The Polish-Soviet War

The blogging function on the Wings of War Aerodrome has been changed, not allowing for pictures to appear within the blog, and posting pictures upside down, so I will be blogging about my various Wings of Glory projects and gaming here!

Yeah, I need an intervention as I have plenty of projects to work on, but this one intrigues me. At one time I was going to do a 1792 Russian-Polish War project in 15mm, but alas the company that started making the figures never released more than a few packs, and the project withered on the vine. But as part of that project I read a bio on Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko and find the chap fascinating. Since I cannot game the 1792 affair, I CAN game the 1920 war, in which American and British pilots formed a squadron in honor of Kościuszko.

I have two books now on the Kościuszko Squadron. I have a pair of Table Top Flights Ansaldo A.1s to paint. I picked up a Sapozhnikov Sopwith Snipe. I made a trade with camelbeagle for a Polish Sopwith Camel repaint. I plan on getting one more Sapozhnikov Snipe to do a minor "repaint." Based on this I would say that this is enough!

The Ansaldo's are fast and good diving aircraft, and balanced with a Camel, these three Polish crates might be a nice mix against two Snipes. The Snipes utilize a fast and maneuverable deck, and Sapozhnikov should have an ace ability or two as he had four kills during World War One and two in the Russian Civil War. The Kościuszko Squadron pilots should have at least single ace ability as well - they are referenced to being well trained several times in the book Kościuszko, We Are Here!: American Pilots of the Kosciuszko Squadron in Defense of Poland, 1919-1921. This just might turn out to be a balanced three on two game, and a five or six player game is about all I like to manage on the table top!

UPDATE:

While not a lot has happened on this front in terms of getting aircraft painted, I was able to grab a Sopwith Camel repaint that camelbeagle picked up I believe from an eBay purchase (if the Camel in the picture was painted by one of the members of this forum, please let me know!). I know of at least one Camel in the Kościuszko Squadron that was brought in by one of the British members of the unit, however the artwork I have seen has the squadron insignia closer towards the tail, and does not show a red cowling...but as this plane has a spiffy paintjob already on it, I am leaving it alone!

For the pair of Soviet Snipes, I will most likely leave one as is and paint some sort of distinguishing feature on the other...perhaps adding red to the cowling and/or adding a red section to the upper wing.

I have slapped a little paint on the Table Top Flights Ansaldos (like weeks and weeks ago). The focus now will be to complete these two aircraft and then create a scenario using all five aircraft.

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948

Ahhh, Indian Tempests fighting Pakistani Tempests post World War II! Mix in a dash of Spitfire and one has some interesting possibilities, using World War II designed aircraft but in their most advanced development. 

Let's start with some cool aircraft profiles. I am not completely clear on what scheme the Indians used during the war as there are many IAF Tempest and Spitfire profiles during this period that seem to be at odds with a consistent paint scheme. I am waiting a couple of titles to try and confirm what the IAF used in 1947-48, however, I might just go with a silver aluminum Tempest and a camouflaged Spitfire.

Indian Tempest Mk. II - I am not certain of the use of the Chakra during the actual war

Indian Spitfire Mk. XVIII - I am liking this scheme as a contrast to the Pakistani Tempest below

Pakistani Tempest Mk. II - Nice desert scheme going here

Planes

Tempest Mark II - Raiden website

Raiden covers the Tempest Mk. II (code GBR011) but the Spitfire is a bit of a puzzle. I've seen Indian Spitfire Mk. XIVs and Mk. XVIIIs, with the latter artwork including both clipped and unclipped wings (the image above is an unclipped version, but HERE is a Mk. XVIII showing clipped wings and the Mk. XIVe the Indians used would also have had clipped wings. I will have to see what the source material indicates. When I did my 1948 Arab-Israeli project I went with the Spitfires I was able to buy cheaply from Dom's Decals, but not certain if I used the correct model. I like to be historically accurate when possible, but might have to do a little fudging when it comes to the Indian Spitfires. Raiden does make a Mk. XIVc, but with full wing. They also manufacture a Mk. XII that has the clipped wing configuration which to my eye looks pretty close. 

Books

These are two I have been able to find that cover each side and now that I have on order.

• Bharat Kumar - An Incredible War: IAF in Kashmir War 1947-1948. K. W. Publishers, 2013.
• Yawar Mazhar and Usman Shabbir - Eagles of Destiny: Volume 1: Birth and Growth of the Royal Pakistan Air Force 1947-1956. Helion and Company, 2022. 

If I can not glean any scenarios from the source materials, then I am going to go with a mix of four Indian Tempests and two Indian Spitfires, and the Pakistanis will garner six Tempests.

More to come on this little project once the books have been received and delved into.

The I.A.R.80/81 in Check Your 6!

Appearing three times in the Battles Above 2 scenario book, the Romanian (or Rumanian if you prefer) Industria Aeronautică Română 80/81 series of aircraft were steady performers on the Eastern Front, and continued to serve even after being outclassed by later fighter designs. While modifications were made during the life of the I.A.R.80/81, those changes were not significant enough to greatly improve its performance. Decently agile, moderate in the amount of damage it could sustain, but light in armament, the I.A.R.80/81 soldiered on into the 1950s. The I.A.R.80/81 faced off against a variety of aircraft during its service life, ranging from I-16s to P-38s. It was used as a fighter and dive bomber on the Eastern Front, as well as a home defense fighter at Ploesti. Four hundred and fifty I.A.R.80/81 were built during the war.

CY6! gamers have made some attempts to rate this aircraft to varying degrees. One optimistic gamer rated the plane an A4 + 3, making it far more agile and maneuverable than the aircraft was historically. The ratings in the Battles Above book seem about right, B4 + 2 with no penalty to agility at maximum speed. This allows the I.A.R. series to dogfight with most enemy fighters and hold its own from a performance perspective. However, the Romanian pilots, while brave, did not have as much experience or training as their German allies, and should be throughout the war rated with the same proportion of crew quality as their Soviet counterparts.

What follows is a fairly comprehensive yet still in progress listing of the I.A.R.80/81 varients in game terms. The information was gleaned from The I.A.R.80 & I.A.R.81: Airframe, Systems, & Equipment written by Radu Brinzan. Published in 2011 by SAM Limited, it is an extremely detailed look at the indigenous Romanian fighter, and is replete with color profiles.

My preferred scale for air combat games is 1/285th, and hence my preferred manufacturer is Raiden, owned by I-94 Enterprises. Alas, there is not a Raiden I.A.R.80/81 being offered at this time. However, there are two other options, MSD Games (1/300 scale) and Shapeways (wwwitalik). I like the MSD line fine enough, but the scale difference does make itself apparent when comparing the MSD castings to the Raiden range. The Shapeways version has the landing gear in the extended position, so one would have to carefully cut away the gear. 

The I.A.R.80/81 is an oft overlooked option for gamers but one to consider for use on the Eastern Front.