On the Workbench: Ancient Spanish Cavalry, Japanese Floatplanes, Royal Navy Ships

Time for an update on what I have been painting this year so far. Starting with figures for the Trebia project:

4 bases of Spanish Heavy Cavalry. All figures are 6mm Baccus, 10 figures to a 40mm x 30mm base. A base of Italian allied cavalry was also completed having discovered I was one base short!

Continued -

WW2 Operation Compass: Turn 1 Air Phase

10th December 1940

The first real action of the campaign involved British and Australian fighters intercepting an escorted Italian bomber formation.

2 squadrons of SM79 Sparviero bombers are escorted by fighters (left to right) 1 squadron each of Fiat Cr32 Chirri, Fiat Cr42 Falco and Breda Ba65.

They spot the British formations ahead of them at a higher altitude: 

Australian Gladiators on the left with Hurricane I's have yet to spot the Italians.

Continued -

Operation Nostalgia: Axis bombing raid on US landing fleet & Swordfish locate a U-Boat

As the allied fleet transporting US landing forces destined for Karpathos steams towards that island, a formation of aircraft is picked up on radar heading in their direction. The sole remaining Seafire performing a CAP piloted by a Junior Ace Squadron Leader, is vectored towards the formation which is a mere 10,000 yards away.

The Axis forces consist of 9 x JU88 medium bombers escorted by 6 x Italian Folgore fighters. 

Allied Transport Fleet.

Overview at the start with the lone Seafire in the centre on his way to intercept the enemy bogeys.

Continued - 

Operation Nostalgia: Allied Air Raid on Cattavia

Hoping to replicate their success on the Maritza airfield raid, a combined allied bomber formation escorted by fighters set out from Cyprus to bomb the other Rhodes airfield at Cattavia.

In total, 12 Mitchell and 7 Boston bombers are escorted by 10 Hurricanes and 9 P38 Lightning fighters.

P38 fighters with Mitchell bombers in the background

Closeup of Mitchell bombers.

Continued -

On the Workbench: JU52's and final batch of ships.

Helping my elderly parents move home over the last few days has slowed my wargaming activity to a crawl! I did however, manage to complete the final aircraft for Op Nostaglia:

JU52's now complete the Op Nostalgia aircraft project. As with the other aircraft they are 1/600 by Tumbling Dice.  

Continued -

Operation Nostalgia: Axis Air Raid on Main Allied Fleet.

Scale = 1/600 Aircraft; 1/3000 ships

Manufacturers = A/c Tumbling Dice; Ships Navwar & Davco

Rules = Bag The Hun 2 for Air to Air; General Quarters 3 for Air to Ship

Table Size = 6' x 3'9"

Terrain = Sea boards by Purbeck Terrain (no longer trading)

Having been spotted by an Arado Floatplane, the main allied invasion fleet is the target for an Axis air attack.

Axis air units were scrambled with 8 x ME110 fighters and 9 x HE111 torpedo bombers out of Samos rendezvousing with 8 x Italian Folgore fighters and 6 x SM79 torpedo bombers out of Kos before heading out in the direction of the allied ships.

The Axis air formations were picked up on ship's radars at 15,000 yards (150cm) leaving little time to get aircraft airborne from the carrier HMS Avenger. 4 Seafires from blue section were already in the air forming a CAP. 8 Seafires on the deck of the Avenger scrambled to get airborne.

Before I detail the AAR a few words about the rules. Bag the Hun is used for purely the air to air phase with GQ3 for the air to ship. You will have seen from the previous action involving the Cyprus fleet that this neatly split into two different parts with the air to air phase concluded before the bombing attack. This action will not be so convenient due to the close proximity of the fleet.

I had considered just using BTH as it caters for ship action. However, I felt it was all a little too generic for the purposes of my campaign. The ship's AA capability is based on the type of ship rather than what it was actually equipped with historically.

I have therefore created a basic hybrid of the two to allow the ships to respond as per GQ3 but BTH continues with the air to air section. A very brief overview:

2 x BTH moves = 1 x GQ3 air phase (3 air phases = 1 GQ3 move)
A chart was created showing the GQ3 altitude levels in comparison with those of BTH (14 levels in GQ3 v 6 in BTH). Fortunately level 3 in GQ3 is the same as level 3 in BTH which happens to be the maximum height for close range AA fire. Long range being level 4+.

The tricky part commences when the bombers begin their torpedo attack runs. Any Seafires attempting to shoot them down would have broken off by now to prevent them from flying into the barrage of AA fire. So GQ3 now kicks in for the bombers covering the torpedo attack.

Continued -

On the Workbench: HMS Warspite, Italian Destroyers, Torpedo boats and Floatplanes.

This past week has been rather busy with real life intruding on my hobby! The latest battle in the Operation Nostalgia campaign is now underway and will be reported on in due course. With the end in sight for my WW2 1/600 aircraft painting project I discovered I did not have the particular green I needed for the camo on the JU52's. There has been a delay of a few days until new supplies were delivered but I took the opportunity of painting a few more 1/3000 scale ships in the downtime.

A couple of planes were completed however -

2 Supermarine Walrus Floatplanes were completed. Strictly speaking they were not needed in the campaign, but it does now give me the option to field them as 'snoopers' when launched from cruisers.

Continued -

On The Workbench: Fighters, Bombers and Transports

A big push on painting 1/600 WW2 aircraft brings the current painting project near the end with just Ju52's and a couple of Walrus Floatplanes left to complete.

The state of my increasingly messy workbench a couple of days ago before some of those planes were finished. Also in sight are various 1/3000 and 1/1200 ships that I have begun prepping ready for painting as soon as the aircraft are finished. The intention being to complete all the ships required for Operation Nostalgia.

Continued -

On the Workbench: US, British and Italian Aircraft

With this batch of aircraft complete the end of this particular aircraft painting project is in sight. All are 1/600th scale from Tumbling Dice.

6 Italian SM.79 "Sparviero" medium bomber completes the Italian aircraft for Op Nostalgia. They will be used as torpedo bombers in the campaign.

Continued -

Operation Nostalgia: Bombing Raid on Cattavia, Rhodes

Flying out of Cyprus and approximately one hour behind the American raid, are a squadron of Douglas Boston bombers escorted by a squadron of Hurricanes. Their target is the airfield at Cattavia at the southern end of Rhodes. As they approach the island they are intercepted by a squadron of Italian Macchi MC200 Saetta fighters who had been scrambled as a result of the earlier attack by American planes on the airfield at Maritza on Rhodes.

The Hurricanes would have to fight off the Saettas to make way for the bombers to get through.

Table size = 6' x 3'9"

Scale = 1/600 (Tumbling Dice models)

Rules = Bag The Hun 2 (General Quarters 3 for the bombing raid)

Orbats:

British

12 x Hurricane IIC
12 x Douglas Boston III

Italian

12 x Macchi MC200 Saetta (late)

The British bombers escorted by Hurricanes benefit from the sun being behind them. The red counters on the section leaders indicate that they are presently 'bogeys' meaning they have yet to be spotted by the Italians. The rules allows for dummy 'bogeys' to be placed but as I am playing this solo I have not included them on this occasion.

Continued -

Operation Nostalgia: Air attack on Cyprus fleet.

As HMS Biter's fighter squadron gains height, formations of German aircraft approach:

Table size = 6' x 3'9"

Scale = 1/600th

Rules = Bag The Hun 2 (GQ3 for Air attack on fleet)

Orbats:

British

8 x Grumman Martlet F4-F

4 x Sea Hurricanes IIC

German

12 x Me BF109G-6

12 x Junkers Ju-87D Stukas

British Fleet

Exeter - 8" Cruiser (Flagship)

Biter - Light Escort Carrier

Sheffield - 6" Cruiser

Dauntless - 6" Light Cruiser

Hero - Destroyer

Jervis - Destroyer

Jackal - Destroyer

Aldenham - Destroyer

Envoy - Admiralty tug

Invasion force transports:

LCT

Prince David - Landing Ship

8 x Grumman Martlets and 4 x Sea Hurricanes from HMS Biter climb up through 20,000 feet acutely aware that the German formations are not far away.

A squadron of Me109's escorting a squadron of Stuka dive bombers approach at high altitude.

Continued - 

On the Workbench: Me109's and Douglas Boston bombers.

With an air battle now underway painting has slowed a little over the last few days. The aim is to complete all the aircraft required for Op Nostalgia before returning to ships. There is good news on the 6mm infantry front with Heroics & Ros announcing the release of their new German Paratroops range which I will need for the campaign. 

As for the past week a couple more squadrons have been completed:

Me BFf109G-6 

Douglas Boston medium bombers.

Both of these will be involved in the scheduled battles with the 109's first up and on the table scrapping away as I type this.

Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton

Within a 20 minute drive from where I live is the Fleet Air Arm Museum at the Royal Navy Air Station, Yeovilton. After living here for 9 years I felt it was about time I paid it a visit, especially with Op Nostalgia now underway! I have absolutely no idea why I have left it so long. One of those things on the 'to do' list but never seemed to get around to it.

For anybody who has not had a chance to visit the museum, it is very impressive spread over 4 halls. Unfortunately I ran out of time for the Carrier experience which lasts about 45 minutes. Here are a few photos from that visit.

Continued -

On the Workbench: Planes and more Planes!

The production line continues in painting up 1/600th aircraft for the Op Nostalgia campaign.

A squadron of B-25b Mitchell bombers have been completed. I agonised about which colour to paint them given their future intended use. Ideally they should have been painted sand as in the Tunisian theatre but I hope one day to cover some of the naval and air war in the Pacific for which these could prove useful. I therefore opted for the green livery which was also used in Sicily and Italy.

Continued -

Operation Nostalgia: The Air War Begins

I am going to change the way I provide the After Action Reports a little for this campaign. It will be written up from the Allied perspective which I hope will make it a little more interesting for the reader. With that in mind, with good weather the war in the air has begun -

The Cyprus fleet regroup following the U-Boat attack and as they resume their slow passage back to Limassol, Biter's radar picks up a formation of aircraft heading in their direction out at the maximum 35,000 yards range. With their aircraft on deck and ready to launch, the Grumman Martlet's are first into the air followed by the Hurricanes. As the fighters form up with those already in the air performing the CAP, a decision is made to fly off the Swordfish to make for safety at Cyprus.

As the Fleet Air Arm fighters gain altitude they see two formations of aircraft ahead of them and heading in their direction.

Meanwhile two allied bombing raids are underway. A squadron of American B-25 Mitchell bombers escorted by a squadron of P-38 Lightning fighters have flown out of Cyprus heading for the airfield at Maritza on Rhodes. As they cross the coastline of Rhodes and approach the airfield at high altitude all is quiet. They become increasingly confident that they have surprised the Axis forces, but that turns to concern as the airfield comes into view. There is not a sign of a single aircraft on the ground!

A few puffs of smoke below them show that some AA batteries have sprung into life but clearly they are of insufficient calibre to reach their altitude. The Mitchell's aim to put the airfield out of action for a day or two and unload their bombs over the runway. Luck is not on their side as all miss and the only damage caused was to a hapless Italian truck who took a direct hit. Both squadrons immediately turn for home aiming to refuel and re-arm for another attempt.

To the south a squadron of British Douglas A-20 Boston bombers escorted by a squadron of Hurricanes are en-route to bomb the Rhodes airfield on the south of the island at Cattavia. They arrive approximately 1 hour after the American raid and as they approach the southern Rhodes coastline a formation of enemy fighters appears hurtling towards them.

Note:

For the Mitchell's bombing raid I did not set up the board. I am more than happy playing small actions in campaigns but to go to the trouble of building an airfield for the sake of one dice roll seemed a little excessive. Hence I used the system in GQ3 to determine damage, AA fire etc. The only difference being I wanted to determine what, if any, units on the ground are hit. The Mitchell's had two near misses which I took to mean landed within the environs of the airfield and therefore could affect any units based there. A dice roll determined that one had no effect but the second had hit something. Therefore, I rolled another dice to determine at random which unit had been on the receiving end. Fortunately for the Axis forces it was just a truck!

The two air contacts will be played out although there will be a delay of a few days until I get the final units painted.

NEXT: Air strike on the Cyprus fleet.

On The Workbench: Fleet Air Arm and Arados

Interspersed with playing a naval battle for 'Operation Nostalgia' I have continued painting up aircraft for that campaign. All are 1/600 from Tumbling Dice.

A full squadron of Swordfish have been completed. 4 are destined for HMS Biter and 8 for HMS Avenger, both are escort carriers.

6 Sea Hurricanes complete, 4 of which will be on the deck of HMS Biter.

And finally 3 Arado Ar 196 Floatplanes. These will be the eyes of the Axis forces in 'Operation Nostalgia'.

Until the next battle is identified in the campaign I intend to continue to make inroads into painting up the aircraft involved. Next up is a squadron of B-25 Mitchells and then the Italian Macchi 200 Saetta fighter.

On the Workbench: Grumman Martlets

A squadron of 12 Grumman Martlets of the Fleet Air Arm have been completed in 1/600th scale. These aircraft from Tumbling Dice are a pleasure to paint and so much quicker than 1/300th. It also makes a nice break from painting figures.

Only 8 will be needed to fly off the deck of HMS Biter in my 'Operation Nostalgia' campaign but it seemed to make sense to complete an entire squadron.

On a different subject, the naval battle of Cyprus from the campaign began yesterday using GQ3 rules. I had decided on a scale of 1cm = 200yds which is an option in the rules but designed more for 1/6000th ships rather than the 1/3000 I use. The reason being that I felt it would be more suitable for my 6' x 3'9" table. 

Having played a few moves it soon became apparent that it was not going to work as well, particularly when it came to conducting turns. So today I bit the bullet and started again but using the recommended 1cm = 100yds scale. So far it would appear I need not have worried as it is playing fine on my table size.

I should have the AAR posted on the blog in 2 or 3 days.

On the Workbench: More ships and planes!

It is now shockingly over 2 weeks since the last 'On the Workbench' update. That said there is not a great deal to report as pretty much the same as before. More planes and ships. 

The first squadron of 1/600 Hurricanes have been completed. There had been a delay awaiting decals from Domsdecals. I ordered these at the beginning of June and still not arrived. It would appear Dom is having problems keeping this line running. I finally managed to acquire some from Tumbling Dice hence the completion of this squadron.

Continued -

On The Workbench: Bag the Hun templates and yet more ships.

Too much heat than is  healthy for us damp cold Brits, my son's wedding and England football team doing something highly unusual in the World Cup has conspired to adversely affect my wargaming time!

I am getting back on track although the damn heat is still here! The most immediate need now is to prepare for the first battle in my 'Operation Nostalgia' campaign which is a coastal naval action. Involving a total of 7 MTB's and MGB's of the Royal Navy against 4 German Torpedo Boats (effectively destroyer escorts). I have them all in 1/3000th scale but it is too small an action to do it justice in this scale. I decided in the end that 1/1200th would be the best option.

Here are 3 of the 4 torpedo boats with, from the left, T24 (Hallmark), Albatross and Mowe (2 models from the 70's and in need of repainting). T4 together with the British MTB's and MGB's have been ordered from Magister Millitum. I will crack on a paint up these as soon as they arrive.

Continued-

Operation Nostalgia: Map Moves - Day 1

The first day move of day one so the allied fleets set sail from Cyprus and Egypt.

Concentrating for a moment on the allies, red counter numbers 1 and 2 represent the 8th Army and US Army transports with escorting fleets leaving Egypt. Red counter number 3 is the 1st Army force underway from Limassol in Cyprus.

Although it may be difficult to see at this scale, red 4 represents the MTB's and MGB's transporting the Commandos towards Kasos from Cyprus. Red 5 is the British submarine Triton forward deployed and in its patrol area.

Continued-