Luft1946

The Germans were an innovative bunch, creating all sorts of far-out designs, perhaps assisted by off-world beings (yes, I am saying ALIENS!). No, seriously, look at some of the stuff they were designing and tell me they didn't have some sort of ethereal help. Now had they only raised and organized that brigade of Sasquatch....

Okay, I partially jest, but the German designs do make for some interesting what-if the war had continued scenarios. I have already talked about the Ta 183 (in this post), and have purchased a pair of Table Top Flights Yak-15s as potential opponents for the Hucklebeins. I might throw in some Me.262s and Su-9s (the 1946 Me.262 copies made by MSD Games). And let's not forget the American and British jets being designed, with the P-80 Shooting Star having two samples in Italy by war's end and the Gloster Meteor also in production. This could make a interestingly different sort of CY6 game, part Second World War, part Korea (but with better aircrew ratings for the "bad guys."). One issue would be movement charts - the Me.262 has a special one in Check Your 6!, and I guess one could just use the Check Your 6! Jet Age charts for the other aircraft.

Ratings are from a post on the Check Your 6! group

By using some of these what-if aircraft, it would be a way to introduce players into using jet aircraft with good speed and a real punch when it comes to firepower, but avoiding missiles, afterburners, and other rules that bog the game down a bit. More on this once I have some planes painted and put a scenario together.

Heinrich Bär, Jet Ace!

After the Wright Flight Wings of War gaming session, a few of us played Check Your 6!, doing the Heinz Bär, Jet Ace scenario from the rulebook. I gave each player just one plane, which made it a bit of a shorter affair, but one that seemed to work well as we had two relatively newer players involved. I used the charts designed by Joe Chacon as they are meant to teach newer players, and they worked very well - I'll be using them for a convention game in March. 

My buddy Matt supplied the Me.262 while the P-47s came from the collection of our departed friend Bob.  

Matt took the jet, and climbed to get up to the P-47s as the latter descended from a higher CAB. Bill lined up the Me.262 well, hoping for a tail shot, but Matt had plotted an Immelmann and a nose to nose attack was the result. With the differences in pilot skill playing a part (the jet as an ace and this P-47 as skilled), Bill needed a 9 to hit. He did not make the roll. In return Matt's to hit roll was easier, and he blasted the P-47 into tiny bits, rolling several high numbers on his four 20s. Bill greatly failed his robustness roll, and that was that. One Thunderbolt gone.

The other three P-47s tried to close on the German, but Matt smoked another one with another high damage result. It looked like The German would meet his victory conditions easily...a combination of three damaged and/or destroyed Thunderbolts. But on the second attack Matt went out of ammo. He no longer had the ability to win the game. The remaining two Americans tried to close the gap. They were rolling 11s and 12s to hit, and just could not come up with the desired hit. The jet was able to safely extricate off of a friendly edge. The end result was a tie.

This is not going to end well for someone

Meanwhile the other 'bolts were turning to get into firing arc.

The result was another Thunderbolt blasted from the sky

Last turn and last chance for the Americans to hit...fail.

Mat - Hotz Mats

Planes - Raiden and GHQ