Op Gauntlet - 26 Oct

[Flyco]

Two questions come to mind:

1. Who is taking on the convoy heading for Kutaisi?

2. Are Blue really relying on ex D-Day Sherman tanks?

[Father Cool]

97 is tasked with taking out the convoy to Kutaisi, This should only be necessary if the Abasha bridge is not taken out in time. However the convoy will then be free to be engaged provided the main objectives are complete.

As for the Shermans, no they are Challenger II's en route to Senaki, the INTEL miz has the wrong units on.

Regarding the convoy's I have gone easy on the AAA defence with 2x AAA mounted URALs and ZSU-57's however if you guys want a bigger challenge I can add an SA-13 into the mix? Opinions?

[Flyco]

Sorry, father, but you have lost me. Basically, I do not understand how many convoys there are, where they start and where they are heading for.

As I understood it there was one convoy travelling on the train from the north-east. This was going to unload at the station, and travel to Senaki where it would set up an SA-10 unit. If the Chihu bridge was knocked out in time, they would be stranded on the train and could be ignored.

The second convoy (also heading for Senaki with an SA-10 set-up) was also coming from the north-east, but travelling down the road which runs parallel to the rail-line. This was to be destroyed either before or after it arrived at Senaki.

I also understood that there was a convoy of AFVs en-route to Kutaisi which planned to use the Abasha bridge. Since we were not targeted against this convoy, I had assumed that it was to be engaged by the Blue Shermans (They are Shermans in my profile). However, it now appears that this convoy has no fighting vehicles with it.

I understand the need not to expose all the red plans in advance, but we do need to know, what we are attacking and when.

At present I am planning to:

1. Knock out the Chihi and Abasha bridges by the set time;

2. Destroy a road convoy, (carrying SA-10 set-up) coming from the NE, either en-route or when they reach Senaki;

3. Destroy a similar SA-10 convoy between the station and Senaki; and

4. Knock out a Comms set-up and another ground complex at Senaki.

Is this correct?

[Father Cool]

Their are only 3 convoys for 97 to deal with.

As I understood it there was one convoy travelling on the train from the north-east. This was going to unload at the station, and travel to Senaki where it would set up an SA-10 unit. If the Chihu bridge was knocked out in time, they would be stranded on the train and could be ignored. CORRECT

The second convoy (also heading for Senaki with an SA-10 set-up) was also coming from the north-east, but travelling down the road which runs parallel to the rail-line. This was to be destroyed either before or after it arrived at Senaki. CORRECT BUT AFTER IT ARRIVES AT SENAKI AIRBASE IT WILL CONVERT TO AN SA-10 SITE SO BETTER TO TAKE OUT BEFORE.

I also understood that there was a convoy of AFVs en-route to Kutaisi which planned to use the Abasha bridge. Since we were not targeted against this convoy, I had assumed that it was to be engaged by the Blue Shermans (They are Shermans in my profile). However, it now appears that this convoy has no fighting vehicles with it. NO THIS CONVOY IS EN ROUTE TO KUTAISI AND IS TASKED WITH ATTACKING RAF HQ BUILDING THERE AND TAKE THE BASE. 97 IS TASKED WITH STOPPING THIS CONVOY BY TAKING OUT THE ABASHA BRIDGE, ONLY IF THAT PART FAILS DO YOU NEED TO DESTROY THE CONVOY ITSELF. THE CHALLENGERS ARE HEADED TO SENAKI TO AID IN TAKING OUT THE GROUND TROOPS AND RED CONTROL BASE.

I understand the need not to expose all the red plans in advance, but we do need to know, what we are attacking and when.

At present I am planning to:

1. Knock out the Chihi and Abasha bridges by the set time; CORRECT, ABASHA BRIDGE WILL DEAL WITH KUTAISI CONVOY UNLESS LATE

2. Destroy a road convoy, (carrying SA-10 set-up) coming from the NE, either en-route or when they reach Senaki; CORRECT

3. Destroy a similar SA-10 convoy between the station and Senaki; and CORRECT BUT ONLY IF THE CHIHU BRIDGE IS DESTROYED LATE OR ELSE THE SA10 CONVOY AT THE STATION WONT BE THERE AS IT WILL BE STRANDED ON THE TRAIN

4. Knock out a Comms set-up and another ground complex at Senaki. CORRECT, CONMMAND POST, TROOPS, GROUND ARTILLERY AND AAA.

[Flyco]

OK Father. That is clearer. I think we can cope with all that.

As for air defence in the convoys - we would not expect to have all convoy details in advance, so that is not a problem. Obviously, any AD system that exceeds the reach of our weapons would be a major problem, and with the cloud base around 8,000 ft we cannot climb above any AD units height reach. A conventional radar guided system will warn us of its presence, whereas a free-fire cannon or an IR system will give us no warning, until it opens up - and if it is properly use it won't open up until we are within lethal range.

As an indication, our APGW give us a max firing range of around 6nm, but we do need to continue to lase until impact, by which time we are at around 3 nm range. Thus the ZSU (max range 2 nm) is not a sure-fire killer (unless we don't spot it!), and the SA-13 (max range 2.7 nm) is also containable. The manpad (max range 2.8 nm) is our most troublesome weapon in this category - mainly because it it difficult to acquire visually - although they would have to run fast to keep up with the convoy!

When you move to Tunguskas and Tors we do have a problem. They out-range us and they, rather sneakily, can shoot down our only real longer range weapon (Maverick).

Fortunately, we have Paul with us and he is one of nature's natural missile-magnets.

[309 Geoff]

Hi Alan/Geoff,
The convoys are made up of - SA10 road and rail convoys are ZU-23-2 AAA x2 (Road) ZSU-57 (Rail) & ZIL-135 Trucks x2
[/quote]


Father Cool,
My opinion is that your Road Convoys AAA of ZSU-23s is acceptable. Keep the challenge as you have planned.

My understanding is that:-
1.Both bridges need to be destroyed before your TOT of 0839hrs. We should allow enough time for 2 attack runs on each bridge.
2.If both bridges are destroyed, we only have one convoy to destroy. That's the SA-10 road convoy going to Senaki airfield. We can ignore the Kutaisi convoy.
3.If we fail with the bridge attacks, we will have three convoys to deal with.
4. Destroy the secondary targets, at Senaki Airfield.

[Father Cool]

Yes that's correct Geoff. Should be very doable, you will have red air potentially to deal with as you are close to the Red airbase and the F16 and F18 guys can only do so much, so didn't want to overload you. Hopefully a walk in the park and back for tea and biscuits.

[Paul(Dragon)0043]

Alan, somebody as to do it, so you can all back home safely.

[Flyco]

My Gauntlet mission is attached, for consideration. All times are Zulu

There are 2 flights (Boar and Hawg), both of up to 4 ac, with identical loads, and near identical tasks. Boar T/O is 0425, for a TOT on Chichu Bridge of 0434, this allows time for a go-around in the event of a problem during the first run-in. Hawg T/O is 0428, for a TOT on Abasha Bridge also of 0434. Both bridges are to be destroyed by 0438. It is proposed that GBU-10s be used on the bridges - this will leave aircraft with 6 x GBU-12, 42 x APKW-282, 7 x APKW-151, TGP plus any unused GBU-10s.

Boar will then locate and destroy the inbound convoy from the NW - the composition of this convoy is uncertain but it is likely to have Shilka and IR missile cover. This convoy will still be in transit towards Senaki by road from the NW. There are two identified targets on the SW corner of Senaki airfield that are also to be destroyed, an SA-10 set-up point and a Command Post. The Command Post is to be destroyed using GBU-12s or any remaining GBU-10s.

Hawg will transit from the Abasha bridge to the railway station in Senaki town. There is a convoy due to depart from there to Senaki airfield, but it is likely to be held awaiting the arrival of its cargo. Hawg is to locate and destroy this convoy. either at the Station, en-route to Senaki airfield, or at the airfield itself. At the airfield Hawg's targets are all north of the runway, and include an SA-10 set-up site and a Temporary Defence Force HQ. GBUs or APGWs may be used as required for these targets.

A detailed breakdown of routes, targets and timings will be issued for each flight. However, other than the need to knock out both bridges before 04:38, timings are not critical.

Towards the end of the sortie both Boar and Hawg will be attacking targets on Senaki airfield. To avoid conflict Boar should attack from the SW and remain south of the main runway, while Hawg should attack from the North and remain north of the main runway.

Departure by both flights will be to the South, and care must be taken to de-conflict.

[309 Geoff]

Alan,
I will not publish my miz, because it's very similar to your plan. However, my comments and suggestions are:-

1. Boar Flt depart to the North for the bridge attack. Not to the South.
2. Abasha bridge I.P. to TGT run, is directly in-line with the bridge. Could you move the Chihu bridge I.P. further south, so the I.P. to TGT run is directly in-line with the railway on the bridge. Your TOT can still be achieved with the move.
3. In my miz, I had bridge heights of 179ft for Chihu, and 153ft for Abasha. Your bridge heights are lower. I successfully tested both my bridge heights with GBU10's and GBU 31's.