The P-43 Lancer

One of the forgotten fighters of the Second World War is the Republic P-43 Lancer. A development of the Seversky P-35, and the predecessor to the well-known P-47 Thunderbolt, the Lancer carries a rather negative reputation, one that might be based on information that could be less than factual.

There is little available in written form on the Lancer. It has a few pages in the Squadron Signal Mini In Action, and it is a subject in the TopDrawings series by Kagero, coming in at a miniscule twenty pages. Yet the P-43 was built in larger numbers than many other World War II aircraft that have been detailed in several published works. The Lancer also saw combat over the skies of China - possessing a turbo-supercharger the Lancer could intercept high flying Japanese aircraft that the P-40 could not reach.

The first batch of pre-production P-43s were delivered to the Army Air Corps from September 1940 to April 1941. Although the plane exceeded USAAC performance goals, the goals, along with the YP-43, were already obsolete due to a lack of armor, lack of self-sealing fuel tanks, and not being as maneuverable as other aircraft. Due to delays in the P-47 development, the Lancer went into production, with the P-43A model having an improved engine and increased firepower with two .50 machineguns in the nose and one in each wing. Additional Lancers were ordered for China, and these aircraft did have pilot armor and self-sealing fuel tanks. This is proven by the issuance of part numbers for both by the USAAC. Therefore those Lancers sent to China, P-43A-1, offered slightly better protection than the P-43A model. One source that every P-43 skeptic should read is an article written by Rick Dunn. His detailed writing of the Lancer in Chinese service may convince the reader that the Lancer was not as bad as we think.

Performance of the A model sent for use with the American Volunteer Group showed that it was successful at high altitude and processed a high roll rate, while the radial engine was less susceptible to damage than the water-cooled inline engine found on the P-40, but that the fuel tanks in the wings leaked which caused fires to occur if the fuel came into contact with the turbo-supercharger that was located under the fuselage. The Japanese noted that the Lancer's wings could be easily punctured as well. 

The P-43A-1 saw service in China's 4th Air Group. As a mediocre airplane, it saw both success and failure. There are few combat accounts, and details are lacking, but I plan to create a couple of Check Your 6! scenarios based on what information I can scrounge. Flying alongside P-40s, opponents were the Ki-43 and Ki-44 fighters, along with mid-war Japanese bombers and recon aircraft.

The P-43 is available from Flight Deck Decals and as Chinese paint schemes were rather plain in appearance, a set of Chinese roundels along with airplane numbers is all that one needs. The Lancers were received in standard USAAC colors (olive drab 43 and neutral gray 41), but were soon painted in the Chinese olive green. I believe that the under surfaces retained the neutral gray. 

In game terms, the P-43 Lancer has already been rated by Tom Michael on the Check Your 6! discussion group. I've added a little information by including climb rates, as the Lancer had a comparable climb to the P-40B/C, significantly better than the F4F, and slightly better than its descendant, the P-47. I've increased the robustness on the A-1 model due to the pilot armor and self-sealing fuel tanks being added, although there is some debate on how effective those additions truly were. And I have added a aircrew check anytime the Lancer does maximum speed to see if it catches on fire.

There will be more on the Lancer project as I obtain planes and work up a couple of scenarios.

Burma!

Yesterday I hosted a Check Your 6! game at the local gaming store (if a 50 minute drive is considered local), using the Burmese Buffalo Hunt scenario found on the CY6 forum with a few minor changes. It was a fun challenge for both sides as the scenario takes place in the rain and fog and visibility is drastically reduced. Also, the Hurricanes of 17 Squadron have their long range fuel tanks still attached, severely impacting their speed and maneuverability.

Nine Nates faced off against three pairs of Allied aircraft - Hawk 81s of the American Volunteer Group's 1st Squadron, Buffalos of the British 67 Squadron, and the aforementioned Hurricanes. It was interesting to watch the player's morale ebb and flow with the game. After spotting the Buffaloes, and having a set of the three Nates drop down from above just a few hexes away from them, the Japanese players continued to place hits on the Brewsters, but the robustness of the Buffalo coupled with the two light machineguns of the Nates meant that the Buffalos were not going anywhere for some time. However, the tide began to turn a bit with one of the Buffalos taking damage and the other receiving a lucky hit, impacting its fuel. By this time the slow climbing and slow moving Hurricanes, along with the faster Hawks, made their way into the fry, but the Nates were able to react and drive off the Allies. If memory serves me correctly, one Nate was shot down and one damaged, with the Allies suffering the loss of a Buffalo, the other damaged, a Hurricane shot down, and a Hawk likewise. Several of the Nate ran out of ammo during the course of the game (I believe four in total, but it was still an overall Japanese victory. I probably should have balanced the players a bi more as the Japanese side all had experienced gamers, while the Allies had one experienced gamer, one who had played CY6 a few times, and one who had never played.

All the planes were painted by Miscellaneous Miniatures.

Mat - Hotz Mats

Planes - Raiden

More 1948 Planes Being Painted

This morning I sent off six more 1948 Arab-Israeli War planes to Miscellaneous Miniatures for painting. Once these have been completed this will allow me to do all the scenarios that appeared in Wargames Illustrated, written by Rob Wubbenhorst. Two Macchi C.205s, two Spitfires (Late model for the Brits), a Beaufighter, and a Hawker Sea Fury will grace the gaming table in a few months. Kevin at Miscellaneous really isn't doing planes any longer, but since I have been an established customers he has agreed to keep doing some small projects for me, which will include American Volunteer Group and some Swiss, and then perhaps some 1967 Arab-Israeli and Pakistan-India War. Then I should be pretty much "done" with Check Your 6! projects.

Back to '48, I was also able to pick up a few painted planes in a trade. Two are painted for Syria, and are types the Syrians never used, but are still pretty cool so I am going to use at least the Lavochkin La-7 for some flavor. The other two planes are Bf 109s (Avia S.199), but not quite correct for Israel (should have gunpods and blue stripes), but they will also see some table time.

It feels good to get these projects worked on and putting some planes on the table!

Check Your 6! Annual Game Day Recap

Israeli S-199s and Egyptian Spitfires dance over Israel.

Just a short post about the annual Check Your 6! game day event held each year in Dayton, Ohio. I was able to attend the entire day, including hosting a 1948 Arab-Israeli War game and playing in an interesting no-plot game, and watching a Vietnam game during the evening session. There were plenty of historical eras covered, from the Great War through Vietnam, and a good turnout as well for some Wings of Glory Great War combat. I-94 was there selling there wares, and so I picked up a few oddball planes to complete my 1948 collection, and a few P-40 B/Cs to start either a Pearl Harbor or American Volunteer Group project.

Attendance seemed to be very good for the morning and early afternoon, but the evening session only had two games going. One thing I'd like to help work on is promoting the event a bit more to help increase awareness and hence numbers present. There is certainly space to hold more games and accommodate more gamers, so no concerns there. And there are a few fast food joints close by to satiate the gamer appetite. The location also has a kitchen, so that means potential to sell some gamer food right onsite.

If you have an hankering for air combat, makes plans to attend next June. The National Museum of the United States Air Force is only minutes away, so one could make a nice weekend that includes gaming miniature aircraft and see the real thing up close.

These are 1/600 scale...check out those paint jobs!

Check Your 6! Updates

A bit of a summary, mostly for my own later reference, but some of the projects I am toying with for Check Your 6!

Spanish Civil War - I have a few Heinkel He 51s, Bf 109s, and now with my friend's collection, some CR.32s. I need some more bad guys to go against them.  I do have four I-16s painted up, but in Soviet markings.

German-Czech What If - Just got my order for eight Avia B-534s from MSD, and I plan on buying some early mark Bf.109s to go against them, but I still need to find a few period German bombers to add in. Most of the German bombers on the market that were round in 1938 are later period versions, and so a bit incorrect.

Romanian-Soviet Front - I like the Heinkel He 112, a lot. While there were only a few made (less than 100) it is still a cool looking bird. There is a neat encounter in June, 1941 in which Romanian He 112s are strafing a Soviet airfield while the I-16s based on the field are taking off. Turns into a hairball of a fight, with a dozen Heinkels facing upwards of thirty Ratas. Rating the He 112 is a bit of a bear, seemingly a tad slower than the Bf 109B, less agile, but more maneuverable, I think I would rate the 112 as follows:  A4+1, with a robustness of 1, and armed with FF: 2xLVC, 2xLMG. This would make them a tad better than the I-16, with a better punch for armament, which should help a bit with the number disparity. I already have four I-16s painted in Soviet colors, but would need to order some Heinkels from MSD along with a slew more of the Ratas.

American Volunteer Group - I've always liked their story, and with the addition of several scenarios in one of the Check Your 6! books that was released recently, there are now something like fifteen scenarios published that include the Tigers. I have no aircraft for this project.

Wake Island - Another one of those stories that pull me in again and again. However, while I look the look of those Marine Wildcats at Wake, after the initial Japanese bombing attack, only four remained, and they faced Mavis flying boats after the initial attack. I can't see buying a ton of flying boats for one project - they are expensive! Perhaps I can do something from the Cactus Air Force scenario book as I do like the look of those early Wildcats!