Operation Husky Rules v1.9

Sections

• Dates and Times
• Introduction
• Overview of Battle
• Victory Conditions
• Allied Forces
• Axis Forces
• Other Rules
• Summary of Player-Enforced Rules
• Map
• Settings
• Reasons for Various Aspects of Rules
• Aspects Particularly Different from Main Arena
• Links to Historical Information
• Credits
• Change Log

Dates and Times

Players should register for this Aces High scenario to play in it so that they can get mission orders, although walkons are allowed to show up in the Special Events Arena on game day to see if there are any open positions to fill. Operation Husky will be a three-frame event (three battles) with one test frame (or "beta" frame). The test frame is on June 2, 2007. The three regular frames are on June 9, 16, and 23. Start times are all at 3 PM Eastern Daylight Time US. (For how that translates to your time, here is a time converter.)

Important: Please show up on or before start time to play. The arena will be closed to admittance at start time. It will be reopened to admittance 20 minutes later for those who get disconnected during the initial stages of the scenario. Also, if you are disconnected and can't get back in, you can private message the CM (Newman) from the Main Arena by typing ".p newman I got disconnected" into your radio text buffer.

Introduction

Three years of fierce fighting in Africa have ended in Allied victory. Allied leaders next consider steps toward invasion of continental Europe and decide upon a large-scale thrust into Italy, starting with Sicily. It will be the largest amphibious assault yet, code named "Operation Husky." On July 9, 1943, Operation Husky begins, and the sky over Sicily fills with a vast array of aircraft engaged in dogfights, bombing runs, intercepts, ground attack, escort, and sweeps.

Overview of Battle

This Aces High scenario has 3 frames and two sides: Allied and Axis. Each frame will be approximately 2.75-3 hours long (some setup time, then takeoff announcement, and end frame exactly 2.5 hours after takeoff announcement). Players get two lives in primary rides, one life in "Vampire CAP," and unlimited lives in "exempt" positions.

The Allied objective is to capture bases in Sicily, and the Axis objective is to prevent that. The Allies have various aircraft, ground vehicles, and naval forces at their disposal. The Axis has airpower and ground vehicles to oppose and can also work to sink Allied carriers and battleships.

The scenario is designed for a ratio of Allied players to Axis players of 1.25 to 1 (nominally 120 Allied players to 96 Axis players).

Victory Conditions

• N points per enemy aircraft lost, where N is the number of engines on the aircraft. ("Lost" means it does anything other than land safely back at base -- loss is death or capture or ditch or bail).
• 25 points per Sicilian base owned at end of frame 3.
• 50 points per carrier sunk.
• 25 points per cruiser sunk.
• 10 points per "RTB-only pilot" per frame.
• 1 point per enemy ground vehicle killed.

At the end of frame 3, the CM will total up the points for each side and declare the winner.

With regard to the above, an "RTB-only pilot" is a pilot (1) who is not killed in any primary ride that frame; (2) who exits his primary ride only with a "landed safely" message (i.e, no ditches or bails in a primary ride); and (3) who, if he is in a primary-ride aircraft, exits that aircraft only at his original takeoff field. You may refuel your primary-ride aircraft at any base and take off again, but if you exit your primary-ride aircraft at a base other than your original takeoff base, you are no longer an "RTB-only pilot". "RTB-only pilot" is only a definition used in calculating points -- the definition of "RTB-only pilot" has nothing to do with and does not contradict information below on how many lives you get or information below on what constitutes using up a life.

Allied Forces

Primary Rides

A player gets two lives in primary rides. The Allies get the following primary rides as a percentage of the total number of registered Allied players.

The GV's (ground vehicles) that are available: from land bases, Shermans, M-16's, and M-3's; and, from carriers, LVTA4's and LVTA2's.

Vampire CAP

A player gets one life in a Vampire CAP in addition to the two lives in primary rides.

• Vampire CAP for land is Hurricane I's
• Vampire CAP for CV's is FM-2's

Exempt Positions

A player gets unlimited lives in exempt positions, which are as follows.

• ground guns
• ship guns
• bomber guns

Other

The Allies have two aircraft-carrier groups available (each having one CV, one cruiser/battleship, and some destroyers). The carriers are the HMS Formidable and the HMS Indomitable, and the battleships in those two task forces are the HMS Nelson and HMS Rodney. If one CV is sunk, then all Royal Navy pilots can fly from the other CV, but they should fly their original aircraft type. If both CV's are sunk, the Royal Navy pilots convert to P-40E's for their primary rides. The carrier groups start in frame 1 anywhere inside the area marked "Carrier groups' starting area" on the map below. The carrier groups can launch LVT's. However, if a carrier group loses its CV and its cruiser, that carrier group may no longer launch LVT's.

As the CV's start quite a distance out, be aware of range limitations of aircraft taking off from the CV's. This may figure into the allied CO's thoughts on where to place CV's. Also, pre-scenario experimentation with ways to increase aircraft range and guidelines for carrier pilots can have a large impact on whether or not carrier aircraft run out of fuel before getting to a landing base. See the "Increasing Aircraft Range" section below.

The Allies get two landing fleets (each having one cruiser and some destroyers). The landing fleets can launch LVT's. The landing fleets start in frame 2 anywhere inside the area marked "Landing groups' starting area" on the map below. If a landing fleet loses its cruiser, that landing fleet may no longer launch LVT's.

There are 12 P-38G replacements available at the start of each frame. Thus, if the Allies lose more than 12 P-38G's in a frame, in the next frame only 12 pilots can fly P-38G's, and any left over must fly P-40E's. A P-38G loss is each time one isn't landed safely. Thus a two-life player could use up two P-38G's.

Aircraft Availability Table

Some aircraft are available only from certain bases. Before you take an aircraft from a base, please make sure that it is an allowed base for that aircraft type.

Axis Forces

Primary Rides

A player gets two lives in primary rides. The Axis get the following number of primary rides as a percentage of the total number of registered Axis players.

The GV's (ground vehicles) that are available: Panzer IV H's, Ostwinds, and M-3's.

Vampire CAP

A player gets one life in a Vampire CAP in addition to the two lives in primary rides.

• C.202's

Exempt Positions

A player gets unlimited lives in exempt positions, which are as follows.

• ground guns
• ship guns
• bomber guns

Other

There are 12 FW 190A-5 replacements available at the start of each frame. Thus, if the Axis lose more than 12 FW 190A-5's in a frame, in the next frame only 12 pilots can fly FW 190A-5's, and any left over must fly Bf 109G-2's. A FW 190A-5 loss is each time one isn't landed safely. Thus a two-life player could use up two FW 190A-5's.

Ships may not be attacked with bombs -- only with torpedoes and by gunfire. Ju 88's may carry torpedoes for this role.

Aircraft Availability Table

Some aircraft are available only from certain bases. Before you take an aircraft from a base, please make sure that it is an allowed base for that aircraft type.

Other Rules

A pilot may take off for Vampire CAP only from the field he most recently took off from in his primary ride or, if that field is disabled, from the next-closest operating field. Vampire CAP aircraft must remain within a 12-mile radius of their takeoff base (i.e., within a sector-sized area around the base). Vampire CAP thus is restricted both in range and in takeoff locations.

Filling plane position on game day. Based on the "Allied Forces" and "Axis Forces" sections above, a side gets the specified percentage of planes based on how many pilots are registered for their sides on that frame. So, as an example, if the Allied team has 100 pilots registered to play for frame 1, it gets 13 P-38G pilot positions, 13 P-40E pilot positions, 13 Boston III's positions, and so on. Then if on frame 1 the Allied team has only 75 pilots show up, it can choose to have a full 13 P-38G pilots and fewer P-40E pilots or fewer Boston III pilots, or any other mix as long as no plane type has more than the original allotted amount. The same goes for the Axis team.

Every pilot gets two lives in a primary ride. If you land successfully or if you ditch or bail successfully (without getting captured), you keep your life. Anything else -- i.e., you get shot down, you crash, you ditch or bail and get a "you've been captured" message, you ditch or bail and get killed while ditching or bailing -- you use up one life. In addition, pilots get one life in a Vampire CAP. Lives used up in exempt positions do not count in your death total -- you can die in those an unlimited amount of times. If you use up your two lives and your one Vampire life, please stay to man such guns, vehicles, and exempt positions.

Pilots may fire upon parachutes and ditched aircraft.

Promptly at the end of the frame, the CM's will instruct all vehicles that have not yet landed back at base to crash or exit (as any aircraft that hasn't yet landed back at base is now considered lost). The CM's may implement a strong downwind at frame end that will force all aircraft in the air to crash. Once all of these aircraft are down, the logs will be closed for scoring purposes.

Destroyed objects stay destroyed except that when a base is captured, it is fully repaired just prior to the next frame. There is no resupply in the scenario.

Base capture works the same way, with the same necessary preparation of a base, as in the Main Arena. Bases can be recaptured during the frame. Keep in mind that bases are not restored immediately after capture but only just prior to the next frame.

Bases captured in one frame are not usable until the next frame.

Players may not use the 5" guns on the ships (see the "Ack lethality" subsection below for the reason).

Landing vehicles and landing fleets are not available in frame 1.

Summary of Player-Enforced Rules

The following is a summary of some rules that regular pilots must enforce upon themselves during play (as opposed to those rules that are enforced by settings or enforced by how CM's or CO's set things up prior to frame start). This is intended as a handy summary list. You still should know the rest of the rules as well. For details of what a term means exactly (such as what is a "life", what constitutes "nearest non-flashing base", and so on), see above.

• Players get only two lives in primary ride.
• Players get one life in vampire CAP.
• B-24's get formations only from A25.
• Boston III's do not get formations.
• Ships may be attacked only with guns and torpedoes.
• A player can take off for Vampire CAP only from his most-recent primary-ride field (or next closest operating field if that one is disabled).
• Vampire CAP must stay within 12 miles of its takeoff base.
• Players may not use 5" guns.
• P-38G's have limited resupply -- count your P-38G losses each frame.
• FW 190A-5's have limited resupply -- count your FW 190A-5 losses each frame.
• Make sure you know which bases are allowed takeoff bases for your aircraft (see Aircraft Availability Tables).
• If you do not die in any primary ride in a frame and land at your takeoff bases, tell your CO (it matters in scoring).

Map

Note: do not rely on the radar circles as shown in the map below. Radar is not used in this scenario -- also the radar circle radius that shows up on the clipboard maps during the scenario might be different than how it is shown on this map.

Map of scenario area. Sicily is the land mass in the area from 8,6 to 12,3. At the start of the scenario, the allies own all the bases of North Africa, Malta (the island south of Sicily), and Pantelleria (the smaller island southwest of Sicily); and the axis owns all the bases of Sicily and Italy.

Settings

Terrain. Italy_1.

Wind. 0 mph at 0-2k altitude, 10 mph from east to west at 2k altitude on up.

Clouds. Some fleecy clouds if possible.

Radar and Sector Counters. No radar or sector counters.

Object down time. Destroyed objects stay destroyed until after a base is captured.

All other settings are the default settings listed here: http://ahevents.org/images/stories/scenarios_images/defaultSettingDocument/defaultArenaSettings.html

Reasons for Various Aspects of Rules

How percentages are allocated

Percentages are based on pilots registered to play (as opposed to based on pilots that actually show up) as it is too hard to adjust all the percentages at the time the players show up -- it has to be pre-allocated. That way, pilots can be assigned roles in the orders, pilots know what they will be flying, and they can practice. Also, past scenarios have tended to specify numbers of aircraft instead of percentages, and if a squadron had many no shows, other squadrons that had their full complement were not mandated to be reduced or forced to have some of their pilots switch into the squadron with more no shows.

Radar

There is no radar at the land bases. Even though the carriers would have radar, radar is a setting that acts globally for a side, so there is no way via settings to enable radar only for carriers. As there are more land bases than carriers and as there is Vampire CAP available, radar is just disabled everywhere.

Ship hardness

Research on ship hardness of battleships is based on what it took to sink battleships at Pearl Harbor and what it took to sink US carriers throughout WWII. The battleship data is from http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/history/pearlharbor_facts.html , and the carrier data is from Wikipedia on various carriers. For carriers that weren't sunk, some of them survived mutliple attacks separated by time or by ability to repair some damage in between attacks. For those, I list only the estimated most-damaging attack that they survived and not all the attacks. The torpedo typically carried by the Japanese B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber was the type 91 torpedo, which typically had 529 lbs of explosive. The largest torpedo typically carried by Japanese submarines was the type 95 torpedo, which had 893 lbs of explosive. The most-common bomb carried by the Japanese D3A "Val" divebomber had 551 lbs of explosive.

In this scenario, to better match how many torpedoes ships took to sink and for playability reasons as well (since the axis will have formations of Ju 88 torpedo bombers), the hardness is being set to take 7 torpedoes to sink a carrier and 4 torpedoes to sink a cruiser. From testing done on the Italy_1 terrain in the Special Events Arena, we found:

• Carrier hardness = ObjectHardnessMults[SHP] * 6570 lbs
• Cruiser hardness = ObjectHardnessMults[SHP] * (Ship Hardness number) * 1000 lbs
• Torpedo equivalent damage in lbs of explosive = 4650 lbs

To get carrier hardness to be 6.5 torpedoes worth and cruiser hardness to be 3.5 torpedoes worth, we are setting ObjectHardnessMults[SHP] = 4.6 and Ship Hardness = 3.5. With these settings, for a test on 6/1/2007 with Italy_1 terrain in the Special Events Arena, it took 7 torpedoes to sink a carrier and 4 torpedoes to sink a cruiser.

Ack lethality

The GroundAutoLethality is set very low compared to the main arena. The ack is adjusted so that, if a task group has only auto ack, a test aircraft (in this case specifically a B5N2) can usually (but not always) live through one pass on the task group. To get effective defense, players must man the guns or provide CAP.

There are no 5" guns used as the 5" guns in Aces High implement proximity fusing, which makes it unlikely for a torpedo bomber to get near the fleet. Since the Axis is restricted to using torpedoes to attack ships, since the Allies still get to man other defensive guns, and because sides are given Vampire CAP lives, which means ships can have CAP to defend against low torpedo attacks, we won't be using 5" guns.

Start time and closing of admittance

Admittance into the Special Events Arena will be turned off right after start time elapses. This is because the sides in the scenario need a little time to get their players assigned, briefed, and settled before takeoff. We have found -- based on many previous scenarios -- that if admittance to the arena is not closed, players drift in late, and curious players who haven't heard of scenarios before continue to pop in to see what is going on. While we very much want players in scenarios, it is a large organizational problem to deal with players trickling in right up to takeoff or to deal with new players asking lots of questions about scenarios while trying to get things ready for takeoff. To accomodate players who show up on time but get disconnected in the initial stages of the scenario, admittance will be turned back on 30 minutes after the start time.

Aspects Particularly Different from Main Arena

Increasing Aircraft Range

In scenarios, there are times when using techniques to increase aircraft range might be important. Setting the engine's RPM and manifold settings to the "max cruise" settings in the E6B will result in more range than full military power and is a good choice for a pilot who has no idea what might work better. However, there are times when settings different from the max-cruise settings will result in even greater range, such as lowering the RPM farther than max-cruise settings. Also, the E6B information does not suggest altitudes for cruising. If you have a longer distance to travel, it may be best to climb at military power to 25k or 30k, then lower the RPM below the max-cruise settings. For shorter distances or for aircraft that do not perform well at high altitude, 10-20k might work better. Figuring out a plan for fuel management is, for some scenarios, a useful part of preparation.

Wind

This scenario implements wind. Level bombing in wind is a bit different than bombing without wind, in terms of accuracy and techniques that are best to hit targets. You might want to suggest to your bomber pilots that they practice bombing in wind prior to the scenario if they are not familiar with the impact of wind.

Links to Historical Information

• Participation of the Ninth and Twelfth Air Forces in the Sicilian Campaign, gives a lot of information, including aircraft present: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/AAFHS/AAF-HS-37.pdf
• Wikipedia entry on Operation Husky:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Husky
  
• Allied Airpower Comes of Age: The Roles and Contributions of Air Power to the Italian Campaign: http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/cc/renner.html
• Organization of the 12th Air Force at time of Operation Husky: http://www.warwingsart.com/12thAirForce/airforcetable.html
• Organization of the 9th Air Force: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninth_Air_Force#US_Army_Middle_East_Air_Forces
• Lists which JG's were involved in Operation Husky: http://www.amazon.ca/Spitfires-Over-Sicily-Crucial-January-August/dp/1902304322
• 185 Squadron and Operation Husky: http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn181-185.htm
• 73 Squadron and Operation Husky: http://www.raf.mod.uk/history_old/line1943.html
• Regia Aeronautica in Operation Husky: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/2072/ra.html#Husky
• Luftwaffe in Italy in May, 1943: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/2072/LWJul42.html#May43
• Reference to HMS Indomitable having Martlets in Operation Husky: http://www.operations.mod.uk/onthisday/newsItem_id=2517.htm
• HMS Formidable (mostly Martlets and Albacores): http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/FORMIDABLE.html
• HMS Indomitable (mostly Seafires, Albacores, and Barracudas): http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/Indomitable.html

Credits

Scenario design: Newman.

Scenario CM's: Newman, Roscoroo

Rules writeup: Brooke

Allied CO: BearKats (Husky01 in the BB)

Axis CO: Gaidin

Change Log

This section mentions the changes in each version, so that when changes are made to this document, people don't need to read the whole document to find out where the changes are.

Note on terminology: In this section, "Clarified" has a very precise meaning. If a rule is listed as being "Clarified", it means that the rule and its intent is not being changed but that the explanation herein is being improved to make the rule and its intent more clear. Rules are sometimes Clarified during a scenario based on player questions or misunderstandings about wording.

v0.1, 4/7/2007
-- Start of the rules document.

v0.2, 4/9/2007
-- Ju 87's availability added.
-- Changed the phrase "primary vehicle" to "primary ride". ("'Search and destroy' is now 'sweep and clear'" for those aficionados of great film.)
-- Changed FogVisibilityMiles to 4.0.

v0.3, 4/11/2007
-- End frame is at T+2.5 hours (instead of T+3).
-- Show landing and carrier groups' starting areas on the map.
-- Make note that players shouldn't rely on radar circle radius as shown in the map.

v0.4, 4/17/2007
-- Moved troop transports into primary rides (instead of being exempt positions).

v0.5, 4/22/2007
-- Reworked how allocation of forces is described, to make it more clear.
-- Looked up historical groups that were present to give historical labels to groups.
-- Changed victory points for 10 points per surviving player per frame (not per all frames).
-- Changed wind conditions (from 5 mph down low to 0 mph down low).
-- Added ObjectHardnessMults[SHP] set to 1.5 (for CV's to take 9,000 lbs to sink).
-- Added links to the links section to give support to the names of groups.

v0.6, 4/25/2007
-- Ju 87's now available from the start (instead of just from frame 2 onward).
-- Put notice in title that this is not yet final version.

v0.7, 5/1/2007
-- Since we can now vary hardness of CV's, took out note in "Ship hardness" section that said we couldn't do that.
-- Added detail to how the frame is timed and expected length of frame (in "Overview of Battle" section).
-- Added section "Start time and closing of admittance" to explain the reason for it.

v1.0, 5/5/2007
-- Added names of the CO's in "Credits" section.
-- Added dates of frames and link to a time-zone converter in "Dates and times" section.
-- Updated closing of admittance (doors close at start time, reopen at S+30 min).

v1.1, 5/6/2007
-- Emphasized that there is no resupply of bases in "Other Rules" (this is already noted in "Settings").

v1.2, 5/6/2007
-- More references to aircraft on Indomitable and Formidable.
-- Altered Royal Navy forces to have half Seafires and half Martlets, instead of all Martlets.
-- Put in warnings about aircraft range and need for fuel management and added "Increasing Aircraft Range" section.
-- Included tables of which aircraft are available from which bases.

v1.3, 5/6/2007
-- Clarified when survival points are rewarded, calling them "landing survivor" points and explaining them.
-- Give examples of "landing survivor" points.

v1.4, 5/8/2007
-- Clarified "landing survivor" in "Victory Conditions" section.
-- Corrected availability of M-16's -- no M-16's for axis.

v1.5, 5/13/2007
-- Removed examples and counter examples of "landing survivor" in "Victory Conditions" section to make the explanation less long winded.
-- Corrected description of III/KG 30 and clarified that Ju 88's get formations (in "primary rides available" in "Axis Forces" section).
-- Clarified that bases can be recaptured during a frame (in "Other Rules" section).
-- Clarified that task groups lose ability to launch LVT's if they have neither a CV nor a cruiser in the task group. See "Other" subsection in the "Allied Forces" section.
-- Added that pilots can take off for Vampire CAP only from their most-recent primary-ride takeoff field or, if that field is down, the next-closest field. See "Other Rules" section.
-- Added section on "Aspects Particularly Different from Main Arena" for discussion of items like wind and aircraft range.
-- Clarified in "Summary of Player-Enforced Rules" that ships can be attacked only with guns and torpedoes.
-- Clarified in "Other Rules" that captured bases are only repaired just prior to next frame.

v1.6, 5/15/2007
-- Modified definition of "landing survivor" to allow landing of ground vehicles at bases other than takeoff base. See "Victory Conditions" section.

v1.7, 5/28/2007
-- Modified fog visibility. It will be set to 9-12 miles in the scenario instead of 4 or even 7 miles. See "Settings" section.
-- Modified carrier and cruiser hardness settings based on testing in Aces High v2.10 patch 2. See "Settings" section.
-- Updated "Ship Hardness" section to talk about torpedoes and settings in AH v2.10 patch 2.
-- In "Settings" section, put in link to list of usual arena settings.
-- Make it clear what the allies and axis own at the start of the scenario. See the caption in the "Map" section.

v1.8, 5/31/2007
-- Added obvious warning of Special Events doors close at Start Time.
-- Changed killshooter to be off in "Settings" section.

v1.9, 6/3/2007
-- Removed MS Word-style formatting (was causing problems with display in Firefox).
-- Corrected how settings for ship hardness will be done (see "Settings") and explained the settings in last few paragraphs of the "Ship hardness" section.
-- Changed the term "landing survivor" to be called "RTB-only pilot" in "Victory Conditions" section.
-- Made it clear that "RTB-only pilot" definition has nothing to do with your available lives and how lives are used up as described in other sections of the rules.