Staffelvorwarts - Mission 1 'Offnung'

Introduction
A single kette will be sent on this first mission. Randomly selected, it turns out to be Kette 2, led by the fanatical Leutnant Gustav Taeger, which has the honour of encountering the enemy first. Using a customised mission table (below) I roll a Fighter Sweep against a Spanish Republican reconnaissance aircraft escorted by two fighters. Nothing special happens in the pre-game events for this mission.

The Fight
This first action for the Jagdstaffel occurs in the afternoon of 1 November 1936 over the front lines near Madrid, around 5,000 ft. Lt. Taeger’s planes were conducting a patrol over the front, while a Spanish Republican Breguet XIX, escorted by two Hispano-Nieuport NiD.52 fighters, slipped in to photograph Nationalist frontline positions. The Republicans spotted the Condor Legion fighters and tried to sneak in low and fast. Taeger eventually spotted the enemy, but by this time the Republicans had already begun to take photos of the target! Taeger and Feldwebel Mitschke gained height to get on top of the escorting Hispano-Nieuports while Unterfeldwebel Willi Kittel confidently raced toward the reconnaissance plane. To avoid an overshoot, Kittel swerves to starboard, but this turns out to be a mistake as one of the Nieuports (‘Red Leader’) gets on his tail. The green pilot of the other Nieuport, ’13-10’ attempts a Split-S to pursue Kittel as well but in his confusion ends up facing the wrong way.

 

The Spanish Republican lineup

 

 

Kette 2, J/88.

 

The He.51s from J/88 close in on the Republicans while the Breguet XIX reconnoitres the objective.

Red Leader fires on Kittel (who keeps his head low in the cockpit and starts to accelerate away, trusting in his higher speed aircraft and that his staffel mates will come to his aid). Mitschke speeds over the top of Nieport 13-10 and attempts to get in position to attack the Breguet recon plane as 13-10 tries to attack him (but is in a disadvantageous power position after his failed manoeuvre). Taeger moves in behind Red Leader to help Kittel out. Bullets fly but everything misses.

 

 

Kittel (bottom right) chases the Breguet XIX while staffel mates head toward the Nieuports.

 

Kittel escapes into a nearby cloud while Red Leader gives up the pursuit, instead turning to protect the Breguet. Taeger dives in aggressively, making a slashing attack on the enemy fighter. Mitschke overshoots the Breguet but will try and line up for another pass.

 

 

 Kittel heads for the clouds.

 

The Republican Breguet XIX has now completed its reconnaissance of the front lines and has started powering away. Changing targets, Taeger makes a diving attack on the Breguet but misses. Both Red Leader and 13-10 get on Taeger’s tail.

 

Red Leader shoots Mitshcke down.

 

Kittel by this stage has emerged from the clouds and starts chasing the Breguet, while Taeger and Mitschke tangle with the enemy fighters. Red Leader pulls a stalling Immelmann to come up directly in front of Mitschke’s plane, shooting him down with point blank fire! Taeger manages to inflict airframe damage on Red Leader but 13-10 gets on his tail, beginning a tailing chain. 

 

 

Taeger, heedless of danger, chases Red Leader

 

Taeger gets his kill, but moments later is shot down by Nieuport 13-10 on his tail.

Red Leader tries to get away into the cloud bank that saved Kittel from his guns previously, but Taeger eventually finishes him off. However, before Taeger can even take in his victory he is in turn shot down by the Nieuport 13-10.

Just as Kittel gets into position to fire on the Breguet, the plane suddenly explodes! It has been hit by Nationalist anti-aircraft fire. The mission is therefore a success, but Kittel feels robbed of his potential victory.

 

The Breguet recon plane is destroyed by Nationalist AA fire before Kittel gets a chance at it.

 

Kittel skirts around the clouds, searching for the Spanish Nieuport.

The fight now comes down to the two survivors: Nieuport 13-10 and Kittel’s He.51 ‘Roundel’. The two duellists start to climb and accelerate for position. 13-10 makes use of the nearby cloud formation in an attempt to confuse Kittel. Kittel skirts around to the west of the clouds, searching for his foe. As he rounds to the north of the cloud, the enemy Nieuport suddenly appears. The two fighters dive directly at each-other, opening up point-blank. Kittel’s rounds find their mark and the Nieuport pilot banks his damaged plane away to hide in the clouds again.

 

 

 

After stalking the Nieuport, Kittel inflicts damage in a head-on attack, diving away to port.

 

Doubling back, Kittel accurately predicts where the Nieuport will emerge. When it does, it is directly in front of his guns. The shot seems perfect. Kittel opens up with everything he has, expending the last of his ammunition. Unfortunately his rounds inflict no further serious damage. In despair, Kittle, lacking any further (sensible) means to down his opponent, climbs away and returns home.

 

 

Kittel fires the last of his ammo at the escaping Nieuport without scoring a shoot-down.

 

Aftermath

Both Lt. Taeger and Fw. Mitschke bailed out successfully over the frontlines but have been wounded. They are now recovering in hospital. Taeger will hopefully be wiser and more careful for the experience (but as he’s a fanatic, I doubt it). These two will miss at least one mission.

The result is a very narrow victory for the Condor Legion. The enemy photographic reconnaissance plane did not return with its pictures of the Nationalist positions (a victory in Squadron Forward terms). The Republicans lost two single-engine aircraft destroyed and one damaged against two single-engine aircraft destroyed for the Legion (a 9-8 victory for the Legion in CY6 terms). The Condor Legion expects much more from its pilots, so despite the ‘win’ I would think it impossible for any glory to be earned. Two of the staffel’s eight He.51 fighters have been lost. Another ‘win’ like this and I suspect glory points could in fact be lost.

Post-combat events

As this is the first mission I will roll once on the Squadron Forward Fixed Events table, and also take an additional roll once on the Introduce New Non-Player Character (NPC) table. The fixed event I get is an Non-Player Character (NPC) action. The NPC is a Mission Planner, Leutnant Hans Herzog who knows Oberfeldwebel Richard Fuchs from Kette 1 quite well (he has a positive attitude toward this jovial character and by extension the rest of the Staffel). Lt Herzog is a cultured man, motivated primarily by wealth who is a Veteran (+2) pilot. He is otherwise an average type of man with no special skills. Lt Herzog will assist Fuchs’ flight’s planning in his upcoming mission – he knows the relatively inexperienced staffel needs a helping hand.

The other NPC generated this mission is a fighter pilot from one of the other Staffeln in J/88, also flying the He.51. Leutnant Vincenz Hack is an associate of Max Mitschke (they share a strong belief in the Government) but he is an obnoxious individual – a green pilot with no special skills and an unremarkable background. While he visited Mitschke in hospital he gave him a bit of stick for his being shot down without scoring a victory. Let’s see how long the ‘association’ lasts.

Staffelvorwarts - a CY6/Squadron Forward campaign Introduction

What is this ‘Staffelvorwarts?’
Staffelvorwarts is my campaign applying the Squadron Forward! campaign and character development system from Joseph Legan of the Too Fat Lardies to the Check Your 6! Air combat ruleset from Scott Fisher from Skirmish Campaigns. Staffelvorwarts should show that not only is it ‘the man, not the machine’ that counts in aerial combat, but that ‘the man’ is a person, with a personality, living his life.

The grand intention of the Staffelvorwarts campaign is to follow a unit of Luftwaffe fliers from the early days in the Spanish Civil War, through WWII and (if the pilots are lucky) to the end of the war in Europe (maybe even beyond if they survive?)

The CY6! Rule set is great for representing aerial combat in detail and Squadron Forward is a fun product providing scope and systematic randomness of to create and develop a fighting unit of men with backgrounds, relationships and lives off the wargames table-top.

Introduction: Der Spanienflieger
Laughter and jovial conversation emanated from the mess hall as Feldwebel Max Mitschke, at 24 years old a junior pilot in the newly formed Luftwaffe, opened the door to enter. At one trestle table two officers and a Feldwebel were noisily discussing the merits and demerits of various night spots around Berlin. Max recognised his Staffelkapitan Oberleutnant Paul von Uslar, a perfectly military-looking man from a military family. Oberleutnant von Uslar had a square jaw and a serious but friendly attitude. Max also knew the other two pilots at this table. Oberfeldwebel Richard Fuchs was a short fellow with positive attitude, while the unusually-named Oberleutnant Iro Peterson was a reputed bon vivant or play boy of sorts. At another table two other pilots were engrossed in a slightly more subdued conversation. Max moved over to the less crowded of the two tables.

Wilhelm ‘Willi’ Kittel, an Unterfeldwebel with a youthful face and blond hair, stood and greeted him warmly, as did Leutnant Gustav Taeger, a somewhat older pilot with a broad smile who Max thought in some ways seemed to resemble the Luftwaffe Commander-In-Chief, shook his hand and invited him to sit. The conversation revolved around politics and the rationale for their recent deployment. Leutnant Taeger alternately beamed and clenched his teeth as he distributed political wisdom and expounded on the virtues of the national polity. He emphasised a point about the necessity of preventing a Communist takeover in Europe with a downward chop of his hand. As he listened to the phrases and terminology that Herr Taeger seemed to be have assimilated directly from the Party newsletter, here, thought Max, was a fanatic. Young Willi Kittel listened intently to this charismatic and forceful officer, enthusiastically providing his agreement on some points and apologising for his naivety while he questioned others. Max Mitschke contributed little aside from brief interjections and laconic responses to questions but followed the conversation with interest – these were the comrades he would soon be serving alongside as part of the Jagdstaffel of the Condor Legion in Spain. It would be prudent to know them well.

Jagdstaffel von Uslar, J/88 – Order of Battle
Let's have a look at the Spanienflieger and their Squadron Forward generated characteristics...

Oberleutnant Paul von Uslar (Staffelkapitan)

Personality: Optimistic
Motivation: Engineering
Skill: Veteran (+2)
Background: Military family (+1 offs, +2 Maj<=)
Notes: A strongly positive leader, he is a scion of a noble family from central Germany. Age 24

Oberleutnant Iro Peterson (Staffel Adjutant)

Personality: Likeable
Motivation: Alcohol
Skill: Veteran (+2)
Background: Privileged (+1 all dealings)
Notes: Epicurean son from a wealthy capitalist family. Age 25
 

Oberfeldwebel Richard Fuchs (Flieger)

Personality: Jovial
Motivation: Engineering
Skill: SPROG (+0)
Notes: Just a happy fellow. Age 21.

 

Leutnant Gustav Taeger (Kettenfuhrer)
Personality: Fanatic
Motivation: Position
Skill: Average (+1 ‘Skilled’)
Background: Privileged (+1 all dealings)
Notes: Desperate to be the one who gains glory for the Reich. Age 29.

 

Unterfeldwebel Willi Kittel (Flieger)

Personality: Optimistic
Motivation: Position
Skill: SPROG (+0)
Notes: Hopeful and ambitious – he always wanted to be a famous fighter pilot. Age 20.

 

Feldwebel Max Mitschke (Flieger)

Personality: Sensible
Motivation: Government
Skill: SPROG (+0)
Notes: Mild mannered pragmatist. Age 24.

Unit development

I generated the above half-staffel initially to test the waters. The pilots’ personalities and skills turned out as I expected (my assumptions based on their names). Paul von Uslar even comes from a military family as one would expect. No special skills were rolled unfortunately. Two of the officer pilots turn out to be ‘privileged.’ I guess that might help explain how they scored the Spanish excursion.

For developing skill I used the Luftwaffe Skill Table 1939-40 in the Squadron Forward book but added +1 to my die rolls to represent the fact that none of these pilots have previous experience in actual combat.

Scenario 4: ‘Le Faucheur’

CY6! Solo playtest continued…
Scenario 4: ‘Le Faucheur’

Background

Just the other week I painted up a pair of Fokker G.1s, an aircraft which was nicknamed ‘Le Faucheur’ or ‘Reaper’ in French. LVA experts would notice that I didn’t get the camo pattern right (should’ve investigated more thoroughly on the ‘net), but I won’t be repainting them at this stage. The decals are affixed and blended, paint job is sealed. Near enough is good enough.

The Reaper has come - it is time to try out my new eight-gun fighter against the Luftwaffe. Can the G.1 dogfight toe-to-toe with a ‘109? I’m feeling positive…

The scenario

The Luftwaffe is sending out a small tactical bombing raid in support of ground forces crossing into the Netherlands. The raid will comprise a kette of three He.111H-2s escorted by two Bf.109Es. Two more Bf.109Es on a fighter sweep might turn up part way through the fight to help out if the Germans are lucky.

The LVA will intercept this raid with a pair of Fokker G.1a heavy fighters and a pair of Fokker D.XXIs. Again, if the Dutch are lucky they will get two more D.XXIs as reinforcements.

The German objective is to get the bombers from one short edge of the board to the other safely. The Germans get +6 Victory Points per He.111 they get off the board. The Dutch objective is simply to inflict casualties.

The weather is normal clear. Time is mid-day. Pilot skill I randomised for the scenario. The lead LVA G.1a turned out to be an ace pilot, the lead D.XXI a veteran, the other pilots were skilled. The Germans rolled up a veteran lead bomber, one skilled and one green. The two Bf.109Es were veterans.

The fight

The Germans came on at the corner of board edge 5 in a tight formation – bombers at TAL 5, fighters one TAL higher and off to the east. The Dutch came on from the east at TAL 2. CAB was surface-low. Neither side was yet aware of the presence of the other until the third turn, when they spotted each other simultaneously and moved to engage. The Bf.109E escort tried to foil the enemy attack by moving between the two Dutch fighter formations.

It wasn’t long before the German and Dutch formations were tangled in an intense (and a bit complex) dogfight involving some very tight manoeuvres on the vertical and horizontal planes. Dutch numbers really started to tell, with the Germans hard-pressed to find safe hexes. To make matters worse, two more LVA fighters turned up to lend a hand (a veteran and a skilled pilot).

The ace G.1a pilot in aircraft serial #320 went head-to-head with the German formation leader. Both pilots hit the other, but the eight machineguns on the Dutch ship made a huge difference. Failing his save by five, the German leader’s aircraft broke apart. The German veteran pilot somehow survived but must have been terribly wounded. The German veteran wingman in Black 12 took a shot at Fokker D.XXI #234 but missed.

With the Dutch fighters closing in and stress building, the remaining German fighter ‘Black 12’ tried to get on the tail of the Dutch ace with a stalling Immelmann, narrowly avoiding a collision with the other Dutch Fokker G.1a (#324) in the process. As the Dutch ace easily pulled away with a higher-speed Immelmann of his own and the other Dutchmen jockeyed for a shot, the German pilot realised his mistake. It was too late. The skilled pilot in D.XXI #234 inflicted engine damage on Black 12 and the ace in #320 finished him off for a shared kill. The German pilot bailed out but was wounded.

With six LVA aircraft on the board, their escorts gone and no German reinforcements in sight, the Heinkel crews really began to worry.

The Dutch spread out and started heading toward the bombers. D.XXIs #212 and #241 move to the north for an obliquely head-on attack while the others closed in from the Germans’ starboard and rear-starboard quarters.

Although the initial attacks failed to inflict serious damage on the remarkably durable He.111s, bomber defensive fire was ineffective largely due to the range and the agility of the attacking Dutch.

#234 used up all his ammo and turned away to fly parallel to, and at a safe distance from, the German formation. However the remaining Fokkers swept in and began to move into tailing positions for zero-deflection shots.

Over the next few turns a huge amount of lead was exchanged (the vast majority of it heading in the direction of the German bombers). The Germans pressed on, hoping more Bf.109s would show up or the Dutch would run themselves out of bullets. Finally, the Dutch G.1a ace in #320 inflicted airframe damage on He.111 A1+JH (with the skilled crew).

On the starboard flank of the kette of bombers, the green rear gunners on A1+KH manage to hit D.XXI #218, causing airframe damage. In return, however, #218 damaged one of the bomber’s engines and started a small fire on board. The crew rushed for the extinguisher equipment! Over to the port side of the kette, G.1a #320 and D.XXI #212 brought down the already-damaged A1+JH.

A1+KH’s crew managed to put out the fire but the aircraft started to drop back, struggling on one engine. The German bombers ditched their bombs and broke up their formation to manoeuvre separately. The formation leader A1+DA tried to direct maximum firepower from his dorsal and ventral gunners at the damaged Fokker D.XXI #218 in the hope of at least one kill before the fight was finished, while A1+KH dived toward the ground and yawed port to try to throw the Dutch aim.

These evasive manoeuvres were in vain however, as the Dutch finished off the hapless bombers. The skilled pilot in Fokker G.1a #327 shot down A1+KH and bullets from #320 smashed the elevators off the German leader A1+DA.

Result

LVA: 38; Luftwaffe: 1 (damaged one fighter). Slaughter!

Learnings

·       The Dutch totally dominated in this scenario. The Germans did not get additional fighter support (a 0 needed to be rolled on a D10 for reinforcements to show up) and were unlucky that the Dutch got theirs almost straight away).

·       The take-down power of eight-gun fighters relative to four-gun D.XXIs and (effectively two-gun) Bf.109Es is evident in the kill tallies below.

·       Although much tends to be made of the qualities of the MG FF 20mm cannon on the Bf.109E in history books, I’ve so far been unimpressed with their ability to actually hit in combat (being low-velocity cannon). [Maybe the cannon will be useful for bomber intercepts when I commence my campaign ‘Staffelvorwarts.’ Staffelvorwarts will appear on this blog and will feature a storyline about a squadron of Luftwaffe fighter pilots. Watch this space, as they say.]

·       I made two major mistakes for the German escorts which probably cost them the battle (one was getting caught between the two formations of Fokkers, the other was the risky Immelmann by Black 12 which cost him is plane and his … um … health).

·       Numbers (and the ace skills) allowed the Dutch to overwhelm their opposition.

·       He.111s are robust. However, defensive firepower is of course quite weak.

·       Because at times the Dutch aces and veterans were getting auto-hits on the Heinkels, I should have remembered to sacrifice agility modifiers for the chance to inflict more damage on the target (right column-shifts on the firepower/damage table). A move like this would probably have shortened the game considerably.

Kill list

G.1a

#320: one-and-a-half fighters, two half bomber kills (2.5 kills)

#327: one bomber 

D.XXIs

#234: 1/2 fighter

#212: 1/2 bomber

#218: 1/2 bomber

Miniatures

Fokker G.1s: Heroics & Ros.

Modified D6-based initiative system

-        At the start of the turn, each plane/formation rolls a D6 and adds the aircrew skill modifier (+0 to +3) of the pilot/formation leader.

-        Tailing aircraft get an additional +2 modifier, but this is only counted against the aircraft that is being tailed.

-        Lower initiative rolls (the losers) move first, higher initiative rolls move later.

-        Loaded aircraft/formations always move first.

-        In the case of ties, aircraft at lower altitude move first. If aircraft are at the same altitude, Allied planes must move first in the early war and Axis planes first in late war.

Speed variation

Airspeed in gaming is relative. The CY6! Speed ratings attempt to cover the entire period from the ‘30s to 1945 and beyond. Since I’m currently only playing scenarios set in mid-1940, almost every first-rate fighter in the standard speed system is rated speed 4while second-line fighters and bombers are 3, antiques are 2 and so on. To provide more variety in performance, for this scenario I tried out a relative speed system with a range of 1 to 5. Essentially I divided an aircraft’s maximum speed in miles per hour by 75 to get its speed rating. The result is that slow aircraft (e.g. Ju.52s) are speed 2, while the fastest (Bf.109Es and Spitfires) are speed 5. The other aircraft fall in between (Hurricanes will therefore be slightly slower than Spitfires rather than the same speed).

CY6 Solo Playtest using the ‘Fernworthy Method’

The ‘Fernworthy Method’ of solo Check Your 6! play
After trying and failing with various randomisation methods to make solo play interesting I decided on a modified version of the ‘Fernworthy Method’ for solo play – a technique discussed briefly on the Check Your 6! (CY6!) yahoo group. Essentially this involves rolling for initiative and adding modifiers based on pilot skill. I used a D6 roll for each initiative unit (individual aircraft or formation) to maximise the influence of skill. I have ignored pilot reaction at this point as I’m still learning the rules and it might add brain-jamming complications.

Scenario 1: ‘The Dutchman’

For my first scenario I played ‘The Swede’ mission from the CY6! rulebook. I’ve only got Dutch and German aircraft painted up so far so, my version, ‘The Dutchman,’ substitutes Bf.109Es for the green Zeros and a Fokker D.XXI for the ace SBD Dauntless.

The fight

Three relatively inexperienced Luftwaffe pilots conducted a fighter sweep over a Dutch city (Rotterdam – here represented by a hex-grid satellite image printout of the Melbourne CBD).

They were met head-on by ‘The Dutchman’ in a Fokker D.XXI. The ace Dutchman used his skill to seize the initiative and outmanoeuvre the lead German fighter in a close-in vertical combat. Having received airframe damage, the German dove away from combat while his compatriots attacked and began to box in the Dutchman.

 

At a critical juncture, an unlikely ‘1’ and a pair of high scores gave the Germans the initiative. Pulling off a successful 180 degree Immelmann that brought him into a head-on attack position, the German piloting Black 12 hammered the ace Fokker with MG and 20mm cannon rounds at point blank range. Down went ‘The Dutchman,’ oily smoke trailing from his engine. He bailed out, wounded. The damaged Bf.109E made it home.

Result

Luftwaffe: 8; LVA: 1.

Learnings
My first successful game of CY6! solo provided a couple of important lessons:

• Aces are hard to hit with green pilots but not impossible. As you'd imagine, green pilots can use numbers to 'swarm' a solitary ace - coming in from different angles and covering different altitudes to get close range shots. Even an ace has to end his turn somewhere!
• Pilot reaction could have helped the ace immensely in this fight, especially at the critical juncture when he lost the initiative. I might look at incorporating it in later games.
• Use of spotting rules also could have helped the unfortunate 'Dutchman,' as his opponents would have had the sun in their eyes.

Miniatures
Bf.109Es: Technical Officer and Black 12 are from Raiden. Black 8 is from Heroics & Ros.
Fokker D.XXI: Heroics & Ros. All decals are from Dom's Decals.

Scenario 2: ‘Dornier Recce’

For the next scenario I decided to try out rules for bomber defence in a simple one-on-one combat, at Combat Altitude Band (CAB) Low.

Scenario

A single green-crewed Dornier Do.17Z needed to overfly at Tactical Altitude Level (TAL) 5 or 6 to conduct a reconnaissance of the Dutch airfield, then try to race for home. A single Fokker D.XXI has been sent up to intercept. I randomised skill levels, with the Dutch having a -1 die-roll penalty to represent the fact that the LVA ace had already been shot down in the previous battle. The Dornier turned out green and so did the Fokker (no pilot reaction this time either).

The fight

The Dornier crew spotted the Dutch Fokker first and turned into him, keeping high to foil his shot while the bombardier took aim with the nose flexible-mounted MG. As the aircraft crossed, the bomber crew also got in a shot with the ventral MG. All the Dornier’s shots missed however. The Dornier dived away toward the Dutch airfield as the Fokker brought its guns to bear, firing constantly at medium range.

The Dornier sustained airframe damage at this point but pressed on, climbing to the right TAL to take a photo of the target. As the shredded German aircraft climbed and slowed, the Dutch pilot opened up with everything he had. Just as the muffled rattling sound of his MGs was replaced by a series of clicks (indicating the magazines had emptied), the Dutch pilot observed the elevators come away from the enemy aircraft’s tail. He had brought down the Dornier, and not a moment too soon!

The Dornier crew bailed out and were captured.

Result

LVA: 8; Luftwaffe: 0.

 

Learnings

• The agility differences make bomber defensive fire that little bit less effective and intercepting fighters somewhat more survivable.
• To be effective again fast bombers, interceptors need to be quick and/or well-placed. The speed 3 Fokker D.XXI is not an ideal aircraft to stop a speed 3 Do.17Z. One’s mind harks to Stanley Baldwin’s maxim ‘the bomber will always get through.’
• In a flurry of coincidence almost every initiative roll was equal. Axis forces win initiative draws in early war.
• I wonder if +0 agility aircraft receiving airframe damage can get a -1 agility rating? Time to check the CY6! yahoo group …

Miniatures

Fokker D.XXI and Dornier Do.17Z – Heroics & Ros.

 

 

Scenario 3: ‘Bomb Run’

Although short a recent intelligence update due to the shoot-down of the Dornier reconnaissance plane, the Luftwaffe decided to launch a strike against the Dutch airfield. Three Heinkel He.111H-2s with a heavy (2,000kg) bombload were sent to damage (1 hit) or destroy (2 hits) the airfield. Two bombers were veteran crews and one was green. They were intercepted by a pair of D.XXIs, each with skilled pilots.

 

 

The fight

The Dutch started out with the spotting advantage and approached the kette of enemy bombers from out of the morning sun. The Germans, who had not yet spotted their opponents, continued on toward the target. The green-crewed He.111 kept to the port-side position – the side of least likely enemy approach.

 

The Dutch fighters launched their attack at close range, angling in toward the German starboard bomber A1+JH, which tried to defend itself with the waist gun. Fokker #212 hit but failed to cause damage. The German formation attempted to throw off the Dutch aim by making a steep dive, but the Dutch pressed the attack closely, flying directly over (1 TAL above) the trailing German bombers while pouring close range fire at the formation leader A1+DA.

 

Fokker #212 inflicted airframe damage on the German leader, causing his formation to break up, but the bombers pressed on, moving closer together to line up better on the target. Fokker #241 brought down the German leader A1+DA, but not before a lucky hit from the Heinkel’s dorsal gunner caused #212’s fuel tank to explode mightily. Bomber A1+KH was peppered with debris but suffered no damage. A1+DA’s veterans jumped safely from their shattered aircraft. #212’s pilot was of course not so lucky.

 

The airfield was coming up below. Hoping to target the German starboard bomber (A1+JH), #241 drops his airspeed back to hover behind and above. It proved a careless manoeuvre as A1+JH’s veteran dorsal gunner scored an airframe damage hit on the Dutch fighter.

 

The Germans dropped their bombs over the airfield but the pressure of the intercept had clearly affected their aim and the bombs missed. Suddenly relieved of their load, the two German bombers split up, with A1+KH banking to port and the veteran A1+JH continuing forward, hoping to keep the enemy Fokker neatly in his rear gunner’s fire arc. The risk paid off and as #241 turned to pursue the green Heinkel A1+KH, the veteran A1+JH dorsal gunner brought him down. #241’s pilot bailed successfully.

 

Although the airfield remained intact, the Germans had at least inflicted some telling casualties on the LVA in the air. However, the loss of a veteran Heinkel crew was the decisive factor – the Dutch won on points alone.

 

Result

LVA: 10; Luftwaffe: 8.

Learnings

• For a couple of turns the Fokkers remained ‘hovering’ directly above the two flanking German bombers. I played it so the top gunner couldn’t get his weapon up to shoot (I thought it might be too awkward to fire from such a position) but perhaps this was a mistake (more research needed).
• I manoeuvred the Fokkers rather unintelligently – just trailing and pouring lead at the Heinkels. This was a mistake that cost the Dutch their two fighters.
• Four rifle-calibre MGs seem to have tons of ammo but are not much chop against robustness rating 3 bombers.
• More than two or three bombers are needed against a two-hit target.

Miniatures

Fokker #241 is Raiden, Fokker #212 is Heroics & Ros. Heinkel A1+KH is Raiden, Heinkels A1+DA and A1+JH are Heroics & Ros. Raiden provides a cannon-armed Fokker option as well as MG-only, but the H&R is also a suitable model. I prefer the H&R Heinkel as it is sturdier. However, the horizontal stabilizer shapes seems more accurate on the Raiden Heinkel.

 

Three-mission outcome

LVA: 19; Luftwaffe: 16

Narrow Dutch victory.

 

Introduction

What is 'Miniaturisation'?

A blog dedicated to wargaming in truly miniature scale (1/285 or 6mm or smaller). Miniatures at the smaller scale are cheap to buy, fast to paint, easy to store and carry around, intricate and often amazingly detailed. Scales like 6mm or even 3mm allow you to game truly significant land battles without a 'panzer parking lot' effect and with more scope for tactical manoeuvre. Smaller scales are vital for air battles (for instance Check Your 6! or AirWar21 and naval battles. For games at a platoon+ level, 15mm provides the right combination of detail and miniature 'individualism' with something close to a believable ground scale. I'm still happy to play at 28mm for skirmish games (which I'd define as small scale combats usually at section+ level and involving individual miniature activation) and so you might find the occasional 28mm miniature on this blog. However - 6mm is the best scale, so that's what will fill most pages of this blog.


Efficacité. Créativité. Frugalité.