Bag the Hun Schnellboote Strike

I've been mulling over what to do with the freebie 1/300th scale plastic E-Boats that I acquired from Wargames Illustrated last week. I'm not going to get involved with Cruel Seas, as I already have plenty of 1/600th scale models for coastal warfare, so I've decided to use the plastic kits for Bag the Hun. This fits in nicely with some existing ideas I've had for anti-shipping strikes by Westland Whirlwinds of No263 Squadron, for which I was originally going to use my 1/600th scale models.

The 1/300th scale S Boats are a bit more impressive on the table top and, as the Whirlwinds usually attacked shipping targets at very low level, I don't think the scale issue will be a big visual problem. I have done some research and have yet to find a suitable historical scenario to use as a template, so I'll be devising my own semi-historical set up instead, based on typical operational actions. This will feature real pilots and aircraft, with realistic scenario objectives to replicate a typical anti-shipping strike in late 1942 - early 1943.

I need another four of these FW190-A4's

I just need to paint the Whirlwinds

And the Spitfire Vb's

The initial idea is to have two S Boats caught on an early morning return journey from a coastal convoy attack off the Cornish coast, with one towing the other which has broken down or suffered battle damage. The aim will be to sink the E Boats before they can exit the far end of the table, which would represent a successful escape to the Channel Islands and fighter cover. The Luftwaffe would be sent out to escort the E Boats back to base and to shoot down the RAF fighter bombers.

The RAF would be represented by four cannon armed Whirlwinds of No263 Squadron in the anti-shipping role, with top cover from four or eight No129 Squadron Spitfire V's. The Luftwaffe would be represented by eight FW190-A4's of JG2 'Richtofen', with an additional four added to the line up if I increased the number of players. The umpire or the German players would also control the E Boats, which would have their own cards in the deck as well as flak capability for self defence.

I think this would work?

I think this would work really well and would be a good scenario to introduce players to Bag the Hun and to the rules for anti-shipping attacks. I would not equip the Whirlwinds with bombs to keep the game as straightforward as possible and would probably cut down the variety of manoeuvres that could be carried out in order to simplify the game play but, other than that, it would be a good intermediate level scenario. I could also make some lovely pyrotechnic explosions and strafing markers to jazz it up a bit!

I may well get cracking on this over the holidays!