Details

Written by: Spikes

Category: Mediterranean Theatre

Published: 14 September 2025

Hits: 25

October FSO — Operation Husky: The Invasion of Sicily

July 10, 1943

Before dawn, Allied convoys sailed from North Africa and Malta toward the southern coast of Sicily. Covered by waves of Spitfires, Lightnings, and Marauders, the landings of Operation Husky marked the beginning of the campaign to drive Axis forces out of the Mediterranean. German and Italian air units scrambled from bases across Sicily to meet the assault. Luftwaffe Bf 109s and Fw 190s joined Regia Aeronautica C.205s in fierce defensive actions against Allied bombers and escorts. Despite the intensity of resistance, the Allies established fragile beachheads, striking at coastal bases and ports to open the way for a full-scale invasion of the island.

Frame 1 - Oct 3rd

Frame 2 - Oct 10th

Frame 3 - Oct 17th

Side Assignments

Allies vs Axis — see squad registration for side selection and CiC assignments.

Split 50-50

USAAF 12th Air Force & RAF Desert Air Force vs Luftwaffe Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27) & Schlachtgeschwader 2 (SG 2) & Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force)  4° Stormo & 51° Stormo

Phase 1 Aircraft - 

Allies - 

• Spitfire Mk IX — No min / no max

• P-38J Lightning — No min / no max

• B-26 Marauder — Minimum 8

•  

Axis - 

• Fw 190A-5 —Maximum 12

• Bf 109G-6 — No min / no max

Phase 2 Aircraft (T+30)

Allies: Spitfire Mk IX, P-38J, B-25C Mitchell

Axis: Bf 109G-6, Macchi C.205 Veltro

Ordnance Restrictions

• All Axis aircraft: ordnance disabled. Exception for Frame 3 if Axis win Frame 2. 

• Hour 1 (Allies): only P-38J and B-26 may carry ordnance.

  • P-38J: no restrictions in Hour 1.

  • B-26: limited to 8 × 500 lb bombs. Formations enabled for B-26s.

• T+30 (Allies): only P-38J and B-25C may carry ordnance.

  • P-38J: limited to 2 × 500 lb bombs and rockets only.

  • B-25C: limited to 6 × 500 lb bombs. Formations enabled for B-25Cs.

Event Rules & Clarifications

• Altitude caps: Fighters 18,000 ft; Bombers 14,000 ft.

• B-26 must bomb from no less than 10,000 ft.

• Spitfires may NOT strafe target objects. Only B-26, B-25, and P-38 will score points for destroying target objects.

• Minimums/Maximums apply to the first sortie only. CiCs satisfy aircraft minimums by assigning squads whose combined minimum commitment meets or exceeds the aircraft minimum; squads assigned minimum aircraft should attempt to meet those totals (lend pilots if needed).

• Hour 1 targets must be bombed before T+60. Hour 1 targets become invalid after T+60.

• Scoring values are reduced in Hour 2 to compensate for increased sortie rate. A player’s first sortie scores full points even after Hour 2 begins; a first sortie ends when the player rearms, lands, or is shot down.

• T+30 air spawn altitude: 8,000 ft.

• Any non-target object destroyed will be restored by a CM as soon as possible.

• Axis will show sector counters for Allies when within 24 miles of an Allied base (90s update delay).

Scoring 

• Fighters: 4 pts — first sortie; 1 pt — subsequent sorties

• B-26: 12 pts — first sortie

• B-25: 6 pts — subsequent sorties

• Hangars: 12 pts each

• Bunkers (Barracks, Ordnance, Fuel, Radar): 6 pts each

• Town buildings: 2 pts each

• Strat factories: 2 pts each

Arena Settings 

• Terrain: Italy

• Fuel burn: 1.0

• Icons: 3K friendly/enemy

• Ack: 0.3

• Object hardness mults [shp]: 1.0

• Object shape settings [de]: 1.0

• Fighter/bomber warning (base flash) range: 63,360 (?12 miles)

• Tower range: 126,720 (?24 miles)

• Sector counter (Bar Dar) range: 126,720 (?24 miles)

• Sector counter alt: 1,000 ft

• Radar mode Bishops: 464 / Knights: 48 / Update rate: 90s

• Haze/fog: 15 miles; Radar: OFF

• Enemy collisions: ON / Friendly collisions: OFF / Killshooter: OFF

• Time: 1100 (11:00) game clock / Clouds: light5k / Wind as listed below:

  • 0–2k: no wind

  • 2k–12k: SW?NE speed 5

  • 12k–18k: SW?NE speed 10

  • 18k+: 45 MPH downdraft

Details

Written by: Spikes

Category: Mediterranean Theatre

Published: 05 January 2025

Hits: 23

 Introduction

During the winter of 1942-43, fierce air battles raged over the North African deserts of Algiers and Tunisia. The USAAF and RAF battled continuously with the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica to control the skies and the ground leading to victory or defeat in Tunis. The Afrika Korps, sent to help the Italians hold their colonial possessions in North Africa, had been engaged with Commonwealth forces since 1941 attacking and retreating across the entire North of the African continent from Egypt to Morocco.

In the early days of the North African campaign, the Luftwaffe’s Jagdwaffe Experten achieved unbelievably high air-to-air victories over the Desert Air Force pilots. One of the reasons behind this issue was the inferiority of the Allied aircraft available to commonwealth pilots in the region. Until Allied tactics, strategies, and numbers changed the direction of the battles. Battle attrition without replacement overtook the Luftwaffe, Regia Aeronautica, and the whole of the Afrika Korps in late 1942 and into 1943. These factors started the downward spiral toward the defeat of the Axis powers on the African continent.

Operation Torch brought the inexperienced 12th USAAF to the shores of North Africa. A crop of new aircraft and fresh pilots joined the fight, helping destroy the Axis forces on the battlefield. The victory didn’t occur overnight, but slowly the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica began to fold under the weight of the American insertion into the region. On May 13, 1943, the Afrika Korps and its battle-hardened soldiers both German and Italian surrendered to a coalition of British and American troops.

This FSO represents the desperate fight to survive and be victorious in the skies of the North African desert in Air Action Over North Africa.

Map

Country Percentage

Axis 50%

Allies 50%

Plane Set

 

Details

Written by: Devil5O5

Category: Mediterranean Theatre

Published: 20 April 2024

Hits: 19

Southern Penetration

With the American 8th Air Force tasked with supporting the invasion of France from May 1944, the task of striking industry in the heart of German Reich fell to USAAF’s 15th Air Force based in southern Italy. Cities in southern Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary all came under attack from the 15th AF bombers. The focus of these missions were on oil refineries, fuel processing plants, and aircraft factories. 

Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe was also diverting air assets to France to repel the invasion, leaving a skeleton crew to defend its industrial assets from the American penetrators. Germany was forced to rely on the meager fighter forces of its Hungarian and Slovak allies to bolster the defensive force. 

This FSO will recreate the action over the Danube basin in the early summer of 1944.

Side Split: Allies 52% / Axis 48%

Hour 1 Aircraft

Hour 2 Aircraft

Ordnance Restrictions:

All bombs and rockets disabled on Allied fighters.

B-24J’s limited to the 12x 250 lb. bomb package.

Bombs disabled on Axis fighters.

Specific Rules and Clarifications

Fighter Max Alt = 24,000

Bomber Min Alt = 16,000 / Max Alt = 20,000 

CiC’s satisfy the requirement for aircraft with minimums by assigning squads whose combined minimum commitment level meets or exceeds the aircraft minimum.

Squads assigned the Bf 110G-2 and Me 410 must choose only one of those types and all pilots in that squad must fly it. (This rule does not apply to Hour 2)

All pilots in squads assigned B-24J’s must fly it. (This rule does not apply to Hour 2)

All bombers will attack both target areas as a single stream, salvoing half their bombs on the first target area and saving the other half for the second. The Allied air spawn will be located centrally to both target areas to allow either target area to be attacked first. Each target area will consist of two nearby cities, strats and/ or bases to ensure there are enough target objects for each bomber pilot to potentially score max points.

All bomber squads should be within visual range of each other and not with a section significantly delayed while inbound to the first target. The CiC may split them to attack separate parts of a target area. For example: Squad A hits Augsburg City and Squad B hits the Augsburg troop strat. Should the bomber be split in that manner, they should not separate until within 1.5 sectors of the first target area. All bombers should then continue directly to the second target area after bombing the first.

Target areas will be separated from each other by no less than 25 miles at their closest and no more than 50 miles at their farthest. 

City and strat objects will be worth 1 point each and bomber pilots can score up to 4 points at each target area, for a total of 8 points. If a base is given as an Hour 1 target, hangars will be worth 4 points and each pilot will only be credited for destroying one hangar in that target area.

Bomber pilots will only receive credit for destroying a maximum of 2 hangars per sortie in Hour 2.

Town objects are not city objects and have no value if destroyed.

Only B-24J’s will score points for destroying ground targets.

Both Hour 1 target areas must be bombed before T+60 and Hour 1 targets become invalid after T+60.

Hour 2 targets are only valid for pilots launching a new sortie in Hour 2.

A safe landing zone airfield will be provided each frame for the Allies to recover their aircraft after they attack. Axis fighters may not cross the dar ring of these bases (base will start flashing at this point). A penalty will be assessed if the Axis flashes these bases(not just the towns). Any Allied plane that enters the dar ring must land immediately since they have committed to leaving the combat area. A penalty will be assessed if an Allied player enters the safe zone and later exits to continue fighting.

B-24J’s may not descend below 16K until inside the safe landing zone.  

Allied aircraft will show sector counters (Bar Dar) for the Axis when they are within 30 miles of an Axis base. There will be a 90 second delay on position updates. (Update delay removed for Frame 3)

Flying off the map is forbidden.

Any non-target object that is destroyed will be restored at the earliest convenience by a CM.

Scoring

Arena Settings 

- Terrain: Danube

- Fuel Burn: 1.0

- Icons: 3K Friendly/Enemy

- Ack: .3

- Fighter and Bomber warning range: 158400 (about 30 miles)

- Tower range set to 158400 (for display only to match the above setting)

- Sector Counter (Bar Dar) range 158400 (about 30 miles)

- Sector Counter Alt: 0

- Radar Mode Bishops: Value 48

- Radar Mode Knights: Value 464

- Radar Update Rate: 90 seconds 

- Haze/Fog: 15 miles

- Radar: Off

- Enemy collisions: on

- Friendly collisions: off

- Killshooter: off

- Time: 1000 (10AM) Game Clock

- Clouds: light5kmed15k

- Wind: 

0K-2K: No Wind

2K-12K: NW TO SE - Speed 5

12K-20K: NW TO SE  - Speed 10

20K-24K: NW TO SE  - Speed 15

24K+: 45MPH downdraft

Details

Written by: Devil5O5

Category: Mediterranean Theatre

Published: 14 December 2023

Hits: 24

Breakout From El Alamein

Egypt, November 1942. German field marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps has just been defeated at El Alamein by British general Bernard Montgomery’s Eighth Army. Despite orders from Hitler to hold the line, Rommel knew that what remained of his once mighty Afrika Korps would only be ground to dust. He instead decided to retreat along the coast road to better defensible positions near Fuka and Mersa Matruh. Monty, to his credit, attempts to capitalize on the withdrawing Axis forces, but is not quick enough to encircle Rommel. The best success was had by the Desert Air Force, pounding the retreating Afrika Korps along the coast road. 

This FSO will recreate the battles along the coasts of Egypt and Libya in November 1942.

Side split 50/50

Hour 1 Aircraft

Hour 2 Aircraft and Vehicles

Ordnance Restrictions

Bombs disabled for the Bf 109E-4, Bf 109G-2, and P-40E.

20mm cannon disabled on the Hurricane Mk. II

4x 500 lb bombs only for the Boston III

4x 250 Kg bombs only for the Ju 88

Rockets disabled for the M4A3(75)

75mm gun disabled on the M3

28cm rockets disabled on the SdKfz 251

Event Rules

Alt Cap is 16K for fighters, 12K for all attack aircraft.

Hurricane Mk. II and Bf 110C must take bombs with the intent to be used in the ground attack role.

Only the Hurricane Mk IIb, Boston III, Bf 110C, and Ju 88 will be awarded points for destroying static ground targets. (bunkers, hangers, etc...)

Destroying Hour 1 targets after T+60 will award no points.

White flagging towns after T+60 will award no points.

The side in control of the Capture Objective base at the end of frame will be awarded 25 points.

The Capture Objective base requires 30 troops to capture.

Attacking hangars or bunkers(Ord / Fuel / Barracks/ Radar) at Hour 2 spawn bases is prohibited.

Hour 1 aircraft may only attack enemy GV's after completing their attack on the Hour 1 target and rearming.

GV icons will be set to 2.0K at all times.

Hour 2 air spawns are to be placed at 5K over their bases, Unless otherwise stated.

Scoring

Arena Settings

- Terrain: egypt

- Fuel Burn: 1.0

- Icons: 3K Friendly/Enemy for aircraft. GV icons are to be 2.0K

- Ack: .3

- Fighter and Bomber warning range: 63360 (about 12 miles)

- Tower range set to 63360 (for display only to match the above setting)

- Haze/Fog: 15 miles

- Radar: Off

- Enemy collisions: on

- Friendly collisions: off

- Killshooter: off

- Time: 1000 (10AM) Game Clock

- Clouds: light5kmed15k

- Wind: 0K-2K NO WIND

2K-12K: NW TO SE - Speed 5

12K-18K: NW TO SE  - Speed 10

18K+: 45MPH downdraft

Area of Operation