Encounter Over the Baltic

This cool looking Swedish design, the FFVS J 22, first flew in September, 1942 and was introduced in October the following year.

So, how many Check Your 6! gamers have the FFVS J 22 in their collections? I am guessing not many, mostly because it was a design created by a neutral country and not used in combat. But should that stop us from fielding a few of these diminutive fighters for some what-if encounters? Of course not!

I have a 1950s Jet Age scenario that features East Germans vs. Swedes, a completely hypothetical engagement, and it would not be much of a stretch to go back a decade or so and do something similar against a World War II backdrop. Why? Because I want to be able to use the sweet looking Swedish FFVS J 22, a radial engine fighter that, when flying mock combat against the P-51, could hold its own under 13,000 feet. The J 22 was available by late fall 1943, so German opponents (from a fighter perspective) could be the Messerschmitt Me 109G and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190A models. Now, I have not really delved into having very many German aircraft in my collection, but creating another what-if scenario might push me to obtain some mid to late war German fighters, which of course would find more historical uses.

Ratings for the J 22 might look something like this (very speculative and I am open to opinions to flesh out the stats):

Image from Table Top Flights

Okay, as stats are sort of worked out, where can one find the J 22 in miniature? Look no further than the detailed 3D prints offered by Table Top Flights. The J 22 is also offered in metal by Heroics & Ros, but the quality of the present-day 3D prints leaves the venerable H&R line in the dust.

Now, to create a scenario! Oh wait, I just did. Check it out on the Downloads page, called Encounter Over the Baltic.

Afternoon Delight After Action Report

I hosted one of my scenarios from my Slovak-Hungarian booklet (not yet ready for much public consumption) at the local store, and suckered...er, convinced four members of the Check Your 6! Southwestern Ohio Group to play. The scenario was Afternoon Delight, which is a representation of the largest air battle of this small conflict.

The Slovak starting positions...

...and the Hungarian initial starting alignment.

Setup saw the Slovaks (three Letov S.328s escorted by three Avia B.534s) moving in from the southwest as they were on a mission to bomb targets along the Hungarian advance (aircrew quality was one skilled and two poor for the fighters, with three green for the bombers). To oppose them were six Fiat CR.32s with two skilled and four green aircrew. Both sides had to plot forward moves until a spotting check was made, and all aircraft were pretty much spotted by Turn Three. The escort Avias, pulling away from the slower bombers, made an impressive turn to take on the the flight of Avias that were heading directly for the Slovak bombers, but was unfortunately too high to do any damage. Meanwhile the other flight of Fiats now had a good angle on the Avias, but they in turn were too high. 

The Avia flight turns into the Fiats tasked for the bombers...

...but that Fiat flight stayed focused on the Letovs...

...and one split s later placed themselves in a great position, while the other Fiat flight starts to engage the Avias

Some dancing about lead to the second flight of Fiats placing rounds on the Avias, but as many '4' results were appearing on the dice, damage was limited. This was a theme for the Hungarian players - a decent amount of hits, but many '4' were being thrown, and hence, thrown out for damage.

The remaining Letovs stay on target

Things started heating up quickly, with some beautiful formation flying. The Slovaks started taking damage and based on some great positioning by the Hungarian fighters I thought this scenario was going to be over, and soon. However, the small caliber and number of guns on the Fiats meant that the Slovak planes might take hits, but were not being blown out of the sky. The bombers, less one from their flight, kept heading for the target hexes. The flight of Fiats that first encountered the bombers reversed course and stayed on the tails of the Letovs, and another Slovak bomber went down. But then the dice went cold. Even with some incredibly easy to hit numbers, the dice were unkind, and three Fiats chasing the bombers could not finish the job.

One Slovak bomber closed in to the target area, diving a couple of turns to grab the extra hex. But just as the Letov was over one of the targets, the Hungarian antiaircraft scored a full hit - five six sided dice of damage was inbound. However, Mr. Robusto (my friend Matt) fended off the strike and then placed his light bombload squarely on target, giving the Slovaks a much needed four victory points. The game was running closer.

Down to one bomber, the Fiats could not buy a hit

One Avia fighter, with the skilled (+1) aircrew, took a lucky hit and went out of control as a result. For several turns this pilot could not pass an aircrew check, and the Avia kept losing altitude. One of the Hungarian fighters pulled a Split S, winding up in the out of control aircraft's hex and at the same altitude, and both pilots failed their checks. Collision! The result was the Hungarian Fiat fell from the sky, while the Avia still hung on.

Out of control!

The balance had swung. While the Hungarians might have been able to nail another Slovak fighter or two, the remaining bomber was moving safely towards a friendly edge, and the out of control Avia finally regained a semblance of order, and was also pointed towards a safe edge. At this point we decided to call the game.

This is not the first game I have hosted in which a side looked destined for destruction, only to flip the script and pull out a victory. The dice, had then been average in nature, most likely would have seen the third Slovak bomber shot down, but it did not happen and the Slovaks could pull out a slight victory.

Returning home I pulled out some resource material and I am updating a couple of items by increasing the Slovak crew quality a bit, and giving the Letov a +1 agility.

Thanks to the group for playing!

Planes - Flight Deck Decals Avias, Table Top Flights CR.32s, and H&R Letovs, all painted by Miscellaneous Miniatures.

Mat - Deep Cut Studio.

Slovak-Hungarian War Planes Have Arrived

The combatants

This is a project that has taken a bit of time to come to fruition, but man oh man it was worth the wait! My interest in this pre-Second World War conflict started over a year ago as I started collecting some research materials and then miniatures (check out all the Slovak-Hungarian War posts HERE for additional information). I commissioned Miscellaneous Miniatures to do the painting on this project, and Kevin at MM, yet again, has created some beautiful gaming pieces.

The Hungarian Ju 86

The Slovakian Letov

The CR.32s are from Table Top Flights, the Avia B.534s and Junkers Ju 86s are from Flight Deck Decals, while the Letovs are old Heroics & Ros castings, and one can readily see the quality gap between those older metal miniatures and today's cutting edge 3D prints offered by Table Top and Flight Deck. Kevin did a great job not only with painting this eclectic mix of planes, but also in building the finicky Letovs as they are cast in several pieces. The sixteen planes cost an average of $8.40 each to have painted and shipped, but bear in mind that ten of the planes are biplanes and the other six medium bombers, and add in the fact that the Hungarians are all in a three tone camouflage scheme, the price to me is a very fair price point.

A flurry of Fiats will face a foe of...

...Avia adversaries

The other posts detail reading material for this conflict include a pair of scenarios I have created. I am working on two additional scenarios as well, that will feature the Hungarians bombing Spišská Nová Ves (a Slovak airfield) with the potential of Slovak fighters intervening, and the other an encounter between Hungarian recon aircraft and Slovak Avias. My goal is to offer the four scenarios, along with background information, as a pdf download for CY6! players to ease into a rather obscure period.

The Italians for Check Your 6!

Ahhh, the Italians for Check Your 6! - reminds me of a joke about Italian tires, which I will not offend anyone by repeating here. Italy is an oft overlooked power during the Second World War and in many players minds the Italian armed forces are the butt of many jokes. Italian fighters are similar in many aspects to their ally Japan - lightly armed, lightly armored (if at all), yet maneuverable. Their bombers suffered from a lack of robustness as well as light armament. If one reviews the ratings for Italian aircraft in the various Check Your 6! sources (and a complete list is available as a download on the Downloads page here on the blog), one might become discouraged from the Italian experience - in one game I had one of the best opportunities in my now many games of CY6! - a Fiat G.50 in the tail arc of the enemy at point blank range. Hitting was no issue (I think I needed a 3+ to hit after modifiers), but the damage dice failed me - with only a pair of heavy machineguns on the G.50 I happened to roll boxcars, resulting in zero damage! So frustrating, as gaming the Italians can be. However, if one can latch onto the tail of an opponent, one usually has the advantage in maneuverability and can peck away for a few turns, which might be enough to obtain a kill.

The Miniatures

I have scoured the interwebs to create a list of Italian aircraft available in 1/285 or 1/300 scales, listing only the preferred model (in my opinion, humble or otherwise) for each plane. My quality rankings are as follows (best to least desirable): Flight Deck Decals>Table Top Flights>Raiden Miniatures>MSD Games>Heroics & Ros>PT Dockyard. There are thirty (UPDATE: thirty-five - thanks to slugbalancer on The Miniatures Page) different models/types of planes available for the Italians (and if you know of any other planes in either scale not appearing on the following list, please leave a comment). 

The Scenarios

There are three excellent sources for scenarios that I know of that are Check Your 6! ready. The first is the SkirmishCampaigns publication entitled Falcon of the Duce, written by C. B. Stevens, while the second is The Falcon and the Gladiator: The Air War Over the Western Desert, 1940-February 1941, written by Chris Stoesen and available as a pdf download on Wargame Vault. The third is Battles Above 2, written by Brian Dewitt and available via I-94 Enterprises. Falcon of the Duce contains sixteen scenarios featuring Italian ace Franco Lucchini along with background and aircraft information. The Stoesen effort offers thirty-six scenarios, many that feature the CR.42 and Gloster Gladiator (hence the name) along with much background and historical information. Battles Above 2 yields another twenty-six scenarios. The size of the scenarios range from two to thirty-seven aircraft, so there is plenty of choices, ranging from smaller games to massive numbers of miniatures swarming the tabletop. One can download the scenario listing, which includes plane counts, from the Downloads page.

The Stats

I have also cobbled together the stats for Italian aircraft that I could locate from various sources. However, while I have been able to discover thirty-five Italian aircraft available in miniature form, I could only source statistics for twenty. The stats file can also be found on the Downloads page.

Aircrew Quality

Italian fighter pilots, in the early period of the war, were fairly experienced due to their involving in the Spanish Civil War. Contrary to one source, the Italians offered more gunnery training than their British opponents, while overall training time was less. Players may consider rating Italian fighter aircrews as overall skilled, but with a +1 firing modifier through 1940. Also, due to the aerobatic training Italian fighter pilots received, they may take all maneuver aircrew checks at one level higher than their aircrew quality.

When rating any pilots for Check Your 6! I use the following methodology:

Expert (+4) - forty or more victories

Ace (+3) - twenty to thirty-nine victories

Veteran (+2) - five to nineteen victories and/or long service

Skilled (+1) - highly trained and/or one to four victories

Green (+0) - standard training, no victories, and/or little active service

Poor (-1) - little to no training

Conversely, one might consider randomizing pilot skill using the following tables.

Summary

There you have it - about everything Italian in one location. The Italian aircraft are some of the most interesting of the war - colorful camouflage schemes, some sleek designs, lightly armed and lightly armored, and aircrew quality that can range from very good to very mediocre.

Rogožarski IKZ

Yugoslavian pilots with the first production IKZ, Summer 1940

The what? The Yugoslavian Rogožarski IKZ fighter, also known at times as the IK-3 (the 3 and Z in Cyrillic are very similar in appearance, hence the "error"). The three designers/developers of the IKZ were Ljubomir Ilic, Kosta Sivcev, and Slobodan Zrnic, hence the IKZ designation. The low wing fighter was designed in the mid-1930s, having its first flight in May 1938, and going into production March 1940. Only thirteen of the IKZ were built, but they did see some action in April 1941 when Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers. In its first encounter against the Germans, five IKZs claimed five Bf.109Es as kills, while losing a pair of IKZs in return. During other sorties against German bomber formations, the pilots manning the IKZ would claim four twin-engine bombers shot down, with one IKZ taking fifty-six hits, but managing to return to base. Other claims were a Junkers Ju 87 and a Bf 110 before the Yugoslavs, with their bases being threatened of being overrun, burned the remaining IKZs. One pilot, Milislav Semiz, claimed four victories during the short campaign. The IKZs were distributed in two squadrons in the Yugoslavian 51st Fighter Group.

The IKZ had a smaller turning radius than the Messerschmitt Bf 109E, and a smaller wingspan than the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire, which in turn gave it a higher speed for its Avia-built Hispano-Suiza V-12 liquid-cooled engine that developed 860 horsepower. The Yugoslavs tested the IKZ against the Hawker Fury, Heinkel He 112, the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, and the Hurricane. Performance most closely matched the Morane-Saulnier, although the IKZ was faster by twenty-five miles per hour. In mock combat against the Messerschmitt, it was found that the IKZ was more maneuverable in level flight, allowing the Yugoslav fighter to perform tighter turns and get on the tail of the German fighter. As the Bf 109E uses the B maneuver chart, in order to replicate tighter level flight turns the IKZ should use the A maneuver chart.`

So, not being an expert on things like wing loading, roll rate, and other assorted values, what I can determine is that the IKZ climbed about 2,300 feet per minute, while the Bf 109E climbed about 3,500 feet during the same timeframe. Hence, the IKZ needs to climb at a slower rate than the Messerschmitt. The MS.406 and IKZ had an identical rate of climb, so I can use the French fighter's climb rate. I have no idea how to determine dive speed, so I am just using the Morane's rate. The following is are the suggested airplane stats for the IKZ:

One may suggest, based on the account of an IKZ surviving fifty-six hits, that the robustness rating should be increased to R2.

Miniatures

Who makes the IKZ? Well, there is good news (for me) and less than good news (for others) when it comes to sourcing the IKZ. Leading Edge Miniatures made a lovely 1/285th scale casting of the Rogožarski, and while Museum Miniatures bought that range some years ago, they seem to be out of production these days (and they have no interest, due to a lack of interest, in returning the range to production). I was able to secure ten of these miniatures from Noble Knight Games, a place that usually charges too much for used items, but at three bucks a pop, I cleaned them out. No, I do not need ten IKZs, but as my friends The G Dog and the J Dog say, "If you want it, buy it, because you never know when it might become unavailable." I will not need more than four or six, so if you want a couple leave a comment. I will only charge the paltry sum of one million dollars!

How the Leading Edge planes were packaged - a little historical background in a small baggie

Very clean lines on the casting. Shame they are no longer in production

Another angle

However, although Leading Edge is no longer available, you are in a bit of luck - Heroics & Ros make the IKZ (listed as a IK-3) in 1/300 scale. H&R's lower quality may be an issue for potential buyers, but at least there is an option. Did I mention my price for my extra Leading Edge IKZs?

Decals

No problem here as Flight Deck Decals makes a set of Royal Yugoslav Air Force national insignia in 1/300 scale. One will have to paint the fin flash on the rudder as I have yet to find Yugoslavian flashes. The aircraft numbers are so small that they probably would not be worth trying to replicate in 1/285.

Aircraft Colors

Here is a bit of a problem as the various sources are all over the map. I have seen both darker toned camouflage and a much brighter version. I prefer the darker tone, but not being an expert cannot say that the lighter colors are not the way to go. An eye of the beholder situation to be certain. One publication provides the following colors: Light Blue Gray - RAL 7035 - FS14424, Ochre Yellow - RAL 8001 - FS 10266, Dark Green - RAL 6003 - FS 14096 (Vallejo 71.092 Medium Olive), Dark Brown - RAL 8017 - FS 10045 (Vallejo 71.041 Armor Brown).

Feeling too much yellow in the tan

A more subtle color scheme

This one feels a bit too muted

Looks pretty good to me, albeit a tad dark!

Learn More

The IK range of fighter aircraft was the focus of a Profile Publications Aircraft Profile (#242), which can be still found for varying prices on places like eBay. This is one of the later Profiles, with expanded pages. There are also other, but far more expensive, books on the IKZ, such as Kagero's Rogožarski IK-3, in their Monographs series. At 184 pages it is the definitive account of the indigenous IKZ and of course I just had to buy a copy. It is filled with information and profusely illustrated with photos. It also contains numerous scale plans and a section on the post war follow-on, the S-49.

Add in a couple of YouTube videos - Ed Nash's Military Matters and Aviation Deep Dive nicely cover the IKZ.

Historical Board Gamer Decals

After a tip from one of the chaps on the Wings of Glory Aerodrome, I thought I had a solution to the 9mm American and Russian roundels I need to dress up some Shapeways RAF colored prints, but alas the decals sold by Historical Board Gaming are actually for 1/285 and smaller scales. If there was a company making quality 1/285 or 1/300 scale quality World War One planes (at reasonable prices), I would be tempted to paint up a slew, but there does not seem to be. CinC - fiddley to assemble, range is limited, and prices are now stupidly high. Hostile Aircraft fail from a quality point of view (and landing gear...yuck). Heroics & Ros, no pictures means no buying from this gamer. Anyway, my search for 9mm American and Russian roundels continues, although these HBG offerings look rather nice. There is a wide variety of decals to be had from HBG, and there are MANY roundels/insignia of various sizes on each sheet. The sheet I believe is one large decal, so one does have to trim around each roundel/insignia.

Hmmm, one option is still available - Mike at Table Top Flights will scale WWI planes at 1/285...maybe that is the ticket! At this point I could use all my Check Your Six "stuff" along with the Colorful Skies WWI mods for CY6. Then there is also Canvas Eagles, which could work. Seemingly when I used to play Blue Max, which is what Canvas Eagles is derived from, there was something about the rules I did not like. Might have to go download Canvas Eagles and give them a lookover.

Well, to further the story, in chatting with Mike at TTF, scaling his WWI aircraft to 1/285th can be done, but the frailty of such a small print, when doing biplanes, is a concern. So still a bit thwarted in my desire to use 1/285th scale aircraft.

Table Top Flights - Order Has Arrived

Recently I reached out to Mike at Table Top Flights to see if he could create some World War II aircraft in 1/285th scale (his normal WWII scale is 1/200). He willingly obliged so I placed a small order to see how the planes would turn out. They happened to be in today's post, and I am pleased with the outcome. The planes will be for three different projects - Slovak-Hungarian War, 1945-46 what if, and a 1941 Rumanian scenario (which is available to the left). 

Ta 183s

The prints are clean, not encumbered with oversized details, and very little need of prep. Wing thicknesses are thinner compared to metal castings, and hence more in scale.

I.A.R.80/81

I am awaiting to see if Flight Deck Decals can also scale to 1/285 as that will give me the Ju.86s and the Avia B.534s needed for the Slovak-Hungarian War (I have metal Letov S.328s from Heroics & Ros). Once the planes have been gathered, off for painting, and that project will be complete (and I have two scenarios in mind).

Two of the six Cr.32s

I recommend Table Top Flights - service, communication, and quality all receive high marks!

Heroics & Ros Letov S-328

In my quest to find suitable miniatures for the Slovak-Hungarian War project, I was at a bit of a loss when it came to the primary Slovak bomber, the Letov S-328. One possible scenario calls for three of these planes, and in checking both Raiden and MSD Games, my two usual sources for aircraft, I was hitting a wall. A Google search for 1/300 Letov pointed me to the Heroics & Ros site, an old line that specializes in the 6mm world. Fortunately H&R make the S-328. I had never placed an order with H&R, but the process was easy, and shipping to the United States was not unreasonable in both price and shipping time. I placed my order on June 30th and received the planes July 10th...nice delivery time from the UK!

The planes are not too badly detailed. Being H&R, an older line as mentioned, I wasn't expecting much, but I sort of like the style. Plus, once paint and decals have been applied, they will look just fine!

The Slovak-Hungarian War Project

Cr.32s face off against Avia B.534s

I've owned a rather nifty title on the Avia B.534 for a few years now, and even picked up four packs of this model from MSD Games, but haven't done much else with the planes (still in their packages). I've come across references to the Slovak-Hungarian War on the interwebs, and created a listing of aircraft used by both sides in the conflict also known as "The Little War." Hungary wanted more portions of Slovakia, and invaded the latter nation in March 1939. There were a few encounters in the air, with Avias, Cr.32s, Ju.86s, and Letov S.328s involved (among others). One can source Cr.32s from a few different manufacturers, the Avias and Ju.86s can be had from MSD Games, but the Letov's were evading me until today - Heroics and Ros make them, and while I am probably not going to far out on a limb when I say the quality of H&R won't be quite as good as the MSD range, once painted they will service just fine on the tabletop. Order placed for the Letovs.

There is a book on the subject, published by Helion, titled Baptism of Fire: The First Combat Experiences of the Royal Hungarian Air Force and Slovak Air Force, March 1939, and written by Csaba B. Stenge. It has been on my wishlist at Amazon for some time, and I decided it was time to order it.

A few more steps are in order...

First, scenario creation - I have come across the basics for two encounters between the B.534s and Cr.32s. I probably have enough to cobble together very basic scenarios for these two engagements, but I am hoping that the Stenge book, since it is focused on this very short war, will be able to provide additional information so as to make the scenarios more accurate. 

Second, rating the planes - I can decently compare the Avia against other types that are already rated for Check Your 6! and determine stats! But even easier is to use what another gamer has come up with for the Avia!

Avia B534IV:   A3+3(-)   23/38   4 x LMG   Robust 0

A Hungarian Ju.86

I have asked the Check Your 6! group for stats on the Ju.86 and the Letov S-328. And as all the aircraft for this conflict are slow, I may increase their speeds by one. 

And so there we are, the beginnings of yet another obscure project, although, much like the 1948 Arab-Israeli or the One Hundred Hours War, one that involves a small number of aircraft - I think (going from memory) the maximum Avias would be six, while nine Cr.32s would be needed, along with three Letovs, and three Ju.86s would cover it. I believe after this project I may try to refrain from starting too many others...yeah, right!