Enemy Coast Ahead (dambusters raid)

Started by Silent Disapproval Robot, March 08, 2015, 02:58:08 AM

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Silent Disapproval Robot

Ok so Gibson will arrive on attack turn 2, Martin on 3, and Hopgood on 5.

undercovergeek

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 13, 2015, 04:37:32 AM
UCG, you have the only intact wave left, but it is uncoordinated.  To spot the dam, you'll need 7 or better on 2D6.  If that fails, Knight can make a persistent attempt.  He'll need a 7 or better.  If that fails, one plane will become separated from the wave but will not become lost, just act independently starting next turn.   It's your choice whether or not you want to make the persistent attempt if the initial one fails.

6 and 1 - phew!

Staggerwing

Meanwhile, the tailgunner of AJ-L knows all too well what the great explosion behind them was and informs the pilot. "Poor beggars" is all Shannon says. The rest of his crew say nothing.

"Nav!" he shouts a few moments later. "What heading to the target?". The navigator calls up to him "'Hold on a minute Sar! I'll have 'er in moments!".

[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 5, 1, total 6[/blockquote]
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

Staggerwing

After a few more minutes Shannon grows very impatient. "Nav! We've not got all night!"

"Right! Here's the heading now Flight Lieutenant... "

[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 5, 3, total 8[/blockquote]

Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

Staggerwing

Shannon banks slightly and assumes the heading he was given. Mere minutes later both he and Sumpter the bomb aimer shout out that they see the dam.








(BTW, here is a BBC site showing the names and pix of all the men in the raid. Mouse over for their names, positions, nationality, and aircraft.)
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

Silent Disapproval Robot

Nice!

OK Stagger, roll 1D6 and subtract 1 from the result to see when Shannon gets on station.


UCG, do the same for AJ-N and AJ-Z.  1D6 -1 for each plane to see which turn they arrive on.  AJ-B has the map error so it's just 1D6 to see when he arrives.

Staggerwing

[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 5, total 5[/blockquote]
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

Silent Disapproval Robot

Shannon's plane will arrive on turn 4 along with Martin's.


Here's how the attack sequence works on an uncoordinated entry.








The weather during the night of the raid started clear but it was quite common in May for light mist or fog do develop over the dam reservoirs as the night progressed.  The first bomber to arrive will roll an initial check to see if it's clear or if a fog or mist is obscuring the water surface.  This will get checked again during the attack run on turns 3, 5, and 7.

All bombers that arrive in an uncoordinated wave or independently will start in the circling far box unless their arrival turn check roll = 0 (possible with a Very Light mod) in which case they start in the circling near box.

The turn sequence is as follows:
1) Run phase
2) Approach and Release phase
3) Circling Phase
4) Status Phase

Any single bomber that starts the turn in the circling near box can start their approach run.  The bomber moves from the circling near box to the far approach box.

The bomber must decide whether or not to turn on their Aldis lamps at the start of their run.  The altimeters in the Lancs weren't accurate enough for the mission in question as the bombers had to be at exactly 60ft in order to successfully release an upkeep bomb so they used Aldis lamps instead.  Aldis lamps were two lights placed on the bottom of the Lancaster bomber's tail and middle section.  They were angled in such a way that the two beams of light would intersect at a single point on the water's surface when the plane was at 60 ft.

If you decide to keep the lamps off, you won't be able to make any altitude adjustments during your initial run.  The reason you might want to keep them off during your first few runs is that the lamps give the flak gunners on the dam and nice, bright aiming point and make the flak much more accurate (and it's already very nasty as is at this dam).   During your runs, your gunners can attempt to suppress and knock out the dam's flak batteries if the bomber can get close enough so you might want to use your first few runs to just degrade the dam's defenses.

Once you've made your decision regarding the Aldis lamps, you start your approach run.  Aldis lamps cannot be changed during a run.  They are either on or off for the duration of the run.

First, the bomber checks the quality of its initial approach vector by rolling 1D6 (I'll give you the results).

The bomber drops into the far approach box and checks its initial speed and altitude by drawing chits for each.  Depending on the weather, the crew quality, and the approach vector, it is possible that they cannot draw any chits in which case they're assumed to be flying erratically.

The flak gunners then fire.  They need a 4-6 on 2D6 to score a hit but if your Aldis lamps are on, they get to roll 3D6 and keep the best two.  They also get to re-roll doubles and so may score multiple hits in one turn.

If any flak hits, the bomber has the option to take evasive action as long as they have a speed or altitude chit to sacrifice.  50/50 chance to avoid a hit.

Next the bomber decides if it want to release the bomb early, pull up and go back to the circling near box, or continue on to the near approach box. 

If the bomber pulls up, this is considered to be a dummy run and the knowledge the pilot gains means they can make an additional adjustment to speed and altitude on their next run (even if they aren't normally allowed to draw a chit).

If the bomber proceeds to the near box, it can make either a speed or an altitude adjustment (provided it has a speed or altitude chit) by drawing a new chit and keeping the better one.

Flak fires again, evasive action can be taken, then damage is applied.

The front gunner in the bomber can now fire back at the flak.  Roll 1D6.  If the result is equal or less than the dam's flak level (in this case 3), the flak is degraded by 1 level.

The bomber decides if they want to release their bomb, pull up to the circling near box, or proceed to the close zone.

If the bomber proceeds to the close zone, they can adjust speed or alt again.
Then flak fires again. 
The front gunner fires again.
The bomber decides to release or pull up and return to the circling near box.

A release from the close zone is risky.  You have to make an additional check on the release quality by rolling 1D6. 1= badly muffed (-2 penalty). 2-3 = late release (-1 penalty).  4-5 = no change.  6= spot on (+1 bonus).

If a bomber releases upkeep at any stage, the bombing run is resolved (more on specifics later).  The bomber then goes into the Climb box.  Flak gunners fire.  Hits taken while in the climb box cannot be evaded.  The rear gunner can then engage flak if the bomber survives.

If the bombing run fails, a single bomber in the circling near box gets an approach observed chit which means they gleaned some useful info by watching the failed run and can make an additional speed or alt adjustment on their run.

After the run is complete, the turn proceeds to the circling phase.  Bombers in the climb box move to the circling near box.  Bombers in the circling far box can move to circling near.  Any bomber already in the circling near box that will remain there for this turn can fire another very light flare.

Then the status phase of the turn starts.
Visibility is checked on attack turns 3, 5, and 7 to see if the weather changes.
If an upkeep bomb was dropped, the dams defenses may have been degraded so a check is made against the current defense level of the dam.
Next, a check is made to see if any night-fighters show up in the area, if they spot any bombers, and if so, if they successfully attack.
Then the results of the bombing run are assessed provided there are bombers present in the circling near box to see, otherwise bombing results are postponed until someone can physically observe the dam.
Finally, the status of any Very Light flares is checked to see if they burn out.

The turn marker advances and the Attack Turn starts again with the Run Phase.





Barthheart


Barthheart


Silent Disapproval Robot


Barthheart


undercovergeek

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 13, 2015, 06:20:31 PM
Nice!

OK Stagger, roll 1D6 and subtract 1 from the result to see when Shannon gets on station.


UCG, do the same for AJ-N and AJ-Z.  1D6 -1 for each plane to see which turn they arrive on.  AJ-B has the map error so it's just 1D6 to see when he arrives.

AJN rolls a 2

AJZ rolls a 1

AJB rolls a 5

The bbc link was awesome

Silent Disapproval Robot

OK, on Turn 1, AJ-Z starts in the Circling Near box.

AJ-N starts in the Circling far box.  All other bombers are still on approach and will arrive as shown on the turn track.










UCG, Maudsley in AJ-Z is first on the scene and checks visibility while conducting an orbit of the dam.  Roll 2D6 to check local visibility.





A question as the attack runs are quite involved, things might bog down a little here.  Do you guys want me to roll the flak attacks or would you prefer to roll them yourselves?

Also, concerning Gibson's Wing Commander ability.  There's a rule variant posted on the website that lets him apply his roll to any bomber making an approach provided Gibson is ether in the circling near box or flying escort.  Let's use that rule as it seems to match up with the history I've read where Gibson was constantly giving direction while the attack runs took place.









undercovergeek

5 and a 3 on the 2 d6

And I'll vote for you to roll flak