I've been inspired by my newly thumbed Osprey book on the War of the Pacific to add the Tumbling Dice warships for the Battle of Pacocha to my existing fleets. The aforementioned ASV61 Huascar will be joined by the ASV127 HMS Shah and ASV11 Screw Sloop models, the latter being a pretty good match for HMS Amethyst. I already have the models so it's just a case of assembling and painting them as a mini-project over September. This will fit in nicely with my ongoing Chilean and Argentinian pre-dreadnought painting project.
A morning walk around Old Winchester Hill, a mid to late Iron Age univallate hill fort about half an hour away, one of hundreds in this part of the world but at one of the highest elevations. It would be great as a terrain feature for Strength and Honour but you need a lot of high density foam, polyfilla and static grass!
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The first scenario is a simple dogfight between a schwarm of four Finnish fighters and a pair of La-5's on the 8th May, in which one of the Soviet aircraft was shot down, despite being far more powerful and well armed. This is a simple scenario and duplicates others in the long list, so I may go for a more expansive action from later in the month.
On the 28th May 1944, six Hawk 75's of 1/HLeLv 32 and a pair of Bf-109G fighters from 1/HLeLv 24, were on a bomber escort mission to Mergino when they were 'bounced' by twenty La-5 fighters of 415 IAP. The Finnish pilots managed to shoot down six of the Soviets for the loss of one Hawk 75.
I think this would be a cracking game, but I'd need to paint up the Hawks and Bf-109's in a later war camouflage scheme, as well as some Blenheim MkIV's or Ju-88"s, not to mention the twenty La-5's!
I just found out that this has been published and have swiftly nabbed a copy via eBay for my library. I had no idea that it had been published, which is weird given my long standing fascination with the subject matter and my extensive wargaming of the period. I'm really looking forward to reading this one, especially as I can use it 'off the shelf' for some naval wargaming in 1/2400th.
I played a fair bit of What a Tanker! when it was published and built up some decent sized forces in 20mm for the Eastern Front, but my attempt to get it going at the club didn't take off. Now, there's a club member who is promising to set up a game in the not too distant future, so I'm hoping it might reboot the whole thing, giving me a chance to finish off the US or British tank models that I've built but not painted, assuming of course it's NW Europe and not North Africa that is?! I just have to find where I've stashed the rules and give them a once over, then see if I can get up to get club for the game.
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| Bernardino Rivadavia and Mariano Moreno |
As I've been adding other 'What If?' warships to the Chilean and Argentinian pre-dreadnought fleets, I thought it would be fun to include the two Guiseppe Garibaldi class armoured cruisers that were sold to Japan. These became the Kasuga and Nisshin, both of which fought in the Russo-Japanese war. They were slightly different to the four Argentinian cruisers that were commissioned, as you can see from the funnels and masts, but otherwise they fit in very well alongside their sister ships, in this case the General Belgrano.
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| ARA La Argentina |
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| That's an interesting mix! |
I have a couple of days off from DIY, for good behaviour but also because the weather is rubbish, so thought I'd wrap up the leftovers from my old 'What If?' pre-dreadnought South American project. These have been hanging about for ages but just need a quick paint job to be finished off. The bulk of these models are riverine or coastal warships but there are some heavier units as well
I've added in the two cancelled Constitución class battleships for the Chileans and have added a Regina Elena class battleship for the Argentinians, to represent the proposed Ansaldo designed fast pre-dreadnought that was cancelled before it could be laid down. I have a week or so to paint this lot up, so no rush but I'll get on with it over the weekend, so that I'm ready to start on the Napoleonic Spanish fleet at the start of September.
I was down in Tavistock yesterday and in the local Oxfam bookshop I found these excellent second hand books for just over £15 in total. As you can see, with one exception, they're all Zulu War related, so who knows, one day I may even get to use them for that long planned Zulu War project!
An excellent article in Key Aero that describes the role played by the Hawker Hurricane detachment that was attached to Llv32 in June to August 1941:
In readiness for war, LLv 30’s 1st Flight deployed to Hollola on June 23. On the 25th, Hurricane HC-453 was lost in a take-off accident. Five days later, the 1st Flight was on the move again, this time to Utti, where it was assigned to LLv 32 as Detachment Kalaja. With five Hurricanes, its task was to defend southeast Finland. On the next day, ‘friendly’ flak shot down HC-459.
Piloting HC-452 on July 3, 2nd Lt Esko Ruotsila and his No.2 were patrolling the Karelian Isthmus. Near Enso, they engaged three Polikarpov ‘Chaikas’ (I-15s or I-153s) and in the ensuing combat shot two of them down. The following day Captain Kalaja, in HC-458, destroyed an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber that had been flying in a three-ship formation near Kotka.
On the 15th, Esko Ruotsila was back in the thick of it with HC-452: “Air surveillance reported five fighters at Simola. We met a three-plane patrol coming from the east, at 1,000m altitude. We attacked with the sun behind our backs. After the pass we separated a little from each other and engaged enemy planes on every side of us.
“Finally I saw one evading in the direction of Merijoki. I chased it until my engine started to act up. I turned back towards home. Then I saw Sgt Aikala chasing one enemy aircraft in Vilajoki direction. I turned towards them, and then the enemy took an evasive action. Sgt Aikala’s engine was also acting up. Both engines had the supercharger loose. The oil was leaking to almost dry. Simola observation post confirmed two aircraft had crashed.” Aikala’s Hurricane in that combat was HC-454. Lack of spares kept it grounded for weeks.
... definitely a couple of scenarios with some potential!
I have a few storage slots left to fill in the Napoleonic naval box, so will spend some time over the next fortnight filling them up. This will include three French 74 gun third rates and a 38 gun frigate, together with a 100 gun second rate, a third rate 74 and a 64 gun fourth rate for the Royal Navy. Not too much to do but a great way to wrap up the holidays, in-between all the DIY and decorating!
Although my scenario focus is Llv32, the famous Brewster Buffalo equipped Llv24 is probably going to feature in one of the games, as a small detachment was assigned as top cover for Llv32 in September 1941. There are a couple of potential 'big' multiplayer historical scenarios that I could include in the collection, featuring half a dozen Brewsters alongside the Hawk 75's of Llv32, so I'll add them to the painting table as a potential extra.
It's great to be back at the workbench today, although I do miss swimming in the sea, with time well spent preparing the Finnish aircraft for the Continuation War scenario project. Here we have twelve P-36 fighters, the Hawk 75 export variant, together with some individual models for specific games including a LaGG-3, a Blenheim I and an ersatz Fokker CX, the latter cobbled together from a Swordfish, a radial engine from a Fokker DXXI and the upper wing of a Fokker CVe. It's not perfect but it will do the job!
"The small force of Finnish Hawk 75s next saw action in mid August 1942 when, on the 13th, 2Lt Tervo’s schwarm from 2/LeLv 32 was attacked by four MiG-3s from 524 IAP over Lotinanpelto. In a turning fight, which played into the hands of the pilots flying the nimble Hawk 75s, the Soviets three fighters. One fell to Tervo’s guns, thus making him an ace."
This would make a very straightforward sprog level game and a good one to kick off the scenario sequence. A larger, more involved scenario would be this action from 7th November 1942:
"Captain Nurminen’s 3/LeLv 32 escorted a Fokker C.X over the front. A MiG-3 schwarm from 415 IAP tried to down the elderly biplane, but all four Soviet aircraft fell victim to the Fokker’s fighter escort instead. SSgt Aimo Gerdt (in CU-503) became on ace following his successes during this mission, as his combat report recalled;
Whilst performing an escort mission during the early afternoon of 7 November, we were attacked east of Lotinanpelto by two MiG-1s (actually MiG-3s). I got behind the lead aeroplane as it tried to escape towards Savijärvi.
Opening fire from a distance of 200 m, the fighter burst into flames and the pilot baled out over Lyugovitsa. This action occurred at 1500 metres. ‘I then headed for Savijärvi at a height of 1000 metres, and soon spotted a MiG-1 diving at me from my port side.
It attempted to get behind me, but I banked sharply to port and we then completed a tight 360-degree turn. Closing on the fighter’s tail, I managed to shoot straight into its cockpit from behind and to the port side. The MiG-1 rolled onto its back and sparks shot out from just aft of its engine."
There's just enough detail here to turn into a scenario but I'd need to do some further research on the MiG-3 unit to include at least some named pilots. The MiG-3 is a tough aircraft for the Soviets to use against the more manoeuvrable and heavily armed Hawk 75, so I'll need to give them a fighting chance.
I painted my 1/2400th scale Chilean and Peruvian fleets for the War of the Pacific a few years ago but was never very happy with the shade of the sea bases, as it appears too dark for my sea cloth. I've decided it's a good time to repaint the bases using my later scheme which is a far closer match. It shouldn't take too long but might be a bit fiddly and I'll have to replace the labels as well. I think it will be worth the effort.
Here's another potential scenario for the Continuation War article, this time aimed at a larger, multi section game with plenty of roles for a multiplayer game. It's also really interesting as it includes some tactical restrictions for the Soviets, who otherwise outnumber the Finns (from P-39 Hawk Aces of World War Two - Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 86 ) :
Suursaari was taken by Finnish troops on the 28th March 1942, with LLv 32 providing top cover. Soviet aircraft were conspicuous by their absence until the victorious soldiers commenced their occupation parade late in the day. Prepared for Soviet retaliation, 12 Hawk 75s were providing top cover over the island when 29 Soviet fighter were spotted approaching in three formations.
In the 20-minute combat that ensued, the Finnish pilots claimed no fewer than 15 fighters shot down without loss. 1Lt Nurminen (in CU-571) downed an I-16 and an I-153 to become the second all-Hawk 75 ace, as he recounted in his combat report:
‘Whilst I was leading a flight of six Curtiss fighters in protection of Suursaari, I received a message from Seivästö. I led my flight west of Lavansaari, at which point I was informed by radio that formations of eight and eleven unknown aircraft had been detected at a height of 3000 m west of Suursaari.
My formation also climbed to 3000 m, which took us above the clouds. It was at this point that I saw two formations of aircraft, consisting of both I-153s and I-16s, at about 2000 m. ‘I carried out an attack on an I-16, getting in three good bursts from close range from the side and behind. The aircraft shed fragments and went down out of control.
Moments later I fired at three I-153s from behind, one of which began to drop away trailing smoke. I could not follow it down, however, because the sky was full of I-153s. The Russians had no will for fighting, instead wanting to head for St Petersburg and Harjavalta.
I did not observe the Russians firing their machine guns, preferring instead to fire their rocket projectiles. The I-16 is an inferior opponent compared with the I-153. The Chaikas did not attempt to turn vigorously when under attack, instead resorting to a climbing turn to port or starboard and then heading straight for St Petersburg, obviously extremely low on fuel!’
The Baltic Fleet journal reported the action as follows;
‘At 0840 hrs, 12 I-153s from 71 IAP, led by Capt Pyotr Biskup, and six I-16s from 11 IAP had just finished strafing enemy troops when 15 Messerschmitts and eight Fokkers attacked from an altitude of 1000 metres.
Sgt Vasiliy Fyodorov, who fought alone with eight Fokkers, had to make a forced landing near Lavansaari after running out of fuel. The aircraft flipped on its back, but the pilot was not injured. Observation points at Seiskari and Lavansaari reported three Fokkers and a PZL.24 down.'
I aim to have half a dozen or so scenarios for a Lard Mag article, as well as a bonus scenario that's a bit different. With this in mind, I have been looking at a scenario for LeLv32 that would be a good bonus one. The Finns captured a small number of LaGG-3 fighters which were assigned to 2/LeLv32 and used them to attack Pe-2 light bombers, which were usually too fast for other Finnish fighters to shoot down, unless they had the advantage of height or surprise.
This engagement is the only time a captured LaGG-3 managed to shoot anything down, however, which in itself would make a challenging scenario with the additional twists that could be added in terms of bogeys and bouncing the Soviet flight (from LaGG and Lavochkin Aces of World War Two - Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 56) :
A Soviet LaGG-3 fell to LG-1 on 16 February 1944. Its pilot on this occasion was ace Lentomestari (Wt Off) Eino Koskinen, who already had 11 and one shared kills to his credit flying the H-75. He was scrambled at 1045 hrs and told to intercept a Pe-2, escorted by two LaGG-3s. His combat report for the mission read as follows;
"I met the Pe-2 and its LaGG-3 escorts north-west of Kinkiyeva. I was some 200 metres below the formation, and I had just set about attacking the Pe-2 when the LaGG-3's noticed me and the leader turned in my direction. We drove at each other, but when the second LaGG got behind my tail, I was forced to evade. The leading LaGG again came straight back at me, and I fired again. My target went into a dive and disappeared from the fight.
The second LaGG was by now behind me once again, and after dodging his first burst we commenced a turning battle, during which I managed to hit the Russian fighter, causing its starboard landing gear to drop down. The Russian tried his hardest to turn inside me until he eventually gave up and dived for the ground.
I chased after him and caught up with the LaGG just as it overflew the Svir monastery. My single burst of fire caused the fighter to emit a cloud of black smoke, but it continued to flee at tree-top height across the countryside. In the end the pilot climbed to a height of roughly 50 metres, before crashing into the forest."
I've been looking for some larger actions with multiple flights of fighter aircraft for the Continuation War scenario project, with this dogfight on 7th April 1942 being a potential option. This would be a simple set up but with some careful balancing required to make it more of a challenge (from P-36 Hawk Aces of World War 2 - Aircraft of the Aces 89)
Flying over Lumisuo on that date, Capt Bremer’s 2/LLv 32 engaged ten I-16s and claimed six of them shot down. Bremer (in CU-556) lodged the following combat report upon his return to base;
‘At 1520-1600 hrs, I led four aircraft on a reconnaissance mission over the frontline. North of Lempaalanjärvi, I initially observed three I-16s curving around at the edge of a cloud some 1000 m above us. As I climbed up towards them, I noticed that there were at least ten more I-16s 1000-2000 m above the first three fighters cruising along the top of a cloud bank.'
'A long-lasting combat against a superior enemy ensued. I finally got in behind an I-16, and from a distance of 50 metres I managed to shoot straight at it from the side and behind. It quickly began to smoke and crashed at Pieni Suojala, northwest of Lumisuo.
‘I shot at another I-16, first from below and then from behind, and then I followed this up with a long and well aimed burst into the engine and cockpit from the opposite direction. After this second pass at the fighter I could not see the I-16 anywhere, in spite of me searching for it, so obviously it had crashed – I later received confirmation of this.'
‘When the combat began, we were at low altitude due to the fact that we were flying a reconnaissance mission. This meant that we started the engagement with the I-16's from a tactically weaker position than our foes. As the action progressed, we steadily climbed higher and higher.'
'Friendly flak initially interrupted the combat, with well aimed, concentrated bursts exploding all around our aeroplanes. My aircraft was hit three times by shrapnel, which punctured the starboard tyre.’
Both Bremer and Koskinen were credited with two I-16's apiece following this one-sided action, and these kills made them Hawk 75 aces.
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| Better late than never! |
Today's Bag the Hun Continuation War project reading turned up this potential scenario, featuring a lone LaGG-3 pilot escorting two Pe-2 bombers on July 7th 1942, with what can only be described as suicidal enthusiasm (from P-36 Hawk Aces of World War 2 - Aircraft of the Aces 86):
"Two days later, whilst patrolling near Lotinanpelto, Capt Bremer and WO Koskinen from 2/LeLv 32 intercepted two Pe-2s and their solitary, aggressively flown, LaGG-3 escort. Bremer (in CU-552) recalled:
‘As we flew over the River Svir at a height of 3000 m, I spotted three small dots on the horizon. As we got closer to them, Koskinen and I identified the dots as two Pe-2s and one LaGG-3. They turned towards us when we got to within a 1000 m of them.
Singling out one of the Pe-2s, I tried to get onto its tail. As I did so, the LaGG-3 turned into me. Ignoring the bomber, I fired a short burst at the fighter from ahead and below. I then turned too tightly in an attempt to get behind the LaGG-3 and briefly lost control of my aircraft. I managed to level it out without losing too much altitude, however.
In the meantime, the LaGG-3 had attacked WO Koskinen, but he had managed to avoid being shot down. The Russian pilot now went after me again, heading towards my fighter from the port side, shooting all the time. But I was in no danger, as he was aiming too low with too much deflection.
I curved in behind the LaGG-3 and closed to within 50 m of its tail, before firing a good burst. Despite it leaving a trail of smoke in its wake, the pilot still made a few shallow turns in both directions. I kept it solidly in my gunsight and continued to fire at it until I ran out of ammunition. The fighter eventually crashed into a forest within enemy territory southwest of Lotinanpelto.'
Clearly this has potential for a very exciting scenario, assuming I can identify the Soviet pilot and find out who he was. I can then give him some special characteristics as well as an appropriate level of pilot skill, potentially Veteran but with added special rules to reflect his determination (the 'Die Hard" rule would be a good fit). It would make a really good sprog level game but with plenty of challenge for more experienced players too.
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Another potential scenario for the Bag the Hun Continuation War project that caught my eye is this one, once again from P-36 Hawk Aces of World War 2 (Aircraft of the Aces 86). A more unusual Soviet type was encountered by 1/LeLv 32 on 25 July 1942, when the Hawk 75 pilots spotted three MBR-2 flying boats of the Baltic Fleet. The one-sided melee that ensued was described by flight leader Capt Kullervo Lahtela (in CU-552);
"Soon after taking off to intercept three unidentified aircraft, I spotted the flak batteries at Olonets firing vigorously, and soon observed three MBR-2 flying boats heading from Olonets to Nurmoila at a height of 200 m. When Sgt Erkinheimo and I attacked these aircraft from behind, the flying boat to the left of the formation broke away to port. Moments later, WO Ikonen shot an MBR-2 down into the forest some five kilometres southeast of the base."
"I went after the flying boat that had turned away to the left, while WO Ikonen and Sgt Erkinheimo remained behind the MBR-2 that was heading east. Sgt Kiljunen and I took it in turns to fire at the aeroplane, stopping any return fire from the crew and causing its engine to trail smoke. It also crashed in the forest. I then returned to base with Sgt Kiljunen, as the third MBR had been set upon by two other CUs."
This would seem to be a bit of a turkey shoot but I have some ideas that could be used to make it a little less predictable and a bit more challenging for the Finnish players, including having the flying boats controlled by an automated system, very much akin to the one in the V-1 doodlebug mini-game from the rule book. The Beriev MBR-2, also known as the 'barn" or "cow", is also available in 1/300th scale from Heroics and Ros!
I've been thinking about the possibilities for WW1 fleet actions in smaller scales than 1/2400th recently, as it would be far too expensive to even attempt anything in 1/3000th scale alone. The Ark Royal 1/4800th range looks interesting but I can see it becoming a real money pit, especially as the various packs don't necessarily match up with specific battles. I'd like to replay the Dogger Bank or Goeben pursuit, for example, but would need about six packs and would have a lot of surplus models left over. I may shoot an email off to Barry Hilton to ask if he's thought about bundling models into battle packs?
Despite being unable to play any games over the last couple of days, I have continued my reading for the Bag the Hun scenario project, primarily using the Osprey P-36 Hawk Aces of World War 2 (Aircraft of the Aces Book 86) as a source of potential scenarios.
I have found about half a dozen historical actions that could make interesting scenarios, including this one which I think would make a good game for new players but still have aspects that would challenge experienced ones:
"On 3 April 1942 eight Hawks from Capt Lahtela’s 1/LLv 32 flew a reconnaissance mission over the Gulf of Finland. The aircraft were attacked by eight Chaikas in the Seiskari area, and five of the latter were claimed destroyed by the Finns.
One of these was credited to Lahtela himself, giving him his fifth victory and making him the third all-Hawk 75 ace. The Russians in turn shot down CU-572. This action was also described, rather fancifully, in the Baltic Fleet journal;
‘At 1824 hrs a 15-minute combat commenced at a height of just 500 metres between 1Lt Baturin’s eight I-153s from 71 IAP and twelve Fokkers (actually Hawk 75"s).
After the attack by the Soviets, the enemy tried to escape into nearby cloud cover. Those that got separated – obviously less experienced pilots – from the main formation aimed to form up into pairs and schwarms, after which they returned to the battle just under the clouds. The more experienced pilots attacked straight out of the clouds.
The Soviets avoided the surprise attacks and manoeuvred 200-250 metres below the clouds. Three enemy aircraft were shot down in the vicinity of Seiskari and one broke off towards Koivisto. After the combat the enemy fighters broke off to the north. There were no Soviet losses.’
On the surface, this looks like a pretty ordinary skirmish but if you factor in the ultra low altitude, cloud cover, pilot experience, relative firepower and manoeuvrability of the aircraft, I think it could be really good fun.
I couldn't play my INWarD 2024 game today, so here's a little retrospective look at last year's game in the meantime:
http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/2023/08/inward-23-game-part-1.html?m=0
http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/2023/08/inward-23-game-part-2.html?m=0
http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/2023/08/inward-2023-scenario.html?m=0
... hopefully, the 2024 game will happen at the end of this week.
A powerful French squadron of seven third rate ships of the line has slipped through the inshore naval blockade of Brest, using a thunder storm and squall as cover, in a sortie designed to challenge the Royal Navy stranglehold on the French fleet. The plan is to break out into the Atlantic then rendezvous with the Spanish, as a precursor to a full scale break out by the entire French fleet.
An unexpected change of weather and the evident strength of the offshore blockading force, has led to a change of course by the French squadron commander, Admiral Josselin, who has decided not to sail out into the Atlantic but to head for Lorient or La Rochelle, before the Royal Navy is able to stop him. Unfortunately, the squadron has been shadowed at a discrete distance by Royal Navy frigates and dispatches indicating the likely course of the French have been received.
Anticipating just such a move, a squadron of six third rate 74"s under the command of Admiral Shepton Mallet has been detached from blockade duties off Lorient and has been ordered to intercept the French squadron before it can reach a refuge in either naval port. The Royal Navy force has set a Westerly course and is patrolling off the Ile de Glenan, in the hope that the French will be spotted as it rounds the Breton peninsula.
The French Squadron deploys in the North West corner of the table heading on a South Westerly course in line astern, with the last ship touching the table edge. It must exit at least half it's ships (rounded down) via the Eastern table edge. The Royal Navy squadron deploys in line astern at any point along the Eastern table edge, with the last ship touching the table edge. It must prevent at least half of the French ships from escaping via the Eastern table edge by disabling, capturing or sinking them. Any other result is a draw.
Both commanders are Average.
The French squadron consists of Aigle, Scipion, Desaix, Patriote, Neptune (Flag), Pluton and Achille.
The RN squadron consists of Goliath, Minotaur, Ramillies, Mars, Leviathan (Flag) and Ajax.
All RN crews are Veteran and all French crews are Average.
The wind is from the North. The French have the weather gauge. The sea state is calm with a moderate breeze and visibility is excellent.
(unfortunately, due to unavoidable family commitments, it looks like I will have to postpone this game until the end of the week...but it will go ahead!)
The scenario for my INWarD 2024 game has now been drafted out with two squadrons of third rates, one French and one British, going into action on the open seas. I've given the Royal Navy six 74's with three Average and three Veteran crew and an Average Command. The French are all Average crews but have one Superior 80 and seven 74"s to even things up, as well as an Average command. I haven't worked out the exact points but I think this should balance quite well, with no overall advantage to either side, apart from the weather gauge, which the French won in the pre-game dice off. I'll set out the background, layout and objectives in another post, when I've thought up a sensible historical explanation for the game.
The plan for the International Naval Wargaming Day game next Tuesday is to run a simple scenario using Far Distant Ships with two small squadrons of French and British Third Rates. This will be the first time I've actually played a game with the rules, so I have no idea how it will work out, but I'm going to stick to no more than six ships per squadron and only use the basic rules. Unfortunately, we have relatives staying with us next week, so I might not even have time to play the game!
There are no ratings for the Curtiss P-36 / Hawk 75 in the Bag the Hun rule book, so I have worked out my own based on the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk I. The numbers are pretty much the same apart from the MAN rating, as the Hawk 75 variant had a lower wing loading and better power to weight ratio, giving what the RAF considered to be an outstanding degree of manoeuvrability. I've also down rated the SPD factor by one to reflect relative performance compared to the P-40. However, the armament factor is increased due to the Finnish up-gunning of their variants, to improve the otherwise feeble firepower, from 1942 onwards.
To begin with the Hawk 75 has a forward firepower rating of 6, based on its initial armament of four, or more often six 7.5mm rifle calibre machine guns. The Finns quickly replaced the Hawk 75 fuselage guns with .50 cal machine guns and fitted four or sometimes six wing mounted .303 Brownings, giving an increased FF of between 8 and 10. I have settled for a typical load out of two .50 cal and four .303 machine guns as the default.
Here's the nuts and bolts:
SPD 6
MAN 6
ALT 6
ROC 2
ROB 1
SIZ 1
FF (F) 6 (1941) or 8 (1942 onwards)
AMMO 12
...just have to try it out now to see how it works in an actual game!