Continued from Chapter 3
Preface and Scenario
Welcome back to another installment of my Bag the Hun campaign. If this is the first time you’re reading about it, I recommend going back and catching up here if you want the full story. Today we see our protagonists of the fictional VF-2 mount a defense of their carrier (the fictional USS Lake Erie). This scenario was inspired by the noontime attack on the USS Yorktown by Japanese dive bombers from the Hiryu. Those of you familiar with the history of Midway will know that this attack was successful, resulting in damage to the Yorktown, and was followed by a torpedo bomber attack soon after. We’ll see if the pilots of VF-2 can prevent that result. They will begin with two aircraft airborne on combat air patrol, and another four Wildcats having just launched and at various levels of their climb to combat altitudes. Additionally you will see a named “character” on the opposing side. This is Kogane Kunimatsu, a Junior Ace we encountered previously in Chapters 2 & 3 who was forced from the fight early. He returns here driven by a need for revenge for the burning carriers of his fleet.
Order of Battle
VF-2
Flight One
Lt. Evan Richards / Veteran / F4F-4 Wildcat
Ens. Vincent Priest / Regular / F4F-4 Wildcat
Flight Two
Ens. Ben Wilson / Veteran / F4F-4 Wildcat
Ens. Dan Fletcher / Regular / F4F-4 Wildcat
Flight Three
Ens. Dick “Bastard” Blanchard / Regular / F4F-4 Wildcat
Ens. Paul Paulson / Sprog / F4F-4 Wildcat
IJNAS Attackers
First Shotai
Zero One / Kogane Kunimatsu / Junior Ace / A6M2 Zero
Zero Two / Veteran / A6M2 Zero
Zero Three / Veteran / A6M2 Zero
Second Shotai
Val One / Veteran / D3A1 Val
Val Two / Veteran / D3A1 Val
Val Three / Veteran / D3A1 Val
Third Shotai
Zero Four / Veteran / A6M2 Zero
Zero Five / Regular / A6M2 Zero
Zero Six / Sprog / A6M2 Zero
Fourth Shotai
Val Four / Veteran / D3A1 Val
Val Five / Regular / D3A1 Val
Val Six / Regular / D3A1 Val
Kogane Kunimatsu is angry. The American’s attack on their fleet was successful. Despite ravaging the inferior American torpedo planes, the dive bombers had appeared out of the sky and reaped a dreadful harvest. Ahead he sees the enemy carrier, the target of his dive bombers, and near it the glint of enemy planes climbing to meet him. That is a meeting he is happy to arrange. He signals his wingman and accelerates forward to attack the interceptors. Quickly the enemy fighters flash by below him and Kunimatsu rolls his fighter in on the attack. He is frustrated as he sees one of his wingmen shoot overhead, having missed the turn in or decided to hunt on his own. No matter, there are only two fighters ahead of him as he closes the distance. He is still above the American planes but he knows he will make short work of these enemies.
Ben and Dan are climbing out from the Lake Erie when they catch sight of enemy planes approaching from two directions. Checking in with Bastard and Paul, who are heading towards one set of enemies, Ben decides he and Dan will go after the other, uncovered, attackers. As they turn towards the bombers the enemy fighters scream by in a flash, Ben and Dan lose sight of them with the cold realization they may already have enemy planes on their tail.
Bastard is ornery, he is stuck with the rookie Paulson again. Paulson already spoiled their chances at an enemy floatplane this morning and now he has to rely on the green pilot to be his wingman in a real fight. He tells Paul that they will be attacking head-on through the fighters. He’s heard the Zeros are fragile and hopes to score a quick kill before attacking the bombers he can see behind them. It happens in a blur, the two sets of fighters streak through each other, firing. Nothing comes of the lightning quick shots though. Ahead Bastard sees a chance at the Val dive bombers.
Evan and Priest monitor the situation on the radios as they climb. They have only just launched from the carrier and are climbing as fast as the F4F-4 Wildcats will allow. Evan maneuvers them to the middle ground between both emerging fights. He figures that will be as good a place as any to climb, leaving him and Priest free to engage either fight if needed. Priest feels confident this flight, he saw combat only a few hours ago but now feels he will be able to be of more use with some experience.
The first turn was pretty uneventful really. Mostly maneuvering though a well timed Altitude Bonus and Formation Bonus card allowed Kunimatsu’s First Shotai to get some extra moves in. This let them get behind (though still above) Ben and Dan. The climb out setup was an idea I had to try to get the feel of the last minute scramble. I feel it worked, as Evan and Priest burned almost their whole move just to get from ALT 1 to ALT 3. Bastard and Paul made a head to head pass against the Third Shotai Zeros (4,5,6) it didn’t result in any hits though it was awfully close on Bastard’s part. The scenario setup forced the US planes to make tough choices. Two enemy groups of 6 planes (3 Zeros, 3 Vals) are approaching from two directions at the start. With only six Wildcats split up into two-ship flights it is hard to present an even defense in both directions.
As Bastard and Paul turn in on the bombers Paul looks behind him trying to see the Zeros which are turning to get on their tail. As he turns back to check on his lead he sees Bastard turning across his front. Paul slams his thigh, he missed another turn! Bastard curses as he sees Paul miss the turn but he quickly forgets the rookie pilot for a moment as he hears the telltale sound of bullets impacting his plane as a Zero zips by, his plane doesn’t seem to have taken a major hit. He quickly forgets about that too as a Val fills his gunsight. He squeezes off a burst at the nose of the bomber and is rewarded with an instant stream of smoke from the engine. Another burst sees better results as the Val erupts into a ball of flame plunging for the sea. Bastard passes the slower bombers and begins turning around for another pass.
Evan watches Bastard and Paul as he and Priest continue the climb. He knows they are the less experienced of his pilots that are out fighting. He sees Paul overshoot his turn and watches as several Zeros bear down on Paul’s lone Wildcat. He signals Priest and they turn towards Bastard and Paul’s dogfight, even as two Zeros appear nearby seemingly from thin air. However, both Zero pilots have simply been split from their respective flights and see an opportunity to attack the incoming Wildcats.
Paul realizes he is in trouble as he hears and feels the heavy impacts of enemy rounds on his F4F. Smoke belches by his wing as he hears his engine develop a stuttering sound. In a second of clarity he decides he should get back to the carrier. Paul slowly turns to the right as his attackers pass him by and begin coming around again…
Evan and Priest avoid the straggler Zeros and turn around to line up a deflection shot on a Val. Evan is able to fire off a quick burst into the wing of one Val, shredding its control surfaces on that side.
Ben and Dan decide to attack the bombers, not seeing the Japanese fighters above and behind them. They turn into the bombers aggressively but Dan spots the enemy above. His momentary distraction costs him a good turn though as he slips and loses precious altitude. Ahead Ben sees the Vals close ranks to help their rear gunners shoot back at him.
Above Kunimatsu sees Ben and Dan turn for the bombers and pounces. He and his wingman dive into the attack and he easily slides in behind the lead American plane. He sees other American’s sloppy flying and writes him off as one to come back and finish off later. As Kunimatsu sees the Wildcat in his gunsight he fires on it once, then seeing no damage, he fires on it again. He rages as yet again the Wildcat shows no discernible damage. It does however take evasive maneuvers in the form of a turn to the left. Kunimatsu easily stays with the clumsy American plane, readying himself to fire again.
Dan comes up from his turn to see Ben with two Zeros on his tail, one of which is firing as Ben breaks low and left in an attempt to shake them. Dan sees an opportunity and closes in behind the fighter shooting at Ben. Dan knows he may only have seconds to shake the Zero off Ben’s tail.
Nearby three Vals proceed towards the USS Lake Erie unopposed. The AA teams begin turning their guns into position as the Captain orders a more erratic zigzagging course to spoil the attackers’ aim.
This was actually turns two and three, the story they told fit better in one segment. I plan to merge more turns as able as it helps condense the article a bit. This one sees some action in what really became two different dogfights. In the first Bastard tastes victory (Engine Damage then an Explosion) but loses his wingman in the process. Bastard took some damage and was saved by the Robustness stat of 2 on his Wildcat, with a ROB of 2 it was Minor Damage. A ROB of 1 would have seen him explode. Paul’s sour luck continues as he suffers engine damage after failing to stay with Bastard in a Break Turn maneuver. Evan and Priest join this fight as Evan inflicts some Wing/Aileron Damage on one Val. This fight at the end of turn 3 now has four Zeros, four Wildcats, and the two remaining Vals involved. Its certainly the larger battle but it is also slightly further from the carrier. Perhaps a misplaced priority on my part when choosing where to send Evan and Priest, yet these are the decisions you have to make which make games fun.
In the other fight Ben and Dan choose to prioritize the bombers over their attackers. This comes very close to costing Ben his plane and maybe his life but like Bastard he is saved by the Wildcat’s robustness. Historically speaking Japanese pilots were impressed by the durability of the Wildcat and its great to see things like that come to life on the tabletop. Dan has a mishap in turn 2 that turned into good positioning in turn 3 as he is able to get behind Kunimatsu. He was unable to pass his “Getting on the Tail” test, with the Zero having a higher MAN stat and Kunimatsu being a Junior Ace to Dan’s Regular skill level it is actually impossible for Dan to pass the test as he would need a 4 or higher roll on a d6, but would apply a -3 modifier… however you can still fire on an aircraft you are behind in Bag the Hun without being “on the tail”.
Knowing he may only get one shot Dan lets loose a long burst into the plane ahead of him and is shocked when it simply explodes. The debris begins to flutter down to the ocean below. Dan is still recovering from his surprise as he sees the late Zero’s wingman turn up and away hard to avoid the same fate as his leader. Dan and Ben reform and take off after the Vals, noting the Zero making a wide turn behind them.
The Vals close quickly on the carrier, however as they begin to descend for their dive bombing run the Lake Erie turns into them, spoiling their planned run. Moments later the Lake Erie’s AA batteries open up and scatter the attacking Vals.
Evan tells Priest to stick to his wing for some tricky flying and Priest hangs on like glue. His focus is fueled by the desire to never leave another wingman behind after what happened to Calvin earlier. He hangs in and the pair roll out on the tail of a Val. A pair of Zeros whip by Evan as their attempted attack on him falls short because of a jammed gun.
Meanwhile Bastard wheels back around into the furball and sighting a Val squeezes off a burst. The Val jukes hard to the right, leaving it right in Priest’s gunsight. Bastard pulls around and sees a lone Zero on the edge of the fight attacking Paul, he levels his wings in pursuit.
Paul struggles with his plane urging it to make it back to the carrier, he catches a glimpse of new holes appearing in his wings and does what he can to avoid his unseen attacker.
Evan and Priest both let loose on their respective targets, who fire back with no effect. Evan struggles as a veteran Val pilot twists and turns his unwieldy bomber, but it proves to be too little as some of Evan’s rounds rupture critical control cables and the pilot loses control as the aircraft pitches down into an uncontrolled dive into the waves below. Priest stiches the Val that appeared before him, his concentrated fire on the wing root pays off as the wing separates from the body of the bomber and both parts tumble down. Priest lets out a whoop at the taste of his first kill.
Turn four sees the tide turn a little in the favor of VF-2 and their carrier. On one front Dan lands an incredibly lucky shot and bags an ace. Admittedly I figured the ace might survive to be a recurring villain of sorts, but I guess his revenge lust got the best of him. The Vals he was escorting do make it to the carrier but failed to line up a good bombing run, and suffered for it when the flak drove them off. The driven off result forces them to do an easy turn (one hex forward, one hex face turn, and another hex forward in the new direction), this makes it pretty hard to get back around on target.
Meanwhile across the board Bastard lined up a lucky shot that drove the Val into Priest’s path. That worked out really well when both Evan and Priest fired and got inflicted “Catastrophic Structural Damage” on the Vals. With the last two taken care of this front of the Japanese attack is blunted. There’s still four Zeros milling about to worry about though. One almost got Priest while another pair tried their hardest to destroy Evan only to meet a gun jam. Mechanically a gun jam happens when, on a firing roll, the firer rolls more 1’s than combined 5’s and 6’s. It’s a certain kind of bum luck.
Bastard squeezes his trigger and watches the Zero ahead of him split in two as his gunfire causes the tail to separate from the fuselage. Grinning to himself in satisfaction he adds power and turns back towards the fight, which has moved off towards the carrier now.
The Vals try to turn back into the attack but the Lake Erie’s AA gunners keep pummeling them, driving them off once more. Ben and Dan swoop into the fight and try to get on the tails of the bombers. They have trouble with the slower bombers, splitting up in the process as Dan tries to get behind a Val. Ben easily rolls in behind one of the dive bombers and puts a well aimed burst into the wing root, causing the Val to transform into a streaking ball of fire that crashes into the water moments later. Dan gets a quick shot on his quarry but it fails to do anything.
Evan seeing the flak around the Lake Erie tells Priest to split up and go help Ben and Dan. Evan plans to return to help Bastard, who as far as Evan knows is dealing with four Zeros alone. Priest pushes the nose of his Wildcat over and opens the throttle fully. The Wildcat surges ahead, speed indicating near the red maximum line. Evan wheels around and sees a Zero below him, wasting no time he pitches down and screams by the enemy fighter, shooting as he goes. The Zero turns into nothing but chunks of airplane as Evan’s guns shred it. Evan pulls out of his attack and sees Bastard turning back, the leftovers a Zero in his wake. The two Zeros left are away and to Evan’s right, diving into the fray around the carrier to help their remaining bombers.
Priest, diving into the fray, spots a Zero on the fringe of the fight and immediately turns in with it. He knows he shouldn’t get into a turning fight with a Zero but he sees it as his best option. The Zero turns in on Priest but caught off-guard by the gutsy American he loses altitude in his turn. Priest loses sight of the Zero but sees a chance opening on a Val and rolls out to attack it. Luckily for him, Evan returns to the area and takes the chance to dive in behind the Zero Priest had tangled with briefly.
Bastard enters a dive to add speed and get back to the fight quicker. Chasing two Zeros who are headed right for Ben and Dan. Ben and Dan spot the Zeros approaching and turn into them, slicing between the nimble Japanese fighters.
Paul is suddenly alone. The battle is moving off towards the carrier and he watches from a distance as Wildcats chew through Japanese planes left and right. Ahead of him at the carrier the flak is dotting the sky, and he sees a number of planes fighting at low level there. Paul is nursing his damaged Grumman back towards the ship when his engine gives out a final cough and stops. A quiet settles over the cockpit as Paul tries to restart his engine to no avail. He opens his canopy to bail out, then thinks twice. He’s high enough but he’s also quite far from the carrier, and no one is here to see where he lands. He takes the controls again and decides to glide as close to the carrier as he can with what time he has…
Turns five and six saw plenty more action. Most notably Evan and Bastard both finding their second kills for the day. Ben also finds a target. Only two bombers remain alive, and their attack on the carrier seems less likely to succeed. The number of Zeros has also dwindled to three, which is a rough match up against five Wildcats. Paul had the unfortunate luck of his engine failing. His previous Engine Damage requires a roll d6 roll each turn. On a 1, the engine fails. Paul, being a Sprog, has a -1 modifier to this roll. That mattered this time because his roll was a 2. Speak of game mechanics Priest’s Hard Dive maneuver on turn 5 is a maneuver that requires a straight line move for your whole activation. During this move you trade 3 Altitude for +3 SPD for your speed budget. Priest’s Wildcat has a base SPD of 6. As everyone rolls a D4 and adds it during an activation, Priest rolled a 4. Priest also gets +1 to his SPD roll because of his Speed Demon trait. The result of all of that was a whopping 14 SPD to spend in a straight line move. It was quite literally the maximum result he could achieve in a single turn, a Speed Demon indeed.
A veritable furball develops around the remaining two Vals. Ben and Dan turn back towards the Zeros they just passed. The same Zeros turn back on Ben and Dan, but see Bastard instead. Bastard pulls away from those Zeros and lines up a Val, but overshoots. The same Val comes apart moments later as Priest claims his second kill. Ben and Dan get behind the Zeros but the Zeros shake them off easily and try to turn the tables. Dan is split up in the process and sees the final bomber turning over to bomb the carrier. He opens his throttle fully hoping to intercept the bomber in time. Ben manages to slide behind one of the Zeros he is tangling with and quickly the Zero becomes a flash as it explodes. It is Ben’s fifth kill, making him an ace. Evan turns and turns with a Zero to no avail, he does however finally manage a few shots on another Zero that stumbles into his sights. That zero turns away and seems to be headed home.
Paul glides ever closer to the Lake Erie. He is confident he will make it close, and decides to overfly the bow of the ship. He figures that will get everyone’s attention onboard. As his smoking Wildcat passes overhead it does in fact get the attention of the carrier’s crewmembers. The carrier begins turning to recover the pilot. Paul is now faced with his moment of truth, a forced landing in the open sea. He botches it and the aircraft flips over, wounding Paul. He struggles to get free of his sinking airplane and barely manages to do so. He surfaces in the ocean swells and waves to the ship nearby. Yet as he looks up at the ship his face turns to horror as he sees a Val entering a steep dive above his ship.
Above the USS Lake Erie Kubota Haruki pushes his D3A1 dive bomber over into a steep dive. The carrier fills his vision as he calmly and coolly makes his attack. A veteran of fighting in China and the South Pacific, he is not bothered by the enemy flak, nor the sound of bullet impacts on his own plane. He releases his bomb, but does not live to see the result as moments later his own aircraft erupts into a fireball. Behind the Val, Dan watches his kill, but satisfaction turns to horror as he sees an explosion rupture the front of the Lake Erie. Smoke billows from several holes near the bow, and damage control teams rush to the scene. Nearby, Paul floats and watches in horror as the bombs wreak havoc on the ship.
With all the bombers gone, the two remaining Zeros turn for home. They see no point in staying only to die, outnumbered two to five. Seeing the enemy moving off, the pilots of VF-2 decide to land. They are short of ammo and fuel. The carrier signals they can accept the landing pilots, even with damage. Only later do they realize they never picked up that pilot in the water among the comotion from the bomb hit. A destroyer returns to search the area but Paul Paulson is never seen again.
Turns seven and eight were chaos. Hopefully the writing got that point across. It was a lot of planes in a small area and everyone seemed to have a target at every turn. It was hard enough to keep track of in the moment let alone as I write this eight days later. The important parts are there though. The last Vals are destroyed, along with a Zero. The carrier took a hit but will survive (with an AA penalty until it can get repairs). Paul managed to botch his landing and was “severely wounded” from it. However the post game Squadron Forward tables had him lost at sea, and it seemed possible between his luck and the events of the game. Overall a win for VF-2 though.
Here’s a quick run through of the Squadron Forward post-game action:
-With 10 kills and a mostly successful defense, I figured it was Very Likely they would gain glory, and so they did. VF-2 has one glory point now.
-Paul was lost at sea, and as such is struck from the pilot roster
-Ben’s plane took 4 minor damage hits this time and one last time. I figured it was Likely it would be written off, at least until it can be repaired, and it was. The Squadron is down to four planes at this point. Luckily they got reinforcement plane in the form of a reserve plane released by their commander. That brings them to five operational planes.
-Calvin staggers in to the ready room, reporting for duty. Though ready, without a plane for him Evan benches him for the next mission. This leaves only Ben, Priest, Evan, Dan and Bastard ready to fight.
-Finally Ben made his fifth kill and with that becomes an ace. Specifically he is now a Junior Ace. Well done Ben.
Previous Articles
Prep: The Pilots
Prep: The Setting
Prep: Materials
Battle of Midway Chapter 1
Battle of Midway Chapter 2
Battle of Midway Chapter 3
Iron Dice Gaming 
Enjoyed reading this and the models are really nice! 🙂 I used to play Crimson Skies a lot (and still manage the odd game) so it’s nice to see another hex-based aerial combat game!
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