cthia wrote:Nice analysis Theemile. You even touched on some of the possible considerations inferred by Honor's statement...It was too good a way to fritter away a numerical advantage and invite defeat in detail, especially if your timing screwed up...
However, in that instance GA ships were attempting to execute the maneuver against their own ships — against whom they had no advantage in accel or missile performance.
It is a tactic that I'd think was exclusively available to an RMN fleet going head-to-head against the Peeps or the SLN, because of...
1) the advantage in accel.
2) the advantage in missile ranges.
Although timing would still be a concern, it would be less of a problem to overcome because of the difference in accel and missile performance.
Which, of course, typifies the concerns regarding the need of the elements of an order of battle to be mercilessly drilled to get niggling little things down as timing, before considered to be a fully integrated unit.
Johnathan_S wrote:Up until the existence of podlayers rather rendered the method moot the acceleration and missile advantage that Manticore enjoyed over Haven was a matter of degrees rather than a massive advantage. (Since MDMs weren't available yet either)
The best accel improvement I can recall before the Harrington-class SD(P)s were laid down was about 15%. In an SD that translates to about a 50g difference (assuming both are running at the same safety rating). If, as the Peeps tended to do, they were willing to run a 10% margin, as opposed to the RMN's 20% that difference shrinks to 8g.
It's enough to ensure that they can't run away from you, but not enough to prevent them from lunging towards one of your sub-formations and enjoying a non-trivial period of local superiority. (Then they can attempt to roll wedge against your other formation and break for the hyper limit)
It's hard to pin them down and prevent them from doing that.
Also, splitting up your formations makes your initial towed pod salvos less effective because dispersing them drastically reduces their ability to simply swamp the enemies defenses and inflict that crucial first salvo damage. That's what softens up their defenses for the rest of the missile duel.
Splitting up like that does provide more angles to attack them from; should you manage to hold them in range of both formations simultaneously, but it reduces your opening towed pod effectiveness, disperses your defenses, and risks getting one formation engaged in detail.
Now splitting up if you can combine it with surprise (a 2nd formation sneaking around at low accel under stealth; or dropping out of hyper within weapons range) can be devastating if it works. (As it almost did against Hamish that one time; 1st Nightengale (?)) But most of the time, if the enemy can see you doing it, it just adds risks without much potential of improved reward.
Thanks for another nice analysis, and spot on I'm sure. I also think that the 'Age of Apollo' makes the tactic unnecessary. It's just that I don't recall any tactical, offensive uses of the accel advantage.
