SAAF Squadron - Operation Battleaxe Results

Way back in May, when the first game was played with the SAAF, they suffered badly as well. Of the 4 aircraft, one pilot was killed, another shot down and the other two planes were damaged. I am guessing that Lt Parker didn't make it back to base in time and that was why he didn't fly in this mission. As it stands, the squadron is down to three aircraft and eight pilots of which 6 are still trying to make their way back to base. This effectively takes them out of the campaign.

Pilot	Status	Kills	Campaign Missions Flown	Flight	Notes
Major Zayden de Beer	Veteran	1/1	1	Red I	Shot down, OK, 1 kill in mission
Captain Adiel Hertzog	Regular	0	2	White I	Shot Down, KIA
Lieutenant Androw FitzSimmons	Regular	0	1	Yellow I	Shot Down, Survived.
Lieutenant Francois van Wyk	Regular	0	1	Red II	Shot Down, KIA
Lieutenant Bertie Morgan	Sprog	0	2	White II	Survived
Lieutenant Wincuf Pinckney	Veteran	2	1	Yellow II	Shot Down, Survived.
Lieutenant Luca Hanekom	Regular	0	1	Red III	Show Down, KIA
Lieutenant Archie McKenzie	Regular	0	1	White III	Survived
Lieutenant Josh O'Brien	Sprog	0	1	Yellow III	Plane hit, Survived
Lieutenant Stephen Reynolds	Sprog	0	1	Red IV	Shot Down, Survived
Yellow IV	Regular	0	1	Yellow IV	Shot Down, Survived
White IV	Regular	0	1	White IV	Shot Down, Survived

The Germans did much better.

PILOT	Status	Kills in Game	Notes
White I	Jr Ace	4	Dominated the game
White II	Regular	0	Hit Red III, Aircraft Damaged
White III	Veteran	0
White IV	Veteran	0	Aircraft Damage
Blue I	Jr Ace	0
Blue II	Sprog	0	Temp Loss of Control, Aircraft Damaged
Blue III	Sprog	0	Hit Yellow III
Blue IV	Sprog	1	Kill Red II, Temp Loss of Control
Black I	Regular	1	Kill White IV
Black II	Veteran	0	Damaged Red I
Black III	Regular	0
Black IV	Sprog	0
Bombers
Blue I	Veteran	0
Blue II	Regular	0
Blue III	Sprog	0	Temp Loss of Control
Orange I	Veteran	0	KIA
Orange II	Regular	0
Orange III	Sprog	0

There is one more game for the afternoon. This will pit our player German Squadron against the RAF squadron. I still need to roll up the scenario for this. I hope to do the mission this week. We will see how that works out.

Finishing Game 4 - Operation BattleAxe

I took less pictures this time around. I started going through the cards and the SAAF Red Leader got on the tail of another Stuke. But this time it didn't work out as well. The cards were in the Stuka's favor and it was able to make a getaway off the table.

Next up, another Red pilot, on the tail of a Stuka, fired on the Stuka and missed. The Stuka also got the tail gunner card and fired but missed.

The German Ace from White Schwarm lined up and let loose a shot on a Tomahawk.

This resulted in catasgrophic structural damage. This aircraft is going down. This was one of the better sets of attack rolls I had. Next up, SAAF Yellow 3 had a shot past his stricken friend. He landed a hit but only caused wing damage.

After this I took a pause for a day. When I came back to the game, things took a bad turn for the SAAF. For playing a solo game, having two full 12 fighter squadrons on the table and another six bombers was a bit harder to manage. It was a good experience but I doubt I will run as large of a solo game again. I ended uptaking pictures of the dice then the planes to keep track of what happened.

The German Junior Ace (White I) started on a tear working his way through the SAAF pilots. He began with a great run of cards that put him up against SAAF Yellow IV, a pilot I should not have included as there were not enough pilots left to finish out two of the flights. I forgot and included him, much to Yellow IV's regret. German White I landed Engine damage and then was able to fire again causing Yellow IV to explode.

The SAAF got a deflection shot on German White II causing temp loss of control. The aircraft would recover.

German White I again showed off and maneuvered behind Lt Fitzsimmons (Yellow I) and caused Catastrophic Structural Damage. He would be able to bail out and survive the war.

One of the last Stuka's, Blue III, was set upon by a Yellow Pilot (lost track of who). They cause temp loss of control but it would be saved.

SAAF White IV was the next victim up, He was beset by both German White I and Black I. German White I landed wing damage. A second shot scored Engine Damage.

German Black one swooped in and stole the kill causing catastrophic structural damage.

German White I's next victim was Lt Pinkney (Yellow II). Landing a hit to his wing.

It was not all one sided. The South Africans manage to get behind German White IV and cause instrument damage.

That wasn't the only one as German White II also suffered the same fate.

Things came back to the German Ace. Still on the tail of Lt Pinkney, landed his next hit causing catastrophic structural damage.

German White II also got in on the kill streak. He fired on Lt Hanekom (Red III) and caused a pilot hit that was fatal.

German Black IV pulled up on Lt Reynolds (Red IV), and caused some wing damage.

Lt McKensie pulled up behind German Blue II and scored a temp loss of control.

The German ace was at it again. Pulling behind Captain Hertzog and landed a fatal pilot hit. This was making him the most lethal pilot of the game.

The ace was not done yet. He pulled up on Lt Reynolds (Red IV) and caused catastrophic structural damage. He bailed out successfully and lived.

At this point the game was winding down. Several South Africans chose discression and fled the table. Lt O'Brien (Yellow III), Lt Moran (White II) and Lt McKenzie (White III) were able to safely escape. But the most successful of the South Africans, Maj De Beer (Red I), tried to flee but fell to the guns of German White I as well. Again to Catastrophic structural damage.

The last South African on the table was Lt Van Wyk. As he fled for the table edge, he was surrounded by the aircraft of Black Schwarm. I lost track of who landed the blow but it was catastrophic structural damage again. As his aircraft descended, he failed every bail out roll and crashed with the aircraft. This made Van Wyk the last victim of the game.

I will go back and try to figure out the final score for the South Africans, but it was not good. The German Junior Ace was incredibly effective. Sorry for the typos this time. Typing with a splint is not as easy as I hoped.

Afternoon Action for Operation Battleaxe - Bag the Hun Campaign game 5

I started the game for the first of the two afternoon games on Day One of Operation Battleaxe. My prep post was very helpful in setting this out. The main changes made were only 2 Kette of Stukas were used as I don't have three. A full staffel of Bf109s were available as support for the Germans. The British were using the remnants of the South African Squadron. Which meant that two of their flights were short an aircraft. In addition, I dropped the returning Lysander as I didn't find the plane stats (or didn't bother to look, it was one of those). For this scenario, I used the full size of my 6' x 4' matt. I am very happy with it. I would have liked 1.5" hexes instead of the 2" hexes but this works.

On the table, I placed three markers which were targets for the Stukas. Each marker was two hexes in size. I took a good number of picture of the game and hopefully will be able to finish it soon.

The scenario started with the two groups of bombers on the table. The Bogey cards were used to determine when the fighters would arrive. When the card was draw, I'd roll a d6. For the British a roll of 4+ meant one of their flights would arrive. For the Germans, they needed at . Each turn, the target number would drop until all of the fighters were deployed.

The Stukas had to travel the full length of the table to reach their targets.

To start, the Stukas had some rough rolls and failed to maintain a formation. Each arcraft was basicaly on its own.

The Germans were lucky on their bogey card and the White Schwarm made it to the table first. The British rolled horribly to get their fighters out on their initial bogey card.

The next turn started with the White Schwarm moving.

With the bonus move the leader of one of the Stuka Kette reached the target and begins his run.

Shortly thereafter, the rest of the bombers start their run.

Finally, the British catch a break and roll well on their bogey card and Yellow Flight arrives on the table. You can see dice next to the targets representing the number of hits the stukas scored on their bombing runs. They need at least three hits to destroy the targets present.

Unfortunately for the British, the German Junior Ace of White Schwarm made some moves and arrived up on the newly arrived British and gets off his first shot.

The Ace rolled poorly and the defensive dice were with the South Africans. This resulted in a firer side slip.

The Stukas were now trying to turn away from their targets and leave the table. Both groups had the Kette leader out in front. Then the bogey card came up and the Red Flight appeared directly in front of the Orange Stuka Kette.

Note that the position where the flight/schwarm arrives is determined by a die roll as well. Yellow flight began to maneuver to get into position on the Stukas and on White Staffel. One of the stukas had not made its bombing run yet. Yellow leader managed to line up a shot on White IV, a sprog, and fired under s stuka at the Bf109. He landed a hit that caused temporary loss of control but no lasting damage.

The one of the stuka's from Blue Kette (I probably have that color wrong on the bead) made its bombing run and scored two hits on its target. (Note I was going off the bombing rules from memory and may have completely made up how it was done.) He moved past the target and leveled out.

The last of the Blue Kette Stukas made its run and also scored two hits on the target. This destroyed one of the three ground targets.

Now with all of the bombing runs being complete, the stukas need to make their get away. Orange Kette's leader was bravely running away when the Flight Leader of the South African Red Flight chased him down. In the first bout of competent shooting and poor defensive dice, The Orange Kette Leader exploded in a ball of fire.

The stuka's can be tough opponents with a higher toughness than any of the fighters. Yet, Major de Beer of the South African squadron made his first kill of the campaign. Yellow Flight managed to stay together as a formation as they swung around. Red Flight split up immediatly and another aircraft got on the tail of another Stuka of Orange Kette.

Yellow Flight would then begin to split up and look to engage the White schwarm aircraft. The Blue Kette Stukas were attempting to fly casual and get out of the mess they found themselves in.

That was the end of the 4th or 5th turn. I lost count at somepoint. The cards are all shuffled and waiting for me to have time to return to the game. Orange Kette looks to be in trouble with its leader shot down and another aircraft with a tailing fighter. Blue Kette seems to be avoiding contact. The White Schwarm is scattered and their shooting has been less than stellar. There are stll two German schwarms and one British flight that have yet to make an appearance.

To Be Continued.....

Blenheim IVs, Hurricanes and Gladiators

I managed to get some painting in over the weekend. First off we compleing the three Blenheim IVs. There is significant differences between the Blenheim Is that I have and the Blenheim IVs. I think the Blenheim Is are from Tumbling Dice and the IVs are Pico Armor. Or I may have that reversed. Not sure. But the IVs seem to be finer lines while the Is are more chunky and a slightly larger model. I gave them both the same camo paint job.

I also finished off the Hurricanes. I kept the markings the same as the previous 8, they are just darker.

I also started working on some Gladiators. I have eight of these and have at least gotten the base paint down.

In working on these, I found three more Ba.65s. I will paint these up at some point. I just have no idea how I painted the first three. I am hoping I saved the paint scheme somewhere. But the whole force is just about ready. I started to clean the painting table to get the next game on.

Tomahawks Completed

I finished the last four Tomahawks this week. They look OK but the paint scheme is slightly darker than the originals. But I will just assume those are replacement aircraft that have not started to bleach out in the sun. I painted the markings on them again. Would rather use decals but I wanted them done.

That leaves the three Blenheim IVs, four Hurricanes and eight Gladiators to complete out my British forces. That will complete my current desert forces. Very excited to see this come this close to being done.

Weekend Roundup: Battlefield Walk and Painting

It was a good weekend. I was able to get out to the Kettle Creek battlefield over the weekend. The DAR has done a fantastic job of taking care of the battlefield. It is now listed as an archeological site and a graveyard. They have found 29 bodies buried on the property. There is a really nice trail that goes around "war hill" where little of the fighting took place. The trails leading to where Clarke, Pickens and Dooley advanced on Boyd's position are overgrown. I learned a bunch about the topography of the battlefield to the point, I want to redo the scenarios. Much of the land was pasture in 1779. Now, most of the property is wooded with new growth timber. You can still get a good idea of how the battle took place. Also, it was good to get a perspective on how deep Kettle Creek is and was with the research that has been done on the site.

When I wrote "This Land Divided," the battlefield was not very accessible. People knew where it was and amatuer archeologists with metal detectors had dug up a number of artifacts including some cannon balls for a small caliber gun. Now that is prohibited on the site. It is part of the national battlefield trust. Archeology is carefully handled now. I am looking forward to going back.

I did get some painting done over the weekend. The last of the British are all lined up. The bellies and topcoats are done for the Tomahawks, Hurricanes and Blenheim IVs. I still have to glue the magnets to the Gladiators before moving forward on them. I also managed to base coat my East Front Germans. I won't move on those until the Gladiators are finished.

It was a pleasant weekend.

More Painting Progress - Blenheim Is and Cr.32s

The Blenheims Is came out OK. The British camo paterns are not very difficult but I think these are darker than my original aircraft that I did. I probably have a more European scheme than desert. But it is close enough.

The Cr.32s I had in a different base coat to start. I didn't like it and went with a different one based on the recommendation of my app. I like how these turned out enough. One day, I may get decals for these planes instead of painting them but for now this is enough.

I also managed to glue magnets to the four Hurricanes, the four Tomahawks and the three Blenheim Ivs. I also have the eight Gladiators ready to go. My thought with the gladiators was to give them an earlier paint scheme where the bottom of the aircraft is half black and half white. I think that the Gladiators in Greece may have had that but it has been a while since I looked that up. So that is just 19 more aircraft for the Western Desert. I think I have enough painted to finish the campaign. I had bought some flak emplacements. I started to paint one and stopped. I would like to get a couple of those done at some point. I want to reaquaint myself with the bombing rules again over the weekend. I want that to be part of the next day's missions for Operation Battleaxe.

MC.200s Complete

With the last 3 MC.200s painted, the Squadrillia is now complete.

I now have 12 of these ready to go. While working on them, I also managed to finish a Lysander. The example that I had, didn't show roundels on the top of the aircraft, only the sides. I started on the second Lysander but didn't finish it. Instead of finishing the last 3 Cr.32s, I started on the four Blenheim Is. I have the base paint on them and still need the camo, markings and windows to paint.

At this point, for the desert, I have the following to finish:

Aircraft

Number
Blenheim I	4
Blenheim IV	3
Cr.32	3
Lysander	1
Ro.37bis	2

I may or may not paint both of the Ro.37s. I am not sure how useful they would be. There are a number of bomber that I lack a full squadrilla of for the Italians and a full squadron for the British. The Germans also lack enough Bf110s and Ju88s for a full Staffel. I am not sure that I really want to flesh these out. I want to get these done and start to work on the East Front aircraft that I have bought.

Once the Blenheims are painted, they should be in my next game.

Pico Armor Order Received

Once again, Pico Armor delivered quickly. I spent the afternoon cleaning up the He111s that I received. I now have 8 of them. In addition, I got my pack of I-16s bringing that total up to 18 of them and a pack of SB bombers. I think I now have 12 SB bombers. This gives me a good mix of aircraft for the work I am doing on the Ustilug supplement. I have some painting to do. I have all of the German aircraft prepped and ready to prime.

For the End of my Operation Battleaxe campaign, I have one more game for the current day and then I need to roll up the second day. I should have the Mc.200s completed this week. I also should be able to get my Blenheims and Lysanders as well. The Hurricanes and Tomahawks need magnets glued to them. Hopefully, I can get to those as well. In total, I can really see my desert collection coming together. The pictures I took were off center not worth posting. Hopefully, I can get these knocked out and get some good pictures of the aircraft.

Desert Painting and Soviet Cards for Bag the Hun

I have a set of cards for Italians, British and Germans for North Africa that all share the same format. I downloaded a set of Soviet Cards from the Facebook group but they are very different from my existing cards. Also they don't have enough cards. I managed to edit the British cards that I have in the PDF and create a matching set of Soviet cards. They came out pretty good. I updated the graphics on them to show Soviet aircraft and pilots and printed them out. This is a good step closer to getting ready for some East Front games.

The Father's Day weekend gave me an opportunity to get some painting done. I managed to complete 8 Cr.42s for the Italians. I have one more that is partially painted. I would like to pick up two more of these to finis out the squadrillia. The Cr.42s are from Pico Armor and were fun to paint up. I had three previously painted ones that I touched up and matched them with the new ones. Now I have 9 aircraft complete.

Then I did some work on the G.50 aircraft that I purchased from Pico Armor. I am not happy with the paints selected by the paint matching tool for these for the base color of the upper surface. But I do not want to redo them. I am not very proud of these.

I am getting so close to completing my Italians. I have just three Cr.32s that I have started and an additional three Mc.200 that are left. I managed to get the underside and the surface paint on them. The camo, nose paint and markings are left.

While waiting on the paint to dry on those, I started on my remaining British. I got the underside painted on some Blenheim Is and the Lysanders.I need to mount magnets on the four Tomahawks, the four Hurricanes and three Blenheim IVs.

I also have been looking at Maps. Specifically maps of eastern Poland/Western Ukraine from around 1941. I am using them to locate the areas where Soviet air bases were located on the morning of June 22nd. I have a wonderful document that I found by Henry L deZeng IV. It is "Luftwaffe Airfeilds 1935-45 Russia (Incl. Ukraine, Belarus & Bessarabia). It is dated 2020. It has some coordinates for the airfields. I am able to get a pretty good idea of where they were and what they looked like. Using Google Maps, you can get an idea of the landscape they were in. Of the ones I have looked up, little remains.

The reason for this is to figure out what kinds of targets would be at the airfields. This will inpact future bombing missions. I started laying out the Germans that I have for the Eastern Front. The Ju88s that I had 3d printed look good but do not match with the three that I have painted up for the desert. I will not use any of these for the desert. But I will have 15 Ju88 aircraft for the Eastern Front. This would give me a full Staffel of bombers and a Stab element. I am looking forward to getting started on these.

I also have received my MiG-3s from Pico Armor as well. They were all metal but what is interesting, the wings and the fuselage are separate for these where the first set I received came together. Both have the same packaging and the same part numbers.

Anyway, progress has been made.