Dale Hillier and Peter Grining recently exchanged emails discussing unexploded ordnance aboard ships. This was an important issue in the Falklands conflict, although it can be a factor in any battle involving bombing attacks. For some reason, the rule covering duds in SAW I did not make it into the SAW II. Dud bombs are mentioned in 6.3.4.1.2 of the rules. In the Trilogy games, duds are ignored, simply being treated as a miss. To model them in the game, we would have to increase the chance of a bomb striking its target, then roll to see if the fuze has functioned properly. This would take much more time during play. The chance of a dud depends primarily on the design of the weapon. Early bombs had dud rates as high as 40% . Only this type of air ordnance could routinely survive impact intact. A bomb's small size means that unless the casing actually strikes vital equipment, there will be little effect on the ship's capability. Casualties are almost unheard of, except for sailors that die of fright. Therefore, dud bombs are worth modeling only in terms of their post-battle effects. A referee could (if they wish) figure out the chance of a dud being aboard, based on the number of bombs dropped against a target, the chance of a hit, and the chance of a dud. As a rule of thumb, WW I ordnance has a 40% dud rate, WW II has a 20% dud rate, and modern ordnance has a 10% dud rate. Also, a lot of duds can be removed easily. A ship's problems start when one embeds itself in the ship's vitals. This is no more than 10% of the dud bombs. Thus, the chance of a dud is: Number of bombs * hit chance *dud chance *10% . Based on his Falklands reading, Peter Grining has proposed a house rule that treats a UXB like any other post-battle repair. They have to cut a removal route through the ship (D6 hours) and the EOD team also has to be delivered to the ship before the clock starts. A small helicopter or small boat can deliver the team and equipment. 6 hour disarm chance -60% 12 hour disarm chance -automatic At the 6 and 12 hour mark there is also a 5% chance of the UXB exploding and inflicting full damage. BT Back to The Naval Sitrep # 27 Table of Contents Back to Naval Sitrep List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List & copy Copyright 2004 by Larry Bond and Clash of Arms. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history and related articles are available at http://www.magweb.com