(CCPlays) | 688 (I) Hunter/Killer | Retro | Campaign 9: Strait to Hell | Anti-Mining Ops
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Captain Chang Plays... 688 (I) Hunter/Killer
In the previous episode, we retaliated against Libya by TLAM striking 2 separate airports, while dealing with 3 escorts patrolling the launch area as well as dodging ASW aircraft dropping torpedoes.
After resupplying at Diego Garcia, we headed to the Strait of Hormuz, where the war between Iran and Iraq was heating up again, and someone may have mined the strait...
Campaign Mission 9: Strait to Hell
We have been tasked to "keep the sea lanes open" by going after anyone who may have been mining the strait. At least one tanker hit a mine earlier. Try to map the mines, and beware of ASW helos and possibly Iranian Kilo-class submarines.
NOTE: You will get a later message about a tanker is going to transit this zone and you have to save it. However, if you check the laptop in the captain's stateroom, saving the tanker is not a goal at all. So there is no need to hurry.
We headed toward the suspected mine line. There is a deep channel and shallower waters to the north and south (a lot more to the north). Then we got a contact on the other side of the suspected minefield on the north side. We started approaching that portion when we got torpedo warnings all over the place. We started going flank in shallow waters, and the new propeller with 20% more speed gave up a top speed of 40 kt, and at 160 ft we can do 18 kt without cavitation. We started evading north, evading south, turning every which way.
During this wild melee, we actually managed to catch a glimpse of a Kilo, fired a torpedo at it, and sank it. We also accidentally spotted 5 of the mines via the HF scanner. During the mess, at least one civilian ship was struck by the other side's torpedoes.
We found the other Kilo to the northwest and gave it a torpedo across the minefield. Except I was in such a hurry to shoot it, I forgot to adjust the floor setting, so the torpedo just keep circling above the enemy sub. I had to launch a second torpedo, with the proper setting, to kill it.
We then explored to the north and located the sixth mine. We searched for the other four mines to no avail. We kept searching, and finally, in desperation, we tried active sonar, while pointing to the south, and sure enough, there were contacts to our south, across that deep water channel. We went in there and scanned all four, first with active sonar, then with HF sonar. However, I never did get pts for the remaining 4 mines.
Given that these are non-critical goals, we decided enough is enough, raised the antenna, and transmit the mission end report.
Boss Newton was quite pleased. We received 1000 pts, though we should have gotten 1200...
NOTE: This is a bug, one I did not experience when I wrote the FAQ almost 20 years ago.
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