Enemy Coast Ahead, Scenario Rules

v1.8

Sections

• For all players:
  • Dates and Times
  • Promotion
  • Main Rules
  • Map
• For Command Staff (and any others interested):
  • Introduction
  • Victory Conditions
  • Order of Battle -- Royal Air Force
  • Order of Battle -- Luftwaffe
  • RAF Objectives
  • LW Objectives
  • Other Rules
  • Settings
  • Reasons for Various Aspects of Rules
  • Aspects Particularly Different from Main Arena
  • References
  • Credits
  • Change Log

For All Players:

Dates and Times

Show-Up Time for this scenario is 3 pm Eastern Time in the Special Events II arena. The arena is closed to admittance after Show-Up Time. The dates are:

• Nov 12:  practice frame -- please all attend
• Nov 19:  frame 1 (two-week gap follows, skipping Thanksgiving weekend)
• Dec 3:  frame 2
• Dec 10:  frame 3
• Dec 17:  frame 4

The arena is locked to admittance at Show-Up Time, so please show up no later than Show-Up Time. (Takeoffs start 30 minutes after Show-Up Time, the time in between being used for briefings and to get organized.)

If you get disconnected and need back into the locked arena, please type into any text radio buffer: ".p roc let me in". Then keep trying to get in (even if the game shows Special Events II as being locked -- try entering still, as the status does not always update quickly). Once you are in, type ".p roc i'm in". ROC is the game-day CM.

Frames will run for 3 hours after takeoff, then a disengagement will be called, and planes will have 15 minutes to land.

Promotion

It's 1943, and the Royal Air Force and Luftwaffe are slugging it out for dominance over the English Channel.

Gone are the days of the Battle of Britain, with the RAF hanging on by a thread. The RAF is now stronger than ever and is taking the fight to the Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe has built back up strongly on the Channel Front and is again hitting hard -- with raids to the English coast and airfields full of fighters eager for battle.

It is the Spitfires, Typhoons, Mosquitoes, and Mitchells of the RAF vs. the Bf 109's, FW 190's, and Ju 88's of the Luftwaffe in air-to-air combat, level bombing, dive bombing, escort, and intercept.

Please join us for this next stage in the classic battle between the RAF and the Luftwaffe.

Main Rules

The following is are the main rules. (There are rules in addition to these, listed below, that the Command Staff must be aware of and communicate to pilots as appropriate.)

• Follow the instructions of the CM, your Group Leader, and your CO, or you can be ejected from the arena.
• Fly only your assigned aircraft; and take off only from your assigned home base.
• Pilots get two lives in aircraft.  You use up a life if you don't get "Successfully Landed" message back at your home base (i.e., crash, shot down, ditch, bail, or exit plane at a base other than your home base).
• Do not strafe ground targets unless you took off with a bomb.
• Do not attack ground targets other than those on the target list.
• LW planes, do not cross over onto British soil unless ordered to do so by your Group Leader or unless you are chasing an enemy on whom you have icon.
• LW planes, get off of British soil and back to the Channel when ordered to do so by your Group Leader.
• Stay inside the playing area shown on the map (i.e., don't go into row 3 or 14 or columns 4 or 18) .
• If you run out of lives, please help out as a gunner.
• You can refuel (not exiting the plane) at any friendly base.
• Deaths as gunners do not use up lives.
• Getting disconnected doesn't use up one of your lives as long as you get permission from the CM to re-up.
• A strong downwind will be enabled at 24k ft.
• B-25's and Ju 88's may not fly higher than 20k ft.
• B-25's and Ju 88's may not divebomb or glide bomb -- they must level bomb.

Map

Note:  valid targets are listed below in the rules, and those lists take precedence over whatever is listed on the map.

For Command Staff (and any others interested):

Introduction

After the Battle of Britain had wound down to night time attacks both sides fighter units drew back to draw a breath.  The Jagdgeschwader transferred east and left two Geschwaders JG2 and JG26 on the coast.  Meanwhile the bulk of the Luftwaffe has begun preparations for Operation Barbarossa the attack on Soviet Russia.

The remaining two Geschwader were not idle on the defensive or offense.  Since late 1941 a series of low level cross channel attacks, or “Tip and Run” raids have been executed against the English coast.  The Luftwaffe was not using the bombers of the Battle of Britain but Jadgbombers or Jabos, fighter bombers executing low level attacks, “Jaboangriff”.  Each of the two remaining JadgGeschwader JG 26 and JG 2 had assigned a single Staffel as Jabos.  On occasion the other Staffel would participate but mainly it was two Staffel’s doing the majority of the attacks.

These attacks were primarily targeted on the English civilian locations not military installations prompting the name “Terrorangriff” by the pilots executing them.  Targets varied from villages, small towns, large towns, beach front houses and hotels.  Occasionally a low level attack would be made upon an airfield in an attempt to catch aircraft on the ground.

As the cross channel offensive continued it reached a crescendo in the spring of 1943.  Up till then the Jabos consisted of primary a single staffel from each Gerschwader.  In March the first full strength Jabo Gruppen were formed as I, II and III Gruppe of Schnellkampfgeschwader 10 (SKG10) which vastly increased the number of Jabos available to 120. The work of two Staffel of Jabos had kept the entire British Island on edge and numerous RAF squadrons on coastal patrol.  What would be the result of three Gruppen of Jabos upon British morale was yet to be seen.

The Luftwaffe is the strongest they have been along the Channel since the end of the Battle of Britain and the redeployment of most of the units either to the East or the Mediterranean.  With the formation of the new Schnellkampfgeschwader and two Gruppen have come west to replace I/JG26 which was sent to the eastern front they now have an opportunity to launch large scale raids.

The RAF is in way better shape than it was as little as a year ago.  Fighting alone against the Luftwaffe since June 1940 they now have greatly expanded their size and capabilities.  The Units of the American Army Air Forces are now based all over England.  Heavy daytime bomber strikes against France, the Low Countries and Northwestern Germany are on-going, and Bomber Command continues night time raids.  Yet an almost private war has continued across the channel since early 1941.  Slowly the RAF has built up an offensive capability and ever larger raids from the first pin prick strikes have been executed.  However nuisance raids by enemy fighter bombers have harassed the coastal areas for over a year and a half now and their intensity is growing.

The air war has continued across the channel since early 1941.  Slowly the RAF has built up an offensive capability.  They have instituted a series of air operations flown over occupied Europe codenamed as follows.

• Rodeo – Fighter sweep over enemy territory with no bombers.
• Roadstead – Attack on enemy ships at sea by fighter bombers or bombers with escorts.
• Circus – Attack by a small force of bombers with powerful fighter escort which was intended to lure enemy fighters so they could be engaged.
• Ramrod – Attack by bombers or fighter bombers on targets in occupied Europe with escorts.
• Rhubarb – Small scale attack by fighters using cloud cover and surprise with the object of striking ground targets or destroying enemy fighters.

Medium bomber formations have attacked railheads, airbases, factories, bridges, and other targets scattered across France, Holland and Belgium.  Also the new Typhoon squadrons had been coming online since mid 1942 but enemy attacks along the coast had drawn them off of offensive operations.  They had been thrown into the coverage of the coast against the Luftwaffe Jabo attacks.  But by the spring of 1943 the squadron leaders of these units were pushing for them to be released to offensive ops.

It was a time of change in the months long war along the Channel.  Both sides are at the largest offensive capacity they have had since 1940.  Both sides were pushing offensive operations and when it was over, only one would continue them.

Victory Conditions

If your side fails to do each and every one of these activities in a frame, it will get no points at all in the frame.

• Attempt credible (i.e., more than just a few aircraft) attacks on at least three different targets as follows:
  • For the RAF, at least two airfields and at least one factory from the RAF Target List.
  • For the LW, at least two city and/or factory targets and at least one airfield and/or port target from the LW Target List.
• Have at least two sorties by your level bombers (B-25's or Ju 88's), with the first attack happening prior to T + 1 hour (unless all bombers are shot down short of target).
• Have at least two sorties by your dedicated fighter-bombers (Mosquitoes or FW 190F-8's), with the first attack happening prior to T + 1 hour (unless all fighter-bombers are shot down or forced to drop ord and fight short of target).

points = (kills) + 0.3 * (objects destroyed)

The winner is the side with the most points at the end. Number of kills is the "Kills" stat in the posted logs. Objects destroyed is the "Objects Destroyed" stat in the posted logs.

A "sortie" means taking off, going out on an operational mission, and landing (even if that is just to refuel/rearm at a base other than your home base).

Order of Battle -- Royal Air Force

Only the following aircraft may carry bombs: B-25's, Mosquitoes, Typhoons.

Order of Battle -- Luftwaffe

Only the following aircraft may carry bombs: Ju 88's, FW 190F-8's, II/JG 26, and I/JG 2.

RAF Target List

Airfield towns are not valid targets.

• A50 Airfield at St Omer
• A39 Airfield at Le Harve
• A35 Airfield at Abbeville 
• A34 Airfield at Beauvais
• A49 Airfield at Caffiers
• Armaments Factory 16,8,7       
• City of Rouen 13,6,4

LW Target List

Airfield towns are not valid targets.

Stationary ships at a port *are* valid targets at that port.

• Manston Airfield A14
• City of Weymouth 6,9,7
• City of Portsmouth 8,10,7
• City of Folkestone 12,11,2
• Port of Portsmouth (P95) 8,10,6
• Port of Southampton (P107) 8,10,7
• Port of Dover (P106) 12,11,3

Other Rules

• All destroyed objects are repaired prior to the start of the next frame.
• If a group's home base is disabled (no aircraft are available or, in the case of bombers or attack aircraft, bombs are no longer available), that group may use as its new home base the closest other home base used by another group.
• LW Group Leaders, do not order your planes to cross onto British soil unless:
  1. Planes in your group are carrying bombs at that moment; or
  2. Planes in your group have icon on enemy aircraft over British soil; or
  3. Your group is accompanying bomb-laiden aircraft on a mission onto British land (in which case your group may sweep ahead or to the sides, but only by 1-1.5 sectors from the bomb-laiden aircraft); or
  4. You are within 1-1.5 sectors of LW planes asking for help.
• LW Group Leaders, once you are done with your bomb run, your escort, or your fight (i.e., what you were over Britain to do), head back toward the Channel. You can dive, fly level, climb, avoid ack emplacements, and try to skirt what you see as enemy formations on radar (i.e., don't have to fly directly to the Channel if that way looks blocked by enemy presence). If on your way, you icon enemy planes, get a request for escort, or get a request for help, see the previous paragraph on whether you can go do that as opposed to continue back to the Channel.

Settings

Weather

Weather will be varied. All sorts of weather typical of a English Channel spring should be expected. Expect anything from clear skies to heavy clouds to low ceilings with fog.

Disabled weapons

Disable the following.

• Typhoon: rockets, 1000 lb bombs.
• Spitfire IX: bombs.
• Spitfire V: bombs.
• Ju 88: internal ord., torpedos.
• Fw 190A-5: rockets.
• Bf 109G-2: rockets, bombs.
• Bf 109G-6: rockets, bombs.
• B-25C: solid-nose models.
• Mosquito: rockets.
• FW 190F-8: rockets.

Details

Terrain: BOB09

Wind: 0 mph at 0-5k altitude, 10 to 25 mph various directions at 5k altitude on up. Downwind at 24k.

Clouds: Bad weather is possible with heavy clouds at varying altitudes.

Radar and Sector Counters: No radar but there will be enemy sector counters for planes above 500 ft AGL in a range of 50 miles from a tower. Radar update rate is 2 minutes -- be aware as that's much different than Main Arena. Radar towers will be set to be indestructible (to account for lots of radar units around and ground observers). There are no sector counters for planes below 500 ft AGL or more than 50 miles from a tower.

Base Warnings: Base and town shall have warnings enabled at 10 miles for bombers and 10 miles for fighters.

Object down time: Destroyed objects stay down for duration of the frame.

Ground-object hardness: Ack ground guns are set to hardness of 250 lbs., and hardness of other ground objects are generally at least 500 lbs (i.e., bunkers, factory buildings, town buildings, city buildings, and HQ-complex buildings are 500 lbs, which is higher than in the Main Arena).

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

Radar/Sector Counters

Both the Germans and the British had low level and high level coverage along the whole length of the Channel. While “dot dar” and a ground based control would be the best way to handle it, this has been tried in the past, and we are deciding to go with Sector Counters displayed to both sides for aircraft rising about 500 feet while within the radar circle of an enemy radar site. Radar range will be set to 50 miles for all radars on both sides.

German Fw 190-F8 Bomb Carrying Limitation

The only units which usually carried bombs were SKG 10 and one Staffel each of JG 2 and JG 26. On a rare occasion other units might do so, but they were untrained in the style of raids required for cross channel attacks.

Ack Lethality

The GroundAutoLethality is set low compared to the main arena. The ack is adjusted so that, a test aircraft can usually (but not always) live through one pass on the base. To get totally effective defense, players must man the guns or provide CAP.

Hardness of ground objects

Various ground objects (town buildings, bunkers, etc. -- see Settings) are at least 500 lb in hardness, and acks are 250 lbs in hardness. This way, a fighter-bomber can still strafe out at least several objects, but not 10-20 objects.

Aspects Particularly Different from Main Arena

This section is for describing some (not all) of the aspects to this scenario that are particularly different compared to flying in the Main Arena.

Wind and Weather

This scenario implements wind. Level bombing in wind is different than bombing without wind, in terms of accuracy and techniques that are best to hit targets. CO's and GL's be aware that how you train your pilots and deal with this can have a major impact on your side's ability to hit targets.  Having level bombers approach directly in line with the wind can help, or you can train people on how to deal with crosswinds.  Some details on on tables that can help you calculate for crosswinds are here:  http://electraforge.com/brooke/flightsims/aces_high/levelBombing/bombingInWind.html

More clouds and weather conditions will be evident than the main arena.

Object Hardness

Some ground objects (ack guns, bunkers, city buildings, etc. -- see above) are harder than in the Main Arena.  The objects set to 250 or 500 lbs hardness will be harder (but not impossible) to strafe down.

CM Items

MOTD. The following can be copy and pasted to use as the MOTD, with appropriate number for frame number.

Welcome to the scenario Enemy Coast Ahead!

Show up at or before 3 pm Eastern Time to play.

Spitfires, Typhoons, Mosquitoes, Mitchells vs.
Bf 109's, FW 190's, and Ju 88's fighting on the
Channel Front in 1943.

If you are not registered, you are welcome to play,
but please change to country Rook,
go to a79 tower, and type on channel 200,
"Walkon requesting assignment."

If you need back in and the arena is locked, please
enter ".p roc let me in" into a radio text buffer
such as from the Main Arena. Try getting into the
arena thereafter even if the games says the arena
is locked -- the screen doesn't update quickly.
Once in, type ".p roc i'm in".

Allies = Bishops
Axis = Knights
walkons = Rook

CM checklist. Prior to Start Time:

• Announce to players to remind CM if he doesn't announce "logs started".
• Load terrain.
• Rotate countries if needed. Make sure axis fields are Knight, allied fields are Bishop.
• Load tables.
• Set MOTD.
• Check that correct planes are enabled -- make sure ground guns are enabled everywhere. Save if any changes done.
• Check arena variables and resave all the non-default ones. Save if any changes done.
• Set object settings.
• Set wind.
• Remember to do .startlog before takeoffs.
• Get walkon field number for axis and allies.
• Set arena clock to Pacific Time.
• Jump TG's out of the way.

Timing Table

References

• Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers over Britain – The Tip and Run Campain, 1942-43, by Chris Goss
• Late Marque Spitfire Aces 1942-45, by Alfred Price
• Typhoon and Tempest Aces of World War 2, by Chris Thomas
• 2^nd Tactical Air Force Volume One Spartan to Normandy, by Christopher Shores & Chris Thomas
• Jagdeschwader 2 ‘Richthofen’, by John Weal
• Jagdwaffe – Holding the West 1941-1943, by David Wadman & Martin Pegg
• Schlachtflieger - Luftwaffe Ground-Attack Units 1937-1945, by Various
• Kampfflieger Volume 3 - Bombers of the Luftwaffe January 1942-September 1943, by Dr. Alfred Price

Credits

Scenario design: Fencer

Terrain: Dux, Leader CM Scenario Team

Game-day CM: ROC

Rules writeup: Scenario Team

Allied CO: Waystin2

Axis CO: 4440

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, 5-3-08
-- First posting.

v0.2, 5-9-08
-- Reduce RAF Squadron Strengths to 12, added squadrons to make up numbers.
-- Discovered a mistake on III/JG26’s assigned planes, changed to 190A5s.
-- Added II/JG11 to gain more Bf109s
-- Added a Luftwaffe bomber Gruppe.
-- Added in Mossies of 418 Squadron.
-- Changed some of the titles of sections.
-- Added some rules, modified others.
-- Reworked introduction a bit.
-- Map added.

v0.3, 5-10-08
-- Revised cannon destruction of buildings.
-- Added note about English Vbases.

v0.4, 7-12-08
-- Added Banner.

V0.5, 9/14/11
-- Cut back on player numbers.
-- adjusted plane set.
-- adjusted number of targets available for each side.

v0.6, 9/18/2011
-- Cleaning up html.
-- Putting into standard scenario writeup format.
-- Cleaned up some redundancies.
-- Adjusted structure to make writeup more compact.
-- Settings not yet looked over.
-- Comments and things to discuss marked by brackets [].

v0.7, 9/23/2011
-- Delete "Ceiling of 25,000 feet on all aircraft until engaged."  Just have downwind at 26k.
-- Change "Destroyed objects at designated Targets stay destroyed" to "all objects are regenerated before the start of the next frame".
-- Delete "Destruction of buildings at the Target List above by gunfire is permitted only by those planes which are allowed to carry ordinance."  Implement by upping hardness of buildings and objects you don't want shot out (to 500 lbs each).
-- Clarified that II/JG 26 and I/JG 2 are the only FW 190A-5's that can carry bombs.
-- Change "Lethality is set slightly lower than the MA due to the lack of proximity fuses" to "There will be no manned 5" or manned quad 40 mm".
-- Disable internal bombs on Ju 88.
-- Set max b25 and ju88 alt at 20k.
-- Make radar towers indestructible.
-- Add that b-25's and ju88's must make at least two attack runs during the frame, with the first attack on target (unless they are wiped out) happening prior to T+1 hour.
-- B-25C set to glass nose only.

v0.8, 9/25/2011
-- Put in first cut at victory conditions.
-- Put in limit of only bomb-carrying aircraft allowed to strafe targets.
-- Added that B-25's and Ju 88's may not divebomb or glide bomb.
-- Added no torpedos for Ju 88's.
-- Updated arena settings.
-- Put in CM setup info.

v0.9, 9/28/2011
-- Put in dates.
-- Got rid of one target in LW Target List.

v1.0, 9/29/2011
-- Changed hardness of ground guns to 250 lbs.

v1.1, 10/1/2011
-- Updated banner image for start date.
-- Reworked promo to make it more punchy.

v1.2, 10/2/2011
-- Allowed two 109 groups to have g6's or g2's.
-- Reduced downwind from 26k to 24k.
-- Put in nicknames of JG.

v1.3, 10/6/2011
-- Clarified shipping targets as being only the stationary ones at a port (no task group targets).
-- Got rid of reference to 5" and quad 40 mm, as task groups aren't used.
-- Got rid of points for ships (no task group targets -- i.e., no ships as defined by terrain and logging system).
-- Clarified limitation on LW fighters over England and put that rule in the list that everyone is to read.

v1.4, 10/8/2011
-- Added CO names.
-- Got rid of rockets on all planes (as those weren't used in this 1943 battle).

v1.5, 10/13/2011
-- Got rid of Dover (city 12,11,3) and Southampton (city 8,10,7) as LW targets.
-- Got rid of A61 Airfield at Wevelgem and A33 Airfield at Amiens as RAF targets.
-- This was done to make the number of high-object-count targets for LW vs. RAF more even.
-- Corrected listed location of Folkestone.

v1.6, 10/18/2011
-- Added that if a base is disabled, a group can go to the closest other home base.
-- Clarified that only targets on the target list can be attacked.

v1.7, 11/17/2011
-- Clarified the rules about Luftwaffe fighters going over Britain.
-- Clarified what "sortie" means.
-- Added Color settings for optional gray skies.

v1.8, 12/6/2011
-- Added missing setting for SectorCounterAlt = 500.
-- Made it clear that sector counters do not appear for planes under 500 ft above ground level.