Thursday, 12 June 1941, 2:30 pm

[MengJiao]

  Command at Sea (4th edition) supposedly has "simplified" air combat rules.  But we'll see.  The scene is off Lebanon during Operation Exporter. Historically Australian 3 squadron RAAF in P-40B Tomahawks is about to score the first air victory in a P-40 with the victims being Ju 88s going after some RN cruisers supporting the attack on Vichy forces in Lebanon.

   Earlier, over this stretch of sea, there had been some ferocious clashes (complete with head-on fighter collisions) between the Hurricanes of 80 squadron RAF (featuring Roald Dahl later the author of James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and earlier sort of a specialist in shooting down Ju 88s) and French fighters.

  3 RAAF had been flying up regularly from Egypt to shoot up the Luftwaffe and the Vichy in Syria and Lebanon, but they had not shot at anything in the air in their new planes yet.  The 1000 .50 caliber rounds for the two nose guns seem to have been devastating for strafing.   The wing .30 Brownings not so much probably.

[MengJiao]

  So here the P-40s are played by Spitfires (mostly because the lighter background makes them distinguishable from the Ju88s) and the Ju 88s as Ju 88s.

Ajax and Sheffield are the RN cruisers:

[MengJiao]

  So here the P-40s are played by Spitfires (mostly because the lighter background makes them distinguishable from the Ju88s) and the Ju 88s as Ju 88s.

Ajax and Sheffield are the RN cruisers:

A minute and a half into the battle (3 30-second impulses, ships at 20 kts have gone around 500 yds,  planes have gone 10-15 times as as far).   Things are simple, I guess.  The bombers are breaking off and the fighters have a 20% chance per attack of putting a Ju 88 out of action (with a 50% chance of using all their ammo and a 5% chance of being hit by bomber defense fire).  Historically, 3 RAAF claimed 3 destroyed and 2 damaged.  Two Ju 88s did not make it back to Crete (so that's 2 destroyed) and possibly another 2-3 heavily damaged.  I guess we will see:

[MengJiao]

I guess we will see:

  Three minutes later the battle is over.  Three Ju 88s and one P-40 are out of action.  It was pretty simple, so that's good.