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Thread: Bougie, 11-12/11/1942

  1. #1

    Default Bougie, 11-12/11/1942

    A scenario that will be included in the S.79 torpedo-bomber Squadron Pack. Spitfires, AA guns, a big Anglo-American fleet in a bay in Tunisia... A very hard task for 278a Squadriglia.
    Today, public playtesting at the Rome Wargame Gathering.

    Attachment 307249

    Against a new enemy
    Italian torpedo bombers attack the Allied fleet in the bay of Bougie.

    Historical background: When the Allied launched Operation Torch sending a fleet of 850 ships to land 107.000 troops in North Africa on November 8th 1942, US troops appeared for the first time on the Mediterranean theatre and Italian airmen perceived that the fate of the war was doomed. Famed ace Maggiore Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia, commander of 132° Gruppo Aerosiluranti, based at Castelvetrano in Sicily and formed by 278ª and 281ª Squadriglia, decided to strike the ships of the Eastern Task Force in the bay of Bougie, in Algeria.

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    The attack had to be carried in the few minutes of dusk that prevented Allied escort planes from the carriers to be on air but still allowed Italians to see targets and avoid collisions. 12 S.79 flew for 1.000 km, but bad weather delayed the S.79s and the mission was aborted when the fleet was in sight at 6 minutes of flight. Two more attacks were then carried in daytime, on the 11th of November by 4 S.79s (Buscaglia, Graziani, Angelucci and Faggioni) and on the 12th by 6 of them (Buscaglia, Pfister, Aichner, Bargagna, Marini, and Coci).


    Attachment 307251

    Both times the S.79 flew over the Atlas Tellien, the mountains surrounding the bay and then down along the narrow valleys at very low altitude, to avoid radars and surprise AA guns. Targets were cargo ships, possibly the ones at the docks - the torpedo bombers had to fly across al the bay over the enemy fleet, drop their torpedoes and then, since mountains in front blocked the way, go back again over the enemy ships. The area was patrolled by Supermarine Seafire Mk.IIc from 880 Squadron based on HMS Argus and Supermarine Spitfires Mk.Vb from No 81 Squadron coming from the captured airfield of Maison Blanche. Both days some of these fighters (8 on the 11th and 7 on the 12th) attacked the S.79 while they approached the fleet and on their way back, while orders prevented them to fly within range of the Allied AA guns.

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    Attachment 307250

    Historical outcome: On the 11th of November, Angelucci’s plane was hit by AA guns and exploded while all other S.79s were damaged; no torpedo reached the target. On the 12th, Buscaglia was hit by the Spitfires and his plane caught fire. He kept on his attack, dropping the torpedo, but then his plane hit the water and exploded in flames. The Italian crews reported three ships hit, but actually the only one was the anti-aircraft ship HMS Tynwald, already sunk in the early morning by the Italian submarine Argo but still emerging from the shallow waters.

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    https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/i...ject/205146381
    Last edited by Angiolillo; 10-02-2021 at 02:54.

  2. #2

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    Thanks again for this scenario Andrea , I feel that we will love the release of these future S.M 79

  3. #3

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    Thanks for this exclusive scenario.

  4. #4

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    At the moment it's just the background and setup. It needs quite several additional materials and rules... We are editing everything for the release.

  5. #5

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    It looks like they had a lot of fun.

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    Photos courtesy of Riccardo Vadalà.
    Last edited by Angiolillo; 10-03-2021 at 09:04.

  6. #6

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    So will we be seeing torpedo rules with these?
    Karl
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jager View Post
    So will we be seeing torpedo rules with these?
    Yes, Andrea has announced in this thread a torpedo kit as the Lancaster Dambuster set that included a rule sheet :

    Our plan is to give a little kit in the torpedo-bomber version of the S.79 as we did for the dam attack in the Dambusters version of the Lancaster, and this is one of the three scenarios included.

    https://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sh...l=1#post562712

  8. #8

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    Does anybody knows who shot down Buscaglia? Italin souces quote a Spitfire. Actually, Supermarine Spitfires Mk.Vb from No 81 Squadron patrolled the bay, operating from the captured airfield of Maison Blanche. Supermarine Seafires Mk.IIc from 880 Squadron based on HMS Argus were also on the area.
    Wing Commander MGF Pedley of 323 Wg claimed a S.79 over Bougie with his Hurricane IIc, but at dusk - while the 6 S.79 with Buscaglia attacked at 13.45.

  9. #9

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    Osprey Hurricane Aces 1941-45 n°057 (edited in 2003) - page 59 :
    “Wg Cdr PEDLEY shot down a Ju.88 and an He.111, leading a patrol at dusk on 12 November 1942, making PEDLEY the only Hurricane ace of Operation Torch.”
    It seems that he didn’t shoot any SM.79 that day.

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  10. #10

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    Here A History of the Mediterranean Air War, 1940–1945: Volume Three: Tunisia and the End in Africa, by Christopher Shores & Giovanni Massimello, pagg. 103-106:

    https://books.google.it/books?id=6o6eDgAAQBAJ

    Two S.79 are shot down over Bougie, one claimed by M G F Pedley:

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  11. #11

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    Well, this is interesting.
    The Osprey publishing just mention German bombers attacking near Bougie but no Italian planes :
    The Osprey Spitfire Aces of North Africa and Italy n°98 (published in 2011) doesn’t mention the SM.79 attack that day neither.
    Could it be an issue, considering the book A history of the Mediterranean air war ?
    Are the SM.79 officially shot down by the antiaircraft guns of the vessels ?

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    However, here is another source showing that PEDLEY claimed a torpedo bomber that day.
    Ten squadrons of Hurricane

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  12. #12

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    There are very good authors among Osprey's, but not every book is accurate. I found several mistakes in some of them.

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angiolillo View Post
    There are very good authors among Osprey's, but not every book is accurate. I found several mistakes in some of them.
    I found LOTS of mistakes in some of them, whilst researching Jasta 2.
    These same mistakes were then repeated, word-for-word, on Wikipedia...one of the main reasons that I dismiss all quotes found on Wikipedia which members here post up as facts.
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  14. #14

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    Beware: this thread has been considered SPAM by Facebook:
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  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angiolillo View Post
    Does anybody knows who shot down Buscaglia?
    On 12 November Buscaglia attacked Bougie again, leading six torpedo-bombers of 132° Gruppo off from Castelvetrano airfield at 1050 hrs. ../..
    The Italians were intercepted by No 81 Sqn Spitfires scrambled from Djidjelli airfield.
    The fighters flown by Flg Off Large and Plt Off Rigby riddled Buscaglia’s aircraft with bullets, instantly killing gunner 1° Aviere Armiere Walter Vecchiarelli and wireless operator Maresciallo Edmondo Balestri. Although his trimotor was in flames, Buscaglia stubbornly aimed at a steamer, dropped a torpedo and then crashed straight into the water. Co-pilot Sergente Maggiore Francesco Sogliuzzo and flight engineer 1° Aviere Motorista Vittorio Vercesi died in the crash. ../..
    Two hours later Buscaglia and photographer Maiore were picked up by a British unit engaged in the action.


    source: Osprey Combat aircraft 106
    SAVOIA-MARCHETTI S.79 SPARVIERO TORPEDO-BOMBER UNITS

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  16. #16

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    Default

    I like how you overlaid the SM.79 cards over the existing bases.
    I ended up making my own flight bases for mine.

  17. #17

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    For testing, I used the plane cards found here on BGG - there are many great treasures here in the Files section! I put them over bomber bases.
    The final version will have somehow different firing cones.

  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angiolillo View Post
    There are very good authors among Osprey's, but not every book is accurate. I found several mistakes in some of them.
    I agree there are errors in they Osprey (the worst being MMP books Mushroom Yellow Series for me !) but it all depends on the year they were published, updates have been made on some books and it all depends on the author who wrote it and he there are also good things to keep luckily :

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    " This Osprey " SAVOIA-MARCHETTI S.79 SPARVIERO TORPEDO-BOMBER UNITS COMBAT AIRCRAFT 106 by Marco Mattioli is excellent, for two reasons. First, because of the choice of the subject (the SM-79 torpedo planes of the Italian air force), and second, because of the way it is approached. The Savoia-Marchetti Sparviero units were considered to be the elite units of the Italian air force during WWII, and reading this book, one realizes that they deserve this title in more ways than one. This is probably the only area of military combat aviation where the Italians did better than the Germans, who had also deployed torpedo planes (Ju 88).

    This book tells the story of the war that the SM.79 fought against the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, including after the creation of the ANR (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana*). For a long time, books on Italian aviation have been rather discreet about operations and pilots, but with this Osprey, we can see that Italian authors are now approaching this part of their history in a serene, assertive and professional manner; the archives have been extensively consulted both at the level of military operations and iconography, as well as at the level of aircraft, pilots and crews. All superbly illustrated by the profiles of Richard Caruana."

    http://www.aerostories.org/~aerobibl...icle4577.html?

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angiolillo View Post
    For testing, I used the plane cards found here on BGG - there are many great treasures here in the Files section! I put them over bomber bases.
    The final version will have somehow different firing cones.
    So, the firing arcs on my SM.79 card need adjusting? I've followed the Unofficial Stats Committee recommendations for most of my cards.

    The Ju.88 was very different from the Forum consensus. So, I wouldn't be surprised if Ares didn't 'copy' things found on the Forum.
    Last edited by OldGuy59; 10-22-2021 at 18:42.
    Mike
    "Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
    "Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by OldGuy59 View Post
    So, the firing arcs on my. SM.79 card need adjusting?
    Well, nothing substantial. There will be just slight differences. A slightly narrower cone 2 (the rear of the hunchback) and slightly broader lateral cones (up to the tip of the wings).

    Ju88 was a different problem. There were many different configurations, I probably chose a couple that were different from the ones available here.



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