"LIBYA, 1942"
by BuSc and : " 1° Gruppo caccia " Italian squadron ||||||||||||
Chapters:
-The Fifht Frame <-- allied/axis orders for frame 5 -New added-
- Past Frames description -New added-
- A portrait of an Era <---- historical set of this scenario
- The Frames <---- Dates and times of this scenario
- Scenario characteristics <--- type of scenario and rules
- the Roster <---enlisted squadrons and assignments
- Last News
Libia 1942, THE FIFTH FRAMEFrame 5 Sun 27 May 2000 3 PM EST (21.00 continental
Europe time; 20.00 UK)
"JABOS !"
&
"TANK BATTLE AT EL ALAMEIN, REMEMBERING THE -ARIETE- DIVISION"
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A "WHAT IF" FRAME, WINNING OR LOSING CAN CHANGE HISTORY...
Allied orders:
From the Western Desert Force high command:
It's happened, we lost air superiority over Elalamein, our defence are being hammered by the brutes, all offensive missions are suspended, we must stand!
We will intercept their jabos and escorts with mass formations, we have the planes, as we are receiving so many supplies from our big atlantic ally, but we have not enough fighter pilots, under this drammatic circumstances we have decided to transfer our bomber pilots and copilots to air superiority duties, we will inflict em so many losses, that maintaining this pressure on our lines will become impossible for em, and they'll lose air supremacy over their pushing tanks.
This is the funny part of the story, here comes the strong emotions part...after givin em a bad bounce in the air, we go for some quick hit and run straffe and dive bomb attack,reupping untill the last bomb, untill the last plane...
The last news are that El-alamein field is no more operational, this morning at dawn a flight of unescorted enemy bombers attacked that base, they suffered heavy losses during the return trip, but managed destroying the runway and the hangars.
Our intelligence oficcers have one suspect, this could be the preparation for a cohordinated ground and air-borne assault in this vital point behind our lines.
General Auchinleck, Commander in Charge of the W.D.F.
Axis orders:
From the High Command of the A.S.I. expeditionary force and Afrika korps:
In the last 3 days our radar operators and spotters have signaled no any enemy activity over our fields, not even recon planes...I got confirm of what i was suspecting... of the 4 recce planes we sent over their fields only one made it back home, cripled in and smoking landed at Marthuba with two wonded and one dead crewmen onboard, they met two large formations over El Alamein and were bounced by extremely fast new enemy planes.
Was 3am Libya time when our SM79s and He111s took of from Tobruk reaching El-Alamein this morning at dawn, just a couple of mins after the first wave of enemy interceptors managed to take off from the field, the mission was clearly a success altough we suffered consistent losses during the return trip, because after that second pass El Alamein was no more an airfield, not for sure an operational field.
The enemy is still entrenched in the El-alamein holding positions, this is becoming a too much costly advance we are losing to many tanks due to enemy anti-tank infantry and artillery weapons...Every hour that passes without breakin the front is a footstep toward the failure.
No more precious tanks will be wasted in this position war...
Our Jabos are coming back there to reduce their Anti-aircraft guns to silence, after them will come a first wave of airborne paratroopers.
A second wave of airborne assault troops will follow the first one during our second mission if the first have failed.
Erwin Rommel
A portrait of an Era In 1940, when Italy declared war against the British Empire, The Libyan territory, was an italian colony with the name of ASI (northern african italian colonies), and was divided in two regions: the western "Tripolitania" and the eastern "Cirenaica" bordering with the british Egypt...Cirenaica immediatly became a blodily contended land, co
offensives were launched alternatively by the two sides to gain the control of this desolated desertic area, but at the end of 1941, after 17 month of war and blood the two lines were again about at the starting point of june 1940,with the only exception of the port of Tobruk,surrounded and besieged by Rommel but still withstanding.
The bad new for the Wester Desert Army was that many new reinforcements were coming from Italy and Germany, and Malta, their stronghold in the Mediterranean sea was reduced to the silence and unable to stop the Axis convoys, after having suffered a furious offensive from the air..... A a brave choice was made, the only chance to stop the axis......
on the 17th of November 1941 the British forces started the "Operation Crusader" , an huge cohordinated ground and air attack with the vital aim of making the enemy retreat o a line more far from the Egyptian border, and from the vital Alexandria port...In other words they were trying to earn time and space before that the new reinforcements could turncompletely the situation....But "Crusader" was a failure, the offensive ended at Christmass, stopping at El Ageila after a little advancement, and after the loss of about 900 aircrafts...
...The Axis ships were arriving in the Libyan port of Tripoli floods of reinforcements until almost overflowing : Panzers,cannons,halftracks...And from the sky, the first macchi202s ("Folgore"=Lightening) an Me bf109Fs were coming... For the first time in this theater the RAF had to face first line Italian and German fighters, instead of Cr42 biplanes and twinengined Me110...In january, right after the end of this bloody victory came the counteroffensive, Romel launched his panzers toward Alexandria while in the air a furious and merciless battle was being fought to gain the control of the skyes.
Once again Tobruk became a sieged british stronghold...But this time axis forces were readyto hammer the sieged city with 800 aircrafts involved in bloody Jabos attacks and fights over the city, makin it surrender after only one week....But in the same time the the Raf's Vicker Wellingtons and the Long Range Desert Corps were makin surprise attacks on the enemy airfields, but not without opposition.
Rommel seemed to be unstopable at this point...But was stopped!...only 60 miles away from Alexandria....The allied ground forces entrenched at El-Alamein....This after that the Allied forces won in the air.counting now on a continuous flow of reinforcements arriving from the other side of the Atlantic thanks to the L&L pact with USA.... While an huge artillery followed by a furious tank and infantry battle was making the desolated landscape near El-Alamein even more lunar than it was not already the sky over the front line was darkened by the smoke and illuminated from the explosions of the victims of a dramatic aerial battle....Finaly the Raf and his allies won, but that was not goin to be remembered as cheap victory.
A Macchi 202 Folgore strafing Long Range Desert Corps halftracks
The Frames - Frame 1 Sun 30 April 2000 3 PM EST (21.00 continental Europe time; 20.00 UK)
THE FIRST FRAME:
"OPERATION CRUSADER, THE AGEDABIA FIELD UNDER ATTACK"
&
"A TASTE OF THE LONG RANGE DESERT CORPS"
- Frame 2 Sun 7 May 2000 3 PM EST (21.00 continental Europe time; 20.00 UK)
THE SECOND FRAME:
"THE -ON TO ALEXANDRIA TRECK-"
&
"HAMMERING THE GERMAN PANZERS"
- Frame 3 Sun 14 May 2000 3 PM EST (21.00 continental Europe time; 20.00 UK)
THE THIRD FRAME:
"THE SECOND SIEGE OF TOBRUK"
&
"SMALL ARMS DEFENCE"
- Frame 4 Sun 21 May 2000 3 PM EST (21.00 continental Europe time; 20.00 UK)
THE FOURTH FRAME:
"STOPPED IN SIGHT OF ALEXANDRIA ?"
&
"THE LAST MILE OF THE PANZERS ?"
- Frame 5, "FUNFRAME", Sun 28 May 2000 (21.00 continental Europe time; 20.00 UK)
FUNFRAME:
"TANK BATTLE AT EL ALAMEIN, REMEMBERING THE -ARIETE- DIVISION"
GENERAL OBJECTIVES, ORDERS AND ASIGNMENTS WILL BE PUBBLISHED HERE 5 DAYS BEFORE EACH FRAME... The COs and XOs of each squadron will be briefed 1 hour before each frame, gettin the
reserved stuff.
A Mebf109e trop.over Libya, 1941
Scenario characteristics We have choosed organize scenario basing on our previous AW and EAW scenarios experience, trying to take what for us was good and avoiding what was bad (yeah, i know this sounds heavilly obvious but this is the routine stuff..;)
There are two types of scenarios.... The first type, we could compare it to a serie of missions of an offline campain or to an historical reenactment, and it is the type we have chosen, it is based on precise historical situations and preplanned historical missions ( with objectives, points, orders and rules)..... And It's main aim its to GET FUN! ... One thing one needs to get fun is ballance between the 2 adversaries...but also a risky (i said risky not desperate:) situation is a great fun source---->I am tryin to introduce this: lookin at all the scenario, the two sides are ballanced, with same opportunities to win the match, but who holds the advantage will vary from frame to frame...wich means that there will be frames where will be harder for the axis to win and frames where: "It would be a shame if Axis lose this time too ;)" .
In other words, we choosen this type of scenario because it better guarantees Fights&Fun&BigBooms ( yum yum :) and also because in our experience we found out that the other type usually almost does not work at all if u dont have a huge number of players all with a high degree of experience (wich sounds utopian to me :).
Ah, u still courious to know about the second type of scenario (the one we've NOT choosen) ? ...Mmmm well, we could compare it to a Rolegame or to a "What If" fiction ( yeah, Im metaphor-man ;), where we have two sides acting like two acting like two opposed teams deciding indipendently what to do to win the match.....This should be theoretically the best type...but....there are 2 big problems....1st----> the aim here is to win the match, not to get fun!!...and this means: Buff wings flying at 44k alt on the border of the map for 4 hours without nothin happenig to avoid enemy encounters (boooring!) fake attacks, tricks and incorrectness (moooore boooooring!)....
First frame of the scenario "Libya 1942" starts on sunday 30th of April, at 3.00 pm EST (20.00 GMT (G.B.& Portugal); 21.00 continental Europe and mediteranean area) wich seems to be a good day&time for many squads, we will collect squad registrations before every frame from every single squadron, wich means that squad COs should tell us how many people from his squadron are goingto participate in that frame (please keep in touch with me and let me know any possible variation of presences...this will keep the scenario well organised, and the fun guaranted).
A polish RAF spitVb
Roster Scenario FL AH Squadron Squadron assignment
Funkedup
|
308 (Polish) Sqn. "City of Cracow" RAF
6 pilots
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RAF,202nd Fighter Group of the Western Desert Air force, mounted on Vickers Supermarine Spitfires MkVb
FL: Funkedup (308 Sqn)
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Greybeard/Spiff
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Skeleton Crew,
1 pilot (SCGmanMP)
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N.216 bmbr Grp of Raymond Collishaw Raf, mounted on Vickers Wellington (B26s)
FL: Fatty (F.D.B.)
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Fatty
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Fat Drunks Bastards
4(+2) Pilots
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N.216 bmbr Grp of Raymond Collishaw Raf, mounted on Vickers Wellington (B26s)
FL: Fatty (F.D.B.)
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Wabbit
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Buccaneers
4-8 pilots
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N.216 bmbr Grp of Raymond Collishaw Raf, mounted on Vickers Wellington (B26s)
FL: Fatty (F.D.B.)
|
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Vega/Crish
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DICKWEED HEAVY BOMBER GROUP
6+ pilots
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N.216 bmbr Grp of Raymond Collishaw Raf, mounted on Vickers Wellington (B26s)
FL: Fatty (F.D.B.)
|
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hblair
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the Assassins
7 squadron members (nc)
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LG1 JG 27 "Afrika" of Eduard Neuman , mounted on
Messershmitt Bf109F/G-2 and FW190a-3 (a8, last 2 frames)
F.L.: Duma (Red Dragons)
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Redwing
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Red Dragons
6-8 pilots
|
LG1 JG 27 "Afrika" of Eduard Neuman , mounted on
Messershmitt Bf109F/G-2 and FW190a-3 (a8, last 2 frames)
F.L.: Duma (Red Dragons)
|
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Ripsnort
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JG2
10 + pilots
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LG2 JG 27 "Afrika of Hans-Joachim Marseille, mounted on Messershmitt Bf109F/G-2
|
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Camo
|
Lentolaivue 34+ Nash
+Storm
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Raf, 80 sqn of the Western Desert Air Force, mounted on Vickers Supermarine Spitfires MkVb
FL: Dadog (332 F.M.)
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Visconti
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1° Gruppo caccia "Asso di bastoni"
11-15 pilots
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363' Sq., 150° Gr. Aut. CT "Gigi tre osei" of Ugo Drago
FL Visconti (1' grp caccia)
|
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Snag
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213 Squadron RAF
2 pilots
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RAF,202nd Fighter Group of the Western Desert Air force, mounted on Vickers Supermarine Spitfires MkVb
FL: Funkedup (308 Sqn)
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Dudule/nonoth
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GC/III "Alsace" Squadron 341
2+1 pilots
|
RAF,202nd Fighter Group of the Western Desert Air force, mounted on Vickers Supermarine Spitfires MkVb
FL: Funkedup (308 Sqn)
|
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GADGET
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101 ESCUADRON DE COMBATE VIRTUAL
6 pilots
|
LG1 JG 27 "Afrika" of Eduard Neuman , mounted on
Messershmitt Bf109F/G-2 and FW190a-3 (a8, last 2 frames)
F.L.: Duma (Red Dragons)
|
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Mars
|
The Screamin Meanies
6-8 pilots
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1° stormo caccia "Incocca tende scaglia" of the Royal Italian Airforce mounted on Macchi c202 "Folgore".
F.L.: Mars <CO> T.S.M
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Aircrafts The Vickers Wellington (B26)
The Vickers Wellington and the B26 with many characteristics in common, like payload and flying characteristics (they were both uneasy to control at low speeds)...The real BIG difference is speed, a difference of almost 80 mph...this would have made b26 difficult to catch for the axis interceptors of 1942 (especially the mc202 and the bf109f)...Yet in the Scenerio the altitude of the bombers will be such that they will have the possibility to reach them ...Here's a brief description of the Wellington.
Affectionately named the "Wimpy" after a cartoon character, the Wellington was a twin engined bomber that doubled in many roles in Coastal and Training Commands.
The Wimpy was the only bomber aircraft brought into service before the war began and was still in service well after the wars end.
Specified as early as 1932, Vickers produced the first Wellington in 1936. These aircraft were fitted with Bristol Pegasus engines. Later Rolls Royce Merlins and Bristol Hercules were used. Over 11,000 were produced before manufacturing ceased in 1945.
Of Geodetic Construction (cross membered) developed by Dr. Barnes Wallis of Dambuster fame, Wimpy was immensely strong. I action it was able to absorb horrific damage and still remain controllable.
The aircrafts first operation against the enemy was an attack on German warships at Wilhelmshaven in 1939 and its last raid was on Previso in Northern Italy in April 1945.
CREW 6
Pilot -- Radio Operator -- Navigator -- Bomb aimer/Nose gunner -- Tail gunner -- Waist gunner
SPECIFICATIONS
2 X Bristol Pegasus XVlll radial engines of 1050 hp each.
Speed 235 mph.
Ceiling 19,000 ft.
Range 1805 miles.
Armament 8 X 0.303 machine guns.
Bomb load 4,500 lb.
Wing span 86 ft.
Length 65 ft.
"Controls were heavy, particularly during an approach to a landing.
Nevertheless, a wonderful aircraft." 11,000 Wimpys proved it.
JG 27 "Afrika" insigna 150° Gr. "Gigi tre osei" insigna
Tanks are gettin Very close support from the Western Desert Air force
"Six, Six, Six!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Contact us & LinksBusc's Email : buscaglia@tiscalinet.it
The Busc's Page==>
Scenario characteristics / Scen. Rules / SEA settingsNew Rules added
-Important!-
- Flight leaders must create Libya 1942 squadrons (disband old squad with MA names and create a squad with your Libya squad name-->for example: Hristos and his squad no more JG2 but LG2 JG27 "Africa" ; no more Alsace and 308 for Nonoth enad Funkedup but 202nd f.group Raf) this will improve greatly frame score assignment.
- Who violates max altitude assignment will be punished in this way: for every kill or ground hit he gets, 2 kills or 2 ground hit will be assigned to the enemy.(there's a tollerance of 500 feets error for short periods)
Report me immediately if you see a pilot of your side violating max altitude assignment , otherwise he will damage the score of the whole side.
- Altitude limit applies ONLY until first contact with the enemy (first contact = not when u see a dot, but when u have visual identification--->u see icon with the plane tyoe and distance). it is very difficult to constantly check altitude after the fight has started. Also this is more realistic - once a fight has started, pilot will go as high as neccessary to pursue his opponent.
- If a pilot collides with friendly plane during take off or immediatly after take off has automatically my permission to reup , colisions are FULL ON (not only enemy colisions; colisions on with friendlies), this is SA problem i've still not resolved , but i hope to solve it for 3rd frame.
Summary of the characteristics of the Scenario
- Each frame is divided in 2 mission: first mission is an aerial battle, second mission is a gruond/air battle
- General allied and axis orders for each frame are pubblished on Libya's website before each frame
- Each squad will receive squad orders by email before each frame ( map of the front ; fuel&armament assignment; maximum altitude)
- Flight Leaders briefings will take place in SEA 1 hour before frame start (they get exact target assignment )
Special Events Arena Settings
Colisions : ON (not only enemy colisions; colisions on with friendlies)
Killshooter OFF (Look out for friendly fire)
Radar ON (but there's a bug, only radar sector show up, wich means only the Big Bars, but no dots)
All else is set to normal
Italian version of the introduction:
SCENARIO, LIBIA 1942
Questo scenario interno rievocherà uno dei periodi più affascinanti della storia aereonautica della seconda guerra mondiale, la lotta per la supremazia aerea nei cieli della Cirenaica (Libia) fra il 17 novembre 1941 e il 9 ottobre 1942, le due date racchiudono quel periodo fra l'inizio dell'operazione Crusader, l'ultima offensiva britannica prima della travolgente avanzata di Rommel e l'inizio della supremazia aerea alleata che precedette la tragedia di EL-Alamein.
Ma questo scenario soprattutto inizia con la data della prima apparizione dei Macchi mc202 Folgore nei cieli d'Africa, e copre un particolare momento della guerra in cui l'ago la bilancia della supremazia dei cieli restava ancora nel mezzo, ed ancora si lottava circa alla pari col nemico.
Lo scenario ripercorrerà una serie di scontri con squadriglie da caccia e da bombardamento, missioni di mitragliamento a reparti di commandos dotati di autoblindo (i famigerati "long range desert corps"), e "Fun Frames" con battaglie campali con carri e autoblinde.
E' FONDAMENTALE CHE CHI E' INTERESSATO MI DIA QUANTO PRIMA LA SUA ADESIONE, ANCHE CHI AVESSE DEI PROBLEMI DI DISPONIBILITA' MA FOSSE INTERESSATO MI DOVRA' INFORMARE.
N.B. RIPETO LO SCENARIO E' APERTO ANCHE AL 4° STORMO, SAREBBE UNA MACCHIA NOTEVOLE SE LASCIASTE PILOTARE I NOSTRI MACCHI DA DEGLI ENGLISH-SPEAKERS, ABBIAMO BISOGNO DI VOI PER VINCERE QUESTA BATTAGLIA CON ONORE... MA E' INUTILE DIRLO, SO GIA' CHE LA COMBATTEREMO INSIEME ;)