Pioneer I

I was tidying out a bookshelf today, and came across a few print-and-play games I'd stashed in it. One of them was 'Brown Water Submarines', which is a simple game - more of a simulator - of ACW submarine operations. Included in it was a piece of paper with my scribbled rules changes on it, and I thought that it would be interesting to see if, nearly five years on, I could understand what I'd written.

So I set up a game.

I used CSS Pioneer I - 4 knots speed with a screw-in torpedo. The rules aren't totally clear how those work; it's implied under another submarine that the vessel has to be stationary on the turn that the weapon is deployed, so I went for that. It's a solitaire game, so the only person for whom I'm making life easier or more difficult is me. And an extra turn in danger gives a better story.

I randomly generated the setup. The Confederates were operating in a harbour, which offers the easiest attacks, and it was May, so the water wasn't considered cold. I played with tides, which offer random changes to how far the vessel moves.

Pioneer started at a reasonable distance from its target, but the tide was running such that it would receive a generous boost to its movement. I chose to run on the surface, with the hatch open and candle lit. This offered more risk to the crew, and a chance of being spotted later, but I wanted to conserve the crew's strength and light and air for as long as possible does this. 

The submarine moved swiftly towards its target, and stayed on course despite a collision with another vessel in the darkness. Closing the hatches and extinguishing the candle the crew lined up for the attack. However the vessel was still on the surface, and a lookout on the Union ship saw them. The Union ship raised anchor and moved off.

Pioneer cast around for an alternative target, but none was to be found. So the crew turned the submarine for home, and the turning tide brought them back safely.

The next night they set out again, having established the new position of their previous target. Conditions were not as ideal, however. The tide wasn't as strong, slowing the approach. And, worse, a squall caused the water to get suddenly rough, swamping Pioneer. With the hatches open this was fatal, and the vessel went straight to the bottom only a couple of hundred yards from its moorings.

A week or so later the vessel had been raised, its crew buried and the reserve crew cajoled into making a third attack. This time the tide was completely against them, and their long approach would be made entirely via the crew's own strength. They started off well, but were not even close to the target when a squall blew up. The crew managed to keep the submarine from being swamped this time. However the change in weather must have concerned the crew of the target, for it raised anchor and moved off into the night. Once again a quick search of the harbour failed to find any alternative targets, so Pioneer turned for home. An incoming tide made for a speedy passage, and all would have been well, except that Pioneer collided with two small craft trying to reach its moorings. The crew returned, frustrated and tired.

The next night they had another try. Again the tide wasn't in their favour, and the target was a long way out in the harbour. So the captain of the Pioneer secured the services of a tug to get them part of the way there. And it did. About halfway to the target, the tug cut the line and the Pioneer continued under its own power. To avoid being spotted this time they dived earlier, but problems with the pumps saw them sit on the bottom for a while until they were repaired. They continued to the target, but were mortified to see it repeat its performance of the previous night and sail off. Once again there was no new target, so the tired crew turned for home. They were working against an outgoing tide, and progress was slow, with the sub snagging on the bottom of the harbour for a brief while. Pioneer came to the surface, but some of the crew's energy was expended controlling one of their number who started to panic. The captain opened the hatch in order to provide the crew with air to give them strength for the long trip home. This meant that he spotted a picket boat in time to avoid any incident with it. Unfortunately their encounter left the sub off-course and as they corrected their heading they found the bows of their earlier target bearing down on them. Pioneer was lost as water flooded through the open hatch.

I'm beginning to think that leaving the hatch open is a bad thing.