Big Guns, small ships

[Makaer]

My big Surface Combat TF sails into an enemy harbour. He catches sight of a dreaded AG TF and opens fire, starting with the 16 inch main guns. Well that will definately do the job!

But don't my BB's have smaller guns for this very thing? Well they fire those too, and why not fire every thing down to the kitchen sink catapult?

Well, because I have limited ammo! If I have a bombardment TF operating far from home, over an extended period of time, running out of big shells can be a real bad thing (tm). You piss through ammo doing bombardment runs anyhow. So every time I see a 16inch shell smash an AG to bits I feel the enemy's BB's get closer with armor that can ONLY be penetrated by my big guns.


As another tangent, numerous small gun hits on a decent sized ship seems to do very little. CA Kumano lasted through 3 or 4 Surface engagements with my TF of a BB, 2 CA's, 2 CL's and 6 DD's. Nothing smaller than a 6 inch gun hit her. But about 150 6 inch gun hits did not penetrate. My BB's big guns seemed to like popping Kumano's DD escort, so it wasn't until the last engagement when Kumano was all alone did my BB's big guns pound her under the waves.

150 6 inch shells... Good god, the entire crew must be deaf. Anyone who stepped foot on the deck dead. Every 8 feet of the length of the ship would have been struck by a shell. Man.

-Makaer

[panda124c]

Makaer take a look at the USS Arron Ward at Okanawia (I can't spell) after IIRC five kamakazi hits, and still afloat. If you don't poke holes in the hull they will float.

[Makaer]

True enough. And it is asking a bit much of a game to simulate overlapping impacts and armor degredation. Still, a ship taking almost 200 (more added from the final enchagement, when the 16s started kicking in) shells of 6inch + is pretty tough.

Then again, I think I dropped 47 bombs and 5 torbs on Musashi to sink her.

Plus, both these instances the ships were sunk immediately. Had they survived they probably would have limped away and sunk soon after all the same.

-Makaer