The Bizarre 'Tee Up' Scenario

[fitzpatv]

Can't say I was impressed by the 'Tee Up' scenario, which I played today. It is 1971 and the Soviets take advantage of US embroilment in Vietnam to try to base a Golf-Class ballistic missile sub in Cuba (hence the name). The Americans decide to sink it and risk a war (extreme even for Richard Nixon) and the Soviets are equally prepared to shoot first and ask questions later. This much we can 'forgive' for the sake of a game.

As the US, you have 3 subs and must wait for the Golf to enter an exclusion zone, then sink her. The Russians have other subs, a cruiser/destroyer ASW task force and several helicopters.

There is basically no defence against ASW choppers in this game unless your subs have air and/or surface cover. You can only hope to remain hidden...but the enemy know you'll be in the exclusion zone at some point and sow it liberally with sonobuoys (they used 288 in the playthrough). Your subs are superior to their counterparts but lack the long-distance weapons to take advantage of having long-range sonar, being limited to torpedoes with a range of 4nm.

I tried approaching the exclusion zone and covering all the approaches with interlocking passive sonar (helped by having the technology to spot the sonobuoys). Unfortunately, the Golf somehow slipped through undetected and I got a message saying I had scored 100 points for allowing it to reach the zone. Saved the game at this point.

Closed in a bit more, just in case the Golf was hanging around in the zone instead of going into port, but still couldn't detect it. Without warning, a torpedo appeared behind one of my subs, which was motionless, just below the layer and nowhere near a sonobuoy. The torpedo originated in my active sonar arc...

A hopeless scenario and impossible to win? Not at all! I went back to my save, retreated all three subs well SW of Cuba and ran down the clock. The result? A Minor Victory with +100 points!!!

So, the optimum strategy here is to DO NOTHING and guarantee a win. I guess it avoids a war. Hmmmmm.

[KungPao]

There was an AAR on Chinese CMANO forum , it is in Chinese language but the screenshot can be helpful

http://toaw.org/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=24219

so it is winnable.

[fitzpatv]

I was actually able to translate the article using Google tools but, ironically, I couldn't view the screenshots. Anyway, the essence of it seems to be that I overestimated the Soviet detection capability and that only active sonobuoys can detect a sub below the layer in 1971, so be bold and operate accordingly. On this basis, though, it was quite a feat for the Russians to find one of my subs below the layer, with no emissions, motionless at a random location in mid-ocean outside the 'kill zone'.

I may give it another go.

[Randomizer]

Where is this scenario to be found?

-C

[fitzpatv]

It's in the original set of Standalone scenarios.

Just gave it another couple of tries. The first time, I was detected outside the kill zone and lost a sub before I could blink. Put this down to not having switched-off all the sub's sensors as I'd thought I had (didn't uncheck the manual control box) and started again.

This time, I sent a couple of subs into the kill zone, just below the layer and with no sensors on, avoiding cavitation. Again, one was speedily picked-up and attacked with a torpedo. Thankfully, it missed and, checking the type, I discovered that it was ineffective below 656'. Great, I thought, sending all subs as deep as possible. Unfortunately, just as I picked-up a Soviet SSN on passive sonar, I was attacked again, this time using a Silex missile, which has no depth restriction. This weapon was used to sink two of my subs and there seems no way to avoid detection.

As an experiment, I surfaced the third sub at a safe-ish distance so that I could at least see where the enemy were. In this way, I learned that radar has a longer range on the surface than it has at periscope depth. This revealed two ships, one of them a Kresta-class cruiser. Just for the hell of it, I submerged to periscope depth and tried to attack it, but stood no chance and, after evading a couple of missiles and torpedoes by tearing around at flank speed, was sunk before I could get into range. This, at least, seemed fair enough, as I'd only acted out of frustration and got what I deserved.

The question is, is there any way of keeping a submarine hidden against sonobuoys, sonar and ASW choppers, as I've yet to work one out?

[Gunner98]

I find hiding in the layer works best if in a tight spot - you're somewhat blind but much harder to find. There is a series of Sub tutorials that help a lot because working your subs is the hardest aspect of the game I think.

[fitzpatv]

Are these tutorials in Silent Service (which I don't have)?

[Gunner98]

Are these tutorials in Silent Service (which I don't have)?

I think they're part of the base game. Not sure, they were tested on the Scenario forum.