WesWorld

The Gulf of Paria, Wednesday, 13 September 1949, Night (2)

The contact reports from the French cruisers’ scout planes were relayed to Rollmann, who ordered a minor course change to intercept the oncoming Blue Fleet. In the gun turrets and magazines precautions were taken to assure that only practice ammunition was available; in fire direction control centres the necessary offsets were rechecked. Under conditions as close to war-like as could be simulated the four cruisers sailed onward, their active electronic systems on standby, their passive systems straining to detect any stray emissions from their Blue Fleet opponents.

*****

Falkeon received the report of aircraft contacts from the Phoenix and wondered what they meant. Had Rollmann risked a night launch of scout aircraft? Should he risk such an attempt himself? He ordered search planes readied on both the Andromeda and the Hades, to launch as soon as possible.

*****

Aboard the Red Fleet cruisers the passive electronic systems began to register the emissions from the Blue task force; as the moments ticked by these grew stronger. Rollmann would be cutting things close.

“Signal the task force – Port Twenty – prepare to open fire. Signal our scouts – Illuminate!”


*****

The crews of the Andromeda and the Hades were attempting to ready their scouting aircraft in the darkness when suddenly the sky above was lit by parachute flares, casting a ghostly glow over the Blue task force. The emission of ‘hostile’ radars were detected on the screens of each of the major ships, but these were too quickly followed by the arrival of the first shells fired by Rollmann’s oncoming cruisers.

The umpires aboard each participating vessel were hard pressed to follow the sequence of salvos and the damage theoretically inflicted. Falkeon ordered his screening destroyers to close and launch torpedoes while the heavy guns on Andromeda, Hades, and Phoenix sought to find the range. Parachute flares from the French seaplanes above continued to light up the Blue task force while the Red squadron stood off in darkness. Rollmann ordered his main batteries to concentrate on Blue cruisers while trying to drive off the Blue destroyers with their secondaries. ‘Damage reports’ – determinations by the referees – flowed into the combat information centres on all the ships. The Leipzig was ‘struck’ by a torpedo and her speed slowed but she was able to continue the fight. Attacker and Arbiter were ‘smothered’ by hits from all four Red Fleet cruisers and driven off with ‘heavy damage’. The initial broadsides from the Amiral Charner and the Duguay-Trouin had found their mark, scoring numerous ‘hits’ on Hades and Phoenix, while the two flagships slugged it out for a considerable period.

I'm confused, if all three cruisers have identical sensors why is only Phoenix getting air radar returns? It sounds like she is the farthest from the Blue squadron when they arrive. It also appears that the Atlantean ships are either not using their own surface detection radars or they are ineffective.

The Gulf of Paria, Wednesday, 13 September 1949, Night (3)

Astern of the main task force the four destroyers under Capitán De Angulo drove eastward, aware that they would encounter the two Chilean destroyers that had caused such problems for the Blue forces. The Chilean vessels were the latest class to enter service, and De Angulo was aware of their strengths and weaknesses – as he did those of his own ships. On paper his four destroyers would be more than a match than the two Red fleet units; but he knew Peralta. The Chilean captain was experienced and crafty, and while Peralta’s ships might carry fewer guns that the four San Roque-class units De Angulo was sorely aware that the Chilean ships carried more, and reportedly better, radar equipment. He would have to plan the encounter carefully.

Knowing the general operating characteristics of the Chilean equipment, De Angulo ordered the destroyer San Pablo to concentrate on attempting to jam the frequencies the Red destroyers were likely to use. He then slowed his ships to twenty knots and ordered them into a line abreast so as to have maximum forward fire when the two groups made contact; thereafter his ships could manoeuvre based upon the tactical situation. He of course made certain that all safety precautions were taken. Though it might cost him some of the element of surprise, the need to locate and prevent the Red destroyers from joining the battle now raging to the west demanded that his ships activate their radar, and hopefully confuse those of their foes.

*****

From his place on the bridge of the Capitan Martinez Peralta could see the sky-glow on the western horizon, revealing that Kommodore Rollmann had put his plan into operation. Unfortunately the encounter with the Blue motor torpedo boats had delayed their arrival, yet he hoped that by appearing in the rear of the Blue squadron the balance might be tipped in the Red squadron’s favour.

“Status?”

The electronics officer frowned. “Cactus/5 and Nalca are picking up signals ahead of us, and someone is trying to jam our transmissions.”

“Moselle?” Peralta had much faith in the French-built unit.

“Four targets, course 010 relative, distance ten kilometres, speed twenty knots and closing.”

The Chilean crews were recalled to their battle stations and Peralta ordered a course change to challenge the Blue ships.

*****

De Angulo listened to the running commentary from his radar operators and from his lookouts. While the latter could not yet make out the darkened shape of the oncoming Red destroyers his radars were beginning to pick up returns from their opponents. The quartet of Colombian destroyers continued to close the distance; and it seemed as to De Angulo that his plans to blunt the Chilean advantage in radar was working.

“Range to targets eight kilometres. Targets changing course! Target one manoeuvring to port, target two manoeuvring to starboard.”

Peralta had spotted them before his own ships could get a proper fix on their targets. “All ships starboard twenty. Flank speed! Open fire as your guns bear!”

*****

The Chilean destroyers began to manoeuvre independently, aggressively, tactics the Chilean crews had long practiced. Their object was to throw off their opponent’s fire control solutions to negate the Blue destroyers’ advantages in weight of fire while maximizing that of their own. The semi-automatic 13cm guns on the Munoz Gamero and the Martinez were judged to score the first hits on the San Luis and the San Fernando but the weight of fire from the four Blue destroyers soon began to tell. The combat resolved into a veritable knife-fight, with the destroyers’ secondary guns engaging as well. A torpedo was judged to have struck the Munoz Gamero, leaving her dead in the water, with the San Roque and the San Fernando closing to ‘finish her off’ with gunfire. The Martinez, judged to have taken major but not crippling damage, sailed past the Blue destroyers and delivered a ‘Parthian shot’ from her after battery that the umpires scored as a hit on the steering gear of the San Pablo, crippling her until repairs could be made. All in all the engagement had lasted no more than four minutes.

Peralta received the initial report from the umpires with some chagrin; he had hoped to have done more ‘damage’ in the encounter, but at least his own ship had escaped. De Angulo, for his part, considered the crippling of the San Pablo and the damage scored to his other ships an acceptable price to pay for eliminating half of the Red destroyer force.

Yikes! Knife-fight in a telephone booth! Good stuff. :)

Good stuff indeed!