6 replies to this topic

[W. Clark]

To those of us who find the idea of the dedicated surface raider to be intriguing. One of the problems in putting together a campaign for surface raiders is that there are more issues for them to face than just armament, protection, speed and endurance that affect their design and potential for performance. The Deutschland class was a valiant effort at designing a dedicated surface raider, but radar and small carriers meant that its time was coming rapidly to a close. Nevertheless, it had a window (albeit a closing one) in late 39 through mid 41 when the RN had pretty much equipped its cruiser force with SW radar. And its design gave it the ability to outshoot cruisers faster than it and run away from capital ships slower than it at the time. But it still had an Achilles' heel when faced with cruisers that minor damage to would end its cruise. At River Plate the RN failed to inflict serious damage on the Graf Spee's armament or hull but the damage they did inflict meant that her cruise was over. And what was this career ending damage? It was the damage to her desalination plant and her fuel filtering equipment. The first severely limited her ability to provide fresh water and the second the ability to keep her diesel engines running without a refit. In fact, Langsdorf felt that her engines were unlikely to be able to get her to Germany in their present state.

 

I propose a simple rule (or means) to address that. When a Panzer Schiff takes any hull damage (including a half box); roll a D6. On a 6 result the Panzer Shiff has suffered damage to one of these installations. Roll another D6 and odd is the water plant and an even is the oil filtering plant. The Panzer Schiff may repair as per an engine hit including breaking it permanently. A second hit before the repair occurs destroys the plant permanently. In other words, treat it like an engine hit. The Panzer Schiff's cruise is over if that occurs, and it must RTB in Germany.

 

My reasoning for the above is that Harwood's Force felt that they might as well have been throwing snowballs at Graf Spee for all the apparent damage they were causing her and yet they had unknowingly already ended her cruise.  

 

WMC

[Jim O'Neil]

True , but the odds of causing that sort of damage is quite a bit less than 16-17%. A D-12 brings the odds downn to a still significant 8%, and there are other potential damages that might also end her cruise. 

 

The CLV is a potential replacement for the Pocket Battleship ... try it!.

[W. Clark]

How someone addresses the concept of alternative damage ending a cruise is open ended and up to them. I'm merely pointing out that the damage that ended the Graf Spee's cruise is not dealt with under the usual limits imposed by only accounting for damage to armament and hull. The means I proposed is just one way to do it and other ideas may handle the need just as well or better.

 

WMC

[Jim O'Neil]

So it is special damage, like Bridge, DCT, Engines etc.  So add a couple of specialty boxes for new Critical Damage varieties. 

[healey36]

A commerce-raider campaign set for FAI/GQ3 would be terrific. Using a set of operational house-rules, we've run at least one for Möwe a while back. It was a long, tedious exercise, if I'm honest, a long string of actions before she had her hash settled by HMS Essex. Probably not far from reality for the life of a commerce-raider, but you need that context to keep it going.

 

My initial thoughts were along the line of Jim's - doctor up the critical hits table to include a few other potential cruise-enders. Any number of things can put paid to the exploits of a commerce-raider, especially one built using a common merchant ship as the platform. My recollection is that Möwe was historically nearly done in by an unquenchable fire in a coal bunker. I seem to recall that Spee had also suffered a hull-hit to her bow that was considered a threat to her ability to survive skirting the North Atlantic on a homeward voyage.

 

I've been thinking that something along the lines of Avalanche Press' Cruiser Warfare could serve as the basis for a campaign of raiding, with tactical clashes settled on the table using FAI. Might take a month to get through two or three years of activity, but it could be terrific fun.   

 

 

[W. Clark]

That is one way to handle it. Another would be to note it on ship log or turn record. I would only apply it to ships involved in long range raiding cruises as the current damage recording system has the normal concerns covered quite adequately IMHO. My thought is that it covers otherwise minor damage that in this particular case would be cruise ending and thus provides even greater incentive to avoid combat with any warship.

 

WMC

[W. Clark]

There was a Panzer Schiff raiding campaign in the works the last I knew. I'm not aware of where it is in the approval process.

 

WMC