East Africa!

Vickers Wellesley by John Young

I have been working on the outlines for several scenarios for the Italian vs. British Commonwealth campaign in East Africa, 1940-41. These are, by the very nature of the campaign and the small numbers of aircraft deployed to the region, smallish in nature, some being one player per side. But it is an interesting campaign, featuring some odd aircraft such as the Junkers 86, Vickers Wellesley, and even the Hawker Hartbeest. It gives players the chance to use more biplanes as the Italians featured the CR.42 and CR.32, while the Commonwealth forces had the Gladiator and Hawker Fury. Later scenarios saw the introduction of the Hurricane and the FIAT G.50.

I have started reading a rather dry account concerning the air war (Air War in East Africa 1940-41: The RAF Versus the Italian Air Force by Cantwell and Sutherland) - dry in that it gives the dates and number of planes in the encounters, but does not use any first person accounts, nor details of how each action evolved. Granted, I am only a bit into the book, and it is well written, but the details on the actions are a bit slim. Luckily AI has been able to create scenario parameters for these missing details.

Here are the plane counts for the twenty-two scenarios I will be putting into Check Your 6! format:

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.

Slovak-Hungarian War Scenario

The link that follows is the first of a couple of Slovak-Hungarian War scenarios I hope to create. This particular scenario has not gone through any playtesting, so hoping that players will give it a run-through and provide feedback (use whatever planes you have to represent the opposing forces as the aircraft stats follow). 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1llYr60m1tT0zQNtfogcucUD2zmuydc5I/view?usp=sharing

Here are the stats needed for the Slovak-Hungarian War:

The next scenario will be the Hungarian bombing attack on the Slovakian airfield at Spišská Nová Ves.

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!

The Slovak-Hungarian War Project - Rating the Planes

For the Hungarians, ratings are easy - they are already provided in the Check Your 6! rulebook. The Slovaks are a bit more problematic, so I posted on the CY6! group for some assistance. Alas after several weeks of waiting, not a single response. Well, here is my list, and still open to hear more about the Letov S-328 ratings if you have any input!

Cr.32

Hungary

Fiat Cr.32 - A3 + 2, 16/36, R0, FF: 2xHMG, 2XLMG (in the rulebook)

Junkers Ju.86 - C3 + 0 Lx, 9/35, R2, F: 1xLMG, RT: 1xLMG, RB: 1xLMG (in the rulebook)

Slovakia

Avia B534 - A3 + 3(-), 23/38, R0, FF: 4xLMG

Letov S.328 - C2 + 0, ?/?, R1,  FF: 2xLMG, RT: 2xLMG (some models FF: 4xLMG, RT: 2xLMG)

The Slovak-Hungarian War - The Books

A short post today as I slip ever more deeply into this obscure conflict. Here are some titles that cover the aircraft and the air campaign as a whole.

Miroslav Bily and Jiří Vraný - Avia B-534: Czechoslovak Fighter. MBI Publishing, 2008. This title only covers the third and fourth versions of the B.534, with more pages than the Vraný title below. However, it is difficult to locate and I have not seen a copy to examine its worth.  

Gianni Cattaneo - Aircraft Profile No. 22: The Fiat CR. 32. Profile Publications, 1965. This series, while long out of print, is still usually available on eBay and aftermarket sites. Just a handful of pages, with some color profiles and black and white photos.

Josef Krybus - Aircraft Profile No. 152: The Avia B.534. Profile Publications, 1967. 

George Punka - Fiat CR 32/CR 42 in Action. Squadron/Signal Publications, 2000. A typical Squadron offering with plenty of technical details, photographs, and color profiles.

Csaba B. Stenge - Baptism of Fire: The First Combat Experiences of the Royal Hungarian Air Force and Slovak Air Force, March 1939. Helion Publications, 2014. If you want just want one title, this is it. Comprehensive coverage of the conflict, illustrated with color aircraft profiles representing the aircraft used by both sides, along with black and white photographs. Helion titles are not inexpensive, so try to find a discount code or an aftermarket shop to pick up your copy. 

Jiří Vraný - Avia B-534. MBI Publishing, 1994. This title is in both Czech and English and is a fairly deep dive into the development and the technical aspects of the four versions of the B.534. Numerous pictures, line drawings, and color profiles accompany the text. 

Jiří Vraný - Letov S-328 Volume 2 - the Luftwaffe, Slovak Air Force, Bulgarian Air Force, and Slovak National Uprising. Jakab, 2005.

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!