S! all
In the Summer of 1942 the island of Malta was besieged. German and Italian bombers raided it almost daily, and supply ships which attempted to get through were sunk immediately. Malta was a thorn in the side of the Axis in the Mediteranean. From the island British bombers were able to attack the convoys carrying fuel and ammunition to Rommel's troops in North Africa. Until Malta could be bombed into submission the Axis would be unable to supply Rommel well enough for him to push on to the Nile delta and Egypt.
By July 1942 the Axis were winning. Continuous raids had left both the British garrison and the islanders literally starving. British aircraft were running short of fuel and ammunition. The island was in danger of surrendering.
The only chance the British had was to push through a convoy of merchantmen and a tanker loaded with aviation fuel. The assigned as an escort, an aircraft carrier, plus cruisers and destroyers. The convoy was hit hard by German and Italian bombers, but made it through the narrow straights between Sicily and Tunis and despite the loss of many ships, the crucial supplies got through to Malta.
Malta survived, British aircraft continued to hit German convoys, Rommel never got the fuel and ammunition he needed and lost the battle of El Alamein.
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Scenario:
Use the North Africa Map
British Garrison on Malta
2 Spitfire V Squadrons: 1 with 8 aircraft, 1 with 6 aircraft. (no bombs or drop tanks allowed)
1 Wellington Squadron: (use B-26's) 8 aircraft. (B26's being used as Wellingtons may not use the front firing 12 .50 calibre guns. After takeoff, pilots must fire off all their fixed frontal .50's ammunition)
1 airfield with full facilities.
6 Ostwind Flak tanks. (representing the numerous light British Flak positions on the island) Special rules for Ostwinds: Once generated Ostwinds must immediatly move to a position within the boundaries of the Malta airfield runway. They must stop once they reach a position and may not move again. An undamaged Ostwind ditched within the boundaries of the airfield's runways may be re-used. Ostwinds may not fire while moving.
3 British MTB torpedo boats (use PT boats)
British Relief Convoy
CV Task Force (no PT boats allowed to be generated) (Based out of Port of Djidjelli)
1 Seafire IIc Squadron: 12 aircraft. (no drop tanks or bombs allowed)
Task Force #2 (based out of Port of Algiers)
Task Force #2 represents the Convoy. The CV represents the Tanker. No aircraft or PT boats allowed to be generated or take off from the CV in Task Force #2. The CV in this task force may not fire any of its 5 inch guns. The Cruiser and Destroyer Escorts in Task Force #2 may fire all weapons normally.
German/Italian Forces
In Sicily:
1 109F4 Squadron 8 aircraft
1 109G2 Squadron 8 aircraft
1 C-202 Squadron 8 aircraft
1 JU-88 Squadron 8 aircraft
1 Stuka Squadron 8 aircraft (use TBM's as Stukas under the following rules: Stuka/TBM's may only carry two possible bomb loads, that being a single 1000 lb bomb, or 2 500 lbers. To do this, the Stuka/TBM loads either 2 1000 lbers, or 4 500 lbers. After takeoff, he must drop the extra 1000lber or 2 of the 500 lbers. Stukas may also not use the underside gun position of the TBM. After takeoff, the flying player must fire all ammunition from the underside gun position prior to entering into combat)
4 airfields, full facilities.
German and Italian fighters may not carry bombs or drop tanks.
6 German or Italian E-boats (use PT boats)
In Libya:
1 C-202 Squadron 8 aircraft (no drop tanks or bombs)
1 Ju 88 Squadron 8 aircraft
1 Airfield, full facilities. (Tripoli)
2 German or Italian E-Boats (use PT boats)
I strongly suggest the use of a 1/2 hour night interval after every 1 hour of daylight with this scenario, to allow the Convoy to run the straits between Sicily and Cape Bon Tunisia at night.
Tunisia and Morroco are out of bounds for both sides, with the exception of the Ports of Algiers and Djidjelli as starting points for the Task Forces. Any aircraft which land in Tunisia or Morroco, safely or not, are considered destroyed.
The Axis win if they sink Task force #2 (the tanker Task force) or it fails to reach Malta Harbour after 6 Game hours. The British win if Task Force #2 reaches Malta Harbour within 6 hours of the start.
The British side sets the clock for the purposes of determining Night and Day periods.
The British may start their Task Forces anywhere West of a line running directly north from Djidjelli.
Repair time for Airfields is 1/2 an hour.
Undamaged aircraft which land at non-operational airfields are not considered destroyed but may be reused when the airfield is repaired.
No more than two Squadrons can be based out of a field, with the exception of Malta's field which can have 3.
Damaged aircraft which ditch on a carrier or airfield landing are considered repaired and available to be flown 2 hours later.
No one way missions with aircraft are allowed. Players must make every effort to return to base when their fuel is low. This is an honour rule which should be observed.
Any suggestions for improvement of the Scenario are welcome. I am not a subscriber to AH, and wouldn't be able to participate, I designed this just for the fun of putting together an interesting situation.
