Rich and I are going to start working in earnest on Squadron Forward after the Christmas Special. I hope to have the finished product end of January or Feburary. Like Platoon Forward, Squadron Forward is the way I play my games so hopefully you will enjoy it!
I visited The Eagle pub in Cambridge last week. It is an authetic WW II pub used by the RAF and 8th AF pilots. The food was good and reasonably priced and they have an aviation room.
Stray person in front of Eagle pub |
I roll up a mission and get escort strategic bombers.
Capt Anderson looked at the thread going all the way to Frankfurt. This was a long mission for the bombers in March of 1944. He was to lead a 6 ship and pick up the bombers on the way back from the target. Maj Franklin, the CO, drilled into his head not to his the rendevouz! The other squadrons were still laughing. The weather was clear today which should make it easier.
Pilots
Runway Anderson Naive Government
2lt Pierce McKennon Mecurical Family
1Lt Pudge Storch Coarse Government Veteran 1 kill
2LT Chance Blake Cocky Hedonism
2LT John Turlock Cunning Government 1 kill
2LT Pete Thornell Shy wealth 1 kill
On the outbound leg Chance had trouble with his oxygen so aborted; down to 5 planes. [ In real life most pilots didn't realize problems with their oxygen and just dropped out of the sky. SF is not that realistic! We want you to have a chance with your pilots.] Runway breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the bomber stream heave into view right where it was suppose to be. Rendevouz on time!
Blue tails with their charges |
Germans start their attack.
Pudge is to the right
Runway kept his element above to tackle the ME 109s and sent the other 3 down to tackle the ME 110s. All the german fighters fired rockets before the blue tails could react. Fortunatley they all missed. Runways' wingman has a reputation for getting "lost" during the action but stuck to his side this battle. They were able to damage 2 of the ME 109s and quickly drive them away.
The melee continues |
Next Runway did a split S and got behind a ME 110 with his new 6 gun P-51. As bullets streamed into the german he began to burn.
Runway using all 6 guns
As the german dove away he exploded. Runway had his first kill! Next he heard a call for help. Pudge was in a bind. His wing was about to fall off so he had no manuverability and he had a ME 109 on his tail.
Pudge in trouble
Decreased manuverability denoted by the brown pipecleaner
on the stand
Tailing status denoted by the pipecleaner between the two planes
[Pudge did not have a wingman this battle as Blake aborted. I let him go solo as he was the only veteran pilot in the group. I have a warm spot for him because he was the first pilot in the squadron to score a kill. I really wanted him to score this battle and become the leading scorer again. Nervewracking this game is...]
Runway raced over to Pudge and drove the german off his tail!
Meanwhile, the ME 110s had downed 1 B-17 and damaged 1 other. Turlock and Thornell had lined up on a pair of ME 110s when the back gunner damaged Turlocks engine.
2Lt Turlock's chance at a kill thwarted by a well placed bullet
2Lt Thornell followed the other ME 110 down scoring hits but became concerned that he was going to become sandwiched between the two 110s and gave up the chase. [amazing when you become attached to these guys how you act]
The rest of the mission over the contenent was uneventful. Over England it was raining...
The three undamaged fighters set down without a problem. 2Lt Turlock nursed his plane home, skidded off the runway but was otherwise fine. [There are tables for all of this as well] Capt Anderson had trouble keeping trim and altitude with his aircraft but made it safely to the field. The slick runway did not help. He crashed midfield trying to land. He was pulled out alive and Doc Thompson said he will fly again. [We always knew he was a tough, if naive, SOB.] The plane is a write off.
Great game! It was a victory for the blue tails because if you are outnumbered at least 3:2 you can lose 1 bomber and still claim victory. We scored 1 kill as well and ended up gaining 1 cool point which puts us just under average.
Post game Capt Anderson became a veteran pilot [ AKOT handles this]. His naive ways in the hospital have won over Doc Thompson whose obnoxious style gave a -1 modifier to all previous rolls. We are up to neutral with the Doc now 2Lt Turlock did not become a veteran pilot but he did get promoted to 1Lt largely due to the wing commander liking him. Lastly 2LT Gray has joined the squadron. He is a pessimistic young man who believes in the great crusade [government] and he is a rookie pilot.
Really enjoyed the battle and how Squadron Forward is shaping up. The characters and stories are great. But I really like not having to figure out the mission I am going to fly each time. Who should I fight? How many? Should this be an escort or a strafing mission? I just decide I am going to use my blue tails and the system takes care of the rest. I hope you guys like it. As stated, it is how I play my games.
Joe
Really enjoyed the battle and how Squadron Forward is shaping up. The characters and stories are great. But I really like not having to figure out the mission I am going to fly each time. Who should I fight? How many? Should this be an escort or a strafing mission? I just decide I am going to use my blue tails and the system takes care of the rest. I hope you guys like it. As stated, it is how I play my games.
Joe
Excellent report. You are correct. If you put some personality behind these little lead men, you get very attached to them and they don't become suicide troopers hanging in to fight to the bitter end.
ReplyDeleteI hear you! In a one off gane Thornell would have followed the ME 110s down looking for the kill. Since he is one of only 4 people in the squadron with kills he played it safe
ReplyDeleteJoe