Previews for my 5th AF campaign

**csadn** · 01-29-2013 17:21

Skip-Bombing: Like a stone on a lake's surface, a bomb can be skipped across the surface of relatively-flat water. This allowed 5th AF attack pilots to engage in high-speed low-level attacks on shipping.

Rules: May only be performed at altitude 1. Once released, the bomb card performs the following series of movements: Fast straight; slow straight, stall straight. If the bomber performing the drop is moving at Slow speed when it drops its bomb, the bomb does not perform the fast straight. If the bomb's trajectory intersects the target card at any point during its movement, the bomb hits, and does damage as per normal rules.

Parafrags: Gen. George Kenney, commander of 5th AF, had a problem -- how to get bombs into the revetments used to hangar Japanese aircraft and store Japanese supplies. Oddly, he had developed a solution back in the 1920s: A small (24 lb.) fragmentation bomb attached to a parachute; when dropped, the bomb would drift down slowly, and the wind would carry it into the revetment, with deleterious effects on the contents of the revetment when it detonated....

Rules: Before the game, determine wind direction -- take a coin, chit, or other flippable object with a well-defined "top" direction to its artwork; and flip it; whatever direction it winds up pointing is the direction the wind is blowing. When a parafrag is dropped, it descends one altitude level every turn, and moves in the direction of the wind equal to the width of a standard round chit (1.5 cm.). When it reaches altitude 0, if its last drift leaves any part of the bomb card atop the target, the bomb hits, and does damage as normal.

**Carl_Brisgamer** · 01-31-2013 17:17

Hi Chris, I like your skip-bombing mechanic. I have a 'Battle of the Bismarck Sea' scenario in the offing and I will include that as a special rule.

**Kermit** · 07-04-2013 21:32

I was checking the forum on this house rule to add my own.

Skip bombing works on ships if the bombs have fuses so they detonate below the water line. You also didn't want it to blow up the ship while you were flying over it or have the bomb explode as soon as it hit the water.

The player chooses a 'timer' setting at the beginning of the game, 2-4 seconds. The card sequence for high speed is long straight, short straight, short straight, stall, stall. For low speed take out the first card in the sequence and max fuse is 3 seconds (since 4 seconds on low speed there is a chance it will sink too fast or not even skip to begin with). Use X cards plus 1 where X is the timer setting.

For this example I'm using a #4 timer which will be the full card sequence will play out for all of my bombs. The medium bomber approaches at altitude 1, trying to get his plane perpendicular to the ship (to avoid the bombs deflecting when the hit) and leading (aiming ahead) of the ship. The image below, please excuse my poor artistic ability as I don't have any bombers (except dive bombers) nor ship cards to use.

Click image for larger version.

Name: Skip Bombing.jpg
Views: 49
Size: 33.6 KB
ID: 97419

Figure 1 is when the first bomb is released. Long straight, short straight, short straight, stall, stall...boom. The ship wasn't even close but I didn't know that at the time.

Bomb 2 is released the next turn. Right now I'm not sure what the outcome of the first bomb will be since that bomb has played out only one card. Bomb #2 was better hitting midship after the first stall card. Sinking for 1 turn before detonating below the water about 2/3 back on the ship.

Bomb 3 released and hits the ship after the first short straight but spends the next 3 turns sinking before detonating well below the ship.

Bomb 4 was released because I called it prior to the run and it passes right over the deck. It is possible for a bomb to skip right over a ship, in the case if it would have been just shy after the long straight and miss on the other side with the first short straight then it passes harmlessly by (for that ship). It may still hit another ship behind it.

"The accuracy of these low level bombing attacks was simply phenomenal compared to medium and high altitude bombing. For example, at the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, the high altitude bombers, in 17 attacks comprising 105 sorties dropped 387 bombs, achieving 29 hits representing a very respectable (for high altitude bombers) 7.5% hit ratio. But the 14 mast-height missions, comprising 56 sorties dropped 137 bombs and achieved 48 hits for a spectacular 35% hit ratio." ~Devilsadvocate http://www.ww2f.com/topic/14358-skip-bombing/. I couldn't get the url for the PDF to work so I can only quote the person who posted it.

**Lt. S.Kafloc** · 07-05-2013 15:35

I am developing something similar, only the player dropping the bomb decides how many skips, place a counter on top of bomb card, then the bomb card gets flipped over that many times if it hits the target whamo, if not try again. Simple, easy to use and the markers are already included in that game. The only thing I have changed is to us a bomb card that is on clear plastic and a red dot. Its the red dot that determines the hit location. A preview of the card is here (photo number 23 for a close up):

http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sho...490#post230490

**csadn** · 07-06-2013 22:34

Interesting, but also overly complicated, and requires adding stuff which has to be made.

**Diamondback** · 07-06-2013 23:55

Chris, ISTR parafrags were designed for the same low-level high-speed profile as skip-bombing, but on land--seems they were having problems with bombers getting bellyfuls of their own shrapnel if they dropped too low, and the parafrag bought enough time to get mostly clear.

I have a PDF of Kenney's own reports on 5th AF, if you're interested and I can find it...

**Brambo** · 07-07-2013 02:23

The RAF use those type of bombs and I saw them drop lots on a range, east coast of UK. We called them retard bombs, when dropped a small parachute comes out the back slowing the bomb, thus giving the aircraft time to get out of the blast range and when you are hugging the ground it's a necessity

**Jager** · 07-07-2013 03:12

I'm not sure if they'd be in the same class, but the German SD2 butterfly bomb was a small AP frag device that was released from canisters, and deployed a set of wings (hence the name) to retard it's fall, and also disperse the load. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_Bomb
They used them on airfields, and while they were probably too small to take out aircraft without a lucky hit, they would disrupt air operations for a while.
Karl

**csadn** · 07-07-2013 12:34

Originally Posted by Diamondback

Chris, ISTR parafrags were designed for the same low-level high-speed profile as skip-bombing, but on land--seems they were having problems with bombers getting bellyfuls of their own shrapnel if they dropped too low, and the parafrag bought enough time to get mostly clear.

That was part of it, as well; but from what I've read, it started as a means to get at acft. in revetments. In general, it was a Good Idea. :)

Originally Posted by Diamondback

I have a PDF of Kenney's own reports on 5th AF, if you're interested and I can find it...

I can always use more reading. :)

**Kermit** · 07-07-2013 17:30

Originally Posted by Diamondback

Chris, ISTR parafrags were designed for the same low-level high-speed profile as skip-bombing, but on land--seems they were having problems with bombers getting bellyfuls of their own shrapnel if they dropped too low, and the parafrag bought enough time to get mostly clear.

I have a PDF of Kenney's own reports on 5th AF, if you're interested and I can find it...

I would be interested in that pdf. The site I found online had a link but it was dead. Can't seem to find it anywhere else. Thanks in advance.
Josh

**Diamondback** · 07-07-2013 18:34

Guys, General Kenney Reports can be found through USAF Historical Studies Office at http://www.afhso.af.mil/shared/media...100526-032.pdf .

**Lt. S.Kafloc** · 07-08-2013 04:50

Can't call it any more complicated than ships moving, aiming off, and playing stall, straight stall etc. The bomb card is simply flipped over the required amount of times and if the spot is on the target card then its a hit if not its missed. The cards are already posted, are easy to use, but I'm selling my own rules here apologies, each to his own.

Originally Posted by csadn

Interesting, but also overly complicated, and requires adding stuff which has to be made.

**Jager** · 07-08-2013 15:28

Originally Posted by Diamondback

Guys, General Kenney Reports can be found through USAF Historical Studies Office at http://www.afhso.af.mil/shared/media...100526-032.pdf .

Thanks Muchly
Karl

**Kermit** · 07-08-2013 21:43

I'd be interested in seeing a bomb card that had the bomb part missing so you can see exactly where it landed on the map. Might even get a small eraser that will fit in the hole to place and lift the card if the terrain on the map doesn't give any justice to where it landed.

**somaliavet** · 07-08-2013 22:52

Originally Posted by Kermit

I'd be interested in seeing a bomb card that had the bomb part missing so you can see exactly where it landed on the map. Might even get a small eraser that will fit in the hole to place and lift the card if the terrain on the map doesn't give any justice to where it landed.

You could always make a clear card using stiff clear plastic. Those damnable plastic containers that require cutting open work well for this type of project. Cut it to size, overlay over the bomb card,use a fine point Sharpie to draw the bombs on, and voila, clear bomb card!

**Lt. S.Kafloc** · 07-09-2013 06:31

Already trialled one in the Midway Rising campaign try mission 6 v the Yorktown. Cut out a card sized plastic shape, put bomb on and 2 red dots. voila clrear bomb card, no arguments as to fall of shot.