Another strange encounter ...

[Hartmann]

Yesterday, I had to swallow another frog when my TF of 5 CA and about as many DDs night bombarded PM. They met one lone enemy DD in the harbour hex. No problem ... I thought. And, of course, I won this one.
But what a victory it was! This DD seemed to be allowed to fire away so much more often than my guys that he was able to hit three of my CAs so hard (guns only, no torps!) that single-ship TFs were automatically created for them to limp home.

Has this something to do with how "crossing the T" is simulated in the game?

Hartmann

[Bosun]

Don't lose heart!
Your namesake was shot down no less than 16 times. Not once was he wounded, and at least three times was he knocked down by debris from exploding Soviet aircraft. Keep closing in for the kill; that's what Erich did!!!

[Slaughtermeyer]

Maybe the game models the possibility of your own ships shooting at each other, especially at night and if the weather is bad?

[Hartmann]

Bosun: I try.

I really would like to know whether there´s a feature behind this. I swear that the destroyer shot as often as my 10 ships combined.

Hartmann

[vils]

Originally posted by Slaughtermeyer
Maybe the game models the possibility of your own ships shooting at each other, especially at night and if the weather is bad?

That simply cannot be real. In that case, execute the commanders on the spot!

[Slaughtermeyer]

I also think that it's unlikely that a destroyer's guns would be able to penetrate a heavy cruiser's armor, even at short range. Was there any coastal defense fire coming from PM? I would assume that PM would have at least some coastal defense capability unless it was early in the war.

[Rob Roberson]

Originally posted by Slaughtermeyer
I also think that it's unlikely that a destroyer's guns would be able to penetrate a heavy cruiser's armor, even at short range. Was there any coastal defense fire coming from PM? I would assume that PM would have at least some coastal defense capability unless it was early in the war.

Oh I have watched Japanese destroyer captains pound my cruisers


shells slicing through their armor more then once.

[Ron Saueracker]

Washington Treaty cruisers were very vulnerable to 5" shells as they had little armour in order to meet all the demands made on them within a 10,000 ton limit. This being said, 20mm shell hits should not cause critical damage to a ship from destroyer size on up. Remember the thread about PT boats leaving an IJN battleship led Bombardment force in flames and skidaddling back to base? I'm assuming this has been rectified.

As for one DD inflicting tons of damage on and outshooting a superior force, well..........seems a stretch. But, night battles were confusing beasts and almost anything could happen.

[madflava13]

20 mike mike through the bridge windows would cause "critical damage" in my book (to the crew at least) - don't know if thats what was happening, but a possibility?

[Erik Rutins]

The 5 inch guns on Destroyers fire rapidly and can definitely cause some damage to ships up to cruiser size if they get a good hit and the right position in a night battle. As Ron pointed out, the treaty cruisers in particular have some fairly weak armor. When you put together your US surface combat TFs, it pays to send the very best once your more heavily armored cruisers become available. Most often, a destroyer in that situation would be toast but I have seem some good skippers come away with more than their share of damage before going to the bottom.

The PT boats you're recalling did their damage with a few lucky torpedo hits, not with 20mms. Firing 20mms at a Battleship is completely fruitless in UV, as in real life. About the only thing you could reasonably do is set a seaplane on fire or some such if you get lucky and they haven't launched or ditched them. And yes, PTs are less effective in the released version in any case.

Regards,

- Erik

[madflava13]

Anyone know when PTs get released to your command in the long campaigns? I've got some juicy targets off Lunga that need "ventilation"....

[Hartmann]

So let's see whether I got this right:

- The DDs can fire more often than the CAs and this explains why the one DD could fire as often as my five heavies combined (AFAI remember now the DD was named "Walkes" or similar).
- The Aoba, Kinugasa etc. are "treaty vessels" with weak armor, which explains the extreme amount of damage the destroyer was able to inflict on them (those three the DD concentrated on are gone to Tokyo now).

Still, there remains at least one question: if the DDs with the smaller guns can fire more often, then why didn't my *own* 5 destroyers fire more often than they did?

Hartmann

[Mike Wood]

Hello...

One destroyer taking on several ships is the heroic exception to the rule. The destroyer captain and crew both made some really great dice rolls and were able to sneak up on the enemy fleet on that dark and stormy night and got off a number of shots, while the surprised enemy tried, in vain, to locate the source of that deadly fire, as the lone destroyer slipped in and out of the fog.

Statistically, this can happen in the game. But, not often. The destroyer crossed the "T" and remained unspotted. In the upcoming patch, we have added a bit more narrative, describing the events.

Medals and Awards to All...

Michael Wood

[Hartmann]

Originally posted by Mike Wood
In the upcoming patch, we have added a bit more narrative, describing the events.

Ah!! This is great because then one at least has the consolation of knowing the explanation for what happened!

I am still under the impression, though, that such unlikely events seem to happen to me very often. Remember, I was the one who lost all three carriers under T. Yamaguchi in the early battle of the Coral sea ...

Hartmann

[rough44]

you've added narratives in the patch for displays of uncommon valour?... darn that's so cool. You're gods.