another unconventional setup idea

[Miska]

I would still very much like to see a Rhubarb 1942 week, but I have an idea for 1943.

Biscay 1943: Musketry/Seaslug

In the spring of 1943, Coastal command and the USN were assigned the task of shutting down U-Boat traffic in and out of France through the Bay of Biscay.

Coastal command assigned B24 liberators operating singly and the USN sent jeep carriers from which operated teams composed of 1 wildcat and one avenger.  In response, the germans deployed combat air patrols of Ju-88s to hunt for the often low flying libs and avengers.  U-boat control issued new operational orders requiring uboats to transit Biscay on the surface, in groups if possible, in order to pool their anti-aircraft fire.

How do we do this in AH?  I am going to create a simple map that is all water except for island base in the SE corner(St. Nazaire), and one island base in the NE corner (England).  

It would be nice to reset the scores at the start of this one.  I could then more easily keep track of the score (through score pages and a spreadsheet) for the whole week and assign x points for every PT boat which the germans can sail clear accross the map, and deduct y points for every PT boat sunk.  I could also keep track of individual pilot scores.  This might provide an incentive for allied players to hunt and also for axis pilots escort the PT boats.  Of course, the biggest individual score of all would be for sailing a PT boat accross the map.

Design notes:  PT boats obviously cannot escape by diving, but then again the Libs and avengers are limited to bombs and not depth charges.

Sound good?

[Buzzbait]

Salute Miska

Your idea sounds interesting, but there are a couple issues which make it perhaps impractical.

First of all, you need guys who would be willing to drive PT boats all the way across the map... not too likely, considering how long that would take.

Second, there are a lot of guys who won't touch a bomber with a ten foot pole...  ;

However, my criticisms aside, there is a setup which would have similar concepts which I have being dying to do, except I don't have an appropriate map.

That would be the Murmansk Convoy route over the top of Norway and to the Russian port of Murmansk.

This came under attack from German aircraft, submarines and surface ships.

Aircraft such as the Ju-88a, Me109E, Me109F and the Me110c were heavily involved.

On the British side, they had Sea Hurricane I's, (Hurri I's), Sea Hurricane II's, (Hurri IIc's), Martlets.  (F4f4s's), as well as various torpedo and dive bombers which could have the SBD and TBM subbed for.

We would need a map which showed the Northern coast of Norway, Finland and Russia, extending out into the Artic Ocean.

Here's a map which shows the area:

http://www.armed-guard.com/pq17lg.jpg

And a picture of some Ju's attacking.

http://www.oldgloryprints.com/Arctic_Encounter.jpg

You might even find the map used for a Scenario if its nice enough...  

[Miska]

Buzz, I realize that this one wouldn't be for everyone

I would be interested in exploring the aircombat dynamic in the absence of single engine frontline fighters.  There were plenty of Beaufighter/j88 engagements for example.

Pehaps instead of PT boats, you can have a number of small TFs on tracks accross the map?  The j88s have to save them, the Allied four engined bombers have to sink them?

The advantage with PTboats is that they could evade and would force the bombers to make low level runs.

But Norway sounds great too!

[Sabre]

You could create a bunch of single-destroyer (or two destroyer) task groups to act as the submarines.  Give them the ability to spawn PT's, to represent the German E-boats that patrolled these waters.  The set-up CT staffer can jump them into a long line, with patrol waypoints that will lead them back and forth across the engagement area.  One major problem I see is that of milkrunning by bombers.  This is because the un-commanded tg's will not take evasives on their own (too bad we don't have a "zig-zag" option on the tg command pop-up window).  Another problem would be spying, as the TGs' locations would of course be known to the Axis.  Perhaps we could use a long side-switch time, say an hour.  A final obstacle would be long-transit times for ASW and CAP aircraft to get on station.  You might want more than one airbase for each side; perhaps a string of islands paralleing the sub transit route.

Overall, an original idea.  I salute you.

Sabre
CT Staff