Continued from Chapter 8

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Preface

Welcome back to another installment of my first 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. In this article I’ll be conducting a small scenario meant to be representative of a smaller encounter: intercepting enemy reconnaissance aircraft (often referred to as “snoopers”). For this action I used some stuffed animal stuffing I have for smoke effects as large clouds to have a sense of “terrain” or obstacles in the game. I also utilized something I often omit, the spotting rules in Bag the Hun. This means all aircraft started as unverified “bogeys” and have to be spotted by the enemy before being engaged. The Mavis has an objective of crossing the board and making a spotting attempt to spot the US carrier group. VF-2’s objective is of course to intercept the enemy and prevent them from locating the fleet. After the action I’ll briefly go over the post game book keeping for the Squadron Forward supplement.

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Order of Battle

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VF-2
Flight One
Lt. Evan Richards / Junior Ace / F4F-4 Wildcat
Ens. Steve Turner / Rookie / F4F-4 Wildcat
Lt. Ben Wilson / Junior Ace / F4F-4 Wildcat
Ens. Teddy Anastou / Regular / F4F-4 Wildcat

IJNAS 
H6K4 Mavis / Veteran

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TURN 1

Ben Wilson looks out at his wingman, Teddy Anastou. Teddy is a new addition to VF-2, having only recently arrived as part of the replacements after the recent losses. This simple interception mission is an easy way to get Teddy, and Evan’s new replacement wingman Steve, some combat experience before they have to go head to head with enemy fighters. Teddy is holding a good formation as they navigate the cloudy skies looking for possible bogeys.

Evan radios Ben that he and Steve will head east around the cloud buildup ahead. Scanning the skies ahead Ben sees a shape that doesn’t fit in with its surroundings. As the distance closes he confirms the large red “meatballs” on the wings. Their mystery contact is in fact a Japanese reconnaissance seaplane. Ben talks Teddy through the attack as they set up a head on attack against the lumbering behemoth ahead. In a flash the three aircraft pass each other, Teddy squeezes his trigger as is rewarded as the Mavis spouts a gout of flame.

Evan and Steve round the build up and easily spot the large flying boat trailing flame, as well as the two small Wildcats behind it. Aboard the flying boat, shouts of alarm go out from the nose gunner only moments before the American fighters blaze by and the sounds of bullet impacts resonate within the hull.

Turn one got right down to business this time. The Mavis lumbered ahead and ran smack into the two Wildcats of Ben and Teddy, who had excellent card draws which allowed them to both get into position for, and execute, a firing run on the Mavis. Despite the Robustness of 4, Teddys shots are still true enough to cause a Fire result. Fires can become a big problem quickly, so now the Mavis has to deal with trying to extinguish that, while also completing its mission. Performing a Hard Dive maneuver can give a bonus to the Fire check to help it go out, but it will cost three levels of altitude. Evan and Steve got into a position to Spot the Mavis and did so handily. The Mavis is so large at Size 7 its almost impossible to not spot at short range. The Mavis also managed to spot Ben and Teddy at close range just before they fired, but has not yet spotted Evan and Steve.

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TURN 2

More shouts of alarm ring out inside the Kawanishi H6K as crew members spot more American fighters approaching from their left. The pilot pushes the nose of the large plane over in a gambit to extinguish the fire streaming from his wing. A minute later a crewmember reports that it appears to be extinguished, but that the American fighters are in pursuit. The Mavis pilot keeps the nose pushed over and descends down to wavetop level, beginning a turn and hoping that will make them a less tempting target for the American pilots.

Evan and Steve streak towards the Mavis as it begins a dive down to low altitude, but they are unable to get in a position to attack. Evan briefs Steve that when they get close, it will be Steve who will make the attack on the flying boat. Nearby Ben and Teddy perform a Split-S and begin chasing down the Mavis. Seeing Evan and Steve ahead Ben tells Teddy that they will be setting up behind the other pilots to wait for an opportunity.

Turn 2 saw the Mavis make good headway. With the fire extinguished I rolled a test using the All Knowing Odds Table from Squadron Forward to see if the pilots would elect to continue their mission or get out of dodge while they can. I thought they would ‘Probably’ elect to return to base since Americans fighters out here in the ocean means the fleet is likely near. The result was affirmative and the H6K began a turn to return to its starting edge, while descending the last few bands of altitude it had trading it for extra hexes of speed. The American fighters tried to pursue, but poor card draw order didn’t get them close enough to the Mavis to do further damage.

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TURN 3

Evan guides Steve in as they close in on the Mavis from behind. Steve wipes his brow as he watches the rear guns of the Mavis blaze away fruitlessly at the Wildcats. Steve lets loose with a burst of his own but it falls short. He keeps firing trying to walk his rounds up to his target but only finds frustration as several of his guns jam. Evan calls off their attack and the two fighters peel off to come around again. Nearby Ben and Teddy lag behind, waiting for their chance at the Japanese snooper.

Turn three was eventful to start as Steve got an opportunity to fire on the Mavis. However, as happens with Sprogs/Rookies he rolled a fat lot of 1s and got a gun jam for his troubles. Ben and Teddy are still playing catchup trying to close the distance.

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TURN 4

Over the radio Evan offers Ben and Teddy a pass at the Mavis but they decline, being a bit too far out. In the interest of getting the job done and returning to the carrier with some excess fuel Evan and Steve come around again, this time Evan opens up on the flying boat as one of its engines bursts into a bright gout of flame. The large seaplane, already skimming the waves, bucks slightly causing one of its underwing floats to catch the sea, violently spinning the whole plane into the water. The four Wildcats circle above and see that while the plane is still afloat, the wing is clearly broken. The lumbering giant won’t be getting airborne again. Mission accomplished the men turn their fighters back towards the fleet.

Turn four went quickly, with Evan delivering what shouldn’t have been a killing blow. However due to the way the Engine Damage result works the damaged aircraft must test for a loss of altitude and the Mavis failed its test. A quick, easy scenario ended about how I thought. Four Wildcats is a tough matchup for one Mavis… .

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POST-GAME
(Squadron Forward)

Losses:
-None

Gains:
-Two F4F Wildcats have been repaired
-Two replacement F4F Wildcats have arrived
-Two new replacement pilots: Ens. Steve Turner and Ens. Teddy Anastou

Events and Other:
– Vincent Priest moves from a 5+ to return to base to a 4+ next time after rolling a 2. Where is that guy anyways?
-Archie Marsh has recovered from his stack of paperwork and has been moved back to flight status
-Two vacant spots in VF2 remain unfilled. The men have been promised they’ll be arriving “soon” (They moved from a 4+ to a 3+ after a roll of a 2 and 3)
-Two outstanding replacement Wildcats will also arrive “soon”

Squadron Status:
-Nine pilots available to fly
-One pilot inactive with two replacement pilot spots open (currently both a 3+ roll to replace)
-Ten F4F Wildcats available to fly
-Two Wildcats spots open for replacements (currently both a 4+ roll to replace)
-Ben Wilson leads the VF2 ace race, with 13 kills to Dan’s 9, Evan’s 8, Priest’s 3 and Bastard’s 2

Thanks again for reading, lookout for more soon!

Evan