Tailhook
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After reading multiple AARs of this scenario, I wanted to try my hand at it (I'm earlier in the Campaign). Micromanagement heavy scenarios are some of my favorite, and the added nuclear naval strike was a bonus. Besides of course the horrendous stakes and loss of thousands of UK citizens prior to this scenario necessitating the strike, that is.
Launched my fighter screen first, supported by the Gannett AEW aircraft to support them. My plan was to send my strikes along the Norwegian/Finnish border with the USSR due to lighter SAM concentrations there. In order to facilitate this, the Phantom squadron flew over water to the East, making as much electromagnetic noise as possible. Meanwhile, my strikers flew directly south, skimming the wavetops before reaching radar range from the USSR.
The initial bait worked, with a large amount of PVO interceptors climbing to meet my Phantoms. Here I did not micromanage, and for 48 Sparrows fired my Phantoms walked away with only 8 kills for 2 losses. They seemed to not want to hold their lock with the Sparrow, with many, many of them going off blind. Not sure if this was a bug, but either way, the kill count was lower than it should have been. But the plan worked.
My Buccaneer bombers, weaving between hills at the Norwegian/USSR border were undetected until appearing low on the radar scopes of the border radar and SAM stations. 8 SEAD loaded aircraft led the nuclear strikers by 50 miles. One after another Martel ARM missiles carved a path. The PVO didn't wait long to reach the area, but were unable to engage without any lookdown/shootdown radars or missiles. I split my SEAD aircraft into 4 pairs, with 2 each headed to the primary targets of Severomorsk and Olenegorsk. These aircraft were able to neutralize many more SAM and radars along the way, including, crucially, the SA-3 batteries at each airfield which posed the highest threat to low flying strikers. In exchange, 3 of the SEAD aircraft were lost when SU-15 Flagons arrived with the ability to engage them down low.
With a temporary hole carved as the Flagons chased the SEAD aircraft and no working SAM sites up, my two pairs of strikers, screamed in to their targets. The first pair, Immortal 81, were picked up by an SU-15 doing everything it could to keep pace. At the last second, the pair of bombers pitched up to 1000' AGL to release their payload in laydown mode. Descending on a parachute, the Fleet Air Arms accuracy did not disappoint as one bomb each landed within 200' of the runway at Severomorsk. After a moments pause to give the launching aircaft a chance to escape, twin suns burst forth on the airbase home to a large portion of the Soviet Naval bomber and Reconnaissance fleet. It was 29 seconds after 8:51 (Local) on September 26, 1975. Over 40,000 people lived in the nearby city, home to the Russian Northern Fleet. Few would escape injury, most would be dead within days if they weren't already. The lone Su-15 pilot in pursuit of the attackers was himself vaporized. Immortal 81 kept the fireball to their back so as to not be blinded while flying low, but just two minutes later another pair of flashes lit the horizon farther south.
The effects of the strike on Severomorsk can be seen here
Immortal 82 had split from 81 ten minutes previously, pushing south to Olenegorsk. Unopposed or undetected by the PVO, the jets broke windows in the city as they buzzed the railway station as a final visual checkpoint. Once more, the bombs were released in perfect synchronization, and these landed within 150 feet of the Bomber base runway. The resulting 450 kt blasts erased all life on the base. The citizens of Olenegorsk faired a little better than their counterparts to the North. The city was far enough away to avoid most blast damage, although severe and horrible burns, as well as blindness, were extremely commonplace throughout the city which had a lakeside view at the destruction of the airbase.
The effects of the strike on Olenegorsk can be seen here.
Immortal 82 and 81 rejoined 75 miles to the west, dodging the few PVO patrols still searching without GCI help. They flew low all the way past the Norwegian coast before climbing up to save gas, landing on the Ark Royal 3 hours after takeoff.
The mission had called for 80% casualties. Instead, just 5 of 24 aircraft had been shot down, although all aircrew who ejected (be they Buccaneers over land or Phantoms over sea) were lost when the Soviets, reeling from the strikes, were not in a merciful mood. Within 24 hours, over 60,000 Soviet Citizens would be dead.
Triumph
Your final score is: 2000
SIDE: Soviet Union
===========================================================
LOSSES:
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4x Yak-28P Firebar
3x Su-15MF Flagon D
2x Tu-128 Fiddler A
6x Radar (Thin Skin A HF [PRV-9])
5x Radar (Spoon Rest C [P-12])
6x Vehicle (Flat Face B [P-19])
22x SA-3b Goa Quad Rail
22x SA-7a Grail [9K32 Strela-2] MANPADS
8x Vehicle (Low Blow [SNR-125])
3x Vehicle (Spoon Rest C [P-12])
13x SA-2f Guideline Mod 1/2 Single Rail
3x Vehicle (Fan Song F [RSNA-75M])
1x Radar (Back Net [P-80])
1x Building (Odd Pair HF [PRV-13])
2x Radar (Bar Lock A [P-37])
1x Radar (Flat Face A [P-15])
2x Runway (4000m)
2x Single-Unit Airfield (1x 3201-4000m Runway)
EXPENDITURES:
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7x AA-3 Anab C [R-98R, SARH]
12x AA-5 Ash A [R-4R, SARH]
4x AA-3 Advanced Anab E [R-98MR, SARH]
33x SA-3b Goa [5V27, V-601P]
7x AA-8 Aphid [R-60T]
8x SA-5b Gammon [5V28, 25kT Nuclear]
6x SA-2f Guideline Mod 1 [S-75M2 Volkhov, 5YA23 / V-759]
SIDE: NATO
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LOSSES:
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2x Phantom II FG.1
3x Buccaneer S.2D
EXPENDITURES:
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48x AIM-7E2 Sparrow III
4x AIM-9D Sidewinder
28x AS.37 Martel [ARM]
4x WE.177 Type B [400kT Nuclear]
< Message edited by Tailhook -- 9/24/2017 8:22:40 AM >
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