruisers coming up from the south some time ago; however, due to the fact that she had to dive to avoid being spotted by a number of aircraft, she had been unable to report it untill now. The last report placed them roughly 100 miles away from the Scheer's position, and on an intercept course with them.
"Damn it all. So, the game's afoot already, is it?" Capt. Tillman paced the control room nervously. While he had no intention of abandoning his mission already, he also did not wish to suffer the same fate as the Graf Spee or Graf Heydrech. He deliberated for a moment only.
Tillman turned to his navigator; both had served together aboard the Admiral Hipper before being transferred to their current post.
"Do we still have the flag we took from the Santiago back in '36?"
The junior officer scratched his head; what did a Spanish cruiser's battle ensign have to do with their current plight?
"I believe so, sir. But why would....."
Capt. Tillman cut him off.
"Send someone down to fetch it. And get a paint crew out on the hull; I want us to look like a Spanish cruiser by the time the next plane flies overhead!"

OOC- Basically, the crew's going to try and slap some neutrality markers on and raise a Spanish flag (which they would probably be able to get or make without too much trouble, since Franco and Hitler were sympathetic to each other) in time to try and throw your planes off. From there, it's either back to the Channel or, if your captain buys into their story, maybe out to the Western Approaches for a spell. For now, however, Admiral Scheer is forgoing any call for air support, in order to keep up the charade of being a neutral warship.

OOC: Alright, no problems there, no pocket battleship is going to look like a spanish cruiser at close range. And I've got very dedicated pilots...

aboard the lead SeaAeroFlyer
"Ship to the north sir, right where she was reported." chimed the navigator.

"right, then get on the wireless, tell the rest of the flight to spread out, devils alternative pattern." replied the pilot.

two of the four aeroflyers split off and slipped to the west while the lead pair made a course change to the east, the plan was to come in on a converging path and drop the torps in a V pattern so whichever way the ship turned, she would be exposing her flank to one of the pairs of torpedos.
The navigator in the back was busy with his binoculars and a recogntion chart.

"Sir, she's flying spanish colours, and has a white funnel with blue bands on the guns as the spics do. The shape and armament doesn't match any spanish ship tho, it's definately a German pocket battleship of the Deutschland class sir. Either the Deutschland or the Admiral Scheer."

"Right, we've 13 minutes before we'r ein a position to make an attack run, wireless the ship and ask for permisson to attack, I don't think the Germans would have sold that ship to the Spics."

Aboard the Admiral Coney
A german pocket battleship playing at being Spainish you say, Hmm.... not very likely that the Hun would have sold thier best commerce raiding class to the gutless spics.
Pass the order to attack."

Airborne near the Scheer
"Message from the ship sir, we're to attack!"

"Very well. pass the word to the rest of the flight."

The four aircraft in their pairs go into a shallow dive, about 30 degrees of each bow of the enemy ship so whichever way she turns to escape is turning into another attack. A thousand and a half yards out an AAA shell rips through the wing of number 3 plane and it cartwheels blazing into the sea below. the other three aeroplanes release their torpedos safely at 1250 yards and race straight for the battlecruiser, machineguns spitting. two make it safely over and scream into the distance after passing barely 75 feet above the wireless masts of the Scheer, the leader of the flight however is caught in a crossfire of machinegun AA fire from the deck and smashes into the sea ahead and just short of the ship.

(OOC: Doesn't sound safe, but heading straight at an AA source is actually the safest. by turning away you're slowing down and giving a better parallax idea of where the shells are going, as well as showing far more area to aim at. by heading straight, they have far less to aim at, and the engine is between you and the AA and you can fire your own nose mounted machineguns (two 7x57mm through the prop) to make them flinch and throw them off their aim.
So how do the Torps go? you have 2 coming at the port bow and one at the starboard from 1250 yards away)

OOC- First of all, are these torpedos using impact or magnetic detonators? Not that it's going to impact what I do here; I'm just curious.

IC- Capt. Tillman orders the engines reversed, but did not direct Admiral Scheer into a turn. As her speed slowly dropped, the tracks of the torpedos became visable in the water to either side. It was apparent that even with the engines at full throttle, the ship would not be slowed enough to avoid being hit.
Thinking fast, the gunners turned the 10.5 cm secondary guns out to the sides and began firing at the torpedo tracks. Capt. Tillman figured even if the shells failed to detonate the torpedos, the disturbance they caused might bump them off course.
The secondary guns managed to destroy one of the torpedos coming in from the port side, and sends the starboard side torpedo plummeting to the depths. The third torpedo, however, strikes the bow of the ship, sending up a geyser of water. The forward compartments buckle under the pressure of the blast, and several leaks spring through the dented hull plates. Capt. Tillman and the bridge crew are knocked to the floor as the whole ship seems to buck under them. Picking themselves up, the command staff busy themselves with bringing the ship back up to cruising speed and collecting a damage report.
Within minutes, the engineers report comes in. While the damage to the bow is not life-threatening, the ships seakeeping and speed are expected to be noticably affected. Already the helm reports that maneuvering is sluggish, forcing Capt. Tillman to consider returning to port. Wishing he had a better estimate of his foe's strength, Tillman orders the Scheer to steer closer to the French coast, and orders the raider's Arado floatplane into the air to scout for the heavy forces he knows must be closing in. Again, he decides not to radio into Berlin to request air support, knowing this will mark his position to Allied warships. The fact that the Calarcan cruiser force may have already warned the British does not occur to him, because he thinks the attacking planes were Swordfish torpedo bombers, possibly from the Arc Royal.

OOC: Impact, at 4 feet preset depth. No Calarcian Torps are Magnetic types.

The three Recon SeaAeroFlyers had been recalled and refueled by this time, nessesicating a slower speed to allow them to be winched up and winched overboard again. (No room for a Catapult with 7 planes.) and were by now in the air, one had climbed high to act as a spotter and early warning of incoming ememy planes if the Luftwaffe had been warned, and the other two had set off towards the location of the Admiral Scheer to cover the surviving torpedo planes retreat. Crossing paths with the returning two, they see the distant speck of the Arado in the distance, following the retreating Marlins.
Quickly climbing higher they set an interception course.

(OOC: Swordfish are biplanes. Mine are Monos, and Swordfish are wheeled while mine are floatplanes launched via a crane and the surface of the sea. Can't be thinking they're swrodfish, unless everyone on the Scheer is part blind.)

"Raiders? Out the channel? But they must have come through while Bism.." The High Admiral cringed with a noticible squint as he realised why the German battleship had been just as content to flee when she'd drawn out both Walmingtionian and British warships, as she had been to fight.

"Well they won't be getting away with that again. Two heavy cruisers north, attach whatsoever destroyers are spare.." "Not many, sir.." "Brixton's going to look for raiders." A pause broken a few seconds later as Walmington's top naval man continuted "..Godfrey's going with her."

Soon the Eden Class battlecruiser Brixton and the battleship King Godfrey I would set out from Southend, receiving every bit of ASW aircraft support that could be spared. Quite what they were to achieve given that they weren't supposed to venture into German airspace wasn't entirely clear, and the battleship would limit them to less than 28 knots, but as far as Walmington was concerned it was the principle of the thing. And besides, there wasn't anything else for Godfrey to be doing right now (ooc:unless anyone has a bright idea. Maybe I'll go and level New York for s**ts and giggles) -she had to be out at sea while she was well and we were at war. Queen Mavis was in for repairs, after all.
We mustn't look weak! insisted the PM.

ooc:Hey Cal; what's the range on the Wasp II?

(OOC: Swordfish are biplanes. Mine are Monos, and Swordfish are wheeled while mine are floatplanes launched via a crane and the surface of the sea. Can't be thinking they're swrodfish, unless everyone on the Scheer is part blind.)

Capt. Tillman didn't see the planes when they flew overhead; he had other concerns, like trying to avoid the torpedos they dropped! No one thought to point out that they were monoplanes to him either, since it was less important than the fact that they had still attacked. A small oversight, but a potentially serious one; the Kriegsmarine was plagued with them in RL.

ooc:Hey Cal; what's the range on the Wasp II?

OOC: Do you realise just what it took to asnwer that question??? I had to go find an old thread to look at page 2 of the "Tea at WoS" thread, which had a link to my fighters in the "Q Jess sets sail" thread, which in turn had a link to page 17 of this "liberty" thread... I hope you appreciate this...

http://www.nzfpm.co.nz/images/prf_i153.gif
http://www.nzfpm.co.nz/images/small/poli2.jpg

Length: 20' 3"
Height: 9' 8"
Wingspan: 33' 5"
Empty Weight: 3,201 lb
Gross Weight: 4,321 lb
Maximum Speed: 285 mph
Service Ceiling: 29,527'
Range: 646 miles (one way, loaded)
Powerplant: One Shvetsov M-62 1,000 hp 9 cylinder radial (formerly M-43 780Hp 8 cyl radial)
Armament: Two 7x57mm ShKAS machine guns
One short Devilfish torp.

The Devilfish torp is the standard Calarcian naval torpedo. It is a pure Oxygen/Kerosine torp with a 760 lb warhead and a range of 7000 Yards at a fixed single speed of 38Knts, this is the standard weapon of the Bat areoflyer in Torbedo bomber guise. The short Devilfish is the same torp modified as a light airborne torp, with a 410 lb warhead and a range of 3000 yards at a fixed speed of 27Knts, especially developed for the "Wasp II" torpedo bomber.

All Calarcian torps are contact fused.

DK, do my 2 hunting Marlins find your Arado or does it bugger off back home to the shelter of the Scheers AAA on seeing mine?
/OOC)

ooc:Now, does the "one way" element suggest..radius, rather than range? 'cause that would kick arse.

(oh my, I'm ..drunk. Sorry.)

OOC- The Arado is not looking to interdict your aircraft, but is scouting for your cruiser group; Tillman knows it must be close, but has only a general idea of the direction, location, and strength. No, the floatplane is staying quite close to the raider, but from up there it can see a lot farther than the lookouts can. If either of your aircraft move to attack, well....

IC- The radio officer handed Capt. Tillman another radiogram as the Arado took to the air. The message was chillingly short.
XXHostile contact determined to be Calarcan cruiser groupXXReturn to Wilhelmshaven immediatelyXX
Capt. Tillman swore; the Admiral Scheer's cruise was over. He could understand the cautious attitude of Fleet Command, but he'd had higher hopes. All that remained now was to shake off the hounds nipping at his heels and return to port.
Turning to the chart table, Tillman and the Scheer's navigator began plotting a course for home. The wireless operator finally called for a flight by Luftwaffe pilots to cover the raider from further air attack.
A quick dash back up the Channel seemed risky to Capt. Tillman, but he liked the idea of sailing all the way up to Iceland with a fast cruiser force shadowing him even less. The order was given, and Admiral Scheer made for the British Isles and home.
While the officers aboard Admiral Scheer debated the route, Fleet Command ordered several nearby U-boats to gather near the approaching Calarcan warships. Only 3 Type VII boats were close enough to reach the area in time, but they broke off their duties and made for the grid where the cruisers were expected to be found.

ooc:Now, does the "one way" element suggest..radius, rather than range? 'cause that would kick arse.

(oh my, I'm ..drunk. Sorry.)

I think "one way" means just that; the maximum range one of these can fly before running out of fuel. It sounds about right, compared to other aircraft of the day.

The two Marlins could see the German raider by the time a navigator noticed the much smaller dot of the hostile aircraft, a quick wireless message between the two Marlins and home base saw one climb hard and fast to get as high as it could, hoping to be able to swoop down on the enemy, while the second nudged down into a shallow dive towards the Scheer, with a twofold purpose, to bait the enemy craft into attacking if it hadn't seen the other Marlin climb away, and to get close, but outside the AA range and report on the damage fromt he torpedo attack.

The message was passed over the wireless that the Scheer was turning towards europe and the wake was asymmetrical, some sort of damage had been done.

OOC: one way, is one way, how far before it drops out of the sky for lack of fuel.

The Arado's pilot doesn't take the bait; he has been ordered to report what he sees, not run his fuel tanks dry chasing down scout planes. He continues his orbit of the Scheer, ready to dive if the higher aircraft makes a move. The AA gunners take a few half-hearted jabs at the two scouts, but they are too far out to be at any real risk. The ship continues on her course, hardly paying the two little aircraft any notice.
In the control room, Capt. Tillman orders the second message sent to the airfield in France, inquiring if his aircover will be in place in time for it to be any use. Seconds tick painfully by as the ground control tower relays his message to the flight leader, then sends his reply back to the raider. When the reply finally comes, the captain breathes a sigh of relief; the fighters and dive bombers assigned to shepherd the wounded raider in are within a half hour of reaching them. The relatively short range of the Bf-109 will make their presence a short-lived one, but any help is better than none. Flights are being planned to leave the Admiral Scheer as little time as possible by herself, and the closer she gets to occupied France, the more time the fighters can spend over her.

some time later

The two Marlin SeaAeroFlyers had been circling the Scheer reporting it's course and bopping around just out od range of the AAA from th ship trying to coax the enemy seaplane into action outside the AA defences for some time when a sharp eyed navigator noticed a bunch of black spots in the air on the horizon. after a short exchange over the wireless the two planes broke off and headed at full speed for the Admiral Coney. If they were friendly, then there was no point in hanging around bacause they wouldn't be needed, and if they were hostile, 2 planes were not going to be any use against that lot.

Over the horizon, (I'm estimating maybe 100 miles, a few hours steaming head to head, or a full days stern chase.) the Admiral Coney slowed down to 25 Knts and made a wireless call to the main WoS naval base on WoS asking if these were friendly planes. And if they weren't, could some long range fighters be sent out to cover the ship.

OOC- I'll wait for WoS to answer the last post before I continue. Basically, these aircraft are under orders to fly cover for the raider, and attack any warship that gets too close. Other than that, they're just for intimidation.

OOC: How many dots did my Nav see? I'm thinking of flying up a mass of seaplanes from my more distant cruisers, recovering en masse to the A Coney.they've been at 30 knots to the Coneys 36 so they're a few leagues/hours behind, but should still be close enough to launch a mass of seaplanes. I'll have to check back in the thread to work out how many I have tho.
/OOC

Figure a dozen Bf-109's (which would be coming up on the point of no return shortly after reaching the Admiral Scheer), and a half dozen Ju-87's, armed with bombs and torpedos (4/2 split), which could remain in the area a while yet. Certainly not nimble aircraft, but the 20mm guns pack a mean punch! There will be more on the way from France shortly; figure about a 30 minute window with just the Stukas and the Scheer's own floatplane flying air cover.

OOC: Hmm... I think my second wave of floatplanes will meet about the time your second set of 109s arrive.

I'll wait on WoS's reply first tho. see if some of his Muskats(?) arrive to cover me a bit more, and any land based long range torp bombers to attack the Scheer.
/OOC

(ooc:Damn, I'm sorry I've not been around, there was sickness, then being-fooled-by-the-seemingly-but-not-really-broken-forums :oops: )

Fighter Command in Walmington sends first confirmation that she has no aircraft in the area, and second a squadron of eight DAMkI Musca (ooc:heh, originality- it's latin for mosquito (I hope)).

The MkI depends on Walmington's own 1,900hp engines, and not the Calarcan R-4360 of the less available MkI*, but 3,800 horses can pull a latin mosquito at a good 436mph none the less, and it won't be long before the Walmingtonian aircraft make the scene. They have losses over France to repay (assuming DK doesn't mind me assuming that my MFMkI's and Gladiators were eaten alive by 109s as they tried to cover the British at Dunkerque ;) )

(Sorry, I know this isn't a great post, I feel rushed due to how far behind I am in every thread I'm involved with! Specs for the Musca just so everyone knows: DAMkI Musca
Crew:2
Length:38'11"
Span:52'10"
Power Plant:Two Stockley 1,900hp liquid cooled engines
Top Speed:436mph
Range:1,390miles (without fule-for-bombs arrangement)
Ceiling:33,900ft
Armament:Four .55" machineguns and four .303" machineguns in nose. Up to 2,900lb of bombs in internal bomb-bays, up to four 54lb rockets or 250lb of bombs under inboard wing section. (obviously these will bring guns only) )

OOC- No, they're your fighters; send them where you want. Between your fighters and Calarca's floatplanes, it looks like my fighters and dive bombers are going to have a tough time of it. Just let me know when they show up, and we'll kick this thing off.
Anyway, I'm also shamelessly promoting the newest Nazi super-weapon! (Everyone remember rumors of the Type XV U-boat? No? Ah, well....)
Anyway, this is the link (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=75631&highlight=).

(Looking again that's not so clear- the message that we have no aircraft in the area states that none are currently flying, so the fighters Cal. radioed us about can't be friendly.. in response we've sent eight Musca. I think our torp-planes, laden with torpedos, would be pushing it a bit to get out there after a moving target (especially considering how slow they are :) ) and back. The warships I mentioned earlier (I'm going to have to refresh my listings on where everthing is) are also responding, but they're slow as hell, too.)

hmm... been checking back on page 21 of this thread, Ok. I have 15 Marlin in the group chasing the Scheer, 7 on the Heavy cruiser that is so close, the rest on the main group further back. 2 have been shot down by the sheer during the torp attack.

SO... all the Admiral Coney's planes are recalled and refueled and the 8 from the other ships arrive and meet up with the Coneys. The Coneys 5 surviving planes are to act as air defence while the others are all loaded with a torp each and are to bore in and make an attack.

Arrival to coincide with the second load of bf-109s (Bad luck and poor timing) and WoS's Musca (Radio and good timing) all over the Scheer at the same time.

I'll post the actual fight from my side tomorrow morning. 15 hours from the timestamp on this post. I'm a bit rushed right now.

OOC- Take your time. I'll be here when your post pops up.

The Calarcian Marlins, Both the 8 with torpedos and the 5 supporting air defence arrive at the allotted rendevous where the WoS Muscas are due to meet. Finding none there yet the torpedo loaded Marlins land on the surface of the sea and leave their engines idling to save fuel while the other five loiter in slow circles above, keeping an eye out for the Muscas and ready to warn the landed SeaAeroFlyers in time for them to get airborne by the time the Muscas arrive overhead.


(OOC: Just looking to coincide the attack with WoS's, DK I presume your 109's are settign off from france now? if they're gonna rrive over the Scheer at the same time as this attack. I am thinking this should be a twilight attack. sweeping in from the north at the Ad Scheer shillohetted on the setting sun, after all, I've made one attack already and flown planes up. that takes time. what do you think? or should it merely be late afternoon, not evening?)

(OOC: Just looking to coincide the attack with WoS's, DK I presume your 109's are settign off from france now? if they're gonna rrive over the Scheer at the same time as this attack. I am thinking this should be a twilight attack. sweeping in from the north at the Ad Scheer shillohetted on the setting sun, after all, I've made one attack already and flown planes up. that takes time. what do you think? or should it merely be late afternoon, not evening?)

They're your fighters; attack whenever you think it would be best. An attack while the ship is backlit by the sun makes sense, but it's gonna be up to you when you make your move. The fighters are just there to protect the raider from air attack; the Stukas are for any warships. The idea of a twilight battle appeals to me, though.

OOC: Right then, Just waiting on WoS to post up his fighters arriving and covering me.

The eight RWAF Musca come racing into view at a high cruising speed. The wing leader is pleased to note a comfortable level of fuel remaining as the squadron approaches the area in which they expect to find their Calarcan allies.

"Keep your eyes peeled, chaps, we ought to be right on top of them."

The Muscas are flying Walmington's first in-pairs formation for a combat mission, after the V-form proved something of a flop over nothern France. Tension builds for the young fliers as the sun begins to sink.

Oberleutnant Fritz Heinke scanned the skies before him. The Admiral Scheer had to be down there somewhere.....
Flying to either side of him were the other members of his 15 aircraft fighter wing. The Bf-109-D, while a fast and agile fighter, suffered from severe limits to its range; these were becoming increasingly obvious as the war dragged on and the 109 came up against newer aircraft, namely the Spitfires and Muscas she was likely to face today. Flights by Me-110's near the British Isles had revealed a squadron of Spitfires and Hurricanes scrambling and heading off into the sea west of the Channel; there could only be one place they were going. Additional fighters had been launched from bases in western France, as well as secret airstrips in Spain, but they would not arrive before the British, and it would be up to the pilots already in the air to hold off the wrath of the Allies. Heinke just hoped he and his companions would be enough...
The horizon finally surrendered the vague outline of the wounded raider, and Heinke and the other pilots steered toward her.

The circling five Marlins note eight little dots boring in frmo the horizon, as one of the SeaAeroFlyers dropped in a long dive to alert the torpedo bombers on the sea surface the other four climb higher for a tactical advantage in case these proved to be enemies.
As they came closer however the dots were IDed as Muscas from the RWAF and the Marlins descended again to meet them.
Maintaining Radio Silence to ensure the Scheers RDF section were not warned the lead Marlin lined up alongside the lead Musca and signaled through his canopy. Follow Me[/]. before climbing and heading off to the southeast towards the [i]Scheer with the Muscas and the torpedo laden Marlins following.

Some time later a turn was made to the south and the torpedo bombers dropped away to a sea skimming altitude at a waggle of the leaders wings, the marlins of the escort opening out into a combat spacing, the Muscas copying.
On the southern horizon a dark bump could just be seen protruding over the dark line of the sea edge, limned against the glory of the slowly setting sun.

Heinke and his pilots spent as much time as they could protecting the Admiral Scheer, but the worsening fuel situation soon forced them to head for home. The Stuka pilots would remain over the retreating warship untill the next flight of 109's arrived, but everyone knew the dive bombers would be outmatched by any fighters the Allies threw at them. Their replacements would have to hurry.
The 109's broke off their orbit and headed for home, knowing that their part in the battle was over.

The Marlins with their torpedos were skimming over the surface of the sea at 150 feet now, trying to avoid being seen by the germans. above them the air cover fighters were drawing ahead, aiming at the cluster of dots floating in the twilight above the Scheer. Boring in from the Dark side, the Marlins were rapidly overtaken by the faster Walmingtonian Muscas as they sped up to combat speed from the slow cruise they had limited themselves to in order not to leave the slow marlin SeaAeroFlyers.

Weapons spittign streams of blazing tracers the fighters flung themselves at the enemy as below them torpedo bombers pilots and weapon officers/Navigators peered through the gathering dark at the stark Shillohette on the horizon.

The Stuka pilots moved into position to defend the retreating Admiral Scheer, knowing they had little chance against the fighters. Most dropped their ordinance into the sea, knowing they would have little chance to use it against aircraft. The six dive bombers broke their orbit of the raider and made for the torpedo bombers, knowing they would be the real threat. The Scheer's floatplane joined in the attack, even though it was running low on fuel by now.
As the German aircraft dove toward the torpedo bombers, the fighters moved in behind them. They knocked one, then another of the Stukas out of the air, forcing their pilots to bail out. The rest began firing on the enemy aircraft, their Mk-108 cannons barking harshly. The Marlin pilots saw the danger from above; would they scatter to save themselves, or stay on target regardless of the danger?

"Stukas?"
"Rats in a barrel! Shame there's not more of them, we don't even get one each!"
"Alright, that's enough chatter, lads, you're not Polish."

With top speeds well above 400mph, and eight guns concentrated around the nose, the eight Musca's resolved to do their best to take out the bulk of the enemy squadron before the lumbering Stuka's could break up the Calarcan torpedo planes- in pairs they swept down one after the other, each leader giving his target a burst of .303 and .55" fire, with his wingman following seconds later. The Walmingtonian planes made clear which four stuka they were after (leaving to the Calarcan fighters whichever two were furthest, even if only by a matter of seconds, from the torpedo planes).

OOC- Clearly, my dive bombers were never meant to engage aerial targets. Oh, the humanity! I'll wait for Calarca to post again (if desired) before I respond.

IC- Capt. Tillman watched from the bridge of the Admiral Scheer as the last of the Stukas flying cover for his ship was smashed out of the sky. In spite of the attack mere moments away, he could not help but think of the brave pilots and their heroic, but ultimately meaningless, sacrifice. He looked on at the torpedo planes charging the raider, then picked up the intercom.
"Fire Control, ready a broadside, 2600 meters out...... Yes, everything; primary and secondary guns..... wait for my signal."
The captain held tightly onto the handset, watching the planes streak in. He had ordered the AA batteries to hold fire untill the last second, and the men were showing remarkable discipline. The raider steamed on at a steady 20 knots; there was only enough speed left for emergency maneuvers, and just barely.
"Fire."
The raider lashed out with her guns, sending high velocity shells screaming out toward the attacking planes. The shells crashed into the water, sending up geysers 100, 150, and even 200 feet high. The torpedo planes managed to get through the torrent with little actual damage, but their formation was broken somewhat by emergency manuvering and the involintary jerking of the pilots at the controls as the blast and pressure buffeted them. As the aircraft cleared the shower, they were met with withering AA fire as the gunners aboard the Scheer opened up from extreme close range. The crew of the raider knew they had to hold out untill the next wave of fighters from France could arrive.

ooc:heh, ach, the humanity! I was going to let her escape fighter-range, but Cal has been starved for action, I think :)

ic: The Muscas' primary task was complete- they had nothing more powerful than .55" machineguns, and weren't about to engage the raider with those. The long range aircraft would loiter for a few more minutes- at least to see the result of the Calarcan strike, but if enemy fighters showed up more than a couple of minutes from now they'd have no choice but to turn-tail.
No one was too worried- the mood was good, six bogeys down between them and the Calarcans- four kills claimed by the RWAF pilots (two of them would argue about who's burst finished off that third Stuka, if they get the chance), and only one aircraft hit. Damage seemed light, but for safety's sake it was decided to send the aircraft home early, so she turned noth west with another Musca on her wing.

OOh I'm a bit late... lol here goes.

IC: The stukas diving at the torpedo bombers were quickly knocked down, only one being engaged by a navigator from his turrent behind the pilot, the twin streams of 7x57mm MG tracer strecking close by the Stucka before the Musca behind it turned the Plane from a proud combat machine into a shambling husk of battered machinery.

Suddenly the Marlin Pilots were confronted by tall waterspouts, Causing the pilots to jick and swerve to avoid them, one Marlin had a dollop of water land on the port wing, tilting the SeaAeroFlyer into a scudding sideslip barely recovered 20 feet above the surface of the sea. The Marlins successfully negotiated the line of waterspouts, and at their maximum speed of 215Mph loaded they covered the 2600 metres to the Scheer in short order. flying into the AA, one was hit on the torpedo and disintigrated in a loud explosin which pushed it's wingman over in to the water where it cartwheeled along before itself exploding as the inpact fuze was set off.
The remaining six bored in and dropped their torps at 1000 Yards, two aimed at the foredeck, two under the bridge, two under the rear turrent, the two which were two be aimed at the after part were on the two Marlins destroyed. Then zooming up and over the Scheer at mast height, except for one which was hit by a heavy AA round and smashed into the side of the funnel, spreading flames from the ruptured fuel tank over the deck.

(OOC: now if the Scheer speeds up, she'll be hit by the torps forward, if she maintains speed whe'll be hit by them all, and with inertia, it'll be next to impossible to slow her in time to stay behind the area the torps are going to go through, even tho the rear set of torps are gone, and if she turns, theres till a very good chance the torp spread will get her. So what happens?)

(a mile is 1600 Metres (I think), 2600M is 1.6 Miles and 215Mph is 3.6 miles per minute. so .44 minutes or 26 seconds to cover the distance to the scheer, and torps are dropped at 1000 Yards/Metres so there won't be time for a second round with the main guns before the planes are too close for the shells to land, they'll overshoot by the time they're reloaded.)

IC- Admiral Scheer turned hard into the path of the attack. Most of the torpedos passed astern, some almost close enough to reach out and touch, it seemed. However, one found its mark, smashing into the hull amidships, puncturing the armor belt and letting tons of sea water into the outboard compartments. The Scheer began to list to port, already coming back around on her course for France. The captain called for flank speed, and the battered raider worked her way up to 23 knots, slowed by the two torpedo hits. The Scheer also threw off a smoke screen, hoping to hide herself from any further attack by the loitering aircraft.
On the horizon, the lookouts finally made out the tiny forms of incoming aircraft from France, sent to shepherd the wounded raider back to port. And none too soon; to the south of the Scheer, lookouts also spotted a dozen new aircraft. As the seconds ticked away, these new aircraft were identified as British Swordfish torpedo bombers, dispached from the carrier Arc Royal. Capt. Tillman ordered a message sent to the flight leader, informing him of the new threat. The inbound 109's banked to intercept the British aircraft, who were just beginning to notice they had been spotted and were in real danger.

All the surviving Marlins flung themselves at the 109's, hoping to scatter them sufficient to allow at least one swordfish to make a successfull attack, each marlin engaging two 109's if in range, one with the nose mounted guns and one with the pintle mount from the navigator/bombaimers cockpit.

(OOC: Hmm... 5 escort and 8 torp carrying marlins, 3 torp carriers shot down by the scheer, that makes a total of 10 marlins. Fuel will soon be a problem for the ones from further away tho.
I expect the muscas WoS has around watching my torp attak will join in.)

The Admiral Coney Steaming along about 80 nautical miles behind the Admiral Scheer Responded to a wireless message from the Lead Marlin.
"Enemy Damaged, Dive Bombers destroyed, coast clear.
By coming up to flank speed and proceeding at 36knts, the fastest speed could manage in the conditions, but still short of the 38 she could do in calm sheltered waters like the south china seas. The Marlins, once out of fuel would just have to land on the sea and have an uncomfortable night waiting for the battle to finish, or the following chase group to arrive and pick them up. The Admiral Coney was going to close with the Scheer under the cover of the night and attak as soon as the light was clear enough. Their RadRanger was only able to give a direction, not a distance, and only to a max range of 12 miles. But it would allow the Coney to close under the cover of darkenss and shadow to the north where she couldn't bee seen in the dark dawn light, but where the Scheer would stand out against the rising sun. An advantage not to be scoffed at.

OOC- Not a bad plan. I'll have to take a look at the armament those cruiser's carry after I finish this up.

IC- Flight Captain Peter Von Walshstein, commanding the detachment from Jagdgeschwader 23 tasked with defending the Admiral Scheer, banked his Bf-109D toward the Calarcan floatplanes. The rest of his wing dove in after him, and the battle was on. 22 109's had been scrambled after word of the looming danger from torpedo bombers had reached the airfield in western France, and it looked like they were none too soon. Von Walshstein was somewhat suprised that the enemy did not dive and make a run for it; the Germans outnumbered the Calarcans 2:1, and the 109 was much more nimble in the air that the enemie's float planes. Looking up, Von Walshstein saw several fighters diving from above. Now that's more like it, he thought.
Hauling back on the yoke and punching the throttle, Von Walshstein brought the nose of his fighter up to meet the new threat. The fighters passed each other in the blink of an eye, but there was more than enough time to make out the markings on the plane: Walmington on Sea. As the sky and water reversed, the German ace banked hard to the right, bringing his aircraft back upright. He saw with satisfaction that his wingman had also completed the rather difficult manouver, and the two pilots now found themselves behind and above the battle. Capt. Von Walshstein quickly found an opponent and busied himself with working in behind him. As the enemy fighter filled his gun sight, he squeezed the firing controls, sending out a burst from both the machineguns in the cowling and the 20mm cannon in the nose. Somehow, the Walmingtonian pilot managed to bank out of the way at the last possible second, suffering some light damage to the left wing, but nothing that would put him in the drink.
The battle continued to rage over the wounded Scheer as she continued on her way home.

OOC- Basically it's up to you how long to drag this fighter battle on. The fighters are supposed to guard the raider, and they will have enough trouble with their limited endurance as it is, so they won't chase down anyone who makes for the deck and skips out. From this point on, the air cover over Admiral Scheer is going to be pretty close to constant. Me-110 night fighters will be taking over once the sun goes down, and they have much better range than the 109's. There are also Ju-87's and 88's on standby in case any capital ships are spotted trying to cut off the Scheer; your Admiral Coney will want to be careful, although there's definitely no guarantee that I'm going to spot her before she engages the Scheer.

(OOC: 6x twin 9.8" turrents, all on the foredeck, only 4 can bear on a side.
The 9.8 has about the same range as british 12" due to a 9.8/60 caliber barrel to the british 12"/45 or 12"/50, a longer barrel gives a faster shell which goes further, penetration? umm... about that of a 10" at long range but far better at short range before velocity drops off. Lotsa of medium and small AA, and 4x twin 4" DP turrents.

Calarcian Naval guns use cased shot, instead of a shell with several bags of cordite loaded separately, the naval shells look like 30-06 shells, with a large rimmed case and Hydralic loading gear.

This was looked at by the British between the wars but never actually put into use.
/OOC)

Edit, just thought of something.... do the Swordfish have any Seafire escorts to lend a hand?

The Pilots of the Marlins jinked and swerved, swearing at the clumsy Floats which hampered performance, their Navigators kept busy with their twin MGs, firing at anything on their tails or looking to be in a firing position. The Marlins were not just trying to shoot down 109's so much as survive and keep them away from the Swordfishes, even so four Marlins were shot down in the first few minutes of the action as the faster 109s swept in and past. As the less experienced german pilots closed in to dogfighting distances and tried for close kills the navigators fire began to tell.

(OOC:
Heh... theres always some damn fools who get in to close and want to see their foes die, Human nature being what it is...

As soon as the Swordfish drop their torps my Seaplanes are going to run like hell... their job will be over.
/OOC)

OOC- No way. True to form, the British sent in their torpedo bombers unescorted; the thought being, "There are already fighters in the area; surely these chaps will lend us a hand."

IC- The dozen odd Swordfish coming in scattered as soon as they made the German fighters moving in to engage them. While the distraction provided by the British planes took pressure off the pilots already in the air over the Scheer, the Swordfish made easy targets for the fighters. Six were knocked out within minutes of arriving on the scene, with the loss of five Bf-109's to counter it. The AA guns of the raider also struck out at any enemy aircraft that strayed too far from the battle, but the range was too long to serve as more than a distraction. After only minutes in the combat zone, the British pilots gave up the attack, and the five surviving biplanes dove for the water and retreated as fast as they could manage. Two torpedos had been fired at the Scheer, with no result. With the retreat of the torpedo bombers, the Germans turned once again to the Calarcan and WoS aircraft still clinging doggedly to the retreating raider. The sun had nearly fully set, and the dogfight had degenerated into pilots trying to avoid colliding in midair in the diminished visability. One by one, the 109's flying over the raider were being replaced by Me-110 night fighters. The radar mounted to these, while certainly primitive, would enable them to carry on the fight through the night. Plans were also made for morning flights to try and spot the cruiser force that Fleet Command knew must be close by.
At this same time, preparations were underway for the Brandenberg and the newly fitted Peter Strasser to sortie into the Atlantic, hoping to take advantage of the confusion in the Channel to move out and engage the Calarcan forces. The two ships, newly transferred to the port of Brest, would sail during the night and, with any luck, arrive in the area by mid-afternoon the next day with their escorts. (OOC- So basically, they'll sail through the night and hopefully bump into your cruisers that afternoon; it just occured to me that they'll probably sail right past the Admiral Coney. Aw, carp...)

(ooc:Sorry about my absence, I went to bed last night, heh. I know, I feel horrible about it!)

The Musca for a time depended on their good speed to keep them alive against an enemy force which outnumbered the allies more and more by the minute as less capable British and Calarcan aircraft succumbed to the 109s. The six Walmingtonian aircraft were, rather like the Calarcans, merely trying to keep a few of the Germans away from the British torpedo planes- as soon as it became apparent that the British attack was fizzling out, the Muscas decided to pull out- they were little more than seconds away from the point of no return anyway, and didn't have the luxury of being able to treat the ocean like an airfield. There was no way the six of them were going to take a significant toll on twenty odd enemy in such a short time. Best to get out alive.

Two aircraft were showing significant damage- both to the port wing- but one was apparently loosing fuel. She might not make it back.


(Remind me- do you not have another raider still going unnoticed?)

OOC- Yeah, the Deutschland managed to slip away in the confusion caused by the attack on the Admiral Scheer.

IC- British submarine Sealion confirms that Brandenberg, Peter Strasser, and two light cruisers have sailed from Brest toward the Channel shortly before midnight.

Um.... bump?

The surviving Calarcian SeaAeroFlyers ducked out and ran fast, there night spots allowing them to sprint fast 100 feet above the sea, too low for enemy fighters to safely engage them at night. Of the 8 torpedo planes and 5 escorts, only 6 planes escaped. And inreturn, the Scheer was only damaged. Once far from the Scheer, well to the west and low on fuel the Marlins set down on the sea and sent out a wireless call to the Cruiser group, they wuld be picked up in the morning. They hoped.



Later that night the Admiral Coney arrived on station 12 miles to the Scheers north, having passed to the west in the knight at 5 miles, just enough that the glow from her funnels couldn't be seen. (I'm certain the Germans didn't have sea radar at that stage, if they did tell me and I'll make it a bit further outside radar range, and airborne radars in nightfighters cannot at that stage detect surface targets... lokk down shoot down is a few decades yet.. lol..) Now she was poised waiting for dawn to arrive and sillohette the Scheer against the sunlight.

OOC- Just like in RL, Der Kriegsmarine's radar technology is lagging behind her enemies. Scheer's radar is better than most, due to her role in the Kriegsmarine's strategy; better send the Admiral Coney further out, about 12 miles ought to do it. Admiral Scheer might pick her up, but would probably dismiss her as something besides an enemy ship.

IC- Nightfall found the Scheer limping for home, listing to port by nearly 5*. The gunners and lookouts were finally relieved; Capt. Tillman believed that the Allied forces dogging his retreat could not launch an effective attack at night, and the coming dawn could bring heated battle again. Knowing the men needed their rest, the captain ordered them to get what sleep they could in preparation for the next days. Most sailors had little trouble falling asleep in spite of the danger.
The wireless operator handed Capt. Tillman a message intercepted from the London. It was heavily encoded, and its intended target was uncertain.

The night passes quietly for the crew of the Admiral Scheer. The rising sun brings the men back to their battle stations, vigilant for any attack the Allies may be intent on launching.
The radar station picks up nothing as the Scheer continues on her cruise for home. The general feeling aboard the raider is one of relief; there has been no contact in many hours, and the ship is now well within range of the Luftwaffe's air power. Sailors begin to relax at their battle stations, paying less mind on the sea as their thoughts turn toward home.

OOC- So..... what now? It's been awhile since anyone posted here...

(I'm not sure to tell you the truth. How much game time has elapsed since the battle between Bismarck and Queen Mavis?)

ooc:I think if we followed minor details exactly the Iansislian vessels might be a fair way off, but it has been a while and not a lot else is happening, so.. pff, I'd say bring 'em in if no one minds.
For the record, most of Walmington's relatively small navy is occupied covering transports bringing I Corps from Britain to Walmington and on to Canada, that is except for Naval Group II Corps in the Med, and Naval Group Ceyloba. Heh, I stupidly decided that WoS was starting the war with next to no modern vessels. Must get those III Class destroyers finished off.

(Heh - I just noticed that HIMS Gargantuan has been on "the final stages of her working up" since I last updated the Fleet Tracker on 21 September. I could sure use her in the South China Sea - maybe I should wait for Colossus and some of my new Shields to be finished first.

Just in case anyone cares, the Iansislean Expeditionary Fleet was reported as "North of Stanley, enroute to Ascension on 21 Sept. Depending on how much game time has elapsed, I'd imagine id'd be well along its route - which was Stanley-Ascension-Trinidad-Halifax-Walmington - now. It's hardly a large fleet, just the following:

(as of September 21st, RL):

Iansislean Expeditionary Fleet
Location: North of Stanley, Falkland Islands. Enroute to Ascension Island.
Commander: Commodore Martin Hansfield
Battleships: HIMS Behemoth
Mobile Aeroflyer Docks: HIMS Galloquoi
Battlecruisers: NONE
Heavy Cruisers: HIMS Dianatran HIMS Noropia
Destroyers: HIMS Gorilla, HIMS Zebra, HIMS Gazelle, HIMS Arabian Oryx (commander: Sir Kennith Jones), HIMS Heroic, HIMS Intrepid)

OOC:
I tried posting last night, and the night before, but while NS let me into the other threads, it ate all posts to this one. Lets see if this works. if it does I'll edit it to be a proper RP. but basicly what happened was the AC in the pre-dawn edged over down to where she could see the AS shillohetted against the sun and opened fire immediately on getting into range.

I hope this post works!!!
/OOC

(I'm not sure to tell you the truth. How much game time has elapsed since the battle between Bismarck and Queen Mavis?)

OOC- With the night that just passed (with the Admiral Coney working her way between the Scheer and home) I'd guess about two days since the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen broke off the fight in the Denmark Strait. I really don't mind if you want to take any liberties with the position of your fleet.


IC- The lookouts onboard Admiral Scheer were fairly convinced they were in the clear. As such, they paid little heed to the horizon; any attack at this point was likely to come from the air, anyway. The ship was as vulnerable to the Admiral Coney as she would ever be...

ooc: can I get a breifing? Maybe some subs of the Regia Marina Ercolana would join in this.

ooc: can I get a breifing? Maybe some subs of the Regia Marina Ercolana would join in this.

Ok. I'll do my best....
Basically, the Kriegsmarine made a feign toward the Denmark Strait to allow their raiders (Deutschland and Admiral Scheer) to slip through the Channel and commence commerce raiding in the Atlantic. Admiral Scheer was intercepted by aircraft from the Calarcan cruiser force and torpedoed twice, sustaining damage and forcing her to turn back to France. She and the Calarcan cruiser Admiral Coney will be engaging each other within the hour, I expect.
Deutschland has managed to slip by the forces hunting the Scheer and her whereabouts are currently unknown.
In an effort to recover the Admiral Scheer, the Kriegsmarine ordered a sortie by Brandenberg, Peter Strasser, and a light cruiser to force the pursuing ships to turn back. They will be entering the area immediately west of the Channel just after noon the day Admiral Scheer and Admiral Coney meet.
There are also a number of Luftwaffe Bf-109's, Ju-87's, and Me-110's flying over the area, looking for targets and scouting for enemy activity. Ju-88's and He-111's are on standby to attack any warships encountered.
I hope this helps.

OOC: Thats great, thanks a lot.

IC:

Operation: Punto del Germoglio
Porto Terrano, Southern Ercolana, Azores
_________________________________

It was a hot and humid night on southern coast of the Island nation. Just an hour away from twilight and the port was nearly abandoned. The only area of activity was just outside the dry dock, on the edge of the sheltered harbor, where a squadron of Cant.Z 501's were about to embark on maritime patrols. To the casual observer everything would seem normal, but appearances can be decieving. Just outside of the harbor, completely submerged sat a pack of Liuzzi Class submarines, recently outfitted with "Schnorchel" devices. They had orders to spread into the Atlantic, with the primary objective of finding and coordinating with the Admiral Scheer and/or causing general havoc amongst the allied merchant fleets.

The Admiral Coney could by now see the enemy etched sharply upon the southern Horizon by the dawns rosy light, In the gunners Director turrents the aimers were busy.

"Target bearing green zero seven fiver, range one one eight zero zero yards."

chanted one, reading of the direction and range to a flunky who turned dials which in turn caused needles to swing down in the bowels of the ship where the ships bandsmen in turn consulted tables and slid fingers along charts before turning more dials causing needles in the gun turrents to turn. Up there in the fighting zone men opened valves and turned handles letting hydraulic fluid gush through hoses to turn the turrents and lift the loaded guns to the directions and angles the needles stated.

Within seconds of the aimers call the guns were pointing to the south and the men were watching the caged lightbulb in front of the gun captains positions.

Rapidly the ship closed the distance on a converging course with the Admiral Scheer

Soon the chant from the aimer came more tensely,

"Range nine zero zero zero, Firing range."

Shortly afterward came the order the sailors had been waiting for since the call came to close up to battle stations. The captain was ready.

"All Guns, Fire!"

Eight 9.8" shells were abruptly hurtling through the air towards the distant form of the enemy warship.

OOC: edit to Fired at nine thousand yards.

Admiral Scheer's radar operator sat joking with his fellows in the control room. Turning back to his station, he saw the radar signature of the Admiral Coney seconds before her shells strattled the raider. The explosion and resulting chaos were extraordinary, as officers struggled to make sense of the reports streaming in.
Capt. Tillman knew within seconds that the Scheer was under attack, and it took little effort to spot the Calarcan cruiser less than 4 kilometers off the port side. How she could have approached so close without anyone being the wiser, he could not even guess. Deciding he had more pressing duties than speculating how the attack had come, Tillman ordered the raider into a hard turn, unmasking her forward turret. The rear turret took aim and fired at the cruiser; at such short range, it would be difficult to miss, as the Admiral Coney had proven. Her opening salvo had disabled several of the secondary guns on the port side, so the raider was suffering from a somewhat reduced sting untill she could come fully around. Several fires had also broken out, and the seaplane launching and retrieval equipment was hopelessly smashed. Word was also filtering in of a hydraulic leak in the rear turret, which would slow its tracking and make accurate gunnery a chore.
Admiral Scheer shot off a radiogram, calling any available aircraft into the area to help her. Her rear turret began firing at the attacker, sending 11" shells screaming through the morning air. The raider continued to turn ponderously; 20 knots was dreadfully slow for a ship used to making half again that speed. The Calarcans scored another hit, this time on the rear turret. The armor defeated the round, which glanced off the side and plowed into the starboard lifeboats before detonating, sending steel and wood splinters flying everywhere. Finally, the raider completed her turn, allowing her forward turret to join in the attack.
On the bridge, Capt. Tillman was handed a radiogram telling him that the closest aircraft were 5 minutes out. He would have to hold out that long. Additional Stukas were taking off from their bases in France, but would not arrive soon; for the moment, there were only 4 of the dive bombers ready to mount any kind of attack.
The Admiral Scheer was shaken again as a shell smashed into her armor belt and bounced out to sea. The raider's armor was too thin to stop repeated hits, and the Coney's guns were accurate. Giving the order for evasive manuvers, Tillman could only hope for some sort of reprieve from his much faster opponent.

The Admiral Coney recieves a radio message from British Fleet HQ shortly after the battle begins.

XXGerman battle group nearing Atlantic side of English ChannelXXAdvise cautionXXWe are dispaching forces to interceptXX

OOC: 6x twin 9.8" turrents, all on the foredeck, only 4 can bear on a side.
The 9.8 has about the same range as british 12" due to a 9.8/60 caliber barrel to the british 12"/45 or 12"/50, a longer barrel gives a faster shell which goes further, penetration? umm... about that of a 10" at long range but far better at short range before velocity drops off. Lotsa of medium and small AA, and 4x twin 4" DP turrents.

Calarcian Naval guns use cased shot, instead of a shell with several bags of cordite loaded separately, the naval shells look like 30-06 shells, with a large rimmed case and Hydralic loading gear.

This was looked at by the British between the wars but never actually put into use.
/OOC

OOC: From first post on page 28. Range of 12"/50 at 15 degrees elevation was 21,000 yards, at 45 degrees that would give about 36,000-37,000 yards. I forgot something in my post tho, I was trailing at 12Km at my radar edge, them moved closer, so I'll go edit my post to less than 34Km, lol. More like 8Km, or 9000 Yards.

have a look at http://www.warships1.com/Weapons/WNBR_main.htm and http://www.warships1.com/Weapons/WNGER_main.htm for gun data.
/OOC

Closing at 30 knots, half again the speed of the battered torpedoed Scheer The Admiral Coney closed the range fast, hoping to destroy the enemy ship quickly before enemy aircraft turned up. The Coneys Octuple 2 pdr rapid fire gun (http://www.warships1.com/Weapons/WNBR_2pounder_m8.htm) joined the battle, with it's two quadruple brtehren seeking out the Scheers vunerable sights and any unarmoured fittings on deck. And with the 4" OF DP guns blazing at the unprotected superstructure.

As this was going on the Coney was reeling from the impacts of the Scheers strikes, one round penetrated the forward cable locker, blasting a hole through the thin forward hull and spilling several hundred fathoms of chains into the sea as water rushed to pour through the gaping hole. Another shell smashed though the rear fantail crane, exploding as it buried itself in the base of the Seaplanes only method of being hoisted aboard the Coney. As it exploded it ripped the deck plating off the rear deck and exposed the wardroom, killing the surgeon and his sick berth assistant immediately.
For better or for worse, those planes would now have to wait for the cruisers following to reach them if they were to be recovered. ANd the men on the Coneywould have to suffer their pain undimmed by morphine.
The of the forward turrents, three kept firing, one shell every 20 seconds, but one had a gaping hole in its side and was missing it's roof, having been hit square by a 11"shell that atomised the crew.

OOC- Atomized.... ew.

IC- Admiral Scheer kept up her fire, losing several of her functional starboard 10.5" guns during the battle. Her fire was nowhere near as dense as the Coney's, but the shells were heavier. Both warships now displayed telling wounds, although the Scheer had the added hinderance of the two torpedo hits the day before.
An incredibly lucky shot by one of the Calarcan's main shells smashed the port screw of the raider, further reducing her speed and damaging her rudder. Capt. Tillman now found manuvering his ship next to impossible. He ordered an emergency message sent to Fleet Command, as well as any friendly vessel in the area, asking for any and all assistance. The Admiral Scheer now plodding along at a slow 8 knots, made an easy target for the Admiral Coney's guns, which continued to pepper the raider. Anything without a layer of armor plating was reduced to rubble under the murderous fire.
200 miles east of the battle, the Brandenberg's radio operator handed Admiral Hans Donnorf the Admiral Scheer's distress signal. The aging flag officer read it thoughtfully, then gave the order to increase the battle group's speed to 26 knots. The carrier Peter Strasser was also ordered to ready her fighters for action.

The message came over the communication lines from the bridge.

"All hands, Stand by to ram."

as the captain gave a series of orders placing their bow directly at the "Scheer" hoping to hit her over the site of the rear torpedo hole. the loss of one Cruiser would affect the Calarcian navy less than the effect the loss of the Scheer would have on the German navy.

The ships damage control party had been mustered in the armoury forward and were being issued the ships sckanty stocks of rifles, pistols and grenades. If there was a chance, they were to board the German over the bows of the Coney and attempt to silence the german main guns. A tactic not tried since the days of steam arrived.

OOC- OMG, this is getting good! Let's do it!

IC- Capt. Tillman saw the change in course of the Calarcan cruiser; being rammed was the furthest thought from his mind, however. By the time it became obvious that the Admiral Coney was NOT turning, it was far too late to even try avoiding a collision. The battered cruiser plowed into the side of the Admiral Scheer, slicing through the armor belt. The bow of the Calarcan cruiser crumpled under the impact, and men on both ships were tossed about like rag dolls. For a moment all was quiet, but it could not last. Men began running for the spot where the two warships were now joined, and a vicious gun battle soon broke out.
Engineers aboard the Admiral Scheer met with the captain below decks. The raider was doomed, that much could not be argued. The chances of her making port with such tremendous damage was not even worth calculating, and the decision was made to scuttle the Scheer. With any luck, she would drag the Admiral Coney down with her. While the battle continued above, the engine room crews lit the scuttling charges and made their way above. Men dove overboard and began swimming away from the two ships; the fact that they were far away from anything mattered little. The Scheer also radioed off a final message, giving her position and reporting the captain had ordered her scuttled.
As the sailors began abandoning their proud ship, the tiny specs of aircraft could be seen overhead...


OOC- You've got ample opportunity to save the ship from being scuttled. The crew has given up all pretense of resisting, and are instead concentrating on saving their own skins. The fact that the ship is about to blow up should not be lost on your sailors either. If they move fast, they can disarm the charges. The Luftwaffe Ju-87 and 88 bombers coming in can still sink her, though...
Oh, one more thing. How much does it cost to produce on of those cruisers? The Admiral Scheer ran me about 90 million marks, and this is the third Deutschland I've lost (if you count the two Graf Spee's)! Cheaper than a battlecruiser, but it still stings...

The shudder and lurch of the Coney impacting the german raider at a speed differential of 10 knots knocked most of the men off their feet, even through they were warned and braced, How much worse must it have been for the unwarned and unready germans aboard their oppodent.
In the battering recieved as the Coney sliced through the enemies side the foremost gun turrent circle was bent and the guns froze solid. (2 turrents gone. not good, but we're to close together now anyway.)
Realising they were of no use in the turrent the twenty men of the turrent crew boiled out through the hatches and joined the charge over the crumpled bows on the Scheer weilding bracing irons and crowbars normally used to dislodge jams.
The arms of the attacking group were diverse and surprising in their forms, a dozen ornimental officers swords, quickly sharpened by the cook on the galley grinder, seven bolt action rifles normally used for firing a volley at burials at sea, eight officers dress pistols, a scottish Claymore presented by the city of Edinburgh during a friendly flag waving vist before the war, twenty eight grenades of six different makes that sailors used to (illegally) fish with, (throw one overboard from a small boat and dead fish come floating up), four different hunting rifles belonging to sailors, the captains prized matching Purdeys shotguns, a winchester yellowboy lever action with a matched pair of Colt Dragoon .44s bought by the third lieutenant while an ensign off a Texan when on exercises near Hawaii in a previous ship, and an old bell mouth blunderbluss belonging to a chief petty officer who likes antique firearms. Twelve of the group had three of the short range .303 AA machine guns, four men per gun, and were the heavy wepaon support crew.

As this motley mob swarmed over into the shaken german ship a firece fire fight broke out as the Calarcians split in two and headed for the main turrents on the fore and aft decks.


OOC: lets have a bit of a rousing fight before you abandon ship, it'll have taken time for the captain to have conferred with the engineers, during which time my mobs are running loose.
As to price... Hmm... not sure, but it's a much fast, more useful design than the british Tiger class, which is about approximate to my Standard heavy Cruiser. so about two thirds again as much as a Tiger class british Criuser I suppose.

OOC- I'm sorry if I seem a bit incredulous, but how are any number of men going to implement an AA machinegun as a crew serve weapon? How are they going to control it without the pedistal it is normally mounted to (assuming it follows the pattern for every other AA machinegun I've ever seen)?
As for the battle, I've certainly got no complaints there. Most of the crew aren't trained for this kind of combat; they're sailors after all, not marines. Any resistance they put up is going to be less than effective, to say the least. Besides a few rifles and sidearms used to arm the guards when in port, there are few individual weapons on the Scheer.

IC- The German pilots flying over the battle watched as the Calarcans swarmed over the Admiral Scheer and overwhelmed the crew. Many managed to jump ship and began swimming away from the battle, but a number were captured and moved to the Admiral Coney. The squadron leader radioed the airfield control tower, asking for instructions once it became clear the Admiral Scheer was not going to sink; should they attempt to disable the Calarcan cruiser, or monitor the situation and leave the Admiral Coney for Admiral Donnorf's battle fleet.

OOC: I had a look at how the machine guns on a land airfield defence installation are mounted, I would suppose they are similiar to the naval ones in the basics but the feet are sunk into concrete rather than bolted to a deck. If you unbolt the swivel joint that allows vertical movement the gun lifts off and the joint left on the gun makes a spike about 8" pointing down under the gun, it takes 3 men to carry and one to bring the ammo belts, but if they find a railing or flat surface with a hole large enough to take the spike, that anchors the gun against recoil.
I got the idea from an old mans war stories in a rest home, thats that a bunch of troops did with an italian AA machine gun when they overran an airfield in italy and didn't have heavy support, they made thir own.

IC: The rampaging Calarcians by now had managed to clear the main gun turrents, none of the hatched were locked, as invasion was not expected. driving the men in front of them they returned to the main deck, where the Machine gunners had managed to find structures to hold their guns, leaving their prisoners under the muzzles of the machine guns, too cowed to try and escape the Calarcians plunged inside the ship, seeking to grab the captain.

OOC- Hmmm... I guess that would make sense.

IC- Capt. Tillman joined his crew around the forward turret. The men who had remained aboard the ship were soon joined by those who had tried to escape by jumping overboard. The crew showed remarkably high spirits; they had put up the best fight they could, and they knew it. Capt. Tillman wondered if the Luftwaffe would be ordered to sink the raider once it became clear it was not, in fact, going to be scuttled. He also wondered what would happen when the flooding overwhelmed the bilge pumps and dragged the Scheer under. It seemed that these concerns were more for the Admiral Coney and her crew than him.
Admiral Donnorf's battle group continued on course for the Admiral Scheer; they had sighted no one since leaving the Channel. The aircraft now circling the Scheer were keeping him abreast of the situation via Berlin, and he expected to have the Admiral Coney in sight within a few hours.
Meanwhile, the British battlecruiser Hood and the cruiser Devonshire were steaming south, where they hoped to meet up with the cruiser Hampshire before engaging the German force. The only British carrier close enough to take part in the battle was the Arc Royal and she had been called away to engage an Italian convoy with her battle group.

ooc:If anyone wonders why Walmington is unlikely to willingly commit to the interception of the battlegroup- our only carrier is in the Med, and though King Godfrey I might be free, there is absolutely no available escort, and we'd be loathed to send her so close to France without close air defence, or any real submarine defence.
In this time-line I think I'd be pushing it to say that we've got any corvettes even beyond planning stages, and the destroyer flotilla is still puny.

ooc:If anyone wonders why Walmington is unlikely to willingly commit to the interception of the battlegroup- our only carrier is in the Med, and though King Godfrey I might be free, there is absolutely no available escort, and we'd be loathed to send her so close to France without close air defence, or any real submarine defence.
In this time-line I think I'd be pushing it to say that we've got any corvettes even beyond planning stages, and the destroyer flotilla is still puny.

Also close to Ercolana mainland... :twisted:

The decision to leave the Calarcan battle group to the Brandenberg and her consorts is radioed to all parties concerned. The pilots on the scene are ordered to slow the Admiral Coney if it appears she may escape the German fleet, and to maintain observation of her actions in either event.
Admiral Donnorf orders the battle group to maintain its course, allowing the Luftwaffe pilots to guide him into the battle area. The Peter Strasser maintains her aircraft at the ready in case they are needed.

Just moved house, won't be posting for a few days, or what I do post will be short and garbled as I type in short bursts, no time to make long posts.

OOC- No prob here. I'll wait untill you get settled.

Bumpity bumpity bump..... sigh.

HIMS Arabian Oryx
Two days out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

This new Tiger class of destroyers is really a splendid thing, Captain (JG) Sir Kennith Jones, commander HIMS Arabian Oryx, thought to himself as his ship steamed at a luxurious twenty five knots between Canada and Walmington on Sea. Compared to his last command, the destroyer Antilochus, it was ultra modern, built from the keel up with modern radranger and hydrophone equipment in mind. Even his cabin seemed more spacious, although the Oryx was a good thousand tons lighter than the Antilochus.

The Commodore had at last decided that his squadron was in a marathon, not a rest, after their safe passage of the mid-Atlantic, and had decided to grant his men shore liberty at the fleet's next port-of-call. Unfortunately for them, however, they had just passed Trinidad and the sunny waters of the Carribean, exchanging them for the dreary weather of eastern Canada - an environment many had likened to the eastern Great Shield.

While in port, they had also repaired some minor damage to Behemoth's number two boiler, which had broken down between Trinidad and Halifax. In Halifax, Iansislean sailors, with their homeland safe seven thousand miles and a continent away, soon strained relations with their British and Canadian hosts. The enlisted men repeatedly talked about how they would "roll back the Hun" with no trouble at all, and be back to the Pacific in time "to put the Chiangman back in his place!" For some reason, this overly arrogant talk didn't sit too well with powers already committed to the war effort, seeing as how Iansisle didn't have a single ground unit operating west of Gallaga (or east of Dianatran, by that reckoning).

Fortunately, Commodore Hansfield had recognized this danger, and rushed the fleet out of Halifax before his men's loose lips sunk his ships. Jones didn't see how much better off they'd be in Walmington, considering the nature of the problem, but a temporary solution was better than none at all.

OOC- I have to admit that I'm kind of at a loss now as to where to go from here. I'd say this thread is effectively dead by now, since I haven't heard from Calarca in quite a while. I'll leave it up to him whether the Admiral Coney was sunk or not, since I really don't care. Admiral Scheer could never make it back to port with the mortal damage she sustained from the collision; assume that she would have been scuttled if she didn't die from her wounds.
As for the Deutschland, there has been no word of her since the breakout. No ships have yet reported her whereabouts; she has apparently not engaged any enemy ships either since her escape. She'll pop up eventually, though...
I'll be watching the North African campaign with interest, since troops are on the way there as I speak. Luftwaffe airborne troops have landed to try and shore up the Italian defenses, and advance units of the Afrika Korps will be in the field within the month. I'll keep an eye on this in case someone has any parting thoughts, but I'll start a new thread if anything of interest happens.

(Agreed - I'd just like to get my fleet somewhere where I know about them before we let this die...maybe North Africa?)

It seems that's going to be the main focus for the immediate future. Thinking about backing up the Alexandria Fleet? Just watch out for U-boats on your way past Gibralter!

(I'll be sure about that...RPing a u-boat attack on the fleet would be fun. Of course, there really aren't any merchant ships...maybe WoS would care to assign me a convoy to escort to Tunisia?)

I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you. :wink:

Ah ha, yes, we do need to get a lot into north Africa now. The Trucial States seems to have dropped out, so we loose 40,000 men there- the British have somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 effectives in Egypt and The Sudan, and WoS III Corps has just over 40,000 effectives pushing through Libya. Meanwhile the Italians have near 190,000 left, Ercolana is pushing into Sudan with.. what was it? 90,000? I can't remember actually, and now the Germans are moving in.

Field Marshal Weisel's reports back to Walmington are getting a little.. jittery.

Calarca has been inactive for 18 days. Does anyone know if he's on holiday or something? If he goes.. the attack on Ercolanan Karachi goes- then God knows what'll happen- will Erco reinforce Africa even further, or strike into Gallaga?

Of course, Walmington has been holding several hundred thousand men back in WoS and Canada ahead of Operation Re-vere, which was only in initial planning phases, and depends heavily on Calarcan support. If we don't get Calarcan support, the idea's scuttled, and Walmington's armies have absolutely nothing else to do except ...well [looks at north Africa].

(Actually, Re-vere could go ahead with Iansislian support, but Great Walmington is far from convinced that anyone of sound mind there want to get involved in such an enterprise, and it would certainly demand both nations pay less attention to Africa and Asia, which.. well yeah, that might go badly.)

In the early hours of the morning, Allied troops waited in their hastily dug positions. Most were too nervous, even scared, to sleep. The rapid advances of the British 4th Army and the Walmingtonian Expeditionary Force (which is how the WoS forces are known to the British command) had ground to a halt with the arrival of German paratroopers and glider infantry. Now the bloodied and weary soldiers of the 4th Army lay huddled in quickly dug foxholes, waiting for the counter-attack they knew was sure to follow.
It was no secret that the German 5th Panzer Army was headed for the North African front; every soldier on the line knew what was in store for them once the elite German force took the field. This was the same army that had smashed the entire French army in just over a month and driven the British from continental Europe. The rumors of SS divisions sailing with the Wehrmacht had done nothing to improve the morale of the Allied troops; to fight the German army was one thing, but the SS had a much.... darker reputation.

ooc: yeah its about 90,000 infantry I believe.

(ooc:Ah, good job I spotted this.. I was just starting a post in the North Africa thread ( http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=72881&start=20 ) bemoaning my hesitation on the cracking-enigma front, thanks to the moving of the 5th Panzers. You say we're aware of their activation then? I'll get editing in a bit of a panic then :) [tries to figure out where his ships are])

I must be losing it. I totally thought I posted my last thing in the North Africa thread. What am I doing?

Calarca has been inactive for 18 days. Does anyone know if he's on holiday or something?

Hmm... Good timing there, I was just coming back to have a look at what had happened while away and saw this comment.

I'm going to be here less often, I'm working on my mums farm over the summer hols, so up early and finish late. not much time for this, but I'll still be around.

I've gotta go see whats happening in the Liberty thread...

edit: oops sorry this is the liberty, I thought it was morrocco Vs WoS.

So far I've captured the German, but my Cruiser is also dead in the water, So Engineering staff from the boiler room are manning the german AA, light machineguns and simple stuff anyway, I don't think greasers could manage High angle AA 4" guns or whatever the german has.

I've a section of my cruiser squad steaming up and germans arriveing form the opposite side. and german planes arriving above.

Trouble.

I'll go ruminate on a solution...
post tomorrow morning while having breakfast.

Good to hear from you again, Calarca! I was starting to wonder if you were still out there or not.