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Battle of Prins Christianssund - 20 Sep 1939


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#1 Dave Franklin

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Posted 15 August 2018 - 09:14 PM

I picked up Naval Thunder The Atlantic Campaign, September 1939 to June 1940, by Craig Henry and Nathan Forney off Wargames Vault, and I am running it with Bill Clark playing the Germans and Geoff Mcharg playing the Allies.  Of course, we are using GQ3 to resolve the battles, and just had our first engagement.  Since Bill is out in Oregon, I ran the German ship based on his directives.  HMS Cumberland had to stand in for HMS Berwick on the table (see attached).

 

The Battle of Prins Christianssund*

* Prins Christianssund is near the southernmost tip of Greenland.

20 September 1939, 1400 hours

Weather: Sea State 5, wind 120o at 20 knots, overcast with visibility a fairly astounding 27,500 yards.  Barometer falling…

 

On 20 September 1939, KMS Deutschland, under the command of Kapitän zur See (KzS) Paul W. Wenneker, was heading east at 16 knots, a few hundred miles south of Prins Christianssund, Greenland.  HMS Berwick (flag), under the command of Capt. Irving M. Palmer, followed by HMS York, in column, commanded by Capt. Reginald H. Portal, were steaming northeast at 16 knots.  They encountered each other at 1400 hours, the two British ships were due south of the German “pocket battleship”.

 

Deutschland turned slightly to starboard and accelerated to flank speed to cross the British “T”, and to get within 24,000 yards.  Both sides opened fire.  By 1412, the British cruisers had worked up to 31 knots, and were closing the range quickly; KzS Wenneker realized he had erred, for while he desired a range less than 24,000 yards, he did not want the range much shorter than that, and Deutschland began a series of easy turns to try to keep the range open.  More importantly, Deutschland hit Berwick for the first time with her 11” guns, knocking out Berwick’s A & B turrets.

 

At 1418, stung by the loss of Berwick’s two bow turrets, the British ships started moving evasively.  By now the range had dropped below 21,000 yards.  The one positive note for the British was now York’s gunnery was not being thrown off by the confusion of Berwick’s shell splashes.  Deutschland was still firing her 11” at Berwick, and had begun firing her starboard 5.9” secondary battery at York, but the firing for several minutes by both sides was ineffective.  Finally, at 1436, Deutschland hit York, a 5.9” shell knocking out York’s A turret.

 

At 1442, the weather started to deteriorate, with visibility dropping to 25,500 yards.  The British cruisers stopped their evasive movement in a desperate bid to close to an effective range.  Then, at 1448, Deutschland hit both British ships.  Berwick lost X turret, and took some hull damage, slowing her to 29 knots, while York lost B turret.  The German shells just seemed to have a knack for finding the British cruiser’s main batteries.  This was very opportune for Deutschland, as the British actually managed to close briefly inside 15,000 yards.

 

At 1454, Deutschland hit Berwick a third time, knocking out Berwick’s last 8” – Y turret – and slowed her to 26 knots.  With her main battery gone, no one would have blamed Capt. Palmer for turning away, laying smoke and withdrawing, but he was having none of that.

 

At 1500, the smoke option was lost, as the weather further worsened.  The visibility dropped to 23,500 yards; the sea state reached 7, knocking everyone down by 5 knots; the 30 knot winds making smoke screens ineffective; and the rough seas making both sides gunnery that much more difficult.  Still Deutschland managed to hit Berwick the fourth and last time, splinters knocking out her searchlights, and more hull damage slowing her to 21 knots.

 

Realizing she was now just slowing York down, Berwick turned away.  York gamely accelerated into the rough seas, but the visibility steadily worsened, dropping to 21,500 yards at 1506 and 19,500 yards at 1512, and the firing by both sides again became ineffective.  At 1515, Deutschland and York each turned away, and as the visibility dropped further to 17,500 yards, both ships disappeared into the gloom and the battle was over.

 

The Atlantic Campaign focuses on hull damage, so while Berwick lost her entire main battery, she lost 3 of 7 hull boxes, putting her at 43% damage, or in the “35% to 70%” category.  York lost two main battery turrets, but no hull, so this “other material damage” is characterized as “less than 35%”.  This means when the British get a Repair Event, it will require a 4+/D10 for Berwick to repair, and a 2+/D10 for York to repair.

The British never managed to hit Deutschland (Capt. Palmer was heard to remark, “there’s something wrong with our bloody shooting today”); however, Deutschland expended over 70% of her 11” ammunition and 50% of her 5.9” secondary ammunition.  Tough to attack convoys when low on ammo…

 

KzS Paul W. Wenneker – Dave Franklin

Capt. Irving M. Palmer and Capt. Reginald H. Portal – Geoff McHarg

Attached Files



#2 Cpt M

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Posted 16 August 2018 - 02:08 PM

Great AAR!  Very gripping.  And yes, having a campaign as a backdrop to the battles helps a lot! 



#3 Phil Callcott

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Posted 17 August 2018 - 01:03 PM

A very good ARR and the ships are well painted.

 

One observation, German ships in WW II did not use the prefix "KMS" or any other either.

 

It would simply be called "Lutzow".

 

Regards Phil



#4 healey36

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Posted 18 August 2018 - 08:01 AM

Dave - Great AAR. What's the scale and who's the manufacturer of your models? Nicely painted/based.

 

Paul



#5 Dave Franklin

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Posted 19 August 2018 - 01:35 AM

They are 1/2400 scale.  The two British ships are GHQ, and I believe the German is Superior.

 

Dave



#6 W. Clark

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Posted 20 August 2018 - 04:14 AM

I'm hoping when I get Germany back to Germany that Fearless Leader is happy with damaged RN cruisers because I don't the ammo to remain at sea and look for more MM. Great AAR and once again my 11" battery has proven itself.






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