Naval War playtest Battle Report 2: Carrier Clash

Time for another test game of Naval War.

Since my first game, I've played a couple of additional games using the same forces, including against one of my local players.

With a couple of cruiser battles under my belt and a shiny new Shoukaku miniature painted, I felt it was time to try some air operations.

The rules for aircraft are still in a somewhat rougher state at the moment, but after some quick clarifications by the designer I knew enough to get started.

I went with another solo game for this.

The scenario is pretty simple: two carriers (each with a small destroyer escort) have become aware of each other's presence. Aircraft are scrambled and battle is joined!

Both sides are using forces from the Coral Sea Order of Battle.

I would start using just air attacks, maybe trying for a surface engagement if I felt one side or the other had good odds there.

US force: 

USS Yorktown, carrying:

-Air group: 3 F4F Wildcat fighter flights, 6 SBD Dauntless dive-bomber flights, 3 TBD Devastator torpedo bomber flights

3 Sims-class destroyers (1 squadron containing USS Morris, USS Hammann, USS Anderson)

IJN force:

Shoukaku, carrying:

-Air group: 3 A6M2 Zero fighter flights, 4 D3A Val dive-bomber flights, 5 B5N2 Kate torpedo bomber flights

3 Fubuki-class destroyers (1 squadron containing Akebono, Sazanami, Ushio)

Deployment:

Both sides in the corners, ready to just move in parallel with the board edges.

DD Squadrons in front of the carriers, within AA range.

The US force.

The IJN force.

Turn 1:

4 orders, 2 disruption each.

USN wins initiative, has IJN go first.

Direct activations:

Shoukaku and Yorktown advance at flank speed to get within striking range of the enemy CV.

Shoukaku launches a strike of 4 Val dive-bomber flights, with one Zero flight as an escort. Another Zero flight is set up as CAP.

Yorktown's captain takes a gamble and launches all six of his Dauntless dive-bomber flights. He hopes he'll be able to launch fighters before the IJN strikeforce is on him next turn.

Indirect activations:

The IJN commander has an issue: the Dauntless strike force is blocking the only flight path for an attack on Yorktown next turn and they might engage his craft in a dogfight.

The strike group is moved to engage on turn 3 instead.

The Dauntless force goes straight for the Shoukaku, moving into position to attack next turn. However, the flight of Zeroes on CAP decides they won't have any of that.

The Zero flight goes for the unescorted bombers.

In a dogfight, both sides roll 1d6 and add their dogfight score.
This is +3 for a Zero flight (red die) and +1 for the Dauntlesses (blue die).
In the first battle, the zeroes win (9 vs 6) but fail to destroy the enemy (that requires your result to at least double that of the enemy), only driving them off.

A second flight is also engaged and driven off.
However, aircraft run out of ammunition/fuel after two intercepts.

Therefore, the Zeroes need to break off as well.
However, they've significantly reduced the threat of the US strike group here.

At the end of the turn, the exhausted CAP pilots would like to land (they're close enough to the carrier for that) but cannot, since so much time was already spent launching the IJN strike group.

Turn 2:

4 orders, 2 disruption each.

USN win initiative, elect to go first.

Direct activations:

The remaining Dauntlesses launch their attack. Shoukaku takes evasive action (halving enemy hits) despite some disruptive issues.

As the bombers swoop in, the AA and dual-purpose guns on the Shoukaku and the trio of Fubuki's opens up, launching 11 dice of fire against the enemy (divided evenly, so 3 shots against 3 flights and 2 shots against the final one) and needing 5s to hit. Each flight gets hit once, forcing all of them to break off.

The bark of all that AA fire turns out to be worse than its bite, though, as three of the four Dauntless flights pass their saves, needing a 3+. They could have pressed the attack, but that had a 1/3 chance of failure through disruption, which would have cost them two more flights of aircraft. The US side decided not to risk it.

The US launch a single flight of Wildcats to defend themselves, so they can still recover all of the returning Dauntlesses this turn.

The IJN force decides to be more active with their air operations. They launch 4 flights of Kate torpedo bombers and a new flight of Zeroes to act as air cover. This also leaves room to recover the previous CAP flight at the end of the turn.

Indirect activations:

All of the US and IJN vessels simply move forward in formation, nothing special happening.

US air assets move. The Wildcat CAP remains with its ship while the Dauntlesses move to return. The Zero CAP elects not to intercept.

The IJN air assets move, starting with the dive bombers, into attack range of the Yorktown. The Wildcat CAP moves to intercept, but will have to tangle with the escorting Zeroes first.

Tangle the US pilots do, barely driving off the veteran IJN airmen in their agile fighters. They continue onwards against a flight of decidedely less-agile Val dive bombers, but get driven off by the IJN veterans.

The IJN were using the Veteran Flight Crews special order here, which gives their aircraft +1 Dodge (effectively armour) and +1 Dogfighting, making them a lot more threatening.

At the end of the turn, the broken-off CAPs and the battered Dauntless strike group are recovered.

Turn 3:

4 orders, 2 disruption each.

USN win initiative, elect to go first.

Direct activations:

US launch all 3 Wildcat flights to block the IJN attack, keeping room to recover them.

IJN launch their airstrike with 8 flights, the max strike group size. Their veteran crews should give them an edge, even through US disruption.

The Wildcats savage the unescorted IJN bombers, destroying one flight of Kates and forcing one flight of Kates and two flights of Vals to break off.

However, that still leaves two flights of Kates and two flights of Vals to face the US AA guns. They get 10 dice of AA fire, allocating 3 to each Kate (hit on a 4+) and 2 to each Val (hit on a 5+) flight. One of the Kate flights takes 2 hits, saving both, but the rest of the AA fire misses.

This means it's time for bombs and torpedoes.

Two of the air-launched torpedoes from the Val flight hit, dealing 3 damage and starting some serious flooding (marked with the white die).

The dive bombers have some bad luck with their attacks hitting, but manage to get two of their projectiles through the Yorktown's protection, damaging her propulsion and some of her AA firepower.

However, the damage is severe enough that Yorktown also needs to make a quality check to see if she breaks off.

She needs an 8+ on 2d6 and rolls only a 3! Fortunately, each fleet has a commander who can grant a re-roll on these checks once per game if it's a flagship rolling for it.

The re-roll is a 10, passing the check and keeping Yorktown in the fight.

Indirect activations:

The Yorktown gets her DC parties to work, using Keep Her Afloat and All Hands on Deck orders to enhance her repair abilities. She regains 1 hull point and stops 2 of the 3 floods. However, her AA guns are still damaged and she's still got engine issues.

All ships move ahead at a slow pace, like in previous turns.

IJN aircraft return to Shoukaku, lining up to land.

In the end step, flooding deals another point of damage to Yorktown, re-filling the recently-repaired diamond-shaped space. This does cause another flooding issue to start. Whenever a diamond-shaped damage space is filled in, an extra nasty thing like an extra fire/flood or a quality check happens.

Shoukaku recovers all of her dive bombers, but leaves three torpedo bomber flights and one flight of Zeroes waiting until next turn.

Turn 4:

4 orders, 2 disruption each.

IJN win initiative, elect to go second.

Direct activations:

US launch all of their Wildcats and Devastators as their only direct activation.

All IJN ships turn to port to start closing on the US force.

The Shoukaku launches a single Zero flight and maintains its CAP, allowing her to recover all returning craft from the strike.

Indirect activations:

USS Yorktown continues with maximum damage control. They stop one of the floods, restore a single hull point and once more fail to repair the damaged AA guns.

US fighters and torpedo bombers remain close to the carrier.

US ships sail straight on.

At the end of the turn, Shoukaku recovers her returning aircraft.

Yorktown takes flooding damage, undoing this turn's repair work.

Turn 5:

4 orders, 2 disruption each.

IJN win initiative, elect to go second.

Direct activations:

USN launch all 5 remaining flights of Dauntlesses.

IJN launch the third flight of Zeroes, all 4 flights of Vals and a single flight of Kates.

Indirect activations:

Both sides have their ships move straight forward.

The US aircraft move into engagement range of the Japanese carrier group, where they encounter the IJN strike force that had just taken off.

A heated series of dogfights ensues between the three flights of US Wildcats and the three flights of IJN Zeroes. They effectively take each other out of the fight, but the US actually end up losing a flight of Wildcats while all the Zeroes have just broken off to re-arm and refuel.

This left the IJN with only dive-bombers and torpedo bombers to intercept the incoming US strike craft. However, their veteran pilots (which the US failed to disrupt) give them a slight edge, allowing the sole flight of airborne Kate torpedo bombers to intercept and destroy two flights of Devastator torpedo bombers. A heavy blow to the US strike force.

The Val dive-bombers also attack their US counterparts, but the superior performance of the Dauntless evens the odds against the IJN crew skill. All of the craft end up broken off, with one flight of each destroyed as well.

After all of this carnage, the only air unit not broken off is a single flight of Devastator torpedo bombers. It will probably not try to take on the entire IJN task group by itself next turn.

Yorktown continues her damage control, stopping the flooding, fixing the AA damage and restoring 3 hull points. Although she's still a bit slow, she's mostly operational again.

None of the broken-off aircraft could be recovered this turn.

Turn 6:

4 orders, 2 disruption each.

IJN win initiative, elect to go first.

Direct activations:

Shoukaku attempts to move ahead at flank speed, but gets disrupted.

US destroyers turn 90 degrees to port, preparing to continue the advance in that direction.

Shoukaku launches three flights of Kate torpedo bombers.

Yorktown turns alongside her destroyer escorts.

Indirect activations:

IJN destroyers keep on sailing in formation with Shoukaku.

Yorktown's repairs continue, but disruption causes a fire instead. The propulsion is not repaired either.

All aircraft on both sides move close to their own carriers. No dogfights are fought.

At the end of the turn, Yorktown continues to burn.

Yorktown recovers all Dauntlesses and Wildcats.

Shoukaku recovers all three flights of Zeroes. Three flights of Vals and one of Kates still await landing permission.

Turn 7:

4 orders, 2 disruption each.

IJN win initiative, elect to go first.

Direct activations:

IJN destroyers turn straight towards the US force and move in at full speed.

Yorktown launches all remaining air assets. Shoukaku must be taken out before those destroyers can get to torpedo range.

Shoukaku turns alongside the destroyers, not willing to give up on their AA cover.

Shoukaku then launches two flights of Zeroes, giving her enough time to recover all remaining assets from the earlier battle.

Indirect activations:

The broken-off IJN aircraft move close to Shoukaku. The Kates remain to the side of their carrier and the Zeroes move in front of the group as a screen.

The US group advances on their straight course.

Yorktown repairs more damage and stops the fire, but her engines still aren't fixed.

Then, the US air assets move into attack range of the IJN battlegroup. The Zero escorts engage, starting with the Wildcats.

Once more, the fighters on both sides drive off each other, but leave the strike craft unharmed.

At the end of the turn, the Shoukaku recovers the defeated Zeroes, a flight of Vals and a flight of Kates. Two flights of Vals remain in the “waiting area” behind Shoukaku.

Still, those US aircraft look pretty threatening.

Turn 8:

4 orders, 2 disruption each.

US win initiative, elect to go first.

Direct activations:

The US air units strike, now that the sky is clear of IJN fighters.

Japanese AA is fairly effective, driving of one flight of Dauntlesses and destroying another flight of Dauntlesses and the last flight of Devastators.

Seven hits are scored by the Dauntlesses. Of these, four bombs deal damage to Shoukaku. She suffers from a momentary power surge (counting all systems as damaged for the turn) and her propulsion is damaged.

Their work done for now, the US aircraft turn to head home. Still, there's less of them than when they got started.

Shoukaku launches all aircraft on board: 3 flights of Zeroes, one flight of Kates and one flight of Vals join the Kates already standing by.

The US destroyers turn to face the IJN ones and get between them and Yorktown.

The IJN destroyers storm forward to get within torpedo range of the US force. However, there seems to be a miscommunication with the order to go to flank speed.

Indirect activations:

Shoukaku crawls forward after her destroyers, slowed tremendously by the damage and power outage.

Yorktown steams ahead, staying close to her escorts.

The IJN aircraft move into attack range and there are no fighters to intercept them yet.

The remaining US aircraft move back to Yorktown, hoping they can be re-armed in time to oppose the incoming strike.

Shoukaku´s damage control, though hindered by the power issues, manages to fix her engine issues.

Yorktown's damage control, still boosted by the Keep Her Afloat and All Hands on Deck orders turn after turn, fixes all remaining damage. The ship is now as effective as she had been at the start of the battle, even including hull integrity. However, she is starting to lag behind in available aircraft and the next IJN attack wave can already be seen in the distance.

At the end of the turn, Yorktown recovers her remaining aircraft. Shoukaku also recovers the Vals that had been waiting for some time.

Turn 9:

4 orders, 2 disruption each.

US win initiative, elect to go first.

Direct activations:

Yorktown launches every aircraft she's got, including the Dauntless dive-bombers: this strike must not be allowed to get through.

Then, the veteran IJN aircraft come.

First, the Zeroes engage the Wildcats. They manage to destroy one flight of Dauntlesses and drive off all remaining US aircraft, although two of the three flights run out of ammo doing so.

Then the AA comes.

One flight of torpedo bombers is destroyed, while two others are forced to break off. This leaves one flight of Kates and one flight of Vals to launch their attacks.

One torpedo hits, dealing 2 damage, damaging the engines and causing some flooding.

Five bombs hit, with four of them piercing the armour and causing massive flooding. Yorktown now has 7 flooding markers as a result of this airstrike. Each one that is not repaired will cause a point of damage at the end of the turn.

But first, she has to make a quality check. Again, an 8+ is needed on 2d6. The roll is a 4, causing Yorktown to turn away from the battle and limiting the orders she can receive; for example, no more launching aircraft until she rallies.

The US destroyers, desperate to take some IJN forces out of the equation, charge towards Shoukaku and the IJN destroyers.

In response, Shoukaku turns ahead of the destroyers, preventing torpedo launches at her this turn.

The US destroyers then decide to just launch half of their torpedoes at the IJN destroyers, even though they haven't moved yet.

In response to this 12-torpedo volley, two of the IJN destroyers launch 8 torpedoes each, leaving them a total of 20 for use later, like on a US carrier.

Here, I took a few less pictures than I wanted to and had none that were actually decent. Sorry about that.

Indirect activations:

The destroyers open fire on each other with their rapid-fire guns. They deal slight damage to each other but remain almost entirely combat effective.

Yorktown successfully rallies, allowing her to get back in the fight.

Shoukaku joins the fire at the battered destroyer USS Hamman, starting a fire and causing enough damage to cause her to break off.

Hamman fails to rally.

The IJN destroyers dash towards Yorktown, out of the way of the US torpedoes.

Hornet's rapid-fire guns open up at Sazanami, which takes damage to its main guns and also breaks off.

Sazanami fails to rally.

Hamman fixes her engines, but fails to stop the fire.

Sazanami fixes her guns and stops the fire.

Yorktown stops 5 out of 7 floods, needing a 4+ on each. Without disruption, it would have been 3+.

Aircraft on both sides return to areas near their carriers.

End Phase:

Fires expand and are about to destroy USS Hamman.

The flooding aboard Yorktown causes serious damage, but fortunately does not expand.

All the US-launched torpedoes miss.

Only one Japanese-launched torpedo hits, dealing crippling damage to USS Morris, flagship of the destroyer squadron. She breaks off, near sinking and with flooding problems.

Yorktown recovers one flight of Wildcats. The rest will have to wait.

Shoukaku recovers all of her aircraft apart from a single flight of Val dive-bombers.

Turn 10:

3 orders, 1 disruption for the IJN.

2 orders, 2 disruption for the US.

IJN win initiative, elect to go first.

Direct activations:

Destroyers Akebono and Ushio move to pincer Yorktown, preventing her from really escaping a torpedo spread.

USS Anderson moves to threaten Shoukaku with a torpedo spread.

Shoukaku moves to avoid any potential torpedo attacks from Anderson.

Wasp turns to minimize her profile to the IJN destroyers.

Ushio launches all three of her torpedo banks for a total of 12 torpedoes. 8 of them could potentially hit.

Indirect activations:

Shoukaku sinks USS Morris with her dual-purpose guns.

Yorktown's secondaries savage Akebono, damaging her AA guns and forcing her to break off.

Ushio fires her guns at Yorktown, but the rounds bounce off her armour.

Anderson scores a hit on Shoukaku, causing minor flooding.

Inazuma rallies. Hammann and Sazanami fail to do so.

Yorktown's, Shoukaku's, Hammann's and Akebono's damage control parties fail to fix anything.

US aircraft remain close to Yorktown.

Sazanami's DC crew fixes her AA guns.

End Phase:

Hamman sinks while her upper areas are still ablaze.

Yorktown's flooding deals more damage and gets worse.

Yorktown gets obliterated by Ushio's point-blank torpedo volley; 5 torps hit, dealing 10 more damage than was needed to sink her.

With these losses, the remaining US forces decide to retreat. After all, they only consist of a single destroyer and a number of aircraft which may or may not have another landing strip within flight range.

Conclusions:

This was quite an interesting battle.

Things went a bit slowly at first, since I had to recheck some rules and write down everything that happened. However, I quickly got the hang of things.

The intended aircraft  mechanics in the ruleset seem to work quite nicely, although a few things still need to be clarified and written down succinctly.

Airstrikes in this system seem quite effective, although concentrating your AA assets should help in defending you from it. I wouldn't want to try attacking a force containing a couple of cruisers in addition to the carrier+destroyers I had here.

Then again, isolated elements (or those with bad AA) would be in a world of trouble against a bunch of strike aircraft, which matches history.

It'll be interesting to try this scenario against another player, although I might want to add 1 or 2 cruisers per side to spice things up a bit and force a balance between surface and air attacks.

An alternative would be to try another cruiser battle where both sides have land-based level bombers to help them.