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Re: ?
Post by cthia   » Fri Apr 24, 2020 9:52 pm

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submarine warfare




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-End Around (submarine tactic)


wiki wrote:The end around was a World War II submarine tactic used when the position of a submarine (relative to a potential target) did not allow the submarine to mount an immediate attack. The submarine's crew estimated the enemy's bearing, heading, and speed, remaining submerged until out of the enemy's visual range. The submarine then surfaced and proceeded at maximum speed to a position in front of the target, near the target's predicted course but remaining out of view. The submarine would then submerge, approach, and attack.


The location from which a submarine could attack varied mostly according to the relative top speeds of the attacker and its target. Diesel-electric-powered submarines in the Second World War were typically capable of 18-23 knots on the surface under diesel power and up to 9 knots underwater, where they were restricted (if lacking a snorkel) to battery power. Battle fleets in World War II might have a top speed of up to 30 knots, making it difficult for submarines to achieve attack position. A convoy of freighters or tankers typically proceeded at up to 10 knots. Submarines, especially when submerged, were consequently sometimes slower than their prey. Attack opportunities would also be lost if the target detected the submarine and altered course to avoid attack.


Execution

To attack, a sub usually had to get ahead of its target: the end around was one solution to this problem. If a submarine couldn't attack due to unfavorable positioning, its crew determined the target's course and speed, then calculated a potential torpedo firing point. The end around might then proceed as follows.


- A two-attack end around maneuver




. [/img]


1. The submarine attempts an initial attack. If spotted by the target or escorts, the sub then usually submerges.

2. The submarine moves away from the target (to get out of visual range), then surfaces.

3. The submarine proceeds at best speed to overtake and pass the target on a parallel course, using the curvature of the Earth, darkness, and weather events (such as rain, snow, and fog) to stay out of the target's view.

After gaining position ahead of the target, the submarine approaches, readies torpedoes and calculates an optimal attack.

4. The submarine executes the next attack, either while surfaced or submerged.

The process can be repeated as long as the sub is able to do so.

The end around tactic was useful largely because of submarines' low freeboard, which made them less visible than much-taller merchantmen and warships. Using the targets' upperworks and exhaust smoke to estimate and maintain proper distance, a skilled sub commander could maintain a close watch on enemy ships while keeping his own vessel unseen.


Other considerations

A modification to this tactic incorporated the night surface attack, where the submarine remained surfaced. This variation allowed the submarine to take advantage of its higher surface speed during the actual attack, but increased the likelihood of pre-attack detection, which in turn could result in a counterattack by opposing escorts and the targets turning, thus spoiling the attack. Surface attacks could be executed in daylight or to facilitate an attack using the sub's deck gun, again with added risk.

As a defense, ships in wartime can adopt zig-zag sailing patterns rather than practicing more-efficient great-circle navigation. Sailing in zig-zags made computing a target angle more difficult for the submarine crew, especially if the pattern was irregular. Instead of repetitively varying a 90° base course ten degrees either way (80°, 100°, 80°, 100°), a good commander practices irregular course changes: first 80°, then 110°, 95°, 75°, etc. Irregular zig-zagging obscures the target's base course, making interception harder to calculate and complicating the target solution. On the negative side, zig-zags slow a ship's progress to its destination, allowing the sub to overtake more quickly.



- Submarine Approach and Attack Tactics


CAVEAT:
  • The computing behemoth at the core of the LDs is centuries beyond the targeting data computer (TDC), running this ancient state_of-the-art beast.

  • The (TDC) aboard the old sub was state-of-the-art in it's day. But it could only target one ship at a time, with never before dreamt accuracy of success rate of the LD's behemoth.

  • The behemoths are selecting all targets simultaneously. The sitting ducks that are Home Fleet will collectively go BOOM in a perfectly synchronized symphony of explosions.

  • BEWARE: The MA may use their ROOKS (FORTS) in a middle and end game fashion.


In summary: Everyone is trying to apply traditional warship tactics to this enemy. If the GA makes the same mistake -- and a lot of them will -- then they are dead meat.

When submarine warfare first hit the scene, the subs were devastating, The tactics a sub uses are out of the ordinary. The ships had to adjust to a new way of thinking and tactic.


Submarine warfare isn't just a term.

Most of the time this foe has the luxury of sitting in space and devising his plan. Imagine what an NFL quarterback can do with all the time in the world to stand in the huddle and scheme. And plot - vectors. Now consider the opposing team doesn't even know your team is in a huddle and calling the play. The enemy also doesn't know that you've broken out of the huddle and are lining up on the ball. RMN targets is the ball.

Many of you don't realize how devastating the LDs will be. You can't give a computer all the time in the world to plot vectors. With the least number of variables. Any prey that an LD stalks is completely oblivious. Making every launch a success. Completely oblivious means it also isn't maneuvering. Which means it isn't executing evasive maneuvers. The GTs won't even be contested. Point defense won't even fire. That means, if twenty GTs will mission kill an enemy unit, thirty per ship ought to be overkill.

If one of these things gets into your system, you better find it. Because it's going to fuck something up.

If one of these things is in your system you better get it the hell out. Because it is going to fuck something up.

And the enemy doesn't know you're huddling. He thinks you're in the locker room. In your own system.

These things have the ability to make a lot of stuff, be it warships or infrastructure or both. Go. Boom.

These things are a menace to society.
If one slips into your system,
You better find it.

Or your first warning will be . . .

- flaming datum -
ImageImageImage


In Summary: One LD can hit an awful lot of targets by itself. It's opponent doesn't even know it's there. Therefore, the target isn't running, nor is it evading. If an LD is allowed to maneuver into its most optimum firing position - ranging on each ship - its missiles can be perfectly synchronised. Merry Christmas Wesley's. Think of it as Cerberrus all over again, but on steroids. These things are going to garner a much deserved reputation of fear and panic.

They will utilize immensely capable computing behemoths to execute a deadly ballet of synchronized attacks.

MaLign tactics utilize the element of surprise.
surprise = 2 X [force multiplier]

These computers have lots of time. You can't give computers lots of time, and less variables. You can't beat it if you do. Like the electronic chess games.


I have been told that warfare is not a chess match.

TRUE/FALSE

1. Every war is a chess match.
2. All Generals play chess.

If you don't see every battle as a chess match, you've already lost against this opponent.


You are going against Alphas. Every piece belonging to the enemy is an Honor Harrington. Certainly, if you hyper into the shark infested waters at Darius, know that you are up against the many clones of Honor.


Celery: Honor can't do math. That will be a plus against the MA. There will be a lot of variables to compute. The average tactician will be sorely outclassed against an opponent unleashing a brand new tactical warfare onto the Galaxy, using unprecedented computer technology and intervention. Honor won't be able to juggle the math that these behemoths are producing. But neither can any mere mortal. Computers are needed.

However, although Honor can't do math, her kinesthetic sense overcompensates for it. Honor sees the gist of the problem in her head, much faster and efficient than any computer. The computer is juggling algorithms. Honor is juggling concepts. The computer loses by a long shot.


When you're out on exercises, you're in Shark infested waters. It may be better to remain in orbit. LOL





WOLFPACK [[[Tactic]]]

HAPPYImage HUNTING

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
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Re: ?
Post by Loren Pechtel   » Fri Apr 24, 2020 11:42 pm

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cthia wrote:With invisible forts on steroids, these can be placed outside the hyper limit as well. Enemies hyper in right on top of a fort. And don't even know it.


I disagree. There's just too mush space out there to cover with forts like that.
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Re: ?
Post by tlb   » Sat Apr 25, 2020 9:35 am

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cthia wrote:
I have been told that warfare is not a chess match.

TRUE/FALSE

1. Every war is a chess match.
2. All Generals play chess.

If you don't see every battle as a chess match, you've already lost against this opponent.


Chess is a possible way to learn and develop strategy, but poker and other games can also do that.

Differences between war and chess:

At the beginning of a chess game, each side has equal pieces in type and number, in mobility and strength and in positioning. That is almost never true in war.

Each side can see everything being done by the other. That is almost never true in war.

The total number of units on each side can never more than the initial total. Only pawns can be promoted. That is almost never true in war, provided there are resources to draw upon. The number of units can increase and all can be upgraded.

There are only the two opponents. That need not be true in war; look at WW2, there were three parties in the Allies and three parties in the Axis, each with their own plans and strategies.

Each side takes each turn alternately. That is almost never true in war; ever move is a scramble and there can be multiple moves from each party on a side simultaneously.
George Eliot wrote:Fancy what a game of chess would be if all the chessmen had passions and intellects, more or less small and cunning; if you were not only uncertain about your adversary's men, but a little uncertain also about your own; if your knight could shuffle himself on to a new square by the sly; if your bishop, at your castling, could wheedle your pawns out of their places; and if your pawns, hating you because they are pawns, could make away from their appointed posts that you might get checkmate on a sudden. You might be the longest-headed of deductive reasoners, and yet you might be beaten by your own pawns. You would be especially likely to be beaten, if you depended arrogantly on your mathematical imagination, and regarded your passionate pieces with contempt. Yet this imaginary chess is easy compared with the game a man has to play against his fellow-men with other fellow-men for his instruments.
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Re: ?
Post by cthia   » Sat Apr 25, 2020 10:19 am

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submarine warfare



Modern submarine missions

A modern submarine is a multi-role platform. It can conduct both overt and covert operations. In peacetime it can act as a deterrent as well as for surveillance operations and information gathering.

In wartime a submarine can carry out a number of missions including:

  1. Surveillance and information gathering

  2. Communication of data

  3. Landing of special operations forces

  4. Attack of land targets (first cruise missile fired from sub, Gulf War, USS Louisville, Jan 1991)

  5. Protection of task forces and merchant shipping

  6. Denial of sea areas to an enemy

1. LD inserts itself into enemy system and gathers data for months.

2. LD delivers data to Admiralty or to it's newly arriving fleet before attack.

3. Assault troops

4. Attack warships and or infrastructure

5. Protection of own assets. Deadly against enemy convoy and merchant shipping.

6. Prevent or delay enemy movement. Destroy ships emerging from junction.


Brigade XO wrote: They seem to be not inteneded to enter a direct threat enviornment so they are probably designed to stand off, possibly outside the hyper limit of a system, and deploy weapons systems.
On the other hand, for Systems that don't have the capabilites of Manticore, now Beowulf and a few others, one massive LD packed with GTs and other things would be devastating as it could take out the spaceborn infrastructure without exposing itself.

[ ]

Heck, you could have a few ships wandring around blowing up bits of all sorts of systems infrastructure- from vast distances- and force systems to commit resources to a probably futile effort to maintain anything in their systems that wasn't constantly -and probably randomly- changing vectors, orbital distances and speeds. Makes for really really messy operating orbital fabrication and habitat stations.


An LD can easily execute a Scorched Earth policy if need be.

Thinks markedly wrote:And each LD can only fire once. If they fire twice and don't immediately hyper out, the average velocity vector can be calculated. If that point is within a powered missile envelope, the LD is practically doomed. In the 9 minutes it takes the missiles to arrive, the LD can only change its position along the baseline course by 215,000 km, or 360,000 km at emergency acceleration of 250 gravities. All the defenders need to do is bracket the possible locations and they'll likely hit or see a missile taken out by point defence. Either way, that's a third point for the vector calculation and the next missile salvo will be upon them.

Brigade XO wrote:You missed the point of the strengths of the LD's and weapons systems. They don't "fire" things like the Graser Torpedos, they expel them like using a mass driver (no energy flare). Ghosts to gather and compile tracking data at targets that the GTs will eventualy reach under powered flight using spider drives and - if you look back at Oyster Bay- the Sharks launched (don't remember mechanism) the various ballistic packages of weapons to take long trajectories in-system NO IMPELLER WEDGES. So, unless you have something tracking occlusion of stars (etc) or picking up reflected light (from what are probably matt black masked objects) or your weapons run too close to some ship with sensors running that will notice UNPOWERD blocks of metal hurtling in-system, nobody is going to see anything till the explosions start. And, at that point, all the Alighmente ships are probably already exiting the system under spider drive and so won't be noticed.

If you don't know the LD is there, you can't shoot at it and if you don't know the weapons are inbound you can't bring up your defences. One of the problems that Manticore faced even before starting to rebuild was that they were going to have to put anything orbital up there with SHIELDS IN PLACE ALL THE TIME. That is a massive amount of power use and if you are going to use a wedge to do part of that you have to put everything where you can let each discreat orbital object be way far enough from everything elce to probably randomly shift the directdion of where their wedges are oriented. That doesn't begin to deal with the routing of anything moving to or from your stations though some sort of shield maze to eliminate close direct fire.

Kudos again XO! You truly understand these things, don't you?

A lot of people are making that mistake. If ThinksMarkedly's notion comes into play, then something has gone awry for the LD. "Awry" is an alias of the Demon Murphy.

An LD's opening volley is from his most optimum firing positing ranging on all targets simultaneously. There will be no ship left which can track anything.

Jonathan_S wrote:If they launch the huge and slow GTs then yes, the targets are likely going to be unaware they're under attack until the graser smashes into them. But a GT is huge compared to a missile.

The overarching notion is the LDs will be launching the GTs natively. Oh my.

Jonathan_S wrote:If instead, as you seemed to suggest, the Lenny Dets are leaving pods of missiles scattered around then the missiles show up as a unmissable flare on the target's sensors the instant their wedges come online. If you're fighting outside the hyper limit with missiles you need their flight time to be too short for their targets to simply hyper out - and that greatly limits the effective range of the missile. OTOH if you're patient and wait for the target to cross inside the hyper limit you can successfully attack them with missile from much further away because of how long it'd take the target to break back out across the hyper limit. (OTOH missiles from longer range gives the targets more time to get their missile defenses fully spooled up and ready to intercept)

If you're fighting targets that are out beyond the hyper limit (like you suggested the Lenny Dets should) with GTs then flight time is fairly irrelevant; they won't see the GTs coming. However the fact that your targets have 3-4 times the acceleration of your GTs means that unless you've very lucky with their location and vector your torps are likely in for a long stern chase. (Which is, in fact, the tactic I suggested that the Lenny Dets use.)

The stealthy pods are simply another monkey wrench the MA could use to throw in the works. The GTs are the main missile.

As far as a launching pod sending up a flare, I don't think it'd matter if a ship is already damn near on top of the launching pod. The missiles are slow, but they're damn near in your lap when they launch. Swamping your defenses. A GT attack softens or destroys a target first.

The initial launch of an LD will leave no ship in the vicinity to localize the planet, let alone the LD.

Truly imagine the wet subs in WWII with the processing power of an Honorverse computer that is state-of-the-art even for Honorverse computers. Now weld that notion together with Honorverse targeting and accuracy. Honed and patented by the alpha minds of the MALign.

The GA will need time to adjust. To get back on balance. Even then . . .

Let's just say that this opponent is going to winnow the weaker players. Your training will undoubtedly be challenged against this foe. Havenites may die quicker.

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
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Re: ?
Post by ThinksMarkedly   » Sat Apr 25, 2020 12:57 pm

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kzt wrote:[Pods. With delayed activation. You can all go run over to where it was two hours ago. Don’t worry, I’m sure the MAN hasn’t though about how to handle that...


Pods are ballistic if they aren't being tractored. So you can draw a straight line exactly through the point of launch and the exact velocity vector of the launching vessel at the time of launch. The only unknown is which point in that line the launch was.

If that's one hour, the launching platform is within 16 million km of the pod when it fired (assuming emergency acceleration of 250 gravities). If it's 2 hours at 200 gravities, that's 51 million km. If it's 4 hours at 150 gravities, that extends to 152 million km (over 1 AU). And close to that 4-hour mark is also the point where the launching platform could have doubled back or sideways out of the hyper limit.

Those are, however, missiles. The GA can't effectively control and shoot, even with Apollo, over 6 light-minutes away (108 million km), though exact figures aren't known. So the strategy would be for the LD to launch the pods and a couple of Ghosts from very far away, then move out to a rendezvous point, while the Ghosts and the missiles go down the gravity well towards the target. Surviving Ghosts can meet the LD and hyper out.
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Re: ?
Post by ThinksMarkedly   » Sat Apr 25, 2020 1:59 pm

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cthia wrote:Many of you don't realize how devastating the LDs will be. You can't give a computer all the time in the world to plot vectors. With the least number of variables. Any prey that an LD stalks is completely oblivious. Making every launch a success. Completely oblivious means it also isn't maneuvering. Which means it isn't executing evasive maneuvers. The GTs won't even be contested. Point defense won't even fire. That means, if twenty GTs will mission kill an enemy unit, thirty per ship ought to be overkill.


Not evading does not also mean following a predictable course. With over 300 gravities of advantage, a fleet of conventional ships can simply execute those zig-zag manoeuvres you talked about in your post. And in 3D. This is even worse if the fleet has nowhere important to get to, only not be in a predictable position. The LD cannot close to this fleet, period.

In Summary: One LD can hit an awful lot of targets by itself. It's opponent doesn't even know it's there. Therefore, the target isn't running, nor is it evading. If an LD is allowed to maneuver into its most optimum firing position - ranging on each ship - its missiles can be perfectly synchronised. Merry Christmas Wesley's. Think of it as Cerberrus all over again, but on steroids. These things are going to garner a much deserved reputation of fear and panic.


It can only manoeuvre into optimum position to fixed targets (those with predictable orbits), such as mining facilities and planets. Planets are also a possible destination of a fleet, so if the LD waits nearby, it can wait for the fleet to come around and then be in optimum firing position.

But as I've argued, planets are also full of traffic and capital planets even more so. They'll be protected by forts, some of which will have bubblewalls up -- the GA has suffered through Oyster Bay once. And there may be a continuous cover of stealth RDs that could stumble upon the LD.

So no, I don't think the LD can get into optimum firing position. I've argued, again and again, that the only position it can fire from is from very far away.

They will utilize immensely capable computing behemoths to execute a deadly ballet of synchronized attacks.


Are you saying attacks at very distant points? Because that means launching from very far. Would you count that as optimum firing position?

MaLign tactics utilize the element of surprise.
surprise = 2 X [force multiplier]


Sorry, this has been annoying me: why do you capitalise "MaLign" with a capital L and lowercase A? The name is "Mesan Alignment".

You are going against Alphas. Every piece belonging to the enemy is an Honor Harrington. Certainly, if you hyper into the shark infested waters at Darius, know that you are up against the many clones of Honor.


That they are Alphas means less than you think and they are most definitely not Honor Harringtons. None of those Alphas have Harrington's experience, for starters. None of them have the support of tens or hundreds of experienced admirals to draw upon, thus hone their skills. None of them belong to a navy that had been in war footing for half a century and in active wars for the last 18, so none of them have a war-hardened crew.

Second, there's no guarantee that being an Alpha means that much. They may have higher IQ on average, but that could be a hindrance rather than a boon, if they tend to overthink. And besides, does the MAN want officers who think for themselves?

When you're out on exercises, you're in Shark infested waters. It may be better to remain in orbit. LOL


That's the exact opposite of what they should do. Planet aren't ports and inland seas with natural chokeholds. It's much better to be away where space is vast than at a predictable position whose approaches can't be all blocked.
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Re: ?
Post by Brigade XO   » Sat Apr 25, 2020 2:05 pm

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Pods being ballistic is true but not entirely accurate. Pods- at least some of them- have thrusters of various sorts to orient themselves depending on what they are being used for. They are also -some of them- are designed to be placed in what amounts to a minefield or they may be in an orbit relative to something in a system- essentialy ballistic track.

On the other hand, ballistic tends to imply a track including one or more components of a curve. If you put thrust on an object in Earth Orbit, you can make it go to the moon- and hit it- without needeing to do another burn. The thrust doesn't have to be a chemical rocket, you could use a mass-driver.

The ballistic course -in space- depends on the mass of the object, how much force is applied to it and what it interacts with between it's launch and where it is inteneded to go. That's the simple version. So you may- probalby do- have some thruster capasity on pods/ballistic weapons launched by an LD. That would be to orient the pod/weapon in the final approch phase. Thrusters such as Honor used at Cerebus work- no heat or electronic signature there.

So lets say your have plotted all your targets and your delivery ships are out at the positon of Neptune and most of your targets are around Earth but there are some around Mars- which could be on the other side of the Sun from Earth. You have your targets present location (s) speed, orbital path relative to the planet it orbits. You have a great deal of control over how fast you are moving and the changes of vector. You know the weights of your various weapons packages and the maximum energy you can impart to them using non-chemical forces. Then you do the calculations---tricky- and you have to take into account the graviational effects of at least the other major bodies in the system. So you sort that all out and then start launching you packages. Once you are done, they SHOULD all reach thier intended targets -at really really close to the same time. Lets say you were, at and thrugh the time of launch, in a very long orbit in the system, not doing anyting except adding whaterver offsets to your ship to counteract the effects of the launches.
From one LD, that would put the launch points across a relativly short arc of that orbit. It will take -if you are dealing with things as they were in Oyster Bay, more than a month for the packages to get where they were going. On long and possibly somewhat sinuous courses at differing speeds.
Does the defender know how fast the weapons packages were traveling when they opened fire? How do you draw a projected incoming trajectory back across the system from where the weapons opened fire/launched missiles at minimum arming interlock (or none depending on other things) range.
Is it likely that the LD is going to stay in either that launching orbit? You can figure out where they were probably at a month or more ago when the weapons were launched and then "fell" in system. And if the LD added even 1kps acclereation (using spider drive mind you) and changed vectors? Where the hell is it in a month? Particlarly if it applied that acceleration directly the shortest distance to the hyperlimit?
So the LD is likely long gone.
What is left of your SDF is going to be really busy trying to find something that hasn't been there for a long time.
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Re: ?
Post by ThinksMarkedly   » Sat Apr 25, 2020 2:16 pm

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cthia wrote:As far as a launching pod sending up a flare, I don't think it'd matter if a ship is already damn near on top of the launching pod. The missiles are slow, but they're damn near in your lap when they launch. Swamping your defenses. A GT attack softens or destroys a target first.


There's no way a pod can be "upon" them outside the hyperlimit. If we define "upon" them at less than 1 minute of missile flight time, the incoming force needs to be within 2.3 million km of the pod cluster. Just to cover the hyperlimit on the ecliptic plane, you need 1100 clusters. Then remember this needs to be a 3D deployment, so it can catch incoming ships that translate outside the ecliptic and away from the hyperlimit. Each of these clusters also needs to be sufficiently powerful to overwhelm the incoming force. That's at least 10 million pods. And I could be low by one or two orders of magnitude.

And they need to be periodically rotated. That means maintenance ships out and about, probably using impeller wedges that will show up brightly on the invading force's scanners, hinting at them that there's something unseen.

The initial launch of an LD will leave no ship in the vicinity to localize the planet, let alone the LD.


Except any that had wedges up and the forts that had bubblewalls up. There's no need for sidewalls, just keep the ships rotating on their longitudinal axes and keep varying that rate of rotation randomly. The GTs would need to achieve up the kilt or down the throat firing solutions on those ships. That means spreading them in all directions around the planet. That increases chances of detection before firing, which will bring all defences up.

The GA will need time to adjust. To get back on balance. Even then . . .

Let's just say that this opponent is going to winnow the weaker players. Your training will undoubtedly be challenged against this foe. Havenites may die quicker.


Yes, the GA will need to adjust and will need the time to do it The weaker players will suffer the most. Though there's no indication that the largest economy and biggest navy component of the GA is the weaker player.
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Re: ?
Post by Jonathan_S   » Sat Apr 25, 2020 2:27 pm

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cthia wrote:
wiki wrote:The end around was a World War II submarine tactic used when the position of a submarine (relative to a potential target) did not allow the submarine to mount an immediate attack. The submarine's crew estimated the enemy's bearing, heading, and speed, remaining submerged until out of the enemy's visual range. The submarine then surfaced and proceeded at maximum speed to a position in front of the target, near the target's predicted course but remaining out of view. The submarine would then submerge, approach, and attack.


The location from which a submarine could attack varied mostly according to the relative top speeds of the attacker and its target. Diesel-electric-powered submarines in the Second World War were typically capable of 18-23 knots on the surface under diesel power and up to 9 knots underwater, where they were restricted (if lacking a snorkel) to battery power. Battle fleets in World War II might have a top speed of up to 30 knots, making it difficult for submarines to achieve attack position. A convoy of freighters or tankers typically proceeded at up to 10 knots. Submarines, especially when submerged, were consequently sometimes slower than their prey. Attack opportunities would also be lost if the target detected the submarine and altered course to avoid attack.


Execution

To attack, a sub usually had to get ahead of its target: the end around was one solution to this problem. If a submarine couldn't attack due to unfavorable positioning, its crew determined the target's course and speed, then calculated a potential torpedo firing point. The end around might then proceed as follows.

Tactics are driving by technical capabilities. The US Gato-class subs frequently utilized this end around tactic because
a) The Japanese anti-submarine forces have very limited sensor range (mostly hydrophones and human eyes; radar was rare throughout the war) and very rarely had patrol aircraft supporting them. So it was very easy to slip beyond their sensor horizon and run on the surface without detection

b) The Gato class had a significant speed advantage over the convoys they stalked. A Gato class was capable of 21 knots on the surface. Using just the North Atlantic convoys (because I'm having trouble finding speeds for the Japanese ones, they were organized into slow 8 knot convoys and fast 13 knot ones. Either way a 21 knot speed allows you to repossession in a reasonable amount of time.

c) The Gato class had very long range (11,000 nm at 10 knots), and therefore at routing patrol distance could still afford hours of full speed running without risking fuel shortage.

d) The Japanese convoys were lightly escorted so they rarely could detach an escort to hunt a detected submarine and at least keep it from surfacing.


The end around was far rarer by the German u boats.
The most common u boat, the type VIIC was slower, just 17.7 knots, faced far longer ranged and more numerous sensors and escorts; so was rarely able to quickly surface and try to work back around ahead of the convoy. It usually got a later start as it'd have to evade or out wait a detached escort or patrol plane, and once started would take longer to overhaul, given its lower speed. It was also shorter ranged and couldn't afford to spend as much time at the fuel guzzling top speed as a Gato (which was unfortunate as with it's lower top speed it would of course take more time to get ahead of the convoy)


As for attempting to apply that particular sub tactic to spider ships. Well they're not going to end around anything. Fortunately they don't need to "surface" to run at full acceleration. And at reasonable ranges they don't need to worry about detection while doing so. Unfortunately, even their acceleration level (normally maxing about about 150 gees) is no faster that common merchants (and slower than the smaller ones). They can't do and end run for the simple reason that they're, at best, only as quick than their targets.

The flip side however, is that their sensors are vastly longer ranged than even the best WWII radar. So if they're somewhere in the ahead arc of a target (for example happen to be lurking in more or less the correct area of the hyper limit) they can use their slower accel to move laterally to where their target will pass close enough to get one ambush shot of. But once the target pulls out of range the Spider ship isn't going to be able to run it down.


Now I agree that a spider drive warship's best tactic is ambush attacks - just like submarines. But you can't assume that all tactics a submarine used are applicable to spider drive warships (they're not even applicable to all submarines).
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Re: ?
Post by Jonathan_S   » Sat Apr 25, 2020 2:42 pm

Jonathan_S
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tlb wrote:There are only the two opponents. That need not be true in war; look at WW2, there were three parties in the Allies and three parties in the Axis, each with their own plans and strategies.
Even that's an oversimplification of WWII, even if you count the various British Dominions as part of the UK effort - with Canada and Australia contributing significant naval forces and those and others providing significant army forces.

You're leaving out China as a fairly large ally (though admittedly mostly tied up with being occupied or defending the not yet occupied portions of the country). But the US in particular supported it informally prior to the US declaration of war, and supported it as a base for action against Japan afterwards (though that didn't work out as well as hoped). Still there was a lot of Japanese Army and Army aircraft tied down there, and the need to move supplies between China and the Home Islands exposed a lot of Japanese convoys to US submarine attack.

At the beginning you had Poland and France, later the Netherlands, Norway, Greece, and Yugoslavia. Even after each fell or signed an armistice there were various free Polish, French, Dutch, Greek, and Norwegian forces continuing to fight with the Allies. Then various South American and Caribbean countries also signed on - though admittedly being fairly minor contributors. Italy ended up switching sides to the Allies after being partially occupied.

But the Axis side was more complicated too. In addition to Germany, Italy, Japan, they also had Finland (against the Soviets), Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. And to the extent it helped, after the armistice, Vichy France.
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