c13Garrison
08-29-13, 08:30 PM
So, the whole reason I took the Narwhal down to the Solomons after ambushing a freighter at 200 yards with guns in heavy fog off Hokaido was to have a shot at effecting one of the surface battles off Savo. The lure of a good shot at seeing fleet units. Sight seeing I suppose, though if I write it up I'll come up with a reason.
Long story short, October 11. Scott's cruisers show up off the station I'd been holding for weeks, so we turn and shadow them on the surface to the NE, waiting to see how he'd maneuver. They sail NE to above Savo, then turn in column back to the SW. I perceive when radar reveals Goto's ships to the NW that Scott will be crossing their T- but more importantly I realized I was on the wrong side of the line, in the position of the armored cruisers at Jutland. So after turning in and matching their SW course I cut in 5* and slipped ahead of Scott's bow; probably a little bit closer than regulation, but San Fransisco didn't feel she needed to alter course so I might escape a reprimand. So we found ourselves matching course off Scott's port quarter while the battleline slowly overhauled us with its 4kt advantage.
Then, Goto came into range. They spotted us first, and Goto's first volley was short. Then San Fransisco and the rest of the line slewed their guns to starboard and the cannonade began. I had a front row seat, watching through the gap between San Francisco and Boise. Broadside after broadside down the whole line. The air was filled with the hot tracery of shells swiftly hurled down range, fountains of water saturating the Japanese line as they deployed to port. The bright burst of guns, the soft glow of hits lit the middle horizon. We must have drawn first blood as a curling cloud erupted in the distance. Over the course of 10 minutes practice there were at least 3 ships burning, and I hadn't noticed a single hit to either ship near me.
Then my gunnery chief informed me he had a target, so I told him to engage. So, there we were, the cruiser submarine Actually functioning as a cruiser. The graphics were briefly hesitating every 4 or 5 minutes as if the graphics card were grumpy with its workload, then my lookouts shouted "Enemy Aircraft!", to which I thought, 'at midnight?', but I told them to engage. THEN my graphics card said "ok, I didn't sign up for this", and took 5 at the instant I clicked Engage. CTD.
However, I am not upset. It was really cool to look at and experience, and I might try one more time, but if the machine can't handle it that's alright. I got to see a first-hand spectacle I've dreamed of since I started wargaming fleets, big ships in line ahead, giving and receiving.
I Really hope the 1914 mod eventually permits squadron level commerce raiding. That would be epic.
Long story short, October 11. Scott's cruisers show up off the station I'd been holding for weeks, so we turn and shadow them on the surface to the NE, waiting to see how he'd maneuver. They sail NE to above Savo, then turn in column back to the SW. I perceive when radar reveals Goto's ships to the NW that Scott will be crossing their T- but more importantly I realized I was on the wrong side of the line, in the position of the armored cruisers at Jutland. So after turning in and matching their SW course I cut in 5* and slipped ahead of Scott's bow; probably a little bit closer than regulation, but San Fransisco didn't feel she needed to alter course so I might escape a reprimand. So we found ourselves matching course off Scott's port quarter while the battleline slowly overhauled us with its 4kt advantage.
Then, Goto came into range. They spotted us first, and Goto's first volley was short. Then San Fransisco and the rest of the line slewed their guns to starboard and the cannonade began. I had a front row seat, watching through the gap between San Francisco and Boise. Broadside after broadside down the whole line. The air was filled with the hot tracery of shells swiftly hurled down range, fountains of water saturating the Japanese line as they deployed to port. The bright burst of guns, the soft glow of hits lit the middle horizon. We must have drawn first blood as a curling cloud erupted in the distance. Over the course of 10 minutes practice there were at least 3 ships burning, and I hadn't noticed a single hit to either ship near me.
Then my gunnery chief informed me he had a target, so I told him to engage. So, there we were, the cruiser submarine Actually functioning as a cruiser. The graphics were briefly hesitating every 4 or 5 minutes as if the graphics card were grumpy with its workload, then my lookouts shouted "Enemy Aircraft!", to which I thought, 'at midnight?', but I told them to engage. THEN my graphics card said "ok, I didn't sign up for this", and took 5 at the instant I clicked Engage. CTD.
However, I am not upset. It was really cool to look at and experience, and I might try one more time, but if the machine can't handle it that's alright. I got to see a first-hand spectacle I've dreamed of since I started wargaming fleets, big ships in line ahead, giving and receiving.
I Really hope the 1914 mod eventually permits squadron level commerce raiding. That would be epic.