Wanted: Aussie airforce ideas

[Riot]

Hey All

I would like to field a patriotic Australian WW2 air-force in the spirit of national pride.

Ive managed to chase several links inregards to what aircraft Australia used during the war, so the history side of things is enough to learn.

I was wondering if anyone has any idea or tips for converting the info into game cards? to figure out things like armour, weapons and maneuver ratings etc. Granted a lot of Australian warplanes where British or American manufactured yet some aircraft where manufactured locally and saw active duty. Such as this Aussie made Boomerang.
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-air-support/ww2-allied/boomerang.htm

Cheers
Jeff

[Oberst Hajj]

That sounds like a good project Jeff. I did an interview with Andrea (http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/showthread.php?t=284) and in it we covered how they worked out the different stats for each plane. The armour (or hit points) as well as the maneuverability were some what subjective based on what info was out there on specifications as well as pilot reports. Weapon types and damages are a more formula type of thing. Question 13 in that interview will sort you out in that department.

Good luck!

[OberstOz]

Yep, more Aussie aircraft in the game would be good. As the game progresses I'd love to see rules for torpedo bombers added and then a miniature of an RAAF Beaufighter. It'd be great to recreate the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. It might take some time until this is possible. In the meantime I hope australian paint jobs are considered for the new minis like the Wildcat was repainted to represent the UK Martlett.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

Hey All

I would like to field a patriotic Australian WW2 air-force in the spirit of national pride.

Ive managed to chase several links inregards to what aircraft Australia used during the war, so the history side of things is enough to learn.

I was wondering if anyone has any idea or tips for converting the info into game cards? to figure out things like armour, weapons and maneuver ratings etc. Granted a lot of Australian warplanes where British or American manufactured yet some aircraft where manufactured locally and saw active duty. Such as this Aussie made Boomerang.
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-air-support/ww2-allied/boomerang.htm

Cheers
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I have painted up a couple of Air 200 P-40's as 76 Squadron RAAF P-40E's operating out of Milne Bay in late 1942, pic below. The blue and white roundels and fin flashes are hand painted.

http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=103&pictureid=2322

I have done up stats for the CAC Boomerang Mk.II, below is an extract from a WW2 thread 'Over & underated planes' : http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/showthread.php?t=465

"Doug,

Hear, hear!

Not bad considerating it was built from a mix of Wirraway parts matched to a new fuselage and a 1200hp Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp. Not fast (491kmh) but manouverable, able to withstand a fair amount of punishment, great rate of climb and decent armament.

Another interesting point regarding the development of the Boomerang is that the chief designer Fred David was a Jewish refugee from Austria, who had worked on aircraft designs for Heinkel in pre-Nazi Germany, as well as for Mitsubishi and Aichi in Japan. As a result, he had a comprehensive knowledge of advanced fighter designs, including the Heinkel He 112 and A6M Zero.

My WoW stats for the CAC Boomerang Mk.II are:
Manouver deck C
Structural Points 18
Short range BCC
Long range AC
Climb rate 3
Top altitude 9

Cheers,

Carl."

Gotta love the look of the Boomerang.

http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=144&pictureid=3040

Regarding the Beaufighter, I have a feeling we might be seeing a card out sooner rather than later, although torpedo rules might be a little more of a wait. Although we do have rocket rules, so rocket armed Beau's will not be too far off I hope.

Hope this is what you are looking for Jeff.

Cheers,

Carl.

[Riot]

Cheers all!

Thanks tons of the interview link Col. Hajj!

Your a legend Carl most appreciated! truly inspiring painting to I must say. Your right about the looks of the Boomerang, really distinctive, really wouldn't like being on the end of one of its strafing runs :-) hehe yet another reason to go patriotic.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

Cheers all!

Thanks tons of the interview link Col. Hajj!

Your a legend Carl most appreciated! truly inspiring painting to I must say. Your right about the looks of the Boomerang, really distinctive, really wouldn't like being on the end of one of its strafing runs :-) hehe yet another reason to go patriotic.

Thanks Jeff. My grandfather on my mother's side was groundcrew with 76 Sqn RAAF at Milne Bay and later Goodenough Island. Unfortunately he passed away when I was just a kid, but I have seen photos of him in the palm plantations around Milne Bay.

A funny story I read about 76 Squadron was they had a such reputation for scrounging rations and equipment they were called the 'Hydraulic Squadron' - they could 'lift anything'! In fact their activities became so blatant they were nicknamed "Turnbull's 76,000 Thieves" after the CO S/L Peter Turnbull (KIA 27/8/42).

The first plane that 76 Squadron 'obtained' was a USAAF P-40 which crashlanded with one wheel up at Archerfield in Brisbane. The Yanks were going to bulldoze the wreck off the strip but 76 Sqn convinced them to let them take it away. With 16 men on the opposite wing for counterbalance and a truck replacing the retracted wheel the P-40 was driven into a hangar, and for months afterwards provided a useful store of 'unofficial' spares.

Cheers,

Carl.

[Skippy]

:) Hello all. Picked up a book by Dennis Newton called Australian Air Aces. Lists both World War One and Two and the aircraft they flew. Published by Aerospace in 1996. Who also do Australian Aviation magazine.


For WW2..my short list...Spitfire Vc flown by John Lloyd Waddy 92SqnRAF

Spitfire 1 flown by Desmond Sheen 72SqnRAF

Tomahawk flown by Alan Charles Rawlinson 3SqnRAAF

Beaufighter flown by Ronald Rankin 30SqnRAAF

Hurricane 1 flown by John Francis Pain 261SqnRAF

Beaufighter 2 flown by Gordon Olive 456SqnRAAF

Kittyhawk flown by John Jackson 75SqnRAAF

Gladiator flown by Charles Fry 112SqnRAF

Mosquito flown by Robert Cowper 456Sqn RAAF

Hope this gives some people some ideas for future models and cards.

Skip. Out.

[Max Headroom]

Check my Album for a number of Custom Cards featuring Aussie and Kiwi flyers.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=122&pictureid=4251

[Asbestos]

The RAAF also had a Dive Bomber in the form of the Vultee Vengeance. Depending on the model you'd have a range of armament/durability. The A-35B had 6 forward firing .50s and a rear mounted .50. So, use the I-deck, 18 damage points, and... give it the forward hitting power of a P-40D?

http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_vultee_vengeance_RAAF.html

[Pooh]

Just spent some time with an uncle who was a USAAC aircraft engine mechanic during WW2. He started out at Port Moresby, and served with MacAurthur through to the end of the war. His unit was stationed next to an Aussie unit (he didn't identify it) that had just gotten P40s. He had nothing but good things to say about them (other than he thought they were all crazy). He worked on P40s, P38s, P47s & P51s. His favorite was the P47. He loved the big Pratt & Whitney.

Pooh

[Skippy]

The photo of the Boomerang takes me back.:)

In the 70's as part of a cadet flight we did a compass march to a crash site of a Boomerang.

It had been lost on a night training exercise in the Black Mountain area near Townsville.

We located the site, the wreck was on the side of a hill. The largest piece recovered was the armour plate that sits behind the pilot.

It made you think.

Lest we forget.

Skip. Out.

[Doug]

For all Aussi aircraft ethuiasts (and others) one book is a must read WAR WITHOUT GLORY by J.D. Balfe which tells the story of the RAAF in the invasion of Malaya, it may be of intrest to American readers that the RAAF was in action sinking Jap ships and landing barges before the attack on Peal Harbour!

[Doug]

Carl What manouver cards would a Locked Hudson and a Brewster Bufferlow use?