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AndrewJ -> RE: New Scenario for Testing Reverse Bastion, 1989 (12/25/2021 3:23:06 AM)
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Well, there's an American carrier deep in Ofotfjord, visiting Narvik, and we're supposed to do something about it. We've got a mini-sub deep in the fjord, near one of the forts, who's dropped off a Spetznaz team to keep a watch on the passage. Out to sea, we've got a neophyte Victor, a mine-carrying Kilo, and a Charlie with a damaged sonar near the mouth of the fjord. We've got about a day to position ourselves before hostilities are anticipated, and then a day to kill the carrier before it can move out to sea.
As the mission starts, our three main subs head ENE up into the fjord. The Kilo's snorkelling for the moment, and the two nukes are cruising in the layer just below cavitation speed. The mini-sub heads into the main passage of the fjord, briefly spotting an Oslo frigate patrolling the passage further west near Offersoy. This doesn't bother the mini-sub, which turns east instead, and heads for the narrows near Fort Tjeldoy, which seem to be the only places shallow enough to lay his two mines. Getting there early in the morning, he settles on the bottom to wait.
Meanwhile, the Spetznaz team has sent in spotting reports for several of the carrier escorts (including a Knox and a Spruance, both excellent ASW escorts), but oddly there is no sign of the carrier itself. At 0400Z they start seeing ASW helicopters lifting off from the escorts, and around 0600Z they start seeing carrier aircraft, including S-3s. The snorkelling Kilo picks up their radar emissions, and prudently decides it's time to pull in the snorkel. A couple of hours later they stick up a mast, detect some P-3s, and hastily pull it down again.
As the day proceeds, the subs pick up numerous active sonobuoys being laid in the fjord, and do their best to pick their way between them. There are numerous schools of fish, and passing civilian ships, but there is no sign of enemy warships until mid-afternoon, when the Victor picks up the sound of the Oslo, patrolling back and forth across the fjord and banging away on active sonar. The Victor approaches cautiously, and at first seems to be unnoticed, but then the Oslo turns out of line and heads west towards our sub at high speed. The Victor goes deep and hurries away at higher speed, while the Oslo pursues for 8 or 9 miles, before turning back to its patrol.
As evening arrives, the Victor is slowly patrolling the north side of the fjord, occasionally picking up the Oslo's sonar to confirm it's still there. The Kilo is sitting on the south side of the fjord, deliberately grounded on a shallow bank. The Charlie is further west lurking in an inlet on the south side of the fjord, biding its time.
At 2200Z the confirmation order comes. Hostilities will commence in an hour! Our little mini-sub rises off the bottom, lays its two mines in the only bit of shallow water in the passage, and then moves east of them. It has one torpedo, and if a minesweeper comes along, it's for him.
At 2300Z the Charlie and the Victor come to periscope depth, and the Victor sends the position of the Oslo to the Charlie. The Oslo's got Sea Sparrows in an octuple launcher, and if it sees the incoming missiles it's got a good chance of shooting them down, so the Charlie fires a salvo of four. (No point in saving them for the Americans - they'd never get through the Tico's defences.) Sadly for the Oslo, they don't see them coming in time. The first missile hits amidships and tears the frigate in two. The other three missiles continue blindly along the fjord drawing some fire from the Americans before they run out of fuel. The Charlie prudently decides to relocate, and heads for the north side of the fjord. The Victor advances deeper into the fjord to the east.
At 0120Z the Spetznaz team excitedly reports that they've spotted the carrier! The Forrestal has emerged from the Narvik docks, and is headed west. An hour later, the lurking mini-sub pokes up its periscope and spots The Pharris directly ahead of it in the narrows, and the Forrestal passing alongside the sub (!!) turning south into a side bay. One torpedo won't kill the Forrestal, but eliminating the Knox will certainly help the other subs, so the torpedo is fired snapshot forward, and after two passes at the Nixie it finally hits the Knox. The blast cripples the frigate, which limps away listing and burning fiercely, while the mini-sub blurts out a frantic spotting report and tries to hide in the shallows.
While the mini-sub does it's best to pretend it's a rock, much to the consternation of searching helicopters, the burning Knox drifts into the channel and onto one of the two mines. The thunderous explosion tears the bow off the crippled ship, and it sinks within moments. Meanwhile the carrier has somehow managed to thread the tiny gap amongst the awash rocks between Barroya and Valle, alone and without escorts. This dodges the last remaining mine, but puts the Forrestal right in front of the advancing Victor. The first salvo of four torpedoes is fired at point blank range, hitting three times, and gradually slowing the carrier, until the next four arrive to a few minutes later and finish the job. The Forrestal rolls over and gradually dives to the bottom of the fjord, while the celebrating Victor, completely out of anti-shipping torpedoes, heads for the Atlantic.
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