based on information from NJ Hickman
Background: At dusk, “Nobby” Clarke, transferred from Fighter Command, flew a Roc on SAR. He noticed a Swordfish searching about three miles away in the gloom. He paid it little mind until its searching brought it to within a half-mile, when he noticed it was bigger than normal and had long range tanks between its wings. That was strange. Then he realised the tanks were engines. Abandoning his search, he climbed to intercept it. He found himself 500 feet above it and directly astern, apparently without being spotted, before noticing the white-outlined black crosses on the wings...
Map: Blue Sky (over ocean)
| Aircraft: | Fleet Air Arm | = | 1 Roc |
| Luftwaffe | = | 1 He59B-2 |
Setup: Place the He59 in 2020, facing E, at alt 0.1, at speed 2.5. The Roc is 2014 on its 6 o'clock line at 0.6, at speed 2.5.
Game Length: 20 turns
Special Rule: The He59 may fly at 0.0 feet without penalty (as a seaplane, it could fly at literally zero feet without fear), but may not be other than level banked at this height.
The Roc and the He59 ADCs are both available from Uncle Ted's.
Aftermath: Clarke's fighter pilot instincts got the better of him. Having no front guns, just a turret with guns that would not depress below horizontal, he dove and flew across the nose of the floatplane. There was an exchange of fire between the twin guns of the Heinkel's front turret and Clarke's gunner, with both scoring hits before Clarke broke away.
He turned back after the slower floatplane, now heading home at wave-top height. Flying parallel at ten feet, he was forced to bank to allow his gunner to fire, causing a sideslip towards the water. At 300 yards both front and rear turrets on the German were able to return fire, and after alternately slipping and climbing several times the battle ended when the surviving German turret, which had already scored innumerable hits, put one into the engine.
Clarke was forced to break off and limp home at 100mph. Two incendiary bullets were found in the fuel tank under his seat - luckily, they had entered the fuel, not the fumes above. Chastised for attacking a rescue plane by his CO, he ws congratulated by the head of Coastal Command for his initiative - and given his long-requested transfer back to fighters.
Background: On April 6, 1940, Germany launched an air- and sea-borne invasion of Norway and Denmark - to seize Norway before the British and French could. The light cruiser KMS Königsberg was damaged in the process. On April 10th, she lay tied to a dock in Bergen Harbor, undergoing repairs. 16 Skuas from No. 800 and 803 Sqdn (FAA) flew from Hatson in the Orkneys to attack. The range was slightly beyond the listed maximum combat radius of the Skua...
Map: Blue Sky (Bergen harbor)
| Aircraft: | Fleet Air Arm | = | 16 Skuas |
| Kreigsmarine | = | KMS Königsberg |
Setup: Place the Königsberg in 2020 (bow) and 1920. It is docked and remains stationary. AAA: Put a Flak 30 (single 20mm) in hex 1719 and in hex 2217.
The Skuas enter from the west board edge in a succession of turns. On turn 1, 5 Skuas enter; on turn 2, 4 more; on turn 10 and 11, 3 more each turn. Each Skua is carrying one 500 lb. bomb. The Skuas start at speed 4.0, alt 8.0.
Game Length: 25 turns
Additional Rules: If desired, generate pilot skill from the Average
chart. Each FAA flight must contain at least one Regular; any Veterans should
be spread out evenly among the flights.
| True to History | Only one 88mm can fire during the first wave. No AA can fire until after the first bomb is dropped. |
| With Fighters | On 10-Apr-40, the Luftwaffe was still sorting out its new basing in southern Norway. The German player should roll 2D6 secretly at the start of the scenario and write the number down. On that turn, 4 Bf110C-4s or 4 Bf109E-1s enter from the east board edge, at least 10 hexes away from the nearest Skua, speed 6.0, alt 4.0. |
The Skua and the Bf109E-1 ADCs are both available from Uncle Ted's. The Königsberg is also available from Uncle Ted's.
Aftermath: Historically, the Skuas scored 3 hits and 3 near-misses on the Königsberg, capsizing it dockside. It was the first wartime sinking of a major warship solely by dive-bombers. One Skua was shot down in the process.
More detailed description of attack by NJ Hickman.
based on information from WINGS
Background: On 10-Jun-40, the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau encountered HMS Glorious and two destroyers. All three British vessels were sunk - but not before inflicting a torpedo hit on the Scharnhorst. The two German vessels crept back to Trondheim. No. 800 and 803 Squadrons FAA were called upon to finish off the Scharnhorst as handily as they had Königsberg a couple months earlier. This time, the Germans were better prepared, and Skuas met a different kettle of fish.
Map: Blue Sky (Trondheim harbor)
| Aircraft: | Fleet Air Arm | = | 15 Skuas |
| Luftwaffe Kreigsmarine |
= | 8 Bf109E-3 4 Bf110C-4 KMS Scharnhorst |
Setup: Place the Scharnhorst in 2020 (center). She is anchored and alert. Herr AAA begins to fire immediately.
The Skuas enter from the west board edge in a succession of turns. On turn 1, 4 Skuas enter; on turns 2 and 4, 3 more each time; on 1D10 turns later and two turns after that, 3 more Skuas each turn. Each Skua group is a vic (three aircraft). Each Skua is carrying one 500 lb. bomb. The Skuas start at speed 4.0, alt 11.5.
Luftwaffe deployment:
In all cases, the Luftwaffe player should write down the die rolls and show them to the FAA player on the turn the aircraft appear. All Luftwaffe flights are organized in Rotte (pairs) and Schwarms of four.
Game Length: 25 turns
Additional Rules:
Pilot skill:
The Skua ADC is available from Uncle Ted's. The Scharnhorst SDC is also available from Uncle Ted's.
Aftermath: Historically, the Skuas scored 1 near-miss on the Scharnhorst, but faced heavy AAA and Luftwaffe CAP over the harbor. Eight Skuas were lost.