An account of events aboard HMS Hermes according to Able Hand Adrian F. Potter: The enemy attack was underway, every gun aboard was turned skywards. There was no panic, no hysteria. We'd survived attacks before and what planes we could see were headed for the Indominable. But then I heard another crewman shout "Bombers on the port side!" I looked down over and just above level I could see a formation of three Kate bombers just as they released their fish. I saw those torpedoes drop into the water and felt a chill run down my spine. They'd waited until nearly the last possible second to release their payload. Calls of "Torpedo incoming!" echoed across the deck. Hermes responded sluggishly, expectantly so and to our dismay far too slowly. One of the chaps near my gun position yelled out "Brace! Brace!" I fell to the deck and covered my head, then waited what felt like a century. Finally the impact, three dull thuds which seemed to rattle the ship to its core with each impact. From my position; aft of the tower on the starboard side I looked over the deck and saw the remnants of three great plumes of water showering the deck. For a moment it seemed as if Hermes had taken the hits in stride as she held close to an even keel for a moment. But as soon as the engines lost power and Hermes was adrift, it was sure enough what the outcome was. She lurched over onto her side, quickly adopting a noticeable list. Some gunnery stations continued to pour fire out into the skies in hopes of warding off more attackers. But then came the second wave. Two more explosions shook her and as we felt Hermes grinding to a halt, the list continued to worsen before quickly settling. That's when the magazines went off. Men were gathering on deck to form a damage control party, myself included. We were rushing off to the port side to try and assess the damage of the second wave when the third one hit. One moment I was in a mad dash to get across the deck, the next thing I knew I was airborne. The blast was so powerful it had sent me flying overboard. I hit the water so hard I must have sunk two or three meters. Thankfully a combination of my life vest and some vigorous paddling was enough to get me to the surface. As I broke the waters surface I looked back at what had once been the ship I called home. The waves seemed to climb greedily towards the flight deck as Hermes continued to list further over, flames littered her flight deck as a great plume of black smoke rose from the hole that was once the fore elevator. The ocean was adrift with men that had been blown over as well. Some alive, some dead. We all gathered together and watched in horror as our home continued to flounder. Eventually she rolled over onto her side entirely and plunged beneath the surface. In her place was a mass of debris consisting of tins, life jackets, and a handful of Carley floats atop the churned waters. When Egret pulled up to collect survivors we climbed aboard and began a headcount, and in the end only a little over a hundred of us got out. That night, as we laid in a bunk room aboard an aid ship we cried. Some cried for their friends lost, some cried for the ship. We shed tears of anguish, regret, frustration, and bitterness. I can assure you every man who survived the sinking of Hermes cried that night, and anyone else who was on board will tell you the same.
It would be really nice if the next campaign was set in the Atlantic or the Mediterranean. I don't know if there are mods that allow this change, but a change the theater of war could be very interesting. Extra points if you fight with the axis ;)
I've been following this series from the start (and you for years), and I thought this series was going to come to an anticlimactic end after the last few and then you ran into this fleet suddenly. Holy crap, that was one hell of an ending to the series. Keep it up man, you're the only WW2 naval gamer I watch because nobody else compares. With that said, I'm looking forward to that new modern series you're doing where you're replicating Red Storm Rising etc.
Those flight crews gave their full measure on that last attack. The first half of this playlist was pretty good, but once you had the advantage it did get a little slow. Still, I enjoyed it. Thanks for posting.
17:45 Good example of torpedo attack here. If you're playing a realistic game like this, aim all torpdeos to the same side of the target ship. This overwhelms any counter-flooding attempts etc. A great example of this is Musashi and Yamato's sinkings. Yamato sank much easier because the torpedo bombers all targeted the port-side.
Alternatively, Anvil attack patterns ( I think) make it much harder to dodge the torpedoes coming from both sides at slightly odd angles, you eat one or the other with best-pattern evasions.
HMS Hermes served valiantly through all these episodes only to go out taking 7 torpedoes to save the more valuable Indomitable. V.C. to the Hermes and her gallant crew.
Wolfpack: you should have turned starboard instead of port since the torpedo bombers are coming from 7 o'clock direction. You were exposing your side towards torpedoes
Come, cheer up, my lads, 'tis to glory we steer, To add something more to this wonderful year; To honour we call you, as freemen not slaves, For who are as free as the sons of the waves? Heart of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men, we always are ready; Steady, boys, steady! We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.
one of the proper ways to dodge torps is either have the formation have a vertical heading to what is coming right off the bat don't wait until they are in the midst of a strike against you. as soon as you see planes with the torps being released or in sight switch the formation around. i know you want a full broad side for your aa to take them but maneuverability is much more preferable than praying your aa gets them. and even if you eat a torp it will have to usually be just on the nose though if you are heading away it will unfortunately cripple the engines. though heading away gives your formations aa to get more of a crack at the enemy aircraft. take it how ever you like but i save more ships that way so i just thought you might consider those formation choices i found out from playing.
5:50 Oh dear! Half the available torpedo bombers gone. Catastrophic ! HMS Hermes has been a good servant 8:24 to survive up to now. She survived here longer than she originally did!
Thanks for the awesome series Wolfpack! I'd like to see that Atlantic campaign whenever you're ready of course. But some more UBOAT and SH3 Med campaign are always a good show!
Nice gameplay and commentary. It became an eye for eye and tooth for a tooth after the Hermes was lost. The reality though a lot of teeth were knocked out judging by the Japanese losses at the end of the campaign.
Thanks, Wolfpack, for this different series. I would really enjoy series that, after the first episode, wasn’t a one sided turkey shoot and crushing victory. Now that we’ve seen these in color, you should replay this as the IJN but do it in black and white to give a cool WWII feel to the combat. 👍
Usually I take issue with the computer's AA. It tends to be a wee bit too accurate. In this, however, those Albacores would have been absolutely mauled by the Sallys. Those things wouldn't have had so much as a fart's chance in a tornado of making it to their targets. Especially when they settled in for their torpedo runs. But whatever. Like I said, it's usually the computer opponent that gets a wee bit of a nudge through fights at times. So I'm not too upset the wind went the other direction this time.
Great series, great finale. Little touches such as playing 'Hearts of Oak' elevate your videos, excellent editing as well. We'll done. Look forward to whatever comes next
I can appreciate the fact they add chances for dud torpedoes but it's a shame that the angle of the torp doesn't matter at all. whether its head-on or a glancing blow they always detonate, would be nice to see that changed
Great campaign Wolfpack! Loved the way you played because it felt as if it's creating an authentic story-line and based on the other comments, I hope to see another series for the Mediterranean war.
I have to say, I found the AA in this game to be very frustrating and lopsided. The Japanese could seemingly fly through seemingly impenetrable screens of AA and not even be hit, meanwhile the mere smell of cordite would knock down entire flights of your planes. The AA didn't seem to be nearly as bad in the last few campaigns that you played (either for the Allies or the Axis). But a good series nonetheless! Keep up the good work.
Had a tear in my eye when Hermes slipped below the surface. I so wanted to see a battleship surface battle, but oh well. So, when does the next campaign start?
What happened to the Hermes was just tragic, the first three hits looked bad but she would have made it. After the second spread I still wanted to believe but after the third spread hit there was just no hope left, talk about rotten luck !
Loved it. Most competitive yet I think... maybe differences between US and UK naval capabilities idk... For a suggestion, how about turning the scenario around and playing as the Japanese? Hmmm 🤔 Loved it, once again you provide Mr Wolf 👍✌️😎
And I have to say that if...IF... you should choose my suggestion and play the same scenario as the Japanese... Get your longer ranged aircraft involved from the jump. And that means carriers over Bships. And we all know you love the Battle wagons.... and we can't deny Yamato, Musashi, Fuso, and the rest are indeed beautiful ships that have impressive capabilities. It's just that you have to look at the gigantic area involved... and then you will agree with me. Airpower. 👍✌️😎
What a slaughter! Poor old Hermes, she really did her best. A bad day to be a pilot on the British side. What are the next battles? Please stay tuned to this series.
