Strike and Strike Again: June, 1942

[Based on data sent by Stephen Loughrey]

Background: Part of the war from the very first was a very old British idea in a new form - keep the enemy out of the seas around England. However, World War I showed that this task could be accomplished efficiently from above. The third major combat arm of the RAF (in addition to Fighter Command and Bomber Command) was Coastal Command. Throughout the war, Coastal Command squadrons patrolled out to sea in all kinds of weather, searching for the Kreigsmarine's U-boats and surface ships, as well as coastal shipping along the European continent.

Among those assigned to Coastal Command was the RAAF No. 455 Squadron. During the latter part of the war they flew Beaufighters on anti-shipping missions. Their moto was Strike and Strike Again. The following is typical of their missions in the middle of the war.

It is June 1942 and Coastal Command is patrolling and attacking Axis shipping in the North Sea. No. 455 Squadron is going to visit the coast of the continent, looking for enemy shipping. North Sea shipping ran along the coast from Norway to Dunkirk, and along the Atlantic coast of France. The closer ships came to England, the more thay tried running under the cloak of night to avoid attack. Small convoys were one or two small coatsal freighters with a few escorts.

Mission Orders: Conduct a dawn patrol from Dunkirk to Holland. Attack enemy torpedo boats and transports that are returning to port after their night attacks and night transits. Patrol in the low altitude band at about 1000 feet.

Map: Blue Sky Map (North Sea)

Game Length: 20 turns

Special Rules

1. Random target selection - The Luftwaffe player rolls randomly to create and position targets
   1. Roll 1D10 for the number of targets:

      D10	Number of targets
      1	3
      2-3	2
      4-8	1
      9-10	0

   2. For each target, determine what type it is:

      D10	Target Type
      1-3	3 E-boats (S-boote)
      4	4 E-boats
      5-10	A transport with 3 naval escorts

      Transport: 500 t. coastal freighter
      Escort: M-boote or S-boote
      
   3. For each target, determine where the target is.

      D10	Location Box
      1-3	3
      4-6	4
      7-9	5
      10	re-roll

2. At the search phase of the op-scale turn, the convoy can try to spot the mission aricraft, regardless of whether the mission aircraft spot the target.

Additional Rules:

1. National Training level:
   • RAF pilots: Average
   • Luftwaffe pilots: Good
2. The Beaufighters are carrying 2x 250 lb bombs each.

Notes:

• The Bristol Beaufighter was published in Air Power #53.

Sources:

• History of No. 445 Squadron, RAAF

Return to the Coastal Campaign.