2x Jaguar GR.1 with 8x Mk83 each are tasked with a strike on an observed ammunition dump located a couple hundred meters northwest of an intersection. Target area is defended by a battery of Bofor 40mm/L70 with a Fly Catcher FCR. The Jags started from their IP which is 10nm from the target, at 650kts and 300 feet or about 150m in the Low Altitude Ban. The aircraft speed and attack geometry had the Jags dropping their bombs prior to being engaged by the bofors battery. Lead completely missed and Dash2 got two hits for 80DP. An arbitrary DP total of 100 for the ammo dump left the attack causing .8 damage and a die roll of 4 provided for a critical hit status on the dump. The 14 bombs that miss all land about 50 yards short and to the right.

 

Randomly rolling for the bofors, two are within short range and two are in far distance, two others are outside of their 2nm effective range (presumably defending the intersection as well). Three of the four shots are considered "crossing targets". The two close hit, the two distant miss.

 

Using 8.1.3 Aircrew Survival and 8.2 Aircraft Damage, Lead has suffered light damage, and Dash2 has been shot down. Dash2 is successfully rescued. Lead's damage is progressive however and he is forced to ditch while returning to base. He too is rescued.

 

Lead will be returned to duty in 5 cycle (1 and 2/3 day) while Dash2 will be grounded for 7 days.

Misread the multi bomb stick table. Don't have the exact numbers anymore but there would have been plenty more hits.

Dunno if it's relevant to your results at all, but your imperial to metric conversion is a bit off: 300 ft is ~91m, 150m is ~492 ft. Hope the Jags were outside the bombs' burst radius ... :-) (does H4 model that?)

Dunno if it's relevant to your results at all, but your imperial to metric conversion is a bit off: 300 ft is ~91m, 150m is ~492 ft. Hope the Jags were outside the bombs' burst radius ... :-) (does H4 model that?)

Typo...500 feet...approximately 152m.

 

Sorry for the confusion.

While my local library did not have what I was looking for, a neighboring town's library did, so I was able to score some table time with The Naval Institute Guide to World Military Aviation 1997-1998.

 

Within, it had a section on the SEPCAT Jaguar:

 

2x 30mm DEFA 553 cannon with 150 rounds per gun.

Five stores stations for a maximum external load of 4,765kg. Centerline and inboard wing pylons have a limit of 1,134kg. The outerwing pylons have a limits of 567kg.

 

While I was "playing" "British" Jaguars the book outlines those in typical "French" service included potential loadouts of:

 

Centerline: Drop Tank

Outboard Stations: Chaff Dispenser / ECM Pod

Inboard Stations: either 4x 250kg GP Bombs or 2x Baluga CBU.

 

Centerline: either 18x BAP 100 Runway Cratering Bombs or 18x BAT 120 Anti Armor Bombs

Outboard Stations: Chaff Dispense / ECM Pod

Inboard Stations: Drop Tanks

 

For Precision Strike:

Centerline: Martin Marietta (ATLIS or ELIAS) Target TV Acquisition & Laser Designator Pod, and either 2x Laserguided Bomb or AS30 L AGM

Inboard: Drop Tanks

 

Tactical Reconnaissance (Jaguar A)

Centerline: RP36 Pod w/ 3x Omera 40 Cameras (1x Forward, and 2x Oblique)

A few notes relevant to the British Jaguar GR.1 that may be helpful ...

 

Drop Tank on the CL would be a 1,200 liter tank

Chaff dispenser would be Phimat

ECM pod would be the Northrop Grumman (Westinghouse) AN/ALQ-101 noise/deception jamming pod

RAF did not employ the Thomson Brandt (TDA) BAP-100 anti-runway or BAT-120 anti-armor bombs

RAF did not, iirc, employ any laser guided weapons with the GR.1

The French ATLIS pod was manufactured by Thomson-CSF (now Thales)

Thank you Brad.

Random Musings

 

(1) SALH type missiles (I'm looking at you, F-15's weapon loadout) as per 5.3.7 "... target must be within visual LOS of the weapon and the designator... at all times". Wow, thats tough! Instead of being able to fire when within radar LOS or at maximum missile engagement range, we're limited to "visual LOS". So a F-15 screaming in on a target needs a "visual" before it can fire? Range of two of the GBU type guided missiles are 5.0nm and 12.0nm.

 

4.5.2 talks about Air to Surface sightings. It mainly references "ships" but does give a target size and range table which can be used. A small target has a sighting range of 14.0nm, and (4..5.8) identifying a visual contacts exact type can occur at 50% of visual range (again, it references ships but i guess it equally applies to ground targets such as MBT's). So positively identifying a MBT can occur at 7.0nm, before maximum engagement range is reached at say 5.0nm (depending on other terrain and weather conditions).

 

 

(2) Mig 29 Fulcram has an AtA rating of 5.0. WTF???? Why dont we hear more about this aircraft if its so good? Is it because it has a bad history (ie is Russian made)???

 

 

(3) Do tactics ever come into your engagements? In terms of air to air encounters for example, do you ever decide or randomly roll to see what altitude each plane starts at since it can have an effect on

 

1) detect or be detected

 

2) ability to hit or be fired on by some missiles

 

3) bonus's ie 6.3.3.3.4 initial position advantage (there may be others).

 

 

 

(4) Tornado on page B-5 of H4.1 data annex has a Gun ATK: 6. I assume this is for air to air dog fights? So why is there also a 2x27mm Mauser cannons under its armaments? The stats given for the 2x27mm are for ground combat but there is also a Gun Atk of 2.9. Does this mean it has "internal guns" with 6 in a dog fight and additional "external guns" which can engage ground and/or aerial targets?

 

 

 

(5) Some planes have Boz 102 Chaff dispensors or Cerberius Jamming Pods listed as ordinance. I know they are forms of countermeasures. But where do i find how effective they are (ie 1st or 2nd generation and Jaming or decoys?)? I couldnt see any obvious listings in the H4.1 data annex.

 

 

 

(6) I am currently putting together a ground-attack engagement to play through, with a view to another AAR. I hoped to use a Tornado but for a few reasons i am now considering a Buccaneer or A-6 Intruder. The A-6 Warhog also might get some consideration.

Mig 29 Fulcram has an AtA rating of 5.0. WTF???? Why dont we hear more about this aircraft if its so good? Is it because it has a bad history (ie is Russian made)???

 

The MiG-29 was definitely a feared opponent when it first appeared. It has suffered some reliability problems, particularly with earlier engines, and our (public) opinion of it has probably suffered in recent conflicts because it was either flown by poorly trained or inexperienced pilots or faced insurmountable odds. I think you will find that the Fulcrums flown by capable air forces (such as those that came over to unified Germany) are highly respected.

 

Tornado on page B-5 of H4.1 data annex has a Gun ATK: 6. I assume this is for air to air dog fights? So why is there also a 2x27mm Mauser cannons under its armaments? The stats given for the 2x27mm are for ground combat but there is also a Gun Atk of 2.9. Does this mean it has "internal guns" with 6 in a dog fight and additional "external guns" which can engage ground and/or aerial targets?

 

Just the one set of 27mm Mausers for both air and ground engagements. There is a Cannon Attack Table in there somewhere.

 

Some planes have Boz 102 Chaff dispensors or Cerberius Jamming Pods listed as ordinance. I know they are forms of countermeasures. But where do i find how effective they are (ie 1st or 2nd generation and Jaming or decoys?)? I couldnt see any obvious listings in the H4.1 data annex.

 

Annex G2 - Electronic Air Ordnance.

Mig 29 Fulcram has an AtA rating of 5.0. WTF???? Why dont we hear more about this aircraft if its so good? Is it because it has a bad history (ie is Russian made)???

 

The MiG-29 was definitely a feared opponent when it first appeared. It has suffered some reliability problems, particularly with earlier engines, and our (public) opinion of it has probably suffered in recent conflicts because it was either flown by poorly trained or inexperienced pilots or faced insurmountable odds. I think you will find that the Fulcrums flown by capable air forces (such as those that came over to unified Germany) are highly respected.

 

Indeed- the off-boresight capability of the R-73/AA-11 was used by the Germans to beat F-16s in an exercise. That led to helmet-mounted sights being adopted widely in the West.

Flight of the Intruder

 

Somewhere in Europe at a future point in time, Russia has started its armour and rolled over the Third World War start line. A mixture of main battle tanks, troop carriers and support vehicles are flooding motor ways.

 

A specific part of Europe has such a column moving along an express way. On either side are wooded hills. The valley has long been identified as a probable “approach route” and two Tornadoes assigned to buzz the area, where they will likely discover the armoured column.

 

Soviet Forces

An infantry company is leading the way 6.0nm ahead of the armoured column. This will allow me to use some infantry SAM, and the GCS rules from Sth Atlantic War.

 

The Armoured Column consist of some APC’s (light armour), MBTs (medium), Trucks (none), AAA gun trucks and mobile SAM launchers. I will have a list and order of vehicles.

 

NATO forces

2xTornados (Italian type from page B-5 in the data annex). Armed with 4xKormoran 2 guided missiles. Interesting because minimum range is 3.0nm. Damage points from a hit is 44pts which is enough to king hit even a heavy tank (8pts).

 

UPDATE: I’m not using the Tornado … Kormoran is an anti-ship missile that cannot be fired over land!

 

2xA6 Intruders armed with 20xmk20 Rockeye cluster bombs (when choosing which weapon loadout to use, how could I not use “cluster bombs”?).

 

I’ve always considered the Intruder a ground attack aircraft. Looking at its H4.1 capabilities, I might have been right! Its APQ-156 radar is SS, and so only capable of detecting surface and very low level contacts! Its blind to anything in the air. Shouldn’t be a problem for this scenario though.

 

I was surprised its bombsite was only “ballistic”, given its primary ground attack role. But perhaps that’s more a sign of its age.

 

Before taking off, the crew set the cluster bombs to a “large” pattern (6.3.4.1.5).

 

Special conditions

 

The Intruders will need visual LOS to confirm its target before attacking. Yes, its war, and the Soviet army is on the march. But the battle ground is also a confusing place so positive ID is required.

 

 

Intruder A will fly 5.0nm ahead of Intruder B. At 550kts this means there is a 60 second gap between the two. Intruder A will locate and identify any contacts so that Intruder B can gun them up on its first pass. Intruder A may then return for its own run.

 

 

Intruder A starts 20.0nm from the valley at medium altitude, and will drop to low altitude (cluster ammunitions cannot be dropped from V Low altitude) at the 5.0nm mark prior to the valley start. A horizontal laydown method will be used, hopefully on the armoured column.

 

 

I know there will be a contact. A D20 roll will determine how many miles into the valley the infantry group is (with the armoured column 6.0nm behind that).

 

 

AAR

The lead Intruder approached the valley at Medium altitude. The D20 (7) determines the infantry are 7.0nm into the valley and the armoured column at the 13.0nm mark.

 

The A-6 radar detects very small targets out to 31.0nm. I assumed the A-6 detects the infantry (range 27.0nm and a V Small target seems fair?) and the moving column (range 33.0nm) which is a mixture of small targets (radar range 56.0nm).

 

Range from the lead A-6 to infantry closes to 2.0nm and 8.0nm for the column. The lead A-6 “identifies” the infantry group but is unable to positively identify the column.

 

Dropping to low altitude the lead A-6 buzzes past the infantry, dropping 6 cluster bombs. Dive bomb table/low altitude/Vsmall target/Ballistic and referencing the Stick hit table gives 11% chance of a single hit. And it turns out to be a miss.

 

The infantry scatter, with one better trained unit breaking out the SA-7B Grail surface to air missile, incase the intruder returns.

 

The second A-6 has entered the playing area and is now 5.0nm from the infantry.

 

The lead A-6 closes to 4.0nm of the column, identifying it as a target. It drops its remaining 14 cluster bombs (57% chance of a single hit and being able to move to page 6-15 Cluster munitions damage table). 2 sticks of 6 and a stick of 2 are dropped with 2 bombs finding their mark, but this turns into 6 targets hit (silent fist pump for “cluster bombs”!!!). I will assume the lead vehicle was the aim point and targets hit after that are in sequence of the convoy order.

 

The first hit destroys the lead truck, fails to damage an APC and destroys a second APC.

 

The second cluster bomb destroys an AAA truck, an APC escapes harm and a critical hit destroys a light tank (even after taking the cluster bombs 9 damage points, halving for anti tank and reduced damage due to cluster munitions table).

 

I have assumed that 20 cluster bombs are dropped and hits determined using normal bomb calculations on the sticks tables. And for each hit determined from the stick table a roll is made on the cluster munitions table. This method can generate many many hits, but damage is significantly reduced so its not always a critical hit or outright kill.

 

The trailing Intruder is fired on by the infantrys Grail SAM. The intruder has to decide whether to continue with its bombing run on the infantry target (downside being 0.5ata rating verse the SAM) or go defensive and call off the bomb run (upside is using ata of 2.0). The intruder has to go defensive, so the bomb run is called off. The Grail finds its target though, downing the trailing Intruder.

 

The remaining Intruder returned to base having dropped its load.

 

Despite an Intruder being shot down, the aim of the exercise was to engage the armoured column. Destroyed vehicles include a truck, AAA truck, APC and a light tank. Surviving the encounter are 2xAPCs, a light tank and 2x heavy tanks.

 

So 4 of 9 vehicles were destroyed, however the 5 surviving vehicles were “high value” targets (such as heavy tanks). I’d call this a victory to the Soviets.

 

Other thoughts

 

What size target is 100 men? Its not on page 6-20 general attack table.

 

When attacking a column of vehicles I assumed the lead vehicle is the first target. Is there any other way of doing it? Such as picking out vehicle 4 which might be a AAA truck or wouldn’t it be that easy? Or random die roll?

 

The Grail had a 20% chance of hitting the Intruder and I rolled a 19. If the intruder had continued with its bomb run the chance of being hit would have been 35%, so by going defensive it almost halved the to hit number. But in this case it didn’t matter and it was hit anyway. It’s decisions like this, to go defensive or continue with the attack run that I think are fun to make.

 

Although only 2 cluster bombs found there mark, they caused allot of trouble. If even one more cluster bomb had hit I think NATO would have won the encounter.

 

If I have followed the rules correctly, cluster bombs can do allot of damage across many targets. I guess that’s why when things go wrong people call it a cluster f#ck, it means lots of damage to lots of area!

A-6A bombing system was pretty early technology. A-6E is Bombsight: Computing with TRAM laser designator/rangefinder and FLIR from around 1979.

 

The radar would not be able to detect the infantry.

If radar wouldnt pick up the infantry, i guess the eyeball mk1.0 would have to do the job.

If radar wouldnt pick up the infantry, i guess the eyeball mk1.0 would have to do the job.

 

Radar doesn't bounce off people anyway, although it does do nasty things to you if you're standing too close.