Post by RNRobert on Sept 18, 2015 13:44:01 GMT -6
On the morning of 6 June 1944, the German 5th Torpedo Boat flotilla consisting of the torpedo boats T28, Mowe, Falke, and Jaguar sortied from their base at Le Havre. Approaching the eastern portion of the D-Day invasion force, they launched torpedoes which missed the battleships Warspite and Ramillies but scored a hit on the Norwegian destroyer Svenner (a British 'S' class DD) before disengaging and heading for home.
The T28 was a 1939 Flottentorpedoboote, a small warship of about 1800 tons with four 4.1" guns and six torpedo tubes (almost as powerful as some of the older pre-war Allied destroyers). The other three torpedo boats were smaller, in the 900-1100 ton range, with three 4.1" guns and six torpedo tubes. As these vessels are not in the game, I had to improvise. I used the smaller Italian destroyers to represent these vessels (I did the same thing in several other WC-NAW scenarios that portrayed battles that these vessels participated in).
I had to do a little digging to find out what other ships were in the area at the time of the battle. As the destroyer HMS Swift was recorded as rescuing survivors of the Svenner, I included her in the OOB. A couple accounts recorded the British battleships Warspite and Ramillies as being almost hit by torpedoes, so I added them as well. However, I found the battle was heavily sided in favor of the Allies, even when I made them surprised. So, I decided to create an alternate scenario without them that was slightly more balanced- I removed the battleships and added HNoMS Stord (another British 'S' class destroyer operated by Norwegians) and the Free French light cruiser Georges Leygues, both of which took part in the landings. Even without the battleships, the odds still favor the Allies.
I recommend playing this scenario as the Germans (side 1). It should be played as a hit-and-run mission- get in, launch your torpedoes, then bug out.The fact that the German ships were able to approach within torpedo range of the Allied invasion force, sink one of their warships, and then run home unscathed I find pretty amazing, especially when you consider that the U-boats sent to engage the invasion force came up empty, and another destroyer force that the Germans sent from Brest three days later to attack the landings was savaged by a force of British, Canadian and Polish destroyers off Ushant.
D-DAY ENCOUNTER NO BB.txt (1.78 KB)D-DAY ENCOUNTER.txt (1.68 KB)
The T28 was a 1939 Flottentorpedoboote, a small warship of about 1800 tons with four 4.1" guns and six torpedo tubes (almost as powerful as some of the older pre-war Allied destroyers). The other three torpedo boats were smaller, in the 900-1100 ton range, with three 4.1" guns and six torpedo tubes. As these vessels are not in the game, I had to improvise. I used the smaller Italian destroyers to represent these vessels (I did the same thing in several other WC-NAW scenarios that portrayed battles that these vessels participated in).
I had to do a little digging to find out what other ships were in the area at the time of the battle. As the destroyer HMS Swift was recorded as rescuing survivors of the Svenner, I included her in the OOB. A couple accounts recorded the British battleships Warspite and Ramillies as being almost hit by torpedoes, so I added them as well. However, I found the battle was heavily sided in favor of the Allies, even when I made them surprised. So, I decided to create an alternate scenario without them that was slightly more balanced- I removed the battleships and added HNoMS Stord (another British 'S' class destroyer operated by Norwegians) and the Free French light cruiser Georges Leygues, both of which took part in the landings. Even without the battleships, the odds still favor the Allies.
I recommend playing this scenario as the Germans (side 1). It should be played as a hit-and-run mission- get in, launch your torpedoes, then bug out.The fact that the German ships were able to approach within torpedo range of the Allied invasion force, sink one of their warships, and then run home unscathed I find pretty amazing, especially when you consider that the U-boats sent to engage the invasion force came up empty, and another destroyer force that the Germans sent from Brest three days later to attack the landings was savaged by a force of British, Canadian and Polish destroyers off Ushant.
D-DAY ENCOUNTER NO BB.txt (1.78 KB)D-DAY ENCOUNTER.txt (1.68 KB)