Details

Written by: Spikes

Category: Mediterranean Theatre

Published: 28 October 2018

Hits: 16

Debacle in the Desert: Siege of Tobruk

The Siege of Tobruk was a drawn out battle that lasted eight months in 1941. The Axis successfully pushed the Allies back to the Egyptian border. Tobruk was still held by the British forces, which was important because it deprived the Axis of a supply port close to the Egypt-Libya border. Tobruk was surrounded by the Axis forces and it was difficult for the British to get supplies into Tobruk to assist the remaining forces in the area. Targets in and around Tobruk were assaulted daily by the Luftwaffe and Afrika Korps.

The only air defense at Tobruk was No. 73 Squadron, which at the start of the battle had 22 Hurricanes fit for duty. As the battle wore on, their losses piled up due to the fact that they were surrounded at Tobruk. By the end of the August, they were down to 12 operational aircraft.

This setup is centered around Operation Battleaxe, which took place from June 15th until June 17th. It aims to represent the dive-bomber attacks that the Luftwaffe made on Tobruk and the surrounding area, while highlighting the small unit of No. 73 Squadron Hurricanes that were stationed at Tobruk. 

Allies: 48% / Axis 52%

Order of Battle:

Active Fields:

Loadout Restrictions:

Bombs are disabled on the Bf 109E-4 and Bf 110C-4b.

Stuka will be restricted to 1000kg centerline bomb and smaller, no wing bombs.

Notes:

Bomber Alt Cap is 14K.

Fighter Alt Cap is 20K.

Up to 20 Hurricane Mk 1's are allowed to be based at A15 per frame.

A7-A11 will be Rook fields with no flash range.

Axis may not re-arm at A12 and A13.

Only ground objects destroyed by Stukas will gain points for the Axis.

Scoring:

Allied Fighters - 2

Axis Fighters - 3

Stuka - 2

Hangars - 6

Recommended Skin List:

Hurricane Mk. I	274S/RAF by Greebo
P-40C	112S/RAF by Devil5O5
	112S/RAF by FtJr
	250S/RAF by Devil5O5
Bf 110C-4b	7./ZG 26 by Devil5O5
	8./ZG 26 by Devil5O5
	9./ZG 26 by Devil5O5
Bf 109E-4	Stab. I/JG 27 by Devil5O5
	2./JG 27 by Krusty
	1./JG 27 by Macloud01
	II/JG 27 by Larry
	7./JG 26 by Devil5O5
Ju-87D-3	6./StG 2 by Greebo

Arena Settings:

- Terrain: egypt

- Fuel Burn: 1.0

- Icons: 3K Friendly/Enemy

- 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: 0800 (8AM) Game Clock

- Formations: Off

- Formation Autopilot: On

- Bomber calibration: Automatic

- Wind: 0K-2K NO WIND

2K-16K: E TO W - Speed 5

16K-20K: SE to NW - Speed 10

20K+: 45MPH downdraft

Area of Operations:

Designed by perdweeb and Devil5O5

Details

Written by: Spikes

Category: Mediterranean Theatre

Published: 23 October 2018

Hits: 17

"Marseille had about three victories per mission on average. He could have been the top ace above Hartmann, if he had lived." -Hannes Trautloft

 

The fighting over the Mediterreanean during the Second World War often gets over looked compared to events that happened over the Western and Eastern Theatres of Europe. The fighting that took place over an endless sea of sand, blazing hot suns, with cold windy nights was brutal, intense, and shear terror over the sands and warm Mediterrean waters. It was often an unforgiving fight, where pilots maneuvered their planes in close quarters and engagements. Have a bandit on your six was not the only problem these pilots faced. If one was shot down they had to navigate an unforgiving terrain where miles of endless sand stretched out in all directions.

With the arrival of JG27 to the theater the allies began to suffer heavy losses. Equipped with the Bf-109, the Luftwaffe pilots favored diving out of the sun on unexpecting formations of Tomahawks, and Hurricanes. Normally targeting the tailend charlies, the Luftwaffe pilots would often down one, two, and sometimes three aircraft before climbing back into the sun. The RAF would quickly form a defensive circle known as the Lufberry Circle. In theory any enemy fighter that entered the circle had to cross into someones gunsight, therefore allowing those in the circle to keep maneuvering, while shooting down the Luftwaffe fighter. The allies had yet to encounter Hans Marseille, the soon to be "Star of Africa". Jg 27, Jg 53, and Jg 77 had great success in the theater, but so did their allied conterparts. 

By the time the United States had entered the war, and entered the fighting in the MTO the RAF and the Luftwaffe had seasoned veterans commanding the squadrons, and fighting over the MTO. The US fighter pilots would have to quickly the learn the game or fall victim to the guns of the Luftwaffe. Flying P-38's, P-39's, P-40's, and Sptifires the US fighter pilots would eventually stake their claim as a force to be reckoned with.

Side Split: 50/50

Frame One (Egypt Terrain)

Frame Two (Egypt Terrain)

Frame Three (Italy Terrain)

Details

Written by: Spikes

Category: Mediterranean Theatre

Published: 20 February 2018

Hits: 18

FIGHTER PILOTS PARADISE: Malta 1942

For the Allies the fortress island of Malta was ideally situated in the Mediterranean. British strike aircraft and submarines took a steady toll of Axis shipping. To counter this threat the island had been under constant air attack since 1941 by the Italians and Germans. For air defence the RAF only had a small force of obsolete Gladiator fighters which were gradually replaced with Hurricanes. By the beggining of 1942 large numbers of Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica units had been moved to Sicily for the air offensive. The RAF Hurricane pilots found themselves outclassed by the new Bf 109F and attrition rates were high.

To bolster the hard pressed defences the British decided to reinforce Malta with Spitfires. The plan was to fly them to the island one way from aircraft carriers. The first such reinforcements arrived March 7th 1942 during Operation SPOTTER. Some 15 Spitfires landed safely on the island having been launched from HMS EAGLE. In the months that followed another 12 such operations brought in more Spitfires.

The Axis air offensive reached a crescendo in April 1942 causing heavy damage to airfields and military installations. With the Afrika Korps supply lines still under threat a plan for an airborne and seaborne invasion of Malta (Operation HERKULES) was approved by Hitler and Mussolini that same month with a date set for July 1942.

The number of Spitfire reinforcements gradually increased and by the beginning of May 1942 Spitfire equipped No.126, 185, 249, 601 and 603 squadrons were in action. The RAF managed to keep an effective air defence through the onslaught of Axis raids. In late 1942 the British offensive at El Alemain brought an end to the Axis plan to invade Malta. Luftwaffe units were needed to support the hard pressed Afrika Korps. Malta would remain in Allied hands.

Malta was awarded the George Cross by Britains King George VI in recognition of the bravery and fortitude shown by the people of the island during the seige. RAF fighter duty on Malta was dubbed both "A fighter pilot's paradise" and "no place for beginners".

This FSO recreates the intense fighting over Malta in the spring of 1942.

Country Percentages:

Axis 55%
Allied 45%

Field Assignments:

Axis Knight
Allied Bishop
CM Rook

OOB:

Axis (Luftwaffe/Regia Aeronautica):

Bf 109F
C.202
Bf 110C
Ju 87D
Ju 88A

Allied (RAF):

Spitfire V (max 24)
Spitfire Vc (Seafire) (max 12)
Hurricane II

Special Rules and Ordnance Restrictions:

* All aircraft types must be used by a minimum of 12 *players*.
* ALL AIRCRAFT ARE TO BE LANDED AND THE PLAYERS TOWERED OUT BY
FRAME END OR WILL BE CONSIDERED SHOT DOWN AND THE CREWS KIA.

Scoring:

Aircraft Pts
-----------
Bombers = 10 pts
Fighters = 5 pts

Target Pts
----------
Gun = 1 pt
Hangar = 25 pts
Cruiser = 100 pts
Destroyer = 50 pts
All Other = 3 pts

Survival Pts
----------
Landing = 2 pts
Pilot Survival = 1 pt

Arena Settings:

- Malta terrain
- Fuel burn 1.0
- Icons friendly 3k/enemy 3k
- 0.3 Ack
- Fighter and Bomber warning range 42,000 (about 8 miles)
- Tower range set to 42,000 (for display only to match the above setting)
- Haze/fog full visibility (17 miles)
- Radar off
- Enemy collisions on
- Friendly collisions off
- Killshooter off
- Time: 15:00 ( 3PM ) Game Clock
- Formations: On
- Formation Autopilot: On
- Bomber calibration: Automatic
- Wind: 0K-16K SE TO NW - Speed 5
           16K+ SE TO NW - Speed 10

Designer's Notes:

* The Seafire is a stand in for the Spitfire Vc tropical.

Design by Warloc

Details

Written by: Spikes

Category: Mediterranean Theatre

Published: 05 December 2017

Hits: 19

Conquest at Casablanca: Operation Torch

By late 1942, the tide was starting to turn in World War II as the Allies were on the offensive. Operation Torch is largely overlooked when discussing major turning points in the war, however the successful invasion had major effects on the rest of the war. The overall plan for Operation Torch was a very ambitious one. The United States and British Commonwealth would send 65,000 troops from Allied ports to attack three targets on the North African coast: Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers. The entire invasion force consisted of a large mix of airborne regiments, naval fleets, naval air groups, and even USAAF fighter squadrons.

The Vichy French attempted to defend their territory in French Morocco and French Algeria, however they were vastly outnumbered and outgunned. The Vichy French had a small number of destroyers that engaged Allied ships and craft as they landed, but were decimated quickly by the overwhelming amount of Allied naval ships supporting the invasion. Their air force had Dewoitine D.520 and Curtiss Hawk-75 fighters that were inferior to the planes that the United States and British possessed at this point in the war. Fortunately for the Vichy French, they possessed the Douglas DB-7, a variant of the Boston III, which gave an edge in bombing capability.

This particular FSO is aimed to re-create the battle at Casablanca. The initial assault in this area was at Port Lyautey, which fell quickly after constant bombardment from U.S. fleets, led by the battleship USS Massachusetts. The United States ferried P-40Fs across the Atlantic on the escort carrier USS Chenango. The P-40Fs launched from the carrier once Port Lyautey was captured by the Allies, and the port was used as a base of operations for them. Rabat quickly fell in succession as the assault continued at Casablanca. The Jean Bart was a French battleship that was at Casablanca at the time being refitted. It opened fire on Navy destroyers covering the landings, while the USS Massachusetts and SBDs from the carrier USS Ranger focused on crippling the ship since it proved to be a nuisance to the invasion. Due to the surprising nature of the attack and overwhelming odds, Operation Torch only lasted three days, and in the following days, the Allies quickly moved down the coast and inland.

Order of Battle:

Loadout Restrictions:

Active Fields:

Field Continuity:

B72 – USS Massachusetts

B74 – Vichy French Destroyers

B75 – Jean Bart

C71 – USS Ranger

C73 – USS Chenango

Notes:

USS Chenango and USS Ranger may not leave starting sectors and will be positioned at CiC’s request.

US Navy aircraft may only take off from USS Ranger, but may rearm at USS Chenango, USS Ranger, or A4.

B74 (with BB sunk) will represent Vichy French Destroyers around Casablanca, and B72 will represent the battleship USS Massachusetts north of Port Lyautey. These fleets will not leave their designated zones.

Ordnance carrying aircraft alt cap is 15K. Non-ordnance carrying aircraft alt cap is 20K.

Skins:

The default skins for all aircraft in this setup are historically accurate skins for Operation Torch (Morocco map). Please utilize these as Greebo and Devil5O5 put in a decent amount of time providing these for us!

Scoring:

Jean Bart – 70 pts

CV - 40 pts

CA – 40 pts

FH/BH/VH – 35 pts

DD - 15 pts

Fighters - 2 pts

SBD - 4 pts

DB-7 (Boston III) – 7 pts

Object Hardness Settings:

CV – 4000lbs

CA/Jean Bart – 4000lbs

DD – 1500lbs

FH/BH/VH – 2000lbs

Remaining  - MA Standard

Arena Settings:

- Terrain: Morocco

- Fuel Burn: 1.0

- Icons: 3K Friendly/Enemy

- 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: 0800 (8AM) Game Clock

- Formations: Off

- Formation Autopilot: On

- Bomber calibration: Automatic

- Wind: 0K-2K NO WIND

2K-16K: SW TO NE - Speed 5

16K-20K: S TO N - Speed 10

Special Thanks:

Ghostdancer of the Terrain Team for creating the beautiful Morocco terrain in a matter of days.

Perdweeb and Devil5O5 for providing information on historical representation and assisting with accuracy concerns.

Devil5O5 and Greebo for providing us with some gorgeous skins for both historical planes and substitute aircraft.    

Area of Operations: