battlefleet 1900

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BATTLEFLEET 1900

PRE-DREADNOUGHT NAVAL WARFARE: 1890-1905

Welcome to Battlefleet 1900, a set of miniature wargame rules which recreate one of themost exciting periods in the history of naval conflict. For nearly two decades beginning in

1890, established and developing nations engaged in a series of wars and naval programswhich were to reshape the world's political landscape. The variety of ship designs and navaldoctrines developed at this time resulted in an amazing range of possible results, and the

ensuing pre-WWI power struggles made for volatile crises which left no nation safe. It was

at this time that the navies of two ancient empires; Russia and Spain, were dramaticallydefeated at the hands of two new industrial powers; Japan and America. Not only did the

Spanish-American and Russo-Japanese Wars bring the latest in naval technology to the

forefront, but so did numerous other confrontations throughout this period.

Over all this loomed the super-fleets of Great Britain and France, the later of which

dominated the late Victorian period in ways not to be known during the dreadnought era.

The high seas of this time saw "futuristic" French battleships eyeing their British and Italiancounterparts, heavily armored American coastal battleships maintaining the MonroeDoctrine and the latest British built Japanese fleets shooting it out with the Russians in the

West Pacific. In Battlefleet, many of the possibilities and realities of this time can be

recreated, with your abilities having a direct effect on the results.

0.0 Contents:1 Introduction:

Scales,Models,Equipment,Turn

Sequence

2 Command:

Divisional Orders,Signals,FleetOrders

3 Movement:Formations,Turning,ChangingSpeed

4 Gunnery:Targets & Positions,Ranging,

Measuring

5 Torpedoes:

Launch Arcs,Calculating Hits6 Damage & Sinking:

Recording Damage,DamageTypes/Glossary,Damage Locations,

Damage Control

GAME SCALES

Feature SmallMedium

Small

Medium

LargeLarge

Measurement

FormatMillimeters Millimeters Inches Inches

Recommended

Scale1/6000 1/3000 1/3000 1/1200

1 Kilometer 80 120 6 " 10 "
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1.0 IntroductionBattlefleet 1900 is a moderatecomplexity rules package which

can be used with all standard

and custom built navalwargaming miniatures and flats.

The rules allow for both die

rolling or range guessing as partof the gunnery system, and the

damage tracking system is

designed to present an ever-

changing pattern of damage.This last item prevents players from minutely calculating the near-future performance of

their ships including sinking, which itself is an uncertain proposition during battle. This

rules text is cross-linked with other support features which can be independently reviewed

from the Battlefleet 1900 home page.

1.1 Game ScalesBattlefleet 1900 can be played in one of four different scale formats; a small scale, twomedium scales and large scale. The small scale format uses metric measurement and is

designed for use with 1/6000 scale naval miniatures, allowing games to be played on a

dining table. The medium-small scale format is also metric based, and is designed for usewith 1/3000 scale miniatures being used in a small to medium sized playing area. The

medium-large scale format is inch based for players who don't like metric and also for

1/3000 scale, using a slightly larger scale for use in medium to large playing areas. The

large scale format uses inches for measurement and is designed for use with 1/1200 scale

miniatures or larger. It requires a fairly large playing area. All scale ranges and ship speedsfor these formats can be referenced or calculated using theMaster Scale Chart, which

contains all information necessary to figure a ship's speed for Battlefleet 1900 ship logs.

1.2 Miniature Ship ModelsGame play requires the use of miniature ship models, many of which are available at Game

Shop 1here at WTJ. The WTJ Naval miniatures offer a variety of pre-dreadnought era

naval miniatures, ranging from the big battleships necessary for the core of your fleet to

gunboats and destroyers needed for supporting roles. Also available are minelayers,

maintenance ships and other auxiliary vessels to help add realism to the game. All of these

miniatures are in the 1/3000 scale, which offers the best combination of size versus detail.

Mounting - Small scale vessels should be mounted on bases for ease of handling. For1/6000 scale the best mounting standard is x 11/8 inches (13mm x 30mm) for capital

ships. For 1/3000 scale miniature bases a standard size range of " x 2" (20mm x 50mm)

for most capital ships should work well. The lengths may be adjusted upward or downwardfor other ships sizes. For example the Russian battleship Peresviet and most newer Japanese

1 Nautical

Mile148 220 11" 19 "

1 Cable 15 22 1 " 2"

1000 yards 73 108 5 " 9 "

Each rangebracket

200 300 15 " 25 "

Maximum

gun range

(4 range

brackets)

800 1200 60 " 100 "

1 turn Approximately Three Minutes
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battleships may look best on 55mm long bases. Most play-testing for Battlefleet wasconducted using the 1/3000 scale, and within the rules text, the term vessel, modelorship

also applies to any base upon which that model might be mounted. Conversely, anyreference to bases also infers the ship model itself in any case where players are using ship

models without bases.

1.3 EquipmentNaval wargames are a bit more technically demanding than some other forms of miniaturewargaming and require a few extra tools. The standard gaming equipment of tape measures,

six sided dice (one of which is referred to as 1D6) and pencils are definitely required.

Players will also need to download the Battlefleet Combat Chart, Ship Log, Gunnery Log

and Arcs sheet. Cutting out the arcs-of-fire and turning circles and mounting them on thincardboard will give them extra strength. A clipboard is also valuable for writing on the ship

and gunnery logs. Splash and hit markers can be very useful and add an interesting realism

to the game. For 1/3000 scale ships the best splash and hit markers are made from plastic

dart tips by cutting off their mounting threads with a razor blade. If no white ones areavailable they may be roughed up slightly with sandpaper and painted white before

applying a sealer to prevent chipping.

Combat Charts: Each player should have a copy of the Battlefleet Combat Chart, which

can be downloaded off of the Battlefleet 1900 page in the WTJ Games section. There aretwo sides to the combat chart, both of which are needed for game play. They jointly include

turn sequence, gunnery, torpedo and damage charts. For related overviews of each section

of the chart, seeMore About Combat Charts, which includes step by step illustrations and

outlines.

TURN SEQUENCE

1) CommandPlayers issue basic movement orders for theupcoming movement phase and attempt to send

messages or order requests to other commanders.

2) MovementPlayers simultaneously move their ships

according to the basic movement orders issued

during the Command Phase.

3) Ranging & Gunnery

Players simultaneously guess ranges to enemyships and record them on their gunnery logs. All

ranges are then marked as hits or misses.

4) Torpedo LaunchesAll torpedo launches are declared and any

resulting hits marked.

5) Damage
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Ship Logs: Each vessel used incombat will need to have an

entry in one of the ship logs.These entries are used to track

available speed, weapons and

damage to each vessel. Theinformation shown in the Ship Values listings on the Battlefleet 1900 page has all the

information needed to fill out the ship logs for those vessels. For more detailed

explanations, seeMore About Ship Logs.

Gunnery Logs: Because Battlefleet 1900 uses a range estimate system to control gunnery,

players use Gunnery Logs to record their range estimates. Each gunnery log contains two

four-ship sections (most navy divisions are composed of four ships), along with a commandline at the far left of each division. At the top of each gunnery log column, record the name

of one ship. In the columns below, record salvo targets and hits. The spare command boxes

along the top edge of each division are for recording command arrows during times when

vessels are not firing salvos and/or out of range. The spare boxes eliminate the wasting ofrange boxes during preliminary maneuvers.

1.4 Turn SequenceOnce all players have filled out their ship and gunnery logs, placed their ships and arrangedtheir formations, game play is ready to begin. Each phase of the turn sequence is conducted

by both players simultaneously. At right is an outline of each turn phase and its basic steps.

a) Check for ongoing fire and flooding effects.b) Resolve damage for hits achieved during Step

3.

c) Attempt damage control.d) Test for sinking and uneven flooding effects.

2.0 COMMANDDuring the Command Phase, players issue orders for the upcoming Movement Phase. Thereare two types of orders;DivisionalandFleet. Divisional orders are recorded in the far left

command column of the gunnery chart and apply only to the ships within a division, which

are assumed to be under orders to follow the lead ship of that division. Fleet orders are

written on small Post-it style message pads and used for any communication betweenplayers.

2.1 Divisional OrdersIf a division commander wants his ships to move in any direction other than straight during

the upcoming movement phase, he must order them to do so in the Command Column of

the Gunnery Log. Divisional orders are recorded as small arrows, which are drawn in thedirection and approximate bearing which the commanding player wishes to move them.

Refer to the examples below for the available division orders:

Turn-in-Succession- A turn-in-succession is drawn as an arrow using

a single line. Only divisions deployed in line-ahead may use the turn-in-succession order. Ships turning in succession will maintain their
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line ahead formation while turning on a stationary pivot-point. Vessels

which will turn less than 45 during their movement do not need touse a command arrow. Vessels which will turn between 45 and 90

during their turn use the 45 arrow, and vessels which will turn 90 or

more during movement use the horizontal arrow. Note that the arrowsare direction specific. If a player draws an arrow pointing left (to

port), then the division must turn in that direction during their

movement. The Turn-in-Succession figure at right depicts a 90+ turn

in succession to starboard as executed by ships in a line-aheadformation.

Simul taneous Turn- A simultaneous turn is drawn as an arrow usingtwo lines. Each vessel in a division ordered to turn simultaneously willindividually turn in unison in the direction ordered. Vessels not in line

ahead formation will always use the simultaneous turn command. If a

turn-in-succession order is accidentally given to vessels not in lineahead, the command will be treated as if it were a simultaneous turn

order. Note that if a division is in line abreast, only certain

simultaneous turn commands will allow a return to line ahead.

A division must execute its turn orders at the very beginning of its move. If, once it hasfulfilled the minimum requirement of its order, it has remaining movement, it may continue

moving straight on its new bearing, or execute further multiple orders, if any (see multiple

orders). If a vessel is ordered to execute a turn which it cannot fulfill even by using allavailable movement, it will complete as much of the turn as possible.

Stopping - Writing a dot or small filled-in circle on the command line of a division will

order it to use the turn's movement phase to stop dead in the water. Vessels under a stop

order must still move their minimum required movement for the turn, at which point they

are considered at a complete stop. The stop command may not be used in conjunction withany other orders (see Multiple Commands below).

Multiple Commands - Divisions with sufficient movement allowance may be issuedmultiple commands other than thestop command. Multiple commands will be executed in

the order in which they are written, reading from left to right.

Dropping Out - Individual vessels which suffer damageespecially to their propulsion


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may need to drop out of an existing division to avoid slowing down other ships. This mayonly be done if the vessel in question has at least one more propulsion box hit than the next

vessel(s) immediately aft. In such a case, the "slow" vessel may be announced as droppingout during the command phase, at which time it becomes a one-ship division and receives

its own movement order each turn. During the next movement the ship must turn out of the

existing divisional line in order to allow the ship behind it to close the existing divisionalformation. The lead ships of that division may need to slow down slightly in order to allow

the rear ships to close the gap made as a result of the missing vessel.

Transfer of Command - Division flagships which have suffered damage may have to

transfer their command status to other ships within their division. There are two basic

conditions under which this occurs; voluntary, and involuntary.

Voluntary:If a player's division leader has suffered damage which endangers the ship, he

may want to transfer flag status to another vessel in the division. Division flagships whichhave not suffered conning tower hits may transfer their command to another vessel in their

division by slowing to no faster than 1/6 original speed and declaring their transfer to anyother qualified vessel which lies within one-quarter of a range bracket and which is alsomoving no faster than 1/6 original speed.

Involuntary:If a division's flagship is suffering either a steering or conning tower hit, the

controlling playermustroll for transfer of command to other vessels. In this case thetransfer requires no slowing of the vessels, since it infers the assumption of command by

another officer. Beginning on the command turn after the damage occurs, roll one six sided

die (1D6). If a 5or6is rolled, the ship closest to the flagship will assume command of the

division (and of the fleet if it is replacing the fleet flagship). Add one-half point to the dieroll for each point of uneven flooding and for each fire at the time of the die roll. For

example: A flagship with a conning tower hit, six fires, and three points of uneven floodingwould result in an automatic transfer of command (+3 for fires, +1 for uneven flooding). Ifthe damaged flagship repairs the steering or conning tower hit before another vessel

assumes command, then the original flagship retains its command status and any attempts at

involuntary transfer will cease, although a voluntary transfer may still be executed. If aflagship blows up, or otherwise sinks, involuntary transfer is immediate and automatic.

Hint for Small Battles

If two players share a division and they need tocommunicate, they should also use the FleetOrder method. This is common with smaller

battles in which there may be no divisions; eachvessel acts as its own division. In these cases,each player commonly controls only one or twoships which operate independently. Such asituation existed at the Battle of Santiago Bay,during which few of the U.S. ships, despitebelonging to the same division, demonstratedmuch coordination of effort. In fact, there were


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2.2 SignallingIn order to communicate with other ships and players, a player's flagship must successfully

send a message. Sending a message is done either by flying a flag message or transmitting aradio (wireless) message. Flag communication is more likely to be received quickly by

other commanders, but it requires line of sight to the intended recipients. Radio

communication has a slightly greater chance of suffering a delay, but it can be received byany ship on the field or even in the region without the need for line of sight (this includes

enemy ships). Vessels without radios, or vessels which have suffered Wireless (WI) hits

may not send radio messages.

To send a message, a playercalled the Signalling Commanderrecords a message on the

adhesive side of a "post it" style message tablet and writes either "Radio" or "Flag" on the

opposite side of the message. The message may not be shown to other players. Once a

signal is completed, it is pasted message side down to the signalling vessel's ship log. Toread another ship's signal, any other playercalled theIntercepting commandermay

consult the Command Functions table on the combat chart and roll one six sided die (1D6).

If the modified die roll value is equal to or greater than the value shown for thecorrespondingRead flag message orRead radio message action, the intercepting

commander may read the message in question. Players must keep in mind the line of sight

limitation on flag messages when attempting to intercept signals.

For purposes of signalling, the modifier for Bridge (BR) hits is cumulative for both

signalling and intercepting ships. For example; a vessel with two BR hits attempting to read

a message signalled from a vessel which also has a BR hit will suffer a cumulative minus

three (-3) to the interception die roll.

2.3 Fleet OrdersThere are two types of fleet orders, Divisional and Inter-Divisional:

Divisional fleet ordersAre only required when the flagship of a division is not locatedat the front of a line ahead. In this case, the flagship must successfully send all movement

instructions to the lead ship in the line in order to be allowed to enter a movement command

on the gunnery log. If the message die roll fails, that division may not vary its course from

that of the previous turn. Hence the wisdom of placing one's flagship at the front of a line

ahead. Consult the section 2.2 above for signalling methods used to communicate with leadvessels.

Inter-divisional fleet ordersThese are orders or messages sent to other participating

players regarding status, battle tactics, instructions, etc. In order to signal other players with

interdivisional orders, consult section 2.2. Before 1903, players attempting interdivisionalorders must always use flag communication. After 1903, vessels received wireless (radio)

several near collisions during the scramble toengage the Spanish ships.
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sets at various times, and players should consult historical references for further guidance. Ifa ship suffers a wireless hit (WI) during game play, it may not send or receive any further

radio messages for the duration of the game. Ships which have suffered Bridge hits (BR)will also suffer cumulative penalties to any attempts to send flag messages. See the combat

chart for under DC & Command Actions for more details.

Recommended Fleet Orders - Since many players are often unsure of what messages or

orders to send, especially on a small square of paper, the following small list offers a few

ideas about what orders a commander might want to issue to adjoining divisions of a fleet.Some are historical, and others are merely the result of previous games:

Engage Enemy:Normally issued to capital ships such as battleships and cruisers.

This order instructs all friendly divisions to move as close as possible to the enemy

(usually the second range bracket) while keeping out of torpedo range.Turn 16 points together:Means that all ships should make a simultaneous 180 turn

to port or starboard (the direction of which should be added to the message.Turn 8 points together:Means that all ships should make a simultaneous 90 turn to

port or starboard (the direction of which should be added to the message.Follow Me:This self-explanatory order was issued several times historically by

divisional commanders when a commander-in-chief's ship was damaged or sunk.Commonly used when signalling a general withdrawal or advance.

Torpedo Attack:Most commonly given to destroyers, this was the signal to move as

quickly as possible into effective torpedo range and launch torpedoes.Recall:Signals light ships to cease attacking an enemy fleet and return to their duty

stations among the main battle line.

We Surrender:That's right, ships which want to surrender must make that fact

known to the enemy, which is done via this command.

3.0 MOVEMENTThe maximum distance a ship may move each turn is limited by the number shown in the

topmost undamaged propulsion box on that vessel's ship log (Damaged or destroyedpropulsion boxes do not count toward available speed). A ship may move less than the

maximum available, and it may change its speed (distance moved) depending on the

amount it moved on the previous turn. The distance moved should be measured from thefront edge of the ship using a tape measure or scale, marking out the distance in inches or

millimeters depending on the scale being used. See theScales Pagefor more about scales

and their relation to movement distances.

3.1 Formations & IntervalsMost ships will take part in a game as part of a larger group of two to six ships known as adivision. Each division moves as a unit with all ships remaining in a formation of some

type, the most common formation being line ahead. An example of line ahead appears in the

Turn in Succession figure in the previous Command section. Ships moving in line ahead
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will normally try to maintain a specific distance orintervalbetween ships. In most navies ofthis time the normal interval was one or two cables, which can be referenced on thescales

pageto establish the correct distance depending on the scale being used for the game. Thesecond most common formation was line abreastin which the ships were side by side,

maintaining similar intervals as in line ahead in order to prevent collisions and also to allow

an easy conversion to a line ahead. An example of line abreast is shown in the SimultaneousTurn figure in the previous Command section.

3.2 TurningTurning circles are used during game play to recreate both the minimum allowable turn

radius of a ship and the loss of speed the vessel suffers when turning. All Battlefleet 1900

turning circles needed for small, medium-small and medium-large formats may bedownloaded from the Playing Aids section of the Battlefleet page. Each circle is numbered

for size and marked at 30 degree increments. As a vessel tracks along the edge of the circle,

it will swing around to its new bearing, expending the appropriate movement points in the

process. Ship bases executing a turn are not limited to moving only in the turn incrementsshown. The increments are for reference only, and players may stop at any point along a

circle's circumference by estimating the amount of available movement expended to reach

that position.

Note that because the turning circles recreate a vessel's loss of speed while turning, the

actual measurements of the turning circle increments are less than the amount shown. Thisis planned, and is not a problem with the circles themselves.

Turning ExamplesAbove Left: The turning circle is held next to the side of the vessel. Above Right: The ship ismoved along the periphery of the circle, to the approximate position that matches the amountof speed the ship uses. In this case, the ship has used about 85mm of its movement.
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3.3 Changing SpeedDuring each movement phase, vessels may change their actual normal speed by theequivalent of one propulsion box worth of movement. TheActual Speedis the amount of

movement used by any one vessel on its previous turn. This contrasts with maximum

Available Speed, which is the highest general speed available to that vessel according to itscurrent propulsion rating.

Example; if a vessel whose available speed is 120mm per turn moves only 20mm on any

one turn (its actual speed for that turn), it would only be able to move a maximum speed of40mm on the following turn, an increase of 20mm or one propulsion box worth of speed.

Note that destroyers only have three propulsion boxes, which gives them the ability to vary

their speeds to a greater degree, although the fewer boxes also make them vulnerable to

power plant damage due to their lack of redundant propulsion systems.

Vessels which have suffered battle damage also follow the above speed change limits.

Hence a vessel moving at full speed which suddenly receives three propulsion hits will take

another three turns to slow down to a speed that matches its corresponding loss ofpropulsion.

4.0 GUNNERYPlayers begin the gunnery phase by deciding on targets for each of their vessels and then

visually estimating the distance from those vessels to the targets. The name of each target is

recorded on a firing vessel's gunnery log, followed by the controlling player's estimate of

the target's distance and whether or not those guns are firing AP ammunition (defaultammunition use is considered to be HE orhigh explosives). Once all ranging is complete,

players measure each range estimate, marking its termination point with a white marker formisses and a red marker for hits. The maximum al lowable range for guns depends on the

game scale being used. Consul tSection 1.1 Game Scalesfor a list of all maximum range

and r ange bracket distances.

Later in the turn players will calculate hit damage by referring to the shell hit tables on the

combat chart. Resulting hits are marked on the corresponding ship's log, with some hits

possibly triggering additional damage. See theCombat Chart Overviewfor a step by step

guide to using all of the combat chart's tables.

4.1 Targets and PositionsVessels may fire upon one or more targets during their turn. Each target must be recordedseparately by name on the gunnery log, along with the gun types assigned to that target and

onerange estimate for that target (each vessel may only make one range estimate pertargeted ship per turn).
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Line of SightVessels may only fire

upon targets which arewithin their direct

line-of-sight. Line-of-

sight is drawn fromthe forward

smokestack of a firing

vessel to the forwardsmokestack of a target

vessel. The potential

target may not be fired

upon if line-of-sight is blocked in any way by other vessels, their bases or land.

Rates of FireEach weapon has a normal rate-of-fire (ROF) which is shown in the data

line of the ship log's armament section. The rate-of-fire is the number of rounds per turn

which each gun in each position may normally fire. A value for normal ROF means thatthe weapon in question may only fire every other turn due to their slow loading-technology.

A 1 value means that each gun may fire once each turn. A 2 value for ROF means that the

weapon in question may fire twice each turn with in the fir st two range brackets. Whenfiring at targets over half range (third and fourth range brackets) all guns are limited to a

maximum ROF of1. Extra rounds fired due to a 2 ROF may be fired at different targets,

although multiple gun positions may not split their extra fire unevenly. For example: a two-gun 15cm turret may fire two rounds at each of two other ships, or four rounds at one ship,

but it may not fire four rounds at four different ships, or three rounds at one and one round

at another. In this regard, single mountings are more flexible in their ability to send up a

curtain of fire at smaller vessels.

Ammunition TypeMost guns used for game play may fire one of two different

ammunition types: armor piercing (AP) or high explosives (HE). Armor piercingammunition can only be used in the first three range brackets. High explosives can be used

in all four range brackets. The difference between the two is that armor piercing

ammunition tends to punch holes in a ship's armor, but doesn't make as much of anexplosion. High explosives don't penetrate armor very well, but they cause large explosions.

As a general rule armor piercing ammunition is better used at closer ranges, and high

explosives are better used at longer ranges. It is also usually preferable to use HE againstlightly armored or unarmored vessels at all ranges. There are many variable however, and

some ships with high velocity guns might use AP all the way out to the third range bracket,

whereas ships with large, low velocity guns might never use AP. If a vessel did not carryAP ammunition for its guns, it may be noted in the Battlefleet 1900 ship statistics.

High explosives (HE) is the default game setting for ammunition usage. A ship is always

assumed to be firing HE unless the commanding player specifically notes the use of AP inthat vessel's gunnery log. Players may assign different ammunition types to different gun

sizes on board a vessel, however all of each gun size must use the same ammunition type

Above: Russian battleships in 1/3000 scale byWTJ Naval
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for the duration of any one turn. For example: A battleship with 30cm and 15cm guns mayfire 30cm AP and 15cm HE. There is no need to declare the 15cm ammo selection because

HE is the default type. The only action required is to write "30cm AP" next to the rangeestimate on that vessel's gunnery log.

Gun Positions, Beam Patterns and Arcs-of-Fire

The tables below show the majorlocations for individual guns positions used throughout this period. There are two major

locating systems:positions and beam-patterns. Positions give letter-coded locations for

specific gun turrets and shielded weapons. Beam-patterns help lay out standard distributionpatterns of individually mounted weapons arrayed along the side orbeam of the vessel. The

letter-coded gunpositions shown here relate directly to the sequence of letters shown on the

each vessel'sship chart. This will aid those players unable to locate images or diagrams of

period vessels. Each of these positions also has an effective arc-of-fire, within which theymay engage their assigned targets, and outside of which they may not fire at all. Within the

chart below are links to photo-diagrams depicting standard examples for the positions

shown.

POSITIONS

A This foremost position has a 265 firing arc and is usually occupiedby the heaviest weapon(s) on board the vessel. Use the 95 arc

centeredtoward the stern to establish where guns at this position may

not fire. Standard example: BritishMajestic class battleships.

B,C An awkward arrangement, these guns are located abreast of eachother, usually on the main deck immediately forward of the

superstructure. Guns in these positions may both fire in a 95 arc

centeredon the bow, and individually have a 135 arc-of-fire

anchoredoff the bow when firing to either side of the ship. This

gives each gun a roughly 182 total firing arc. Standard example:

forward battery of American Columbia class cruisers.

D,E These positions are commonly occupied either by wing turrets orsponsons. Guns in these positions have a 135 arc-of-fireanchoredoff the bow. Standard example: secondary gun turrets on the

AmericanIndiana class battleships.

M-O Usually occupied by wing turrets which were commonly placed insponsons, these positions have a 150 arc-of-fireanchoredoff the

bow. Standard example: RussianRetvisan class battleships.

P-R These are the most extreme wing turretpositions used. Commonlyplaced in prominent sponsons, guns in these positions have a 150

firing arccenteredon the beam. Standard example: French Charles

Martelclass battleship.

S-U Like M & O positions, these were usually occupied by wing turrets.These positions have a 150 arc-of-fireanchoredoff the stern.

V,W Like D & E positions, these are commonly occupied by wing turretsor sponsons. Guns in these positions have a 135 arc-of-fireanchored

off the stern.

X,Y Like B & C positions, these guns are located abreast of each other,usually on the main deck immediately forward of the superstructure.

Guns in these positions may both fire in a 95 arccenteredon the

stern, and individually have a 135 arc of fireanchoredoff the stern

when firing to either side of the ship.
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Z Like position A, this rear-most position has a 265 firing arc and isalso usually occupied by the heaviest weapon(s) on board the vessel.

Use the 95 arccenteredtoward the bow to establish where guns at

this position may not fire.

Stem &

Stern

(Not shown) Mounted in the extreme forward or aft end of a ship,

these weapons have a 95 firing arccenteredon the stem (bow) or

stern, depending on their location. Standard example: secondary

armament for Peresviet class Russian battleships.

Center-

line

(Not shown) Mounted on center-line amidships on the main deck of

a ship, these weapons have a 95 firing arccenteredon the beam, and

may fire off of either the port or starboard side. Standard example:

main torpedo armament for most classes of destroyers.

BEAM PATTERNS

Light caliber weapons not assigned specific positions are usually arrayed in a variety of

sponsons, casemates or shields along both sides of a vessel. The followingBeam Patterns

establish easily remembered categories for the most common types of side armaments. Allpatterns apply equally to port and starboard sides of a vessel. For example, a ship with six-

inch secondary guns deployed in Pattern 2 would be able to fire four of those secondariesstraight forward; two from the port side and two from the starboard side.

BeamPattern 2

Two guns (probably in sponsons) have a 135 arc-of-fireanchoredoff of the bow. Two guns

have a 135 arc-of-fireanchoredoff of the stern. The balance of guns on that side will have

135 arcs-of-firecenteredon the beam.

Beam

Pattern 1

One gun has a 135 arc-of-fireanchoredoff of the bow. One gun has a 135 arc-of-fire

anchoredoff of the stern. The balance of guns on that side will have 135 arcs-of-fire

centeredon the beam.

Beam

Pattern 0

All guns on that side have a 135 arc-of-firecenteredon the beam. Note that torpedoes

mounted on a beam pattern will only have a 60 arc of fire.

4.2 RangingIn order for players to fire salvos at an enemy unit, the range between the firing unit and itstarget must be accurately guessed. In most cases, this involves ship-to-ship firing, althoughin some cases land mounted cannon will be firing at ships and visa-versa. In either case, the

successful guessing of the range to the enemy is required in order to have a chance to score

hits. In order to assign targets and guess ranges, players use the Battlefleet Gunnery Log to record the name or names of each of

their vessel's target(s) and the estimated range to

each of these targets (as well as any ROF or AP

alternatives which the player wishes to make useof). A vessel may engage as many targets as they

have firing positions, but they may only guess onerange per target. No pre-measuring of ranges is

allowed.

Ranging ShotsAny ship may, instead of conducting regular combat fire, conduct a

single ranging shotin order to estimate the distance to enemy vessels. A ranging shot neverresults in ammunition consumption or damage to enemy ships, and its range must be in one

of the main range bracket increments. A vessel may not fire normal combat fire (salvos) on

Die Based Shell Hits

For players who don't like guessingranges to establish shell hits, go to theOptional Rulespage and look at rule

number 406 which tells how the existing

combat chart can be used for die basedshell hits.
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the same turn as ranging shots, but ranging shots may be fired to a range of five rangebrackets (normal effective fire is four range brackets or less, depending on gun size). It is

not necessary to record ranging shot distances on the gunnery log. The controlling playerinstead verbally declares both the shot and its range, placing a splash marker at a landing

point of his choice.

4.3 MeasuringOnce all target assignments and range estimates are completed, players measure the rangesfor each assigned target to establish whether the firing vessels estimated the correct ranges.

Ranges are measured along a line running from the forward funnel on the firing vessel to

the forward funnel on the target vessel. A hit zone is achieved if the estimated range from

the firing vessel's forward funnel intersects with any part of the target vessel or its basewhile maintaining line of sight alignment with the target's forward funnel. If a hit zone is

achieved, mark the target vessel or its base with a red hit marker. If the estimated range

does not land on any part of the target, the rounds for that turn are considered too far away

to have a chance of hitting, and a white "splash" marker is placed at the incorrectly guessedrange point.

Danger ZonesA danger zone is a real life effect due to the combination of shell

trajectory and ship height. If the leading edge of a target vessel or its base lies within thefi rst range bracket, then a distance equivalent to one-half of a range bracket beyond thatpoint counts as the target area instead of only the width of the base or model . If the leading

edge of a target vessel or its base lies with in the second range bracket, then a distance

equivalent to one-quarter of a range bracket beyond that point also counts as the target area.

Danger zones dramatically increase the depth of gun targets and therefore the possibilitiesof hitting at closer ranges.

4.4 Applying HitsOnce all hit zones are known and marked, players will continue with the game until the

damage phase. At that time the actual hits if anycaused by shells within each hit zonewill be rolled for. See theDamage and Sinkingsection for rules relating to shell damage,

and see theCombat Chart Overviewfor a step by step guide to using the shell hit tables and

their modifiers.

Torpedo Effectiveness

Torpedoes were one of the greatdisappointments of this era. Their sale

and support had been pushed to a feverpitch, and it was widely thought that

their use alone would decide theoutcome of entire wars. The difficultiesencountered in real-life use on several

occasions resulted in investigations
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5.0 TORPEDO FIREAfter all movement and gunnery has been

completed, players may conduct torpedo fire. Alltorpedo launches and their targets must be declared

at the beginning of the step, and once declared, may

not be canceled. Torpedoes fired are crossed off ofthe firing vessel's ship log, and if necessary, a launch marker may be placed next to the

vessel's base on the launching side. For smaller games with a limited number of launches,

launch markers may not be needed. Torpedoes may still be fired at a vessel if line of sight to

that target is blocked by another ship base, but as with gunnery, land blocks line of sight(and travel) for torpedo fire.

Running DepthUnless otherwise stated, a torpedo is considered to run at normal depth,

which is set to strike large, deep-draft vessels. If a player wishes to consider any of hisvessels to be carrying shallow running torpedoes or "surface skimmers," it must be recorded

in that vessel's ship log before the game begins. Only destroyers, torpedo boats or torpedogunboats may carry surface skimmers.

A torpedo running at normal depth will always miss vessels whose size is 4 or less and will

inflict standard combat damage to any larger vessels. A torpedo running at shallow depth iseligible to strike all vessels, but will have its size halved against any vessel with a flood

protection rating of good or great.

5.1 Launch ArcsThe arc of fire for torpedo positions mounted on a vessel's center-line is 95 degrees. Thearc-of-fire for torpedoes mounted within the side or end of a vessel is 60 degrees. In order

toestablish a 60 degree arcfor side/end mounted positions, use the 150 degree arc-of-fire

card to establish the blind zone for the respective positions. See theArcs-of-Firepage forexamples.

5.2 Calculating HitsMeasure in a straight line from the forward funnel of the firing vessel to the forward funnel

of the declared target vessel. The first vessel touched by this line must roll on the Torpedo

Hits table of the combat chart. If a hit is scored, place a torpedo-hit marker along the side ofthe vessel struck. The torpedo is considered destroyed and may not be applied against any

further vessels. If no hit is scored, continue measuring along the same line to establish

whether there are additional vessels which intersect the line, rolling for each in turn. Themaximum range for a torpedo is ten cables, measured from the launching vessel's forward

funnel. If a launched torpedo reaches its maximum range without detonating against a

vessel, it is considered destroyed and is eliminated from play.

which nevertheless failed to dampen thespirits of the destroyer and torpedo boat

flotillas of the time. Eventually thetorpedo was honed into an efficient

weapon of war, but that did not happenuntil later. For the major part of the pre-dreadnought era, torpedoes continuedto be a rather closely guarded, over-

rated, very expensive and ratherinaccurate, short ranged weapon.
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See theCombat Chart Overviewfor more information about using the Torpedo table.

See theDamage and Sinkingsection for more about applying torpedo damage.See theScales Pagefor more about distances and "cables."

6.0 RecordingDamageAs a vessel sustains successive

hits, its Ship Log is used to recordthe damage and its side-effects.

Areas affected include armament,

speed, hull (flooding), fires,

damage control and othersupporting features like steering,

searchlights and the bridge andconning tower complexes ateither ends of the ship. Steps One,

Two and Four of the Damage Phase are used to calculate damage or its after-effects, and

Step Three is used to conduct damage control (SeeDamage Controlfor descriptions of StepThree). Note that while mutual shell and torpedo fire is considered simultaneous, the

individual steps of the damage phase are not simultaneous. The action at each damage step

affects and preempts action in the following damage steps, although existing hits and

damage are not preempted.

Example 1). A Gunnery Phase shell hit scored by a gun which was then lost during Step

One : Fire & Flooding is still able to score the damage which came as a result of it'sstriking.Example 2). A DC hit suffered by a ship during Step One - Fire & Flooding is lost

immediately and may not be used in Step Three - Damage Control.

Example 3). A vessel which suffers uneven flooding as a result of an explosion during StepOne - Fire & Flooding, and then uses counterflooding and damage control dice to reduce

the effects of the flooding, may end up not being required to roll for sinking or suffer effects

of uneven flooding during Step Four - Sinking & Listing.

Step One - Fire & Flooding: Check for complications of ongoing fire and heavy flooding.

All commanders whose vessels have active fires and/or heavy or severe flooding must roll

once for each fire, and once for each flooded compartment on theFire and/orHvy/Sev FLcolumns of the Critical Effects Chart and apply the resulting effects if any. Note that the

Fires section of the combat chart includes separate columns for external and internal fires,

and that a result which may result in one or more fires being extinguished is also included.TheHvy/Sev FL column which is an abbreviation meaningHeavy or Severe Flooding

may trigger fresh FL hits. Any FL hits that occur as a result of this die roll must be

randomly rolled for to see if it occurs in the same compartment at the triggering FL hit, or inan adjoining compartment, even if the adjoining compartment previous had no FL hits in it.

Above: Spanish cruiser Maria Teresa in 1/3000 scalebyWTJ Naval.
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Step Two - Hits: Vessels which correctly guessed the ranges of enemy vessels or positions

during the gunnery phase may now roll to achieve actual shell hits on the AP or HE hittables corresponding to the ammunition they used. Any hits which occur as a result of the

die rolls are then applied to the vessels or positions in question. All shell hits are considered

to occur simultaneously.

During the same step, players also calculate and apply damage for any torpedoes which

struck vessels during the Torpedo Movement Phase of that turn. Use the FloodingOccurrence section of the combat chart to check for damage caused by each torpedo hit.

Torpedo hits are considered to occur simultaneously with all other torpedo and shell hits for

that turn.

See theCombat Chart Overviewfor explanations of all the hit tables and how to use them.

See theGunnery and Torpedoespage for explanations on how to conduct firing.

Step Four - Sinking & Listing: As a vessel suffers flooding, each of its four main

compartments will be marked with the most severe type of flooding (if any) present in that

area. Each level of flooding carries an inherent point value; light flooding equals one point,moderate equals two points, heavy equals three points and severe flooding equals four

points.

Listing (uneven flooding): If opposing vessel compartments suffer from different flooding

levels, the uneven weight distribution of the seawater will cause the ship to tilt orlist. If the

difference is from side-to-side, the ship will list to port or starboard. If the difference is

between fore and aft sections, the vessel will be "down by the bows" or "down by the stern."

A famous example of the former was the civilian ocean liner Titanic, which before sinking,was dramatically down by the bows. Players whose vessels suffer from uneven flooding

must consult the Uneven Flooding portion of the Listing & Sinking table and apply itseffects to the ship in question. Note that a fore/aft disparity is less likely to result in the loss

of a ship.

Sinking: When the total value of flooding points present on a vessel reaches five or more,the controlling player must roll on the Sinking portion of the Listing & Sinking table on the

combat chart. If the unmodified die roll result falls within the corresponding Sink Roll

range, the vessel in question has irredeemably begun to sink. To the right of the result is a

number which indicates how many turns the ship will take to sink. A sinking vessel

conducts no further movement and it cannot launch torpedoes or conduct damage control. Ifa sinking vessel attempts to fire its guns, it must roll 1D6 at the start of each gunnery phase

to see if the gun crews have abandoned their posts. On a die result of 1-3 the ship maycontinue firing active (undamaged) guns. On a die result of 4-6 the crews abandon all guns

for the rest of the game. No further gunfire by that ship is permitted. Until it disappears

under the waves, a vessel will remain a navigational and line-of-sight obstacle to other shipsand batteries.
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6.1 Damage TypesSeveral of the Battlefleet 1900 combat chart tables contain abbreviations of damage which

may be inflicted on participating vessels. Each of these damage codes triggers a very

specific set of events, including fires, flooding, explosions and damaged or destroyedweapons. The glossary below offers definitions of all damage codes. Immediately following

are guidelines for recording and positioning the various damage types. If a certain type ofdamage is called for on a vessel and there is no feature of that type on board, then the hit is

counted as no effectunless otherwise called for by the nature of the hit in question.

Damage Code Glossary

BR Bridge Area Mark one Bridge box on the vessel's ship log with asingle damage slash. If there are no undamaged

bridge boxes, then an existing damaged box is

marked as destroyed. A vessel suffers minus one (-1)

on every command roll for each damaged ordestroyed Bridge box.

CT Conning Tower Mark one Conning Tower box on the vessel's ship logwith a single damage slash and roll for additional

damage on the Critical Effects table. A vessel with

any damaged CT boxes may not change its owncourse and will not respond to change course orders

from divisional or fleet flagships. If the vessel is a

flagship, it may not issue divisional or fleet orders or

attempt any command functions except theRecoverrom CT hitfunction.

CAP Capsize Vessel has suffered uneven flooding which hascaused it to flip onto its side and begin sinking. Nofurther movement, command functions or weapon

fire may be conducted by or from the vessel.

Capsized vessels take two turns to sink.

DC Damage Control Mark one damage control (DC) box on the ship log

with a single damage slash. If no undamaged DC

boxes are available, mark a previously damaged DC

box as destroyed. Damaged and destroyed DC boxesdeprive a vessel of an equivalent number of DC die

rolls. Example: A ship which began the game with

six DC die rolls (corresponding to the six DC boxes

on the ship log) suffers two DC boxes damaged. Thatship may now only use four DC die rolls each turn to

attempt repairs.

E Explosion Roll for an explosion on the Critical Effects Chart,adding to the vessel's ship log any resulting fire and

flood damage and effects which come about as a
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result of the occurrence. Note that explosions areeither Internal (i) or External (e).

EH Electric &

Hydraulic

Roll for Electric/Hydraulic hits on the Internal

Damage portion of the Critical Effects table, addingto the vessel's ship log any resulting weapon and

damage control effects which occur as a result. Note

that the damage hits that occur as a result of EHdamage must be repaired individually (as in the case

of an MM hit, which could knock out numerous main

positions).

F Fire One fire is started on board the vessel. Write an F in

the appropriate Fire section of the vessel's ship log.

Note that there are Internal (i) fires and External (e)

fires. Each type has very different implications for

the ship and should be recorded in the corresponding

compartment in the Fires box in the ship log.An " F '

hi t i s always considered external unless expli citl y

noted as being internal by the " iF " code.

During the first step of each Damage phase, eachvessel which has fires on board must roll one die for

each fire. Each die roll will result either in an

explosion, general damage, the fire going out or no

change in the fire's condition. In the case of anexplosion, refer to the corresponding column on the

same table (Internal fires cause internal explosion,

External fires cause external explosions) and roll onedie for further effects. In the case of damage hits,

refer to the corresponding Di or De table and roll one

die for further effects. In the case of the fire going out(which may or may not have happened due to crew

efforts) erase one fire of that typefrom the Fires box

in the ship log.

FL Flooding Roll once on the appropriate Flooding Occurrence

and Effects sections of the Flooding Chart and apply

the results to the Ship Log.

There are four different magnitudes of flooding; light,

moderate, heavy and severe. These flooding events

can be triggered by shell fire, torpedo hits, and

explosions. The affected zone of a vessel is markedonly with the worst level of flooding occurring in that

zone. Vessels always roll on the Flooding Effects

section for each and every flooding hit, even if the hit


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in question is of a lesser magnitude than that already

affecting the zone.

FU Funnel Cross out one propulsion box as destroyed. Destroyedpropulsion boxes are not repairable. A vessel can

only suffer one funnel hit during a game..

i Internal Designates the hit in question to be an internal hitinstead of an external hit. Critical effects for a hit

with an "i" designation are resolved on the Internal

box of the critical effects chart. This designator isused primarily to indicate when damage occurring on

the External portion of the Critical Effect table have

transformed into Internal problems.

LT Searchlight

Platform

Cross out one searchlight box as destroyed.Destroyed searchlight boxes are not repairable.

M Main Hit Mark one randomly selected main armament position

with a damage slash. Main weapons at that positionmay not fire again until the position is repaired. An

Mx result causes a main position to be destroyed

instead of damaged. An MM result causes all mainarmament positions to suffer one damage mark each

regardless of previous status.

An M hit on a vessel which never had any main class

weapons immediately becomes a P hit on a die roll of

1through 3or an FL hit on a result of4through 6on

1D6.

An M hit will also trigger an immediate roll on the

Internal: Main/TT column of the critical effects tableif it resulted directly from by a shell hit with a 100>

rating or greater. Any M hits which result from the

General Damage table use the External: Main/TT

column box on the critical effects table. M hits whichresult from electric/hydraulic (EH) hits do not trigger

a critical effect roll. Main positions which haveflooded magazines are exempt from M hit related

critical effect die rolls. Any M damage hit which

directly results in an explosion is immediatelytransformed into a destroyed hit.

P Propulsion

Damage

Mark one previously undamaged propulsion box with

a damage slash. Available speed for the vessel isreduced to the next highest unmarked box. A Px

result causes a propulsion box to be destroyed instead

of damaged.


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R Rudder An R hit results in one of three subordinate hit types:

RC, RP or RS.RC means the rudder is jammed or fixed on center-

line, causing the ship to immediately sustain three TR

hits for the rest of the time that the rudder is locked in

the RC position. Mark the appropriate section of theship's log to show the RC and 3TR hits. An RC hit

forces a vessel to steer using its engines, which is a

far less efficient way of turning.RP means the rudder is jammed to port, forcing the

vessel to turn in that direction using the smallest

possible turning circle until the rudder is un-jammed.

RS means the rudder is jammed to starboard, forcingthe vessel to turn in that direction using the smallest

possible turning circle until the rudder is un-jammed.

A rudder which is already jammed or fixed in acertain position will not be effected by ensuing Rhits. An RC condition can also be ordered on purpose

by successfully executing a Secure R repair roll. Thiseffectively locks the rudder on center-line, preventing

any whiplashing of the rudder as a result of later

damage, etc. Vessels with their rudders fixed oncenter-line may still maneuver using the ship's

engines (See RC above). While any R hits exist, all

TR hits on the steering engines (ST) damage line are

ignored. If however, a damaged or secured rudder is

repaired or released, all TR hits to the steeringengines again become active.

Locking the Rudder: The main reason a player might

want to lock the rudder of a ship in place is if the aft

zone of the ship is suffering flooding which threatens

to become worse. In such a case locking the rudderon centerline while there is still access to the aft

steering compartment may prevent future crippling of

the ship's ability to steer. Because if a ship suffers a

crippling RP of RS hit afterits aft compartment

becomes severely flooded, it will then be impossibleto repair the R hit. Locking the rudder is a method of

reducing the effects of future damage to the ship,although locking itself drastically reduces a ship's

maneuverability and should only be done after

careful consideration.

S Secondary Hit Mark one secondary class weapon or position with a


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the Critical Effects Chart for possible extra damage.Use the Internal column of the chart if the TT hit was

a result of damage from the Di column, and use the

External column of the chart if the TT hit was a resultof damage from the De column of the damage hits

table.

TR Turn Radius A vessel with one turning radius hit may not turnmore than 60 in any one turn (two increments of the

free turning circle). A vessel with two turning radius

hits may only turn 45 in any one turn (one and a half

increments of the free turning circle). A vessel withthree or more turning radius hits may not turn more

than 30 in any one turn (one increment of the turning

circle). TR hits caused by uneven flooding will

disappear or be reduced if the vessel is levelled offvia counter-flooding.

Note: There are three possible causes of TR hits:Steering engine damage; Uneven flooding, and

rudder damage or locking.

T Tertiary Hit Mark one tertiary class weapon or position with adamage slash. Weapons at those positions may not

fire again until they are individually repaired. A Tx

result causes the involved position(s) to be destroyed

instead of damaged.

See the Secondary Hitsection above for more about

the classification of gun positions and patterns.

WI Wireless Indicates damage to the radio or "wireless"

equipment and aerials. Not repairable during a battle.

x Destroyed A letter X after a damage code requires that the

position in question be crossed out with a destroyedmark.

6.2 Damage LocationsSome types of damage require players to establish where on the vessel that the damage

occurred. Some of these only apply to random positions or features, whereas other types ofdamage must be applied in a specific order. Refer to theBattlefleet Randomizerto

randomly select awkwardly or oddly arranged weapon positions.

Propulsion - Propulsion boxes are marked-off progressively, beginning with the highest

value and working down to the lowest value, at which point the vessel may no longer move.Each of the boxes may only have one damage or destroyed mark on them at any one time.
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Propulsion hits which occur beyond the available boxes are recorded in the margin andmust be repaired before repairs to any propulsion boxes may be attempted. Damaged boxes

are always migrated down to make room for destroyed boxes. I.E. - A damaged box cannotbe marked as destroyed while undamaged boxes remain below it.

Example: A Px hit is inflicted on a cruiser which already has two boxes destroyed and four

damaged (dead in the water). One damage mark would be recorded in the margin, and thethird damaged box would be converted into a destroyed box. The vessel will now have three

destroyed propulsion boxes, three damaged propulsion boxes, and an additional damage to

"propulsion access" which must be repaired before any repairs of the propulsion boxesproper may be attempted.

Lettered Positions - The locations of any hits sustained by "Lettered" weapon positions

(BC, MO, SU, etc.) are rolled for individually and assigned regardless of existing damage tothem. For example, if a vessel's main turret A already has one damage slash, it can still

receive more damage slashes. There is no limit to the number of damage slashes and

destroyed markers that can be accumulated by any one lettered position.

Numbered Patterns - The locations of any hits sustained by weapons dispersed among

numbered "Beam Patterns" are always removed from the list of currently

undamaged/undestroyed weapons for that type. For example, if a vessel's six secondaryguns are located in beam pattern 0 and one of those guns has already been damaged, a new

S hit will cause another previously undamaged gun to be crossed out. Usually this will

result in a descending sequence of crossed-out numbers on the vessel's ship log as"patterned" guns are steadily lost, depending on how closely players track the three main

beam patterns. See the Ship Log Overview for more details on how to display beam

patterns.

Main - Most main ship armaments will be mounted in lettered positions (as opposed tonumbered patterns). Because of this, hits will usually be randomly located, which is easy

when main guns are positioned in only two turrets. Most players assign a 1through 3roll tothe forward turret and a 4through 6roll to the aft turret and then roll one die to decided

which turret is hit. Ships which have their main armament in a lozenge (diamond) layout

should use the embattled-side rule and break the location die roll into thirds instead of

halves. A previously destroyed main position which sustains a hit will still trigger a criticalhit check unless its magazine has been successfully flooded.

Secondary and Tertiary - Each secondary or tertiary hit causes the damage or destruction

of one gun or position randomly selected from available types (some ships may have more

than one set of secondary guns). The locations of all S and T hits are always assignedrandomly from existing weapons throughout the entire vessel and should not be removed

only from the embattled side of a vessel.

A vessel which has not deployed its boat gun crews may only suffer a maximum of one boat

gun hit from any one shell hit (no multiple gun losses allowed). Only ships with armoreddecks may do this. Vessels without armored decks must always have their boat guns


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manned.

Flooding - Flooding due to shell or torpedo fire will occur randomly on the embattled sideof a vessel. For example: Hits striking the port side of a vessel will be randomly established

as being in either the forward, port amidships, or aft zone by splitting a six sided die roll

(1D6) into thirds. If hit from ahead, the damage will be randomly established as being in theforward, port amidships or starboard amidships zones. If due to an explosion, the damage

will be randomly located in any one of the four compartments.

6.3 Damage ControlStep three of the damage phase is used to attempt repair of damaged areas, flood magazines,

counter-flood to correct listing or a variety of other important functions. All damage controlactions taken during this step are considered simultaneous, and they do not need to be

executed in any particular order within the step.

All damage control actions are conducted according to the results of Damage Control (DC)dice, only one of which may be rolled against any one damage event. The number of

damage control dice which a ship starts the game with is six for all ships size 5 and over,and three for ships size 4 and under. The number of boxes on the DC line of the ship log

corresponds to the number of DC dice available at any one time. As DC hits are suffered on

a vessel, the DC boxes will be progressively marked off, reducing the number of DC rolls

allowed per turn for that vessel.

Repair Actions - Weapons and/or positions which have been destroyed are not repairable,

and are marked off with a full X. Positions which have only been damaged are marked offwith a diagonal slash mark, which indicates that they are repairable. To attempt damage

repair, look up the corresponding roll values for that damage type as shown on the DamageControl box. This represents the value range within which a ship's commander must roll inorder to repair the damaged feature. Players may also attempt to modify a pending sink roll

by one die point, or stop the critical flooding event which can be triggered by heavy

flooding. If a position has more than one damage slash, each slash must be individuallyrepaired, otherwise the position is still considered damaged and out of commission. Non-

command related repair actions may still be conducted even if a vessel has suffered a

Conning Tower hit (See below). Players must declare specifically which type of repair theyare making before rolling the repair dice. Below are the basic Repair Functions and a basic

outline of their use:

Repair P, BR: A successful die roll will repair one damaged propulsion box orone bridgehit.

Repair M, ST (1TR): A successful die roll will repair one damaged main armament

position orone steering engine hit. Note that steering engine hits manifest themselves asturning radius hits. The repair of a steering engine hit actually allows a player to erase one

of the TR hits shown on the ST line of the ship log.

Stop Hvy FL roll: A successful die roll allows a player to "contain" a heavy flooding event
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in any one of the ship's zones, thereby preventing that flooding event from triggering anyfurther Critical Effect roles during the first step of the Damage Phase. Note that severe

flooding events cannot be contained, and there is no need to contain light or mediumflooding events because they do not trigger critical events. Draw a box around the "Hvy"

entry on the shop log to show that specific flooding condition as being contained. If that

zone suffers a new heavy flooding hit at a later point in the game, the existing floodingcontainment is lost and the player must attempt to roll again on this table to re-contain the

heavy flooding.

Repair S, DC, R: A successful die roll will repair one damaged secondary gun position orone damage control box orone rudder hit.

Secure/Disengage R: A successful die roll allows a player to secure an otherwise

undamaged rudder on center-line, or to free a rudder which was previously secured. Secured

rudders assume an RC condition (locked on center-line) which forces a vessel to use itsengines to steer. Players may want to secure a rudder if the aft portion of a vessel has

suffered heavy damage or flooding and is in danger of blocking access to the steering areas.

Securing the rudder prevents some types of possible damage from sending the vessel into an

uncontrollable spin.-1 this turn's sink roll: A successful die roll allows a player to subtract one point from the

sinking die roll for that vessel. The bonus point is only valid for that turn.

Command Functions - Command related actions are somewhat different than repair

actions in that they depend on an intact chain of command. Also, players should note that

the command functions table includes twoRead Message actions which are used onlyduring the Command Phase of the game, not during the Damage Control Phase. Command

f

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