Sunday, 26 February 2017

Bag the Blenheims: No14 Squadron RAF

Wing Commander J.K. Buchanan DFC and crew

The mission objective for the British players in the Operation Crusader scenario will be to bomb a convoy of Axis vehicles whilst not getting shot down by either the enemy flak or fighters. The bombing itself is the job of six Blenheim IV's of No14 Squadron, flying in tight formation at 6000 feet, each dropping four 250lb bombs fitted with daisy cutter rods to ensure that they didn't just bury themselves in the sand. This was the standard operating procedure at the time. In the actual mission there were six more Blenheims of the Free French Lorraine Squadron following on behind, forming what was described as a 'Buchanan Party', but I've decided to leave these out to keep the scenario manageable.

In Bag the Hun terms they will be flying at Altitude Level 3 for the full length of the table, using Level Bombing against a vehicle target which will be represented by twelve individual model bases in a continuous line, each occupying a single target hex. The convoy will be defended by flak but, to keep things simple, I'll use the rules for Flak - The Simple Way (p42) or Joe Legan's Lazy Anti Aircraft Formula, with the convoy itself chucking light flak at the bombers  rather than having specific flak units. There will instead be a flak zone through which the bombers and any escorting or enemy fighters will be forced to fly!

Wing Commander J.K. 'Buck' Buchanan DFC

The pilots of No14 Squadron were all highly experienced light bomber crew and so will be rated as Veterans. There will be a Top Ace leading the formation, however, in the form of Wing Commander J.K. 'Buck' Buchanan DFC, who was described by some of his squadron as '..an outstanding pilot, madly brave' and '..a pilot's pilot if ever there was one. He was utterly fearless and flew with tremendous skill'. Apparently, he was so keen on close formation tactics that pilots would end up with blistered hands from gripping their control columns so tightly!

In addition to Top Ace status, W/Cdr.Buchanan will also be allocated a character card to reflect his coolness under fire and evident skill as a bomber pilot. This will allow the formation to gain a valuable additional move in addition to its Formation Bonus and Formation Move cards. I will also let it be used to give an additional fire option to his aircraft, reflecting his tactical instructions via the W/T to the rear gunner. This will help to add some extra weight to the firepower of the formation, which otherwise will only get two Air Gunner Fire cards.

Bombs Gone!

3 comments:

  1. Superb! Always loved the Blenheim and the DAF in general. You've done an excellent job here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great stuff, the Blenheim was a good aircraft for its day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks chaps

    More bumpf on the way!

    Just have to work it out first?

    ReplyDelete

Labels

Bag The Hun (857) Books (503) AK47 (499) Ironclads (492) Wings at War (417) Pre-Dreadnoughts (244) Back of Beyond (242) Coastal Warfare (225) Napoleonic Naval (201) Britain's Small Wars (199) Bolt Action (175) Victory at Sea (172) What a Tanker (171) Knights of the Sky (166) Target Locked On (163) MiG Alley (160) Chain of Command (149) Old West (147) Find Fix and Strike (138) Bag The MiG (126) Naval Thunder (120) Sandbox Skirmish (119) Naval Command (118) Air War Over Khalkhin Gol (117) Pirates (117) Indo China / Vietnam (115) Fistful of Lead (109) 15mm Sci-Fi / Near Future (95) Darkest Africa (91) VBCW (89) Strength and Honour (87) Continuation War (84) Ancients (81) Shows (79) ACW (77) The Football War (76) Corsairs and Cavaliers (71) Boardgames (67) France's Small Wars (67) Shipwreck! (66) BKC (65) Rapid Fire (63) Saurian Safari (62) Air War C21 (60) Cruel Seas (60) Journals (60) Saga (60) The Men Who Would Be Kings (58) Nimitz (55) Flashpoint Alto Cenepa (53) IABSM (53) International Naval Wargaming Day (53) Gladiators (51) Flashpoint Taiwan (50) Finest Hour (49) Fortifications (47) Red Actions! (47) One Hour Wargames (46) Scramble for Britain (45) Flashpoint Baltic (42) Duel of Aces (41) Flames above the Falklands (40) War of the Pacific (40) Cold War (39) 2mm English Civil War (38) Thud Ridge (37) SCW (36) Desert Spitfires (35) Death in the Dark Continent (34) RCW (34) Algernon Pulls It Off (32) Atlantic Wall (31) English Civil War / Anglo Dutch War Naval (31) Lion Rampant (31) Post Apocalypse (31) Iron Cow (30) Bag the Springbok (29) Mexican Revolution (28) Normandy Firefight (28) Dreadnoughts (27) Full Thrust (27) It Rolls For Ivan (26) Bulldogs Away! (24) Samurai (24) Jet Knights of the Sky (23) 28mm English Civil War (22) Arctic Eagles (22) Imaginations (22) Achtung Kommando! (21) Flashpoint PVO (21) Ancient Naval (20) PITS (20) Galactic Heroes (19) Steamer Wars (19) Strontium Dog (19) Iron Cross (18) Winter War (18) Aeronef (15) Aircraft (15) Imperial Commander (15) Rate of Fire (15) Zulus! (15) Aliens (14) Dragon Rampant (14) Black Ops (13) CY6 Jet Age (13) Congo (13) Mad for War (13) Impetus (12) Wars of Insurgency (12) Flashpoint Fleet Air Arm (11) Gaslands (11) Sharp Practice (11) 633 Squadron (10) Bohica (10) Franco Thai Air War (10) Get the Goeben! (10) Jungle Green (10) 28mm Future Wars (9) Dux Britanniarum (9) Fire in the Sky (9) HYW (9) Merry Xmas Mr Sankara (9) Portable Pike and Shot (9) Adventures in Jimland (8) Bombers over Germany (8) Cry Havoc (8) French Indian Wars (8) Renaissance Naval (8) Star Wars Legion (8) Sword and Spear (8) Through The Mud and Blood (8) Air War Angola (7) Frostgrave (7) Lacquered Coffins (7) Target for Tonight (7) A Mighty Fortress (6) AirWar:1918 (6) Five Parsecs From Home (6) French Resistance (6) Check Your Six! (5) Five Men at Kursk (5) Fivecore Skirmish (5) Maurice (5) Seven Days to the River Rhine (5) Three Musketeers (5) What a Cowboy (5) Wings Over Suez (5) Arab Revolt (4) Corvette Command (4) In Her Majesty's Name (4) Infamy Infamy (4) Medieval Naval (4) Never Mind The Billhooks (4) Battletech (3) Blood Red Skies (3) Gangsters (3) HOTT (3) Hind Commander (3) Lord of the Sea (3) Luft 46 (3) Mourir Pour l'Indochine (3) Sturmovik Commander (3) Whispering Death (3) Chincha Islands War (2) Crom (2) Disposable Heroes (2) Fire and Steel (2) Fivecore Company Command (2) Iron Stars (2) Judge Dredd (2) Lethal Skies (2) NUTS! (2) No Go Zone (2) Pulp! (2) Starfighters! (2) War in El Dorado (2) A Billion Suns (1) Air War 1940 (1) Battlegroup (1) Black Powder (1) Convoy (1) Dropzone Commander (1) Falklands War (1) Harpoon (1) If The Lord Spares Us (1) Indo-Pakistan War (1) Load and Return (1) MiG Hunters (1) Missile Threat (1) Missiles at Sea (1) Nam '68 (1) Naval Wargames Society (1) Norway 1940 (1) Oi Navarcoi! (1) Sea Wars Fleet Actions (1) Si Vis Pacem (1) Spanish American War (1) Sunray is Down (1) Ultracombat Normandy (1) Wars of the Roses (1) Xenos Rampant (1)