Birthday Bag the Hun Books

 

I was given a £25 Amazon voucher as one of my birthday presents today, so I've bought a couple of good, old fashioned hardbacks for the latest Bag the Hun research project. I already have a few relevant books and magazine articles, together with the some excellent online resources, but you can' t beat a good book (or two). These look particularly useful and will be handy for the details that you need to track down when writing a scenario.

Happy Birthday to Me

It's my birthday today, so I'm hoping to have a bit of time to spend at the workbench this afternoon, rather than the usual. The plan is to base up a dozen or so Whirlwinds and Spitfires for the Bag the Hun project, which I've been researching a bit more over the last couple of days. I've got at least six potential scenarios lined up, so it will be well worth it if I can paint up a few planes in the next couple of weeks.

263 Squadron Whirlwind Missions [1]

I've been scouring the Operational Records Book (ORB) of No263 Squadron for 1942, in the hunt for potential historical scenarios for Bag the Hun games. It's a gold mine of interesting reports covering a whole range of ground attack and anti-shipping missions, complete with pilot rosters, aircraft codes and post mission analysis of the results.

The first one that I've picked out is from October 3rd 1942 during which 'A' flight launched a low level attack on a large merchant ship in Alderney harbour:

Following a P.R.U report and a further recco by 501 Squadron,  this Roadstead Operation was laid on to attack a 3000 ton M/V in Alderney Harbour. The Whirlwind bombers took off from Warmwell together with five Spitfires of 501 Squadron, antiflak, and rendezvoused over the base with 118 Squadron, rear support.

The antiflak aircraft did not catch up the Whirlibombers and only one of them crossed the target area. In order to attack out of sun, landfall was made at Casquets where the Whirlibombers turned East. When they were still more than two miles from Alderney there were engaged by flak from a hill top position and thereafter flak of all calibres was accurate and very intense; indeed it is reckoned that by reason of its concentration round the target area this was the most intense barrage through which Whirlwinds of the squadron have flown.

Three pilots attacked the large ship which was lying 40 yards off the mole. Results were not observed and the ship was only claimed Cat IV “Believed hit and Damaged”. No further information has been received by the squadron about the success or failure of the attack. The C.O.'s aircraft was hit by flak just as he bombed. He returned to base on one engine, very closely escorted by 118 Squadron. P/O King attacked a smaller ship alongside the mole. Results not seen. His aircraft was holed in the tailplane. A chunk was torn from F/Sgt Ridley's propeller. F/Lt Blackshaw led the other two Whirlwinds back to base. All had landed safely by 1900 hours.

As you can read for yourself, this would make a very straightforward anti-shipping scenario and would be a good basis for an introduction to both the flak and bombing rules, before any enemy aircraft are thrown into the equation. It also only requires four Whirlwinds and one Spitfire VB's, so very quick to set up and run.

...that's one scenario idea sorted!

Bag The Hun Anti-Shipping Strike Scenarios

 

I enjoyed the anti-shipping strike game yesteday and now have a better handle on the rules for bombing and flak as a result. It makes a refreshing change from the usual fighter versus fighter games that I've focussed on up until now, so I'm thinking of writing some more historical scenarios along similar lines.

 

I'm planning to branch out in a new direction so will be leaving Malta for the moment and moving the action closer to home. I've thought about cross channel mid-war possibilties before, with a particular focus on the Westland Whirlwinds of No 263 Squadron over Brittany, so will be digging out the models and putting together some ideas for new games.

Bag the Hun Convoy Game Playtest

The playtest of the convoy game went really well this evening and was very useful in ironing out a few wrinkles in the scenario, especially with the exact combination and number of cards. I managed to cover most of the angles in the scenario briefings but there were a couple of holes which I can now fill up.

In the end, it was a minor Italian victory with only the Priaruggia suffering damage, in the form of some engine room hits and flak suppression. However, no aircraft were shot down by the Italian flak, although a couple were forced to jettison their bombs and take evasive action. A bit like the historical outcome, which is a good sign.

I'll make a few changes to the scenario set up and a couple of helpful instructions to clarify some of the card deck make up but, otherwise, it's a pretty solid scenario as it is. As always, many thanks to Paul, Colin and Gary for their helpful suggestions and for their enthusiasm. I enjoyed the game too, so will definitely be writing some more anti-shipping scenarios in the future.

Chain of Command Projects

It's my birthday at the weekend so I've been told to get myself something by the Ministry of the Interior, as she has no idea where to start but is prepared to let slip her iron grip over the cheque book for the occasion. Which is all very nice. Anyway, I've decided to invest my birthday money in a couple of projects specifically designed for Chain of Command.

 

The first is a Malaya project, using my boxed set of Warlord Japanese as the basis of one platoon sized force, together with  a box of Perry 8th Army plastic figures for the British platoon. I already have most of what I need for this but, as a birthday bonus, I've ordered a Copplestone Lanchester 6 x 4 armoured car. The Japanese will double up for Burma as well, which is handy as I have a potential opponent interested in some Chindits.

 

 

The other Chain of Command project is a new venture. This will be a mid-war Russian platoon with some armour support, using Crusader Miniatures infantry and 1st Corp T34/76 tanks. I could have used the plastic Warlord Russian figures for this but I prefer the heft and design of the Crusader figures, especially as the riflemen were on a half price special offer over the weekend.

 

I will decide which one of these projects to start first, once I've finished my AK47 army, although I'm tempted to kick off with the Russians as they'll be easy to paint using the basecoat and dip approach that I used on the late war US project. I'm looking forward to painting up some more 28mm WW2 things and using them to try out the Chain of Command rules in the not too distant future (I hope!).

 

Bag the Doodlebug [20]

The other playtest game that I'm hoping to try out on Tuesday will be the Bag the Doodlebug participation game that I've been tinkering with for a couple of years. I now have the 1/144th scale pre-painted models that I need for the playtest, having originally set the game up for 1/285th scale aircraft. 

The visual impact of the larger models is one of the reasons for the move up scale, with 1/100th as yet another possibility. We'll be using the club Hexon terrain tiles for the scenery which should make it relatively simple to set up and quite effective, both for game play and in terms of the look of the terrain, especially with some additional window dressing.

Bag the Hun Convoy Game [6]

I spent a few hours working out and typing up the player briefings for the convoy attack scenario that I'm playtesting next Tuesday. I think I've covered all the angles and have given the players enough information to make for a smooth game. We'll have to see if the planning pays off. If all goes to plan, we'll get at least an hour of play per scenario, with some opportunities to re-run the game at least once.

I've also banged together some turn cards and some ship counters, which will stand in for models for the playtest stage of the game. I was lucky to find a colour plan view of a Spica class corvette for the Partenope, but the tanker and steamer are less slick as I pinched them from an old copy of the TTG game U Boat. I've made two versions of the corvette, one small and one large, as I wasn't sure how big it should be?

Bag The Hun Convoy Game [5]

I'm at a loose end next Tuesday so thought I'd set up a game of Bag the Hun 2 at the club. I have a scenario that I've been thinking about for a few months but haven't got round to finishing, so this is a good opportunity to playtest it before I write it up:

 

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/bag-hun-malta-game-four-4.html

 

It will be interesting to try out the ground attack rules and the flak rules for a start, using both the 'official' version and the 'lazy' formula from the 2010 Summer Special, which looks a lot less complicated aend more cinematic. I have the aircraft for the game already painted up but will need to improvise some ship markers and, possibly, some splash and damage markers for visual effect.

 

If it doesn't work or ends too quickly, I'll set up a follow on dogfight game using the cards and planes that I already have. This will be either a late war scenario, making the most of my RAF and Luftwaffe fighters, or another Malta game, with 185 Squadron up against some Me109F's or the usual Italian MC202 opposition.

Bag the Hun Soviets [4]

I've been doing some googling in the search for a historical background for my BTH 2 project this year, which is going to be set somewhere on the Russian Front c1942-43. I quite like the idea of a winter scheme for both the VVS and the Luftwaffe, so have been investigating various potential settings for the game.

The frontrunner at the moment is a series of scenarios based on the air campaign over the Demyansk Pocket, during which the besieged German forces were supplied by air. There are plenty of potential scenarios and lots of interesting aircraft to be painted up, with some famous units and not so famous aces on both sides.

I think I'll pick up a copy of the relevant Osprey Campaign series and see what I can do with it. I've already topped up the metal with a handful of planes in the Museum Miniatures sale to add to the existing collection. I could do with some Ju52' s though, so will have a look at what Scotia has to offer. 

It reminds me of Iron Annie from Warlord...classic stuff!