Wednesday, 19 December 2018

Bag the Hun Scenario No.129 Squadron ORB / Form 451

No.129 Squadron Spitfire VC

I've located the Operational Records Book Form 451 records for No.129 Squadron from the National Archives and have downloaded the relevant entries for April 1943. If you didn't know about this facility, which costs only £3.50 per document, then you've missed a trick, as it is a brilliant resource for WW2 air wargaming scenario development. You can even download combat reports and flight logs to complement the details recorded in the Form 451 entries, so it's a very useful mine of information which can provide loads of inspiration and a solid element of historical accuracy.


To cut a long story short, here are the relevant Form 451 entries for the  4th April and 14th April 1943, which provide details of the pilots and aircraft involved, as well as useful little details that complement the parallel entries for No.263 Squadron:

04/04/1943 (1)

04/04/1943 (2)

14/04/1943

This has helped me to make up my mind about which date to focus on, so I'll be working up the 14th April scenario as the basis of the game, rather than the much larger 4th April action, as the latter involved a full squadron strength of twelve Spitfire V's compared to a far more manageable six for the later clash. I was surprised to find out that 'A' Flight was a six aircraft formation, expecting the more conventional unit of four, but it actually makes the scenario a bit more flexible in terms of game play and player numbers.

Tally Ho!

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