Special Delivery Scenario Redesign

The scenario I'm now going to use for the second game on the Lard Day is Special Delivery, which is a fictional engagement based on a real operation by No.185 Squadron 'A' Flight in December 1941. This is the extract from the squadron ORB that describes what didn't happen:

Sunday 14th

'A' Flight at readiness at 13.00. 4 A/C went out as a cover patrol for some Blenheims coming ex-Gib. 4 more A/C were scrambled to intercept the first four (the interceptors were apparently shot down!!)

In the original version of the scenario I only included the initial four aircraft section of 'A' Flight but, with more than two players likely to take part, I will need to include both sections to make up a full flight of eight aircraft. I will also re-organise the Italians of 73a Squadriglia to provide them with three sections of three aircraft each, rather than the three pairs of the original scenario.

I've returned to the source for most of my Malta games, 185 The Malta Squadron by Anthony Rogers, which really is a very good book, so that I can put together a historically accurate list of pilots for 'A' Flight in December 1941 including their  section positions and experience ratings. I've now sorted this out and it looks like this, subject to a but of re-shuffling:

'A' Flight No.185 Squadron RAF 

Red Section

Red 1 - Sq/Ldr Pike (Junior Ace)* or F/Lt Thompson (Veteran)* 

Red 2 - Sgt Nurse (Regular)

Red 3 - Sgt Jolly (Veteran)

Red 4 - Sgt Hunton (Regular)

Green Section

Green 1 - F/Lt Thompson (Veteran)* or P/O Allardice (Veteran)*

Green 2 - Sgt Hayes (Sprog)

Green 3 - Sgt Ream (Veteran)

Green 4 - P/O Oliver (Regular)

(* Flight / Section Leader - with a Character Card allocated to the deck)

I haven't decided if I'll use Squadron Leader S.A.D. Pike yet, as a Junior Ace, but will probably just stick with Flight Lieutenant 'The Professor' P.D.Thompson, as he was the actual flight leader at the time. I might even up rate him to a Junior Ace as he was a Battle of Britain veteran and had shot down one Mc202, had damaged four Bf-109E's and had half shares in shooting down no less than three other aircraft including a Do17, a CANT Z1007 and an SM79. I think that's good enough, especially as he then shot down a Bf-109F a couple of weeks later!