S3#93 – The Soft Underbelly; Sicily - Summer 1943

Game Settings

  • Axis Players(gold) - 65 est
  • Allied Players(green) - 46 est
  • Icons – d24 friendly, d12 range, d6 enemy plane
  • Clouds - no clouds
  • Radar – 50 mile radius, grey dots, inflight arrow. Minimum alt is 300 ft.
  • Flak - AAA limited to 25,000ft in height.
  • Axis Airfields(gold) - Sicily and several islands
  • Allied Airfields(green) - Tunisia and Malta
  • Fuel Multipler - set at 1.0 for all planes.
  • Rebuild Time - 300 mins
  • Game Length – 180 mins
  • Lives – 1 life per frame
  • Game Scale - 1 squad = 1 historical unit and 1 frame = 1 set of operations.

Basic Rules

Initial Format - changes after in bold italics.

1. Start Times - each frame uses the following schedule;

  • T+0 - Dawn(04:30), flight enabled.
  • T+160 - Last surface attacks completed all a/c must disengage ASAP.
  • T+180 - Dark(12:00), all squads must be in tower or land in the dark.

2. Operational Restrictions - each side may only conduct operations in the area outlined in the game map.

3. Bomber Damage - the new secondary damage makes all aircraft more fragile in the tail sections but this will be most noticable in bombers with an increased likelyhood of loosing their stabs. BUFFTUFF is 1.5 and each bomber aircraft may have the addition of two AI wingman should be used to help in all round defense, if not attack capability.

4. Ord Restrictions - there are no ord or drop tank restrictions. All aircraft may fly any loadouts available.

5. Squad Aircraft - each pilot must fly the aircraft listed for their squad in the A/C table at least once. It is up to the squad to decide which a\c type they will fly more than once during the series.

6. Squad Basing - each squad must start at a designated airfield but then can replane at will at any airfield after that. Landing strips are unavailable at the start but can be used normally afterward. The initial deployment is based upon the following step allowances;

  • LAF - 3 steps
  • MAF - 3 steps
  • SAF - 2 steps
  • GAF - 1 step
  • LS - 0 steps(can replane here during play)

7. Side Switching - after the first 2 frames the indicated fighter squads will switch sides and fly for the other side. We will have a one week break to organize the new sides and issue new passwords for the forums. Scores for the first two frames will be tallied and compared to the scores of the last two frames to see if any one side did better than the other.

8. CV Groups - the IJN will have one CV group moving up and down the 0 grid for use as operations while the USN will a CV group moving up and down the 11 grid.

9. US Scramble - the US may only scramble in Frame 1 when an ground object is destroyed. The CM will call the scramble. At this point if the US decides the airfields are too dangerous they may launch from their CVs instead. In Frame 2 the USN may scramble at T+0 from open airfields and CVs as basing allows(1 squad per airfield or CVs with no limit)

10. AI Routines - extra USN shipping will be either be anchored or moving in, out or through the Pearl area. AI DDs will look the same as static DDs but they will shoot at you, so treat all DD targets with care. Expect more DDs in Frame 2 and 4 after the initial IJN attack in Frame 1 and 3.

11. NO FLY ZONES - US a/c cannot attack IJN CVs and IJN cannot attack US CVs. Both groups are considered too far away from each other.

12. Closed Bases - bases closed during a frame 1 will only stay closed & destroyed for frame 2. Fields closed during frame 3 will stay closed & destroyed for frame 4. All bases rebuild for the side switch for frame 3.

13. Penalty Planes - players that commit errors in basic rules and do not attempt to correct the error during play will have a penalty plane assigned to them to conduct a hair-raising mission behind enemy lines. If they survive they can teleport and replane in their regular ride. Examples of penalty plane errors include flying different a/c during a frame, teleporting fields when not allowed by special rules, gunning from ships or flak positions. If a player immediately addresses the error they will not be assigned a penalty plane but always inform the CM so the log entry will be ignored. It is up to each squad to make sure the penalty planes are flown.

  • Axis Penalty Planes - Val
  • Allied Penalty Plane - TBD

14. Victory Points - points are awarded for e/a losses, enemy pilot KIAs and POWs as well as destruction of the Pearl bases and shipping both static and AI. US points will be more weighted toward a/c and pilot kills while the IJN will recieve more for surface target destruction.

15. Victory Conditions - The side with the most VPs at the end of the series wins. Total points for Team Able(Luft6, 23rd,475th) and Team Baker(4th, 100th,352nd)will be compared at the end to determine which group of side switchers did the best in their different roles.

S3 Clarifications - the S3 staff reserves the right to make a ruling on questions or game situations not answered completely or missed by the rules. For further clarification please post on the S3 forum or email Jabo.

[ Aircraft - Series Map - Player Rules ]