Doncaster 2019, Saturday WGF Table Game #3 - Flight of the Giants
This game was designed and run by Chris Lambert (Hedeby), who also participated, flying a DH4
4 DH4 bombers were tasked with flying the length of the table, bombing a selection of targets for Victory Points, and then returning the way they had come.
6 German interceptors, 3 Fokker D.VII and 3 Albatros DVa, were arranged on start points along both long table edges.
They would gain 2 Victory Points for shooting down a DH4 on its way to the targets, but only 1 VP on the way home.
These DH4s were just as fast as the German scouts, and their wider (and probably interlocking) rear fire arcs were augmented by all rear guns being doubled up to 'A' firing!
The extra weight of double guns plus bombs had no effect at all on their speed or manouevrability.
If the German players failed to perfectly co-ordinate their superior numbers, it would be a long hard struggle for them to be competitive.
I had played several "same speed" intercept games before, and all had followed the same pattern - the interceptors got one shot as the two sides met, then they were subsequently unable to catch the bombers until after the mission had been completed.
To avoid this, they had to time their turn in /Immelmann PERFECTLY, and in unison to combat all those rear guns, or lose.
My fears were, unfortunately, bourne out once again......................
The four bombers set up in a diamond formation.
The Germans quickly decided that necessity demanded that they pair up on early intercept start points, in a effort to combine against the massed firepower of the DH4s and attempt a long chase, firing all the time.
Paul and I combined our DVas on one start point, and our 2 D.VIIs on the next - Doug combined his two plane opposite our D.VIIs.
Hedeby unexpectedly broke formation, turning away from the other bombers, and wrong-footing our two DVas!
Paul's 'Saschenberg' turned toward the main group......
.....while my 'Goering' headed up the table edge, to prevent Hedeby bypassing us all.
Paul's DVa arrowed in toward the hindmost DH4, while my 'Jacobs' DVa curved in behind David's DH4 - one peg lower than him, his rear guns couldn't hit me, but I could, and did, hit him! So far so good.
Now it started to unravel - my 'Goering' had climbed too high, so couldn't get a shot. Paul's 'Saschenberg' had turned back toward Chris Hedeby (2:1 odds for the Germans) leaving the others at 4:3. Of those, Paul's DVa overshot the hindmost DH4, Doug's D.VII attacked head-on, but his DVa had failed to keep up and was too far away to help. On the up side, my 'Jacobs' was now firing into David @+1, and he still could not shoot back!
Stung by his one-way-damage predicament, David dived, in front of my Left sideslip - his "remedy" had backfired! He was now taking 2 'A' cards @ +1, and I was perfectly safe in his blind spot!
Doug's D.VII whizzed through, but his DVa was too high, so my one shot was the only shot against the two leading DH4s.......
David's turn to port was meant to open his rear arc, but my stall left me still in his blind spot, delivering another 2 'A' cards @ +1 without reply.
Doug's too planes began right turns, but they were both past the critical turn point, and could never now catch the two leading bombers.
My Split-s dropped my 'Goering' down a peg, and onto Hedeby's tail! Paul zoomed past, having damaged the lone bomber on the previous card.
Hedeby turned back toward his comrades, but was concerned by my pursuit - "I'm not going to get rid of that D.VII!"
David's frantic weaving bore fruit, as he finally got a shot in at my 'Jacobs', but he got blasted again in return; but MY GUNS JAMMED!
The hind-most DH4 now drew the attentions of 3 German scouts - but that meant that the other 2 bombers could no longer be stopped, unless my jammed 'Jacobs' could somehow get them BOTH!
Success! No, you're NOT going to get rid of that D.VII!
Disaster! Jammed 'Jacobs's practically unmarked plane is "BOOM"ed out of the sky - and with that shot, the Germans lost the game.
It's impossible to catch the two leading bombers now - and intercepting the third one is not a certainty......
The chase is on, but it's futile.
Playing sideslips along the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle allows a small amount of ground to be made up, but it's nowhere near enough.
The Germans are still a long way back as the bombers approach the first target.
Devoid of opposition, it's a doddle to line up, overfly and stall........TARGET DESTROYED!
The bombing "success" method was a lot of fun - the bombing player was given magnetic darts to throw at a dartboard! The lower your altitude, the closer you could stand, and if you bombed on a stall card you got extra darts!
With no German fighter opposition anywhere near, both bombing players optimised their altitude and speed without interference, and maximised their damage.
My 'Goering' isn't anywhere close to getting a shot.
Mike turns for home, as David's bullet-riddled machine selects the next target.
It's not that far away.......
At least Paul catches up with Steve's trailing DH4...
...and drops him!
David overflies and destroys the second target...
...and my 'Goering' reaps the reward of all of 'Jacobs's hard work, and destroys David, but it's too little, too late.
I stopped taking photos at that point, as the all-but-inevitable RAF victory came to pass.
It was determined that Mike would get home without being intercepted - the remaining Germans were out of position, and one had an engine damage card, so he could not be caught.
Bomber intercepts can be a lot of fun, but are difficult games to balance.
Generally, the fighters need to be faster than the bombers, in order to get more than just one single firing pass, and the bombers must not be overgunned. Splitting the fighters up makes it impossible for them to coordinate their attacks, and if the bombers stick together, with overlapping wide rear fire arcs, they will win a battle of attrition unless they receive a "BOOM" or two.
This run was a challenge, and we Germans got a lot of things right, but in my opinion the odds were just too heavily stacked in the favour of the British.
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Originally Posted by Future Pilot
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