Carry on Up the Narrows

 The four Captains of the E Class submarine's gathered in the ward room of the depot ship Adamant in April 1915 would all attempt the passage of the Dardanelles.  One would be killed, one would spend years in a Turkish gaol, and the remaining two would each win the Victoria cross.  My game of penetrating the narrows should therefore have a 50% chance of success, but luck would have to play it's part.  

The Commodore and Chief Artificer Quilp discuss the control panel of an E Class Submarine

Of the three Captains gathered in Durham Wargames Club, one would charge a minefield and explode himself and his submarine in fine reckless fashion, one would perform with a heroism and luck that would see his submarine past the narrows in the nick of time, and one would have the poorest luck, yet still manage to pass the narrows whilst his crew were down to their last gasp.

The prevailing currents of the Dardanelles were unknown in 1915.  The fact that the main current in the straits ran towards the Aegean Sea had been known since antiquity, but the submarines were to encounter thermoclines dividing different saline layers that ran counter to the surface, as well as eddy currents that could lift or drop the submarine in the water column and veer it's course in widely different directions.  Theodore Brodie's E15 encountered these water layers and ran aground under the guns of Fort Dardanus.   Courtney Brodie (Theodore ' s twin brother) in E14 had similar difficulties but made it through riding the deeper saline layer running towards the Sea of Marmora.

My Submarine Captains would have to be unaware of their position, beyond being vaguely aware that the boat wasn't behaving itself in terms of navigation.  I decided on a simple dice roll, 1 slower by 6", 2 for 6" port, 3 for 6" Starboard, and 4,5,6 for a current drag based on the water layer the submarine was in.
To give the idea that the submarine was off course I relied on my own complete lack of poker skills, with much rolling of eyes and a few groans as I rolled the dice etc...  As it was one sub almost ran aground in the same location as E15.

The game opened with myself as Commodore Farthingdale in the Submarine E-XXL attempting to display his superior Submariners skills.  Remembering to close the main hatch before I dived was a nice touch, but it went downhill from there.  As Umpire I was aware of the first line of mines... It was on my chart, but I went through them demonstrating my sub driving.  A roll of 2 or 3 on 2d6 was the danger, good odds, but I chose to be at Periscope depth, a -1 on the dice due to the level the mines were moored at.
E-XXL blew up...  demonstration over, bold (or over-bold) Captain dead.
With that demonstration over I handed over to the other Captains.  Quilp had E9 better modelled with railings and a gun; Quincy in E11, a rougher model, without a deck gun ( this was a transitional period.  For his second run into the narrows Naismith's E11 had been fitted with a gun.  Not much use in the narrows but invaluable when he made it into the Sea of Marmora.)

E-9 eludes the searchlights.

The E-class submarine attack was lead by E11.  Aware of the minefield he headed into the deep water of the main channel, effected a turn and ran forward.  Having dived to 70 ft E11 gained a forward drag.  She slipped left once but almost immediately slipped back right, maintaining her course.
Behind E11 came E9.  Captain Quilp turned his bows for the narrows to avoid the minefield to the west.  Here he hit currents that dragged him back and to port, he was within an ace of going aground.  He also picked up a stray mine, but I rolled high on a single d6 and it broke free 1 or 2 were the numbers to avoid here.  Much bewilderment as to position when I told E9's Captain he could hear a  explosion on the bearing of his bow.

E11 avoiding the submarine nets.

The E11 meanwhile had been in action.  Hearing a warship's fast moving propellers forward and to Starboard Captain Quincy rose majestically to periscope depth to see a (German built) Turkish Destroyer moving quickly.  He calculated the aim point (for the vessel's bow instead of amidships) loosed a torpedo and ducked back down.  The torpedo ran true, striking the destroyer and exploding it (a 6!)

I developed the torpedo rules to reflect my reading on the subject.  Naismith's was highly critical of the number of "duds" he took into the Sea of Marmora.  On 2d6 the player dices for each 6" the torpedo runs.  On 12 -6 it runs true, but on lower rolls the torpedo may wobble or circle, and 1d6 is rolled.   In extremes you can end up shooting into your own sub. 

E9 had taken this time to fish up another two stray mines, and discovered that the minefield was much wider than expected. When a mine layer appeared it became clear where the stray mines were coming from.  With E9 wrong footed E11 once again came to periscope depth and snap shotted a torpedo through the minefield hitting the mine layer midships.

E11 braves the nets with searchlights sweeping overhead

 The next obstacle was to be the anti-submarine nets, but before E9 could get near them a troopship appeared, heading for the battlefield at Gallipoli. 

 Quincy, in E11, and hearing the heavy screws of the merchant man came to periscope depth, and then realised that once again the current had pulled him forwards.  The bows of a heavy merchant ship turned towards the periscope.  E11 went down express, in a crash dive that only just saved the boat from being rammed. Close one!
E9 came to periscope depth and used a snap shot at the troopship  the torpedo ran true and the impact act was perfect, but a roll of 1 on the d6 meant that this was a Dud. 
E11 waited until the troopship had gone over him, came up and fired his stern tube into the troopship at almost point blanc range.  The impact was a 3, a slow sinker, blocking the gap in the net for E9. 

It seemed a simple matter now for E11 to reach the narrows and exit the table, except that three times in a row I rolled a 6 and a 5, generating a random net blocking the exit at the narrows.  With air almost gone (no thanks to AB Hardy breaking wind and causing an air pont loss) E11 made it off table as a Turkish Battleship passed overhead.

E9 meanwhile was struggling to get off table, having run shallower and had drag issues from the current.  With his last gasp of air Captain Quilp dove under the net, broke through and made it off table as his last hour of air dwindled away.

Great game, and a learning curve for my rules.  There was a LOT of action in this, far more than I expected. As Umpire I nominate Captain Quincy for the Victor's Cross, and will henceforth refer to him as Capt, the Hon, Q W VC.  We will have to revisit the Dardanelles!