Fighter Ace Campaign I
From The Air Combat Wiki
The first Fighter Ace Campaign, a series of six battles between January and March 2007.
This is a passworded event, so you must sign up with either the Allied Command or Axis Command staffs if you want to play. As a bonus, you will get a personal flight assignment and will be part of your team's coordinated effort instead of just another pilot that decided to show up.
Click here to view the Fighter Ace Campaign Rules under which this campaign is operating.
Contents |
The Blitz
The first battle was a simulation of the Blitz, the German night assault on British cities, factories and ports in lieu of their failed daylight effort. On 11 October 1940, the Luftwaffe struck Liverpool with a significant force and this was chosen as the representative date for the battle.
Battle Configuration
The battle was fought on the English Channel map, with GB getting their default section, GE getting the GE and SU default sections, and the US and JP sections being neutral.
Battle Goals
The goal of the battle was that GE needed to attack either the GB industrial base (defined as all six factory and the one port scenes) or London alone, bringing their targets to at least 75% damage within the three hour time limt. GB's task was to simply prevent GE from accomplishing their goal.
Battle Results
GE chose to attack the Industrial base, with the Port at 55bw being the first to succumb to GE bombs.
The Factory at 29bu was the second target to be destroyed, with the Factory at 62ay and the Factory at 52aw following closely.
By the half-way mark in the battle, GE had destroyed the 3 Factories and the 1 Port, with 3 factories remaining.
With about 40 min left in the battle the Factory at 27at was at 62%, the Factory at 45ap was at 39%, and the Factory at 35at was undamaged.
Ten minutes later, 27at had been taken over 75% damage and 35at was brought to 26% damage.
With 13 minutes remaining, 35at had been taken had been brought to 82% damage, and 45ap was up to 52% damage. Finally, with 5 minutes 20 seconds left in the battle, GE managed to hit the factory at 45ap, bringing it to 90% damage and winning the battle.
Campaign Progression
With the victory GE earned the initiative in the campaign. Their choice is to determine the next battle and their choice of battle is Crete.
Pilot Rosters
The following pilots participated in The Blitz battle on 12 Jan 2007:
| Allied Pilots |
|||
| 56_Confused 56_Ttaffy3 |
BRS_T_BIRD BRS_Tarheel |
DR_Auburn_Tiger DR_Fig_333_FC |
HG_jamis HG_Rat |
| Axis Pilots |
|||
| 727 _AvA_Fury |
_REZ_StoneFox _REZ_MIA_ |
Flamitas GUNNER_JG26 |
LUFT8_Fist MHC_Cheech |
Crete
Battle Configuration
- Time = 26 Jan 2007 at 8 pm US ET.
- Historical Date = May 1941
- Map = Two Islands - northern island represents Greece, southern island represents Crete. All scenes are active and in play on each island.
- Building Values = Armor = 100%, Life = 100%, Repair = 100%
- AA Settings = All AA = 1
- Ships =
- GB has 10 total aircraft carriers in 3 groups (4, 3 and 3), arranged around the back and sides of Crete, each carrier group is protected with 2 BBs and 4 CAs.
- GB has a single stationary convoy of 8 cargo ships at the back side of the island.
- GE has 4 total aircraft carriers in 2 groups (2 and 2) positioned at the front and back of the northern island (Greece). The purpose of these is to ensure there are sufficient airfield slots to allow 200 odd pilots to play in the room. These carriers will respawn when sunk (the only ships that will do so in the battle). If we have problems with people not being able to enter the room, I will add more carriers to allow everyone to play who wants to.
- GE has two convoys of 4 cargo ships each that will leave the northern island heading for the ports on the southern island. Each convoy is protected with 6 CAs.
- Tanks =
- GB gets up to 5 tank groups of up to 8 Cromwells each for normal offensive and defensive tank response from tank factories on Crete.
- GB has a single group of 10 Cromwells that will start the game defending the central tank factory at 89bb. As long as at least one GB cargo ship exists in the group listed above in the 2nd Ships point, that defensive group will be renewed whenever it is destroyed. The replacement group will spawn next on shore near the ships and will drive to the factory (standard 2x tank speed).
- GE has no tanks that will respond to triggers.
- GE's only tanks are tied to the GE cargo ship convoys listed in the 4th Ships point above. When a convoy reaches within 5 km of port scene, it will spawn a group of 5 Tiger tanks that will drive to the nearest airfield and either attack it or act as a defense force. As long as 1 ship from its corresponding cargo convoy (not the CA escorts) exists, that group of tanks will respawn whenever destroyed and drive to the airfield, in the same way as GB tanks do to the central tank factory in 2nd Tanks point above.
- Paratroops = only GE is allowed to purchase paratroop planes. GE has a limit of 250 paratroops at any given time, a rate of 5 troopers per GB tank on the island (including the automatic central tank factory defense force and the five triggerable tank groups).
- Triggers = Capture = 40, Defense = 45, Attack = 50 - this makes it tough for GE to take a scene without triggering a defensive tank response
- Special = Non-carrier planes will be able to take off and land on carriers. However, some planes are hard-coded to not allow take-off from carriers. You can see which planes are hard-coded by going into the arcade Sample Arena and looking at the planes inventory. The hard-coded ones such as the Ju-52 and Betty will still show "land-based", while others like the Spitfire, Bf-109 or B-25 Mitchell will have nothing next to the plane name, indicating they can take-off from carriers.
Battle Goals
- Objective = GE must own the five Village and two Airfield scenes on the Crete (the southern island) at the end of the game to win. Note that every two GB carriers sunk reduces the Village requirement by one, e.g., if 4 GB carriers are sunk, GE need only own 3 Villages and the 2 Airfields on Crete to win.
Battle Results
The Allies put up a coordinated defense and immediately set to work on destroying the western GE cargo convoy carrying tanks for the western airfield. Meanwhile, GE made an attack on the eastern GB carrier group, sinking two of their number.
After the destruction of the western convoy, the eastern convoy fell in a similar fashion. Superior GB aircraft coupled with good planning put up a defensive wall that prevented GE from ever getting a foothold on the southern island (CRETE). The Allies ended up with a decisive victory and chose to defer the battle choice back to the Axis team, gaining a 50 point bonus on plane production for the next battle.
Campaign Progress
With GB deferring the battle choice to GE, they gain a 10% bonus in points added to the Plane Purchase account for the next battle, while GE chooses the next battle - Barbarossa: First Strike, June 1941.
Pilot Rosters
The following players participated in the CRETE battle:
| Allied Pilots |
|||
| _KoeNig _Moody_ |
BRS_Hemi BRS_Meno |
DW_Sleepy001 DW_Stockdale |
HG_SimperFi_Air HG_Steely_Dan_68 |
| Axis Pilots |
|||
| 56_Killerwall 56_MizzouTiger |
_WILD_SO_JKNunya _WILD_TURKEY |
BBC_GRIM_REAPER BBQ_Racerdan |
LAFS_CO_Lafs LAFS_DeathDealer |
Barbarossa: First Strike
Battle Configuration
- Historical Battle = On June 23 Army Group North was advancing through Lithuania, with Panzergruppe Four in the center, flanked by the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Armies. The XLI Corps, with Panzerdivision 6 in the lead, was driving the Soviet 125th Rifle Division back when the Soviet III Mechanized Corps counterattacked near Raseiniai with about 300 heavy KV-1 tanks, resulting in the first tank battle of the Great Patriotic War.
- Map = Classic (GE=US+GB, SU=JP+GE, OT=SU, as shown on attached map)
- Historical Date = 23 Jun 1941
- Weather/Time = standard (cumulous clouds, 1x time starting at noon)
- Buildings Armor/Life = 100%
- Buildings Repair = 25%
- Triggers = C=40,A=45,D=50
- AA = all=1
- Tanks = Each team gets 12 groups of 8 tanks. Each team has their choice of tank type, Panther or Tiger for GE, KV-1 or T-34 for SU, for each of offense and defensive duties (offensive tank types can be diff than those spawned for defense)
- Paratroops = Each team has up to 255 paratroops available.
- Fuel = 100% consumption rate
- Supplies = The minimum ammo and fuel load for planes is 50% at a depleted base, bombs and paratroops are subject to local supply availability
- Supply Ranges = 250% normal (look on map offline to see 100% sized supply links)
- Special = The scene groups indicated by the white circles on the attached map indicate "flip" groups. Whenever the small airfield (not BBB) in any group changes hands, all other scenes in that group will become owned by the team that captures that airfield. Note that if there are enemy tanks (or troops) on a scene that gets flipped, it will change back when the tanks recapture it. Also, a scene in the flip group can be captured independantly of the other scenes. Note that each team has a "home" of one BBB/Industrial complex that does not flip ownership with the nearby fighter airfield.
- Free Aircraft = GE=Bf-109E-1, Bf-109E-4/B; SU=I-16
- Normal Cost Aircraft = GE=Bf-110C-4/B (10), Ju-88A-4 (10), Do-217E-2 (10), Ju-52/3m (20); SU=MiG-3 (10), LaGG-3 (10), Pe-8 (20), Pe-2B (10)
- Double Cost Aircraft = GE=Bf-109F-4/B (20), Ju-87D-3 (10) He-111H-6 (20); SU=Li-2 (40)
- Triple Cost Aircraft = GE=none; SU=Hurricane Mk IIB (30), P-40E-1 Kittyhawk (30)
- Reminder = The Allies add 550 pts to their plane purchase account for this battle because they chose to defer the choice of battle to the Axis. The Axis team adds the standard 500 pts to the plane purchase account for this battle.
Battle Goals
- Victory = The team with the most scenes is the winner. If the number of scenes owned at the end of time is the same, the battle will continue until one side has a lead in the number of scenes owned. The US/OT area is capturable, as the scene flip circles indicate.
Battle Results
The Allied team, operating like a well-oiled machine, rolled over the outnumbered Axis team with an unrelenting vigor. No matter what they did, the Axis team could not provide sufficient force in enough areas to do more than slow the Allied push to victory. At the end of the battle the Axis team was down to a handful of scenes along the northwest edge of the map.
Campaign Progression
With the victory the Allies have the initiative and choose to pick the next battle, which will be Pearl Harbor.
Pilot Rosters
The following pilots participated in the Barbarossa battle:
| Allied Pilots |
|||
| 56_Confused 56_Doglips |
BRS_Hemi BRS_Recoil |
DW_Dawg DW_DOZER |
HG_RTO_Buck HG_SimperFi_Air |
| Axis Pilots |
|||
| 9mm_JG26 _AP_ |
ALL41_Hooligan ALL41_IKE |
JG51_Beowolf JG51_GRIM_REAPER |
LUFT23_Banjoz LUFT25_Hangman |
Pearl Harbor
Battle Goals
Our parameters/goals are:
- 1. We are trying to simulate a sneak attack in a situation where the attack is expected.
- 2. We want to avoid lag caused by having 200 planes and 20 ships in one area.
- 3. We have to make a game of it, something that either side can win.
Battle Plan
Map = Guadalcanal
Setup = US owns all scenes.
Ships =
- 1. All US airfields have 3 battleships parked near the shoreline.
- 2. US gets 1x carrier task force composed of 1 carrier escorted by 3 cruisers.
- 3. JP gets 2x carrier task forces, each composed of 3 carriers and 9 cruisers.
- 4. Each commander can place his ships where he wants and can route them where he wants, with the following limitations:
- * a. The US carrier group cannot start closer than 100 km (50 grids) to the nearest US airbase, but it can end anywhere.
- * b. The JP carrier groups cannot start closer than 50 km (25 grids) to the nearest US airbase and both carrier groups must be on the same side of the island chain (north or south of the slot). They cannot ever get closer than 20 km (10 grids) to a US airfield.
Buildings Armor/Life = 100%, repair = 0% (off). All planes get 100% fuel/ammo, though ordnance may be limited by the standard supply from nearby factory scenes and the condition of the field.
AA All = 0 (it will fire, but will be lucky to hit) to simulate the ineffectiveness of the ship and ground based defenses. This is going to be up to the intrepid Allied pilots to defend against the Japanese attacks. However, this also means that defense of the JP carrier groups is entirely up to the pilots as well.
Passwords = The ALLIED team will NOT be password protected. The Axis team WILL be password protected. If you want to play for Axis, you must sign up now!
Battle Objective
JP's goal is to have two Successful Strikes more than the Allies give in return by the end of the battle. Historically, the JP attackers delivered two Successful Strikes without receiving any attacks in return.
A Successful Strike is defined as:
- a. Sinking an enemy carrier, OR
- b. Sinking the 3 battleships and damaging the adjacent airfield to at least 75%.
The battle ends after 3 hours or when one team has no further strike capability or no chance to get victory.
For example, if JP has 8 successful strikes, even a loss of all 6 carriers would give them a victory so the game would be over. Or if all six JP carriers are sunk and JP has no further planes capable of inflicting damage on enemy installation or ships.
Aircraft
US Planes
- SBD-2 Dauntless (unlimited)
- F4F-3 Wildcat (limit = 30)
- P-40C Tomahawk (limit = 20)
JP Planes
- D3A1 Val (unlimited)
- B5N2 Kate (unlimited)
- A6M2 Rei-sen (unlimited)
- Only carrier capable planes will be able to operate from carriers. US Navy planes can operate from land bases or from the carrier.
Battle Results
The JP team made one successful strike, sinking all three battleships and damaging the nearby airfield at 69cc. However, the US team countered with massive attacks that sank all six JP carriers, giving a decisive victory to the Allied team
Pilot Roster
The following pilots participated in the Pearl Harbor battle:
| Allied Pilots |
|||
| 56_MizzouTiger 56_WaterBUG |
BRS_Meno BRS_SKYHAWK_XO |
FC_Bubbles FC_Graywolf |
HG_Raven_ HG_Riche |
| Axis Pilots |
|||
| 343rd_Sorawasi 761_Iwatomo |
All41_BATMule All41_BigTwin |
GABAN HC_IMPALA |
Maro MAYFAIR |
Campaign Progression
The next battle will be Abbeville Boys, featuring the US Army Air Forces vs the Luftwaffe in the skies over France in December 1942.
The Abbeville Boys
Map: English Channel
Buildings Life: 100%
Buildings Armor: 50%
Buildings Repair: 0%
AA Settings: Low = 4, Medium and High = 4
Weather: Standard cumulous clouds at mid-day
Fuel Consumption: 100%
Special: No rockets or bombs allowed on fighters, therefore fighters are 1/2 normal cost and the US gets unlimited P-40E Warhawks and 5x free B-17G Flying Fortresses. No GE bombers allowed. Each team has 750 pts to purchase planes instead of the previous 500 pts.
Battle Goals
Victory Conditions: To win the US team must "destroy" (at least 75% damage) either all 12 GE tank factories, the 2 GE BBBs, and the 4 GE Airfields (not Front Line Airfields) OR all five scenes in the Paris cluster (Paris, 1 tank factory, and 3 AA scenes), else GE wins.
Aircraft
Free Planes
- GE = Messerschmitt Bf-109E-1 Emil, Messerschmitt Bf-109E-4/B Emil, Messerschmitt Bf-110C-4/B Zerstörer, and Messerschmitt Bf-109F-4/B Franz
Normal Cost Planes
- US = Lockheed P-38G LIghtning (5), and North American B-25D Mitchell (10)
- GE = Focke-Wulf FW-190A-4/U3 Wurger (5) and Messerschmitt Bf-110G-2/R3 Zerstörer (5)
Double Cost Planes
- US = Republic P-47D Thunderbolt (10) and Douglas A-20G Havoc (20)
- GE = none
Triple Cost Planes
- US = Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress (60)
- GE = Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6/R2 Gustav (15)
Battle Results
In their first attack, the Allied team executed a wide sweep to the east and hit the Paris area targets with a devestating first strike. With continual attacks on the Paris cluster the Allies quickly knocked out the Tank Factory and one of the AA scenes, while concentrating the majority of their attacks on Paris itself.
At the half-way point in the battle, the Allies had only 2% damage left to inflict on the last AA scene and had gotten Paris to 36%, almost half the required damage (75% required). The attacks continued relentlessly with the Axis team trying to stem the tide of Allied attacks into the Paris airspace. With 30 minutes left in the battle, the Paris damage level had been brought up to 61%, only 14% left to go.
As the time remaining in the battle slowly ticked down, the Paris damage level continued to rise in spurts. When time ran out, the Allies had managed to get the damage level to 74%, a scant 1% shy of the level required for victory. The Axis won by the thinnest of possible margins.
While it sounds trite, everyone who participated won this one. Nowhere else in Fighter Ace will you see the large scale bomber formations and escorts that bring to life the air combat we've all read about or watched in movies. =S= to all who particpated!
Pilot Rosters
The following pilots participated in the Abbeville Boys event:
| Allied Pilots |
|||
| _Moody_ _RedBull |
BAILS01 bama |
DW_DOZER DW_Sleepy001 |
HG_RTO_Buck HG_Steely_Dan_68 |
| Axis Pilots |
|||
| 56_Blaze 56_Confused |
ALL41_AV8r ALL41_Blackeye |
Bruckner Bruno_DD |
KPK_ANN LAFS_ORNERY |
Campaign Progression
With the victory the Axis team takes the initiative and chooses Raiding Kwajalein (12/43) as the next battle.
Raiding Kwajalein
Schedule
The Raiding Kwajalein battle will be fought on Sunday, 25 March 2007 at 1pm US ET.
Battle Setup
- Map = Guadalcanal as shown below
- Buildings Armor = 255
- Buildings Life = 255
- Buildings Repair = 0
- Ground AA = 3
- Ship AA = 2
- Tank AA = 1
- US Ships = US starts with 5x carrier groups composed of 4x carriers and 6x cruisers each. Additional carrier groups will be added as necessary to ensure US has at least 3 carrier groups in operation. US also has 4 battleships bracketing the USAAF airfield at 105dp, to bolster its AA defenses. US carriers must stay east of the CC line.
- JP Ships = Half of the JP airbases (5) have 3 cargo ships and 1 cruiser nearby. These must be sunk to "destroy" the nearby scene.
- Tanks = Half of the JP airbases (5) have 6 Tiger tanks serving as mobile bunkers defending the scene. These must be destroyed to "destroy" the nearby scene. US has no tanks.
Battle Objectives
The US team must "destroy" 5 of the 10 JP airbase complexes, with 3 of the 5 being 58aj, 44ak and 19e as mandatory targets. The other two can be any 2 of the other 7 airbase complexes.
An airbase complex is defined as the airfield itself and any nearby tanks or ships.
To "destroy" an airbase complex, the US team must get the airfield to at least 75% damage and must either destroy the 6 defensive tanks or sink the 3 cargo ships and 1 cruiser that are parked nearby off shore.
The Axis team gets to choose which scenes have tanks and which scenes have ships as part of the scene complex. The US team gets to choose where their carrier groups steam and which 2 of the 7 Secondary Targets to "destroy".
Aircraft
No heavy bombers or twin-torpedo carrying planes allowed. Each team is limited to 8 twin-engine bombers. The US team gets 4 free B-25J Mitchell bombers.
Free Planes
- US = F4F-3 Wildcat, F4F-4 Wildcat, P-39D Airacobra, P-40C Tomahawk, P-40E Warhawk, F4U-1A Corsair, SBD-2 Dauntless, TBF-1C Avenger, and B-25D Mitchell
- JP = A6M2 Zero, Ki-43-II Oscar, D3A1 Val, and B5N2 Kate
Normal Cost Planes
- US = P-47D Thunderbolt (10), A-20G Havoc (10), F6F-3 Hellcat (10) and F4U-1C Corsair (10)
- JP = Ki-44-IIc Tojo (10), Ki-44-IIc-37 Tojo (10), A6M5 Zero (10), G4M2 Betty (10), and G5N1 Liz (20)
Double Cost Planes
- US = P-51D Mustang (20) and B-25J Mitchell (20)
- JP = Ki-61-Id Tony (20), J2M3 Jack (20), N1K2-Ja George (20), and Ki-84-Ia Frank (20)
Triple Cost Planes
- US = Chance-Vought F4U-4 Corsair (30)
- JP = Ki-67 Peggy (30)
Battle Results
The Sunday start time resulted in fewer pilots than normally show up for an event. Hardest hit was the Allied team, which had less than half their usual numbers. But what they lacked in numbers they made up with tenacity and a warrior spirit. The Allied leaders rallied their available pilots and coordinated their attacks so that they did far more damage than would be expected from their numbers. At the end of three hours of combat the Allies fell short of their victory requirements by a scant 5 ships and 6 tanks that needed destroying.
The Allied numbers were bolstered in large part by the addition of the 56th Squadron, who, with the assent of Axis Command, switched sides when it became apparent that the Allied pilot numbers would be deficient. The 56th showed true leadership and community spirit in sacrificing their own desires and plans for the good of the game. =S= 56th!
The Axis advantage in numbers may have actually worked to their disadvantage in pure victory condition terms. The additional strength allowed them to wreak havoc on the Allied carrier fleet, sinking the entire original complement of 20 carriers and putting a dent into the dozen replacements that arrived with about an hour left in the battle. If the numbers had been more even or if the Axis team had been outnumbered, they would likely have foregone these attacks and concentrated on the task of defending their scenes.
While it was not as close as last fortnight's Abbeville Boys battle, the combats during Kwajalein were fast and furious. Attacking Corsair squadrons usually came in at 20,000 feet or higher, forcing the Franks and Georges to climb to extreme altitudes to intercept and engage. Dives and subsequent zooms often exceeded 500 mph as pilots wrenched every last horsepower out of their engines and the stray bullets and falling plane parts were as dangerous as flocks of birds in the flight path.
Pilot Rosters
The following players participated in the Raiding Kwajalein battle:
| Allied Pilots |
|||
| 1977280z 56_Aurora_AK |
AC2E_XO_HAWK Badrooster |
cannibal DC1_119TH |
Old_Poppy Orrin_Sackett |
| Axis Pilots |
|||
| _Dave_ _HC_Bennyb1324 |
ALL41_JoeBeer ALL41_Lunatic_6 |
Evil_MD HARRY1 |
MSI_Tech new_to_this |
Campaign Progression
This marks the end of the first Fighter Ace Campaign. Look to the April newsletter for the final awards ceremony of the campaign and for the rules and schedule for Fighter Ace Campaign II.


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