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GQ Starshell Rules

Era: WW2 · Source: Naval Wargames Society

Night fighting and starshell illumination rules supplement for General Quarters naval wargames.

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Starshell Rules for General Quarters This is a set of optional rules for General Quarters covering the use of starshells in World War II night battles. These rules are an adaptation of the starshell rules found in Command at Sea. Starshells can be used to illuminate a surface target. The firing player must designate the firing ship’s battery and a visible surface target or plotted point on land. Starshells may be fired by guns 3” or larger. A ship’s main or secondary armament may fire starshells and must be able to fire in the desired direction. Batteries, which fire starshells, may not fire normal shells during that Game Turn. Example: Kongo fires starshells using its port secondary battery. It may still fire its starboard secondary battery normally as well as its main battery. During the Gunnery Combat phase, resolve starshell guns first for hits and misses and the location of the fire. After that, the other guns fire, and can benefit from any illumination the starshells provide. Starshells have a minimum range of 16” (4000 yards). Inside this range, the shell is moving too fast for the chute to deploy without shredding. When resolving starshell fire, the player rolls on the straddle table normally. If successful straddle is rolled, the starshell lands at the desired location. If the straddle roll is unsuccessful, then roll D10 on the following table to determine where the starshell lands. Starshell Miss Table D10 roll Miss Distance 0 10” short 1 8” short 2 6” short 3 4” short 4 2” short 5 2” long 6 4” long 7 6” long 8 8” long 9 10” long Any unit within 4” (1000 yards) of the point is immediately illuminated for that Game Turn. Units between the starshells and another unit are silhouetted (also considered illuminated) to a range of 40” (10,000 yards) from the point of impact. Starshell illumination lasts for an entire Game Turn and must be renewed each Game Turn.

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