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Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Experiments

I have run a series of experiments, using the Battle of the Kentish Knock scenario, in Privateers Bounty. The main results are clear:

  • There is power in sailing in a group (close to a line formation), at right angles to an enemy formation, "crossing the T".
  • At least for the Dutch, it is hazardous to "mix it up", in a melee, where there plentiful opportunities for large enemy ships to fire continuous broadsides.
  • Large, heavily armed ships are greatly superior to many smaller ships (300 to 400 tons, burden).
  • Seemingly, the Dutch would be "shot to pieces", if they tried to fight in a single line sailing parallel to a single English line.
  • For the losing side, ships that suffer severe mobility damage can be given up for lost, as they will be run down and sunk.
  • A lot of detailed maneuvering, down to the single ship level, is not useful, when there are still large numbers of ships still mobile and fighting. Formation maneuvering is what matters.
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