INWarD Interupted

Better late than never!

It looks like my best laid plans to run an INWarD game by the end of the week have fallen flat, due in the main to having other family related things to do over the last week or so. Reluctantly, I've decided to pack up my models and will be have to play my Napoleonic naval game when I get back home next week. It's a bit of a let down but very much in tune with the rest of the year thus far, which has proved to be one frustration after another when it comes to my wargaming activities. 

Bag the Hun Scenario - Crazy Ivan

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.

Bag the Hun Scenario - Barn Dance

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!

Dreadnought!

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?

Bag the Hun Scenario - Fifteen Minute Fisticuffs

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.

INWarD Retrospective

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.

The Action of Ile de Glenan, 6th August 1804 - A Scenario for INWarD 2024

August 1804.

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!)

INWarD Scenario

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. 

INWarD 2024 Game Plan

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!

Finnish Curtiss Hawk 75 for Bag the Hun

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!