Fletcher Pratt Naval Wargame - part 3

Z31 jinking furiously to avoid British shells.  The firing arrow in the centre marks one of Z31's torpedoes.

The Germans emerged from the mouth of the fjord with Z31 making smoke.  The superior range of the Scharnhorst's 11 inch main battery was soon finding targets among the RN force while British salvos were heading the other way.

RN DDs were also laying smoke - but some of those German shells have found the range.

One of the RN DDs expires in a fiery blast!

British DDs launch torpedoes while Z31, still making smoke takes hits.  Lots of them.

By now, Scharnhorst was well within range of RN shellfire.

An overview of the action.  Scharnhorst has slowed down as the RN force draws nearer.

Another overview photo.

Meanwhile, Gneisenau and Z32 had been heading north.  The preoccupied Royal navy players didn't notice them until Gneisenau opened fire!

Kev Tingle, the commander of Z31 places his final firing arrow before taking to the boats

Endgame.  Scharnhorst pictured just before she sank gracefully beneath the waves.

After about two and a half hours the game drew to a close at the point where Scharnhorst sank.  In conclusion, while the initial German force had been sunk, the RN force was very battered and in no position to limit the freedom of action of the Gneisenau.  A tactical draw then, but a strategic victory for the Brits who can better afford to make good their losses. 
According to the ship cards I retrieved (all but one of the British DDs), the final score was as follows:
Scharnhorst - sunk
Z31 - sunk
Gneisenau - untouched
Z32 - untouched
Glory-less - sinking
Suffolk - minor damage (c20%)
Kent - untouched
Leander - sunk
Ajax - sunk
Afridi - one third damage
Cossack - two thirds damage
Bedouin - sunk
Ashanti - minor damage (c15%)

A bloody business all in all, but player enthusiasm remained high and many asked me to run further such games.  I plan to get in another F-P game during January.