Naval Wargames

1/6000 Naval – Never Built US Torpedo Battleship Design

This is a US design from 1912, modeled in 1/6000 scale.

Displacement 30,000 tons
Waterline length 780 feet
Six 14 inch guns
Sixteen 6 inch guns
Eight 21 inch submerged torpedo tubes
Oil fired, 27 knots

WW1 Naval – Baltic Convoy 1916

This scenario was inspired by the Russian attack on a convoy of iron ore sailing from Sweden to Germany described in “After Jutland“, Chapter 6, pages 90-91. The Russian attack group of destroyers has a close cover force of cruisers and a distant cover force of dreadnoughts. The Germans expect the operation and counter with their own cruiser and dreadnought supporting forces.

Winds WSW at 5 knots. Sea state 2. Visibility 6 NM.

Narrative

Player reports
Russian
German

Plots
0-25 minutes
25-50 minutes
50-75 minutes
All

End game status

Computer code (described here)

Convoy escorts (one armed merchant cruiser and two groups of trawlers) attempt to distract the attacking Russian destroyers.

The convoy makes smoke and heads south at its best speed of 10 knots.

The convoy is destroyed. The old German cruisers are losing the fight with the Russian cruisers.

The Russian dreadnoughts press on southwestward to support their cruisers.

The German dreadnought divisions deploy into a battleline while the Russian dreadnoughts reverse course and head northeast.

Cruisers and destroyers clear the line of fire for the dreadnought action.

With the visibility only 12,000 yards the battlelines close to under 10,000 yards. Hits accumulate rapidly.

The two lead Russian dreadnoughts are overwhelmed by a fortunate series of hits from four German dreadnoughts.

With only two Russian dreadnoughts left to face six relatively intact German dreadnoughts, we called the game. The convoy and most of the German cruisers had been destroyed, but the loss of the Russians dreadnoughts was a high price to pay for meeting the mission objective.

1/6000 Naval – Never Built Dutch Dreadnoughts

This is a Dutch dreadnought design from 1913, modeled in 1/6000 scale. Various designs were proposed from 1912 through 1914, as described in Warship International No. 4, 1988, No. 1, 1989 and No. 4, 1989. The 1913 quadruple turret design was chosen because it differed the most from contemporary German designs.

Normal displacement 20,700 tons
Length 169.2 meters
Eight 34.3cm L/45 in quadruple turrets
Sixteen 15cm L/50in casemates
Oil fired, 22-23 knots

The names were taken from late 19th Century Dutch cruisers.

WW1 Naval – Oran 1914

This alternate history scenario was a confrontation between British and French ships in November 1914. The British were tasked with preventing the return of the French fleet from Oran to Toulon. The French were to get underway from the anchorage at Oran and get past the British.

Player briefings

Status at the end of the game

Narrative

Player reports:
British
French

Plots of ship movements:
0-30 minutes
30-45 minutes
40-60 minutes
All

Computer code (described here)

All ships except the rear French battleships have been sighted.

The British battleline of the four oldest dreadnoughts and eight pre-dreadnoughts.

The French have deployed into a line with the armoured cruisers leading and the new dreadnoughts in the rear.

French DDs attack unsupported and are shattered by the fire of British 4 and 6 inch guns.

The Devonshire should not be in a camouflage paint scheme in 1914.

The British dreadnought division passes through the French fleet. One collision occurs. The Bellerophon blows up and the Temeraire sinks.

We stopped play after 12 turns (60 minutes of game time) and about 4 hours of real time.

Heligoland Bight – 1916

This Friday we played a fictitious naval battle set in the North Sea in 1916. The British attempt to sweep the Heligoland Bight to eliminate German patrols. The Germans are supporting their light forces with heavy ships. The scenario includes ships not actually available in the North Sea at the time.

Player briefings

Winds WSW at 3 knots. Sea state 2. Visibility 5 NM toward the SW, 6 NM toward the NE.

Status at the end of the game

Narrative

Player reports:
British
German

Plots of ship movements:
0-30 minutes
30-50 minutes
All

Computer code (described here)

Initially only the 3rd British BCS and its CL screen enter the Bight.

When German BCs are engaged, the remaining British forces move in from the north.

Heligoland in 1/18000 scale (the game’s ground scale)

We played for about 4 hours without a decisive result. The British had suffered somewhat more damage. In spite of a lot of torpedo fire from the light cruisers and destroyers, the only two torpedo hits were achieved by the Von der Tann and the Blucher.