Quick Answer
Hold fire until the two-minute authorization point, then use the two forward observers to locate the armored cruiser and engage it with AP. The cruiser disables aerial reconnaissance while active, so do not wait for air support to solve identification. Its destruction completes Rock of Gibraltar. A civilian liner later enters the strait on a timed course; intercepting it is optional, and escape does not reopen or fail the completed cruiser objective. The mission provides 150 requisition, 10 powder charges, and four medal slots. Keep HE or HCHE only for non-armored targets if you choose the optional branch, and protect allies throughout.
Mission Facts
| Field | Checked value |
|---|---|
| Mission number | 8 |
| Location | Bay of Gibraltar, southern tip of Iberia |
| Initial funds | 150 requisition |
| Charge quota | 10 powder charges |
| Medal slots | 4 |
| Enemy summary | armored Cruiser 1; Lusitania 1; Civilian 16; Ally Spotter 2; Alpha reference 1; Bravo reference 1 |
| Recommended ammunition | AP, HCHE, HE |
Step-by-Step Route
- Begin with a cease-fire note at the top of the screen: no shot is authorized before the two-minute point, regardless of how clear or threatening the first contact appears.
- Record 150 requisition, 10 powder charges, four medal slots, and the mission’s tutorial identity. Keep the small resource pool visible while waiting rather than making purchases by assumption.
- Separate the primary armored cruiser from the later liner branch. Give each vessel its own permission, ammunition, result, and completion fields.
- Use the two ally spotters as the available means of locating the cruiser while aerial reconnaissance is blocked. Preserve Alpha and Bravo as references, not guessed firing coordinates.
- At the two-minute authorization point, verify that the waiting order has ended. Permission and identification must both be positive before the first AP commitment.
- Choose AP for the armored cruiser and observe the reported effect. Do not substitute HE or HCHE merely because the target is stationary in the bay.
- Continue the cruiser engagement from current feedback while protecting ally spotters and maintaining the 10-charge count. The objective is destruction, not a particular number of shots.
- When the cruiser is destroyed, mark the primary objective complete. Once the cruiser is gone, continue according to the current objective; using reconnaissance afterward is not part of the clear condition.
- Listen for the later optional liner opportunity and decide deliberately whether the current run will pursue it. Missing that window does not invalidate the cruiser clear.
- If attempting the liner, track its timed course and possible escape separately from the completed primary result. Use HE or HCHE only for the non-armored branch described by the mission advice.
- Account for the civilian roster and ally safety before every optional shot. A secondary opportunity does not weaken the zero-ally-kill requirement.
- Close the run by recording cruiser destruction, liner interception or escape, requisition spent, recon use, enemy kills, and the four reported medal grades.
- Keep Flying False Colours as the completion identity and reserve Order of Merit for a confirmed all-gold result across every medal.
Detailed Walkthrough
The silent watch
Objective: Spend the opening delay on identification and resource preparation without violating the prohibition on early fire.
For the first two minutes, restraint is a mission action. Put the authorization time in a prominent place and treat every visible target cue before that point as observation only. The bay setting, the Alpha and Bravo references, and the presence of an armored cruiser can support identification, but none cancels the cease-fire. Record the 150-requisition starting pool and 10 powder charges while the clock runs. Create distinct entries for the cruiser, the Lusitania, 16 civilians, two ally spotters, and the two named references. This prevents the later liner opportunity from being confused with the primary ship. It also protects the spotters from being lost in a vessel-focused view. The mission is labeled Tutorial, but that identity does not relax the order or imply that a premature shot is harmless. When the time boundary arrives, confirm the authorization state rather than firing merely because the displayed timer appears close.
Watch for
- Firing at a confidently identified cruiser before authorization.
- Treating a tutorial mission as permission to test the cease-fire boundary.
- Using Alpha or Bravo as if they were published coordinates.
Observer-led target verification
Objective: Combine the two forward-observer reports with the armor classification, then commit AP only after identity and permission agree.
The cruiser suppresses aerial reconnaissance while it remains active. Waiting for an air-recon option is therefore the wrong dependency. Two forward observers can locate the ship, so use those observations to verify the strike identity. Keep “located,” “armored,” and “authorized” as separate checks. AP is required for the armored cruiser; HE and HCHE belong to non-armored targets if the optional interception is attempted. That distinction should survive every reload decision. Once the first AP shot is made, update the cruiser state from visible feedback rather than from expectation. Continue only as necessary to produce confirmed destruction. Derive range and bearing from the current observer reports, then use mission feedback to decide whether another round is needed. Maintaining that boundary makes the process portable across the live mission display and keeps the guide from becoming a brittle memorized solution. Track ally spotters on each commitment because a correct ship identification does not by itself guarantee an ally-safe shot.
Watch for
- Waiting for aerial reconnaissance even though the active cruiser blocks it.
- Selecting a shell before confirming the target is the armored cruiser.
- Recording “destroyed” immediately after an AP launch without reading the result.
Primary result lock
Objective: Freeze the cruiser result as complete before evaluating the later timed liner offer.
Destroying the cruiser completes the primary objective. This is the key result boundary: once the ship is confirmed gone, write “primary complete” and do not allow the optional branch to overwrite it. The liner enters later on a timed course and can escape the strait. Interception and escape are alternate records for that branch, not competing definitions of the cruiser clear. Before pursuing it, inspect remaining charges and the desired medal profile. HE or HCHE can cover the non-armored target if the optional attempt is made. A player may also decline or miss the window without failing the primary task. The roster includes 16 civilians, so the branch should not be treated as license for unfocused fire. Use a fresh permission check, identify the liner rather than assuming any moving vessel is correct, and preserve the already completed state even if the optional opportunity passes.
Watch for
- Allowing the liner’s escape to erase a completed cruiser objective.
- Spending the last charges on the optional branch without a deliberate decision.
- Treating every moving contact after the cruiser as the liner.
Result-board verification
Objective: Read the four medal outcomes against the recorded run, then distinguish completion, all-gold, and the two shell unlocks.
The medal review asks different questions from the tactical clear. Gold on Measured Fire Star requires zero ally kills. No Quarter Cross requires at least nine enemy kills. Unaided Fire Distinction combines no reconnaissance with more than 18 enemy kills. Austere Service Medal caps requisition spent at 10. These conditions can conflict with casual spending or an unnecessary optional pursuit, so compare them with your notes rather than guessing from the final spectacle. The mission begins with 150 requisition, but the Austere threshold concerns actual spending, not the starting balance. The cruiser’s recon-blocking behavior also makes “no recon” a concrete review item, yet the stated condition still needs the displayed result. Completion unlocks TEAR Shell and PHGN Shell. Flying False Colours identifies the strike completion, while Order of Merit is the separate recognition for gold across all four medals.
Watch for
- Confusing the 150 starting pool with the 10-or-less spending threshold.
- Assuming cruiser destruction automatically satisfies the enemy-kill medals.
- Treating the TEAR and PHGN unlocks as proof of an all-gold run.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Firing before the two-minute authorization point.
- Waiting for aerial reconnaissance while the cruiser is still blocking it.
- Ignoring the two forward observers as the available locating method.
- Using HE or HCHE on the armored cruiser instead of AP.
- Collapsing the cruiser and liner into one vessel objective.
- Treating the optional liner escape as a failure of the completed primary task.
- Forgetting the two ally spotters while lining up the strike.
- Spending more than 10 requisition on an Austere Service Medal attempt.
- Using reconnaissance during an Unaided Fire Distinction attempt.
- Equating Flying False Colours with the all-gold Order of Merit achievement.
Achievements
Flying False Colours
This is the completion achievement for striking Rock of Gibraltar. Its operational anchor is the confirmed destruction of the armored cruiser after the cease-fire; the optional liner outcome remains separate.
Order of Merit
This is the all-gold achievement for Rock of Gibraltar. Confirm gold in all four medal slots, including ally safety, kill, unaided-fire, and requisition-spending conditions.
Run Checklist
- 01Confirm Rock of Gibraltar and Mission 8.
- 02Mark the first two minutes as no-fire time.
- 03Record 150 requisition and 10 powder charges.
- 04Create separate entries for cruiser and liner.
- 05Track both ally spotters.
- 06Use observer information to locate the cruiser.
- 07Do not wait for blocked aerial reconnaissance.
- 08Verify authorization before firing.
- 09Use AP on the armored cruiser.
- 10Lock primary completion after cruiser destruction.
- 11Choose deliberately whether to pursue the timed liner.
- 12If pursuing it, use HE or HCHE for the non-armored target.
- 13Record liner interception or escape without changing the primary clear.
- 14Review all four medal thresholds and both unlocks.
