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Originally Posted by Driftwood
Just picked this one up and am enjoying it. Read somewhere on these boards that tactics/strategies were pretty good and right on as compared to RL which is what prompted me to buy it. I'd be interested in any comments/reviews from our real bubbleheads out there. Always looking for strategy/tactical stuff that can be effectively incorporated into DW gameplay.  |
Worst book ever. While TC books were always somewhat pro-American, this one is a barf-promoter. There is a reason why that book was the first in the trash when I needed to lighten weight for my move.
Forget technical accuracy - it is his book and he can make his assumptions however he wants. Just the tactics were pukey...
Let's start with Chapter 1, Han vs 688. By the way, I find it really amusing that the Han did at least as well as those Akulas in the later half of the story. Let's see: you detect American sub. Knowing American subs especially in Clancyworld they have you as well, but he isn't shooting just yet. So what does he do? He fires a SET-53 outside his range. Hello? A 23-knot passive torpedo with a poor acquisition range against the 38-knot Cheyenne. You kinda getting my drift?
There are also similar "humor" with kamikaze subs and subs making it easier on the Americans (as if the magic hydroacoustic arrays he gave them wasn't bad enough) by using active pinging... or that Chinese Mao sub that didn't hear Cheyenne's torpedoes. Yes, we get the idea that Chinese submariners aren't as well trained as American, but they aren't
idiots - any differences should be subtle, not by producing acts of idiocy...
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Not that RSR was problem free. For example, here is a question:
As a Soviet Captain, when facing down a quiet American sub, what do you need more in that pod-shaped thing you have on your tail:
1) A towed hydroacoustic array.
2) A single use Nixie-like toy that may not even work anyway, when you have MG-74 Korund decoys that will make similar noises stashed somewhere...
As we all know, Clancy picked "2". I understand that there was some debate as to what that pod was at the time which may have extended into RSR's writing, but it is pretty clear storywise which one would actually present a challenge for USS Chicago and maybe prevent a hemorrhage of easy kills.
Or this: As a Soviet Captain in ambush, you suddenly hear an American sub running from randomly airdropped torpedoes. You will be provided with a brief and invaluable opportunity to establish a position and engage with an aimed shot rather than a snapshot in the dark. American subs have notoriously low reserve buoyancies due to their single hull structure, so any hull-cracker will likely do. You will engage with:
1) A SS-N-16 Stallion airdropping a Type 40. If you move fast and attack while he's running, he might not even hear your launch transient and even if he did, he will probably be busy running from the torp about to land on him in seconds.
2) A regular torpedo which will definitely betray your bearing and give him minutes to evade while shooting back with a Mark 48 with double your torpedo's acquisition range due to American electronic superiority.
Notice the conspicious lack of any ASW missiles during the hunt. Based on the NATO code designations, I find it difficult to believe NATO does not know about these ASW missiles.
Or how about
: You are a storywriter. After writing a killfest of Soviet subs by American attack subs, you finally create a smart Soviet Captain that evened out the odds. One-on-one, sonar versus maneuverability. You will:
1) Actually sit down and think of some intelligent tactic for the American so he wins.
2) Be cheap and bring in a Brit sub with MagicWeapon, eliminating your need to think, or maybe because you used your page allotment describing the killfest in excessive detail before this most important section.