S1: LAST TO FALL, 4 May 1945

Briefing: Flight Lieutenant Eric Thomason DFM DFC, senior officer of 80 Squadron, was leading a flight of four Tempests on a morning armed reconnaissance over the front lines south of Bremen, looking for ground targets to strafe. This flight was a mixture of nationalities; an Australian and a Norwegian, an Englishman and a Pole. After a warning by ground control of enemy aircraft approaching, all thoughts of grounds targets ended, and before long they spotted six black dots against the clouds above and ahead, which grew into six Ta152's making a head-on attack.

Map: Blue Sky
Aircraft: Allied:Four Tempest V
Axis:Six Ta152H-1

Set Up: Place the Tempest leader in hex 2915, facing E, altitude 8.0, speed 7.0, banked level, and zoom climbing. Place the Ta152 leader in hex 2940, facing NW, altitude 10.0, speed 8.0, banked level, and steep diving. Place the rest of the formations alternately, German first; each aircraft must be exactly two hexes from one previously placed, and be in formation parameters.

Game Length: 20 Turns

Rules of Engagement:
1. There is continuous cloud cover at level 14.0 and upwards.
2. No aircraft may begin an attempt to disengage before turn 10.
3. Pilot Quality: The Tempest leader is a Veteran-Ace-Hero. The other Allied pilots are all Veterans. Generate the Germans on the "Good" column.

Variants:
1. It is assumed the Ta152s were the H-1 model as they were by far the most numerous. Try using the H-0 model instead and compare the respective versions' performances.
2. It is assumed Thomason's identification is correct, but it is possible he misidentified Fw190D-9s. Use this aircraft type instead of the Ta152s.
3. For a smaller game, use two Tempests and three Ta152s.

Debriefing: After the first pass, a whirling dogfight developed. Thomason managed to get behind one Ta152, but missed and overshot. Warrant Officer Day, leading the second element, and trailing Thomason, did neither. Meanwhile one Ta152 had got behind the Pole, Sgt Zrodryck, who pulled up into a climb to evade his attacker. Thomason turned and sent a burst of tracer across the 152's nose, discouraging pursuit, and Day (still trailing) fired as well. The German pulled into a climb, and Thomason's Norwegian wingman pulled up after him. Two other 152's came in behind Thomason, firing, and he evaded them in a spiral dive, pulling up after them as they overshot. They tried to turn in on him but he simply zoomed over the top of them as his wingman re-appeared and attacked them. Suddenly Thomason's plane was hit by three shots in the fuselage, his attacker streaking above him, then rolling and diving away.

Just like that, the sky was clear of enemy aircraft. Thomason was out of ammo. So was Day. Together they flew back to base, with no sign of either of their wingmen. Thomason had seen a Tempest going down during the battle, but could not identify it.

Of the two missing aircraft, only the Norwegian came back.

The cease-fire was signed at 1830 that day.

Designer's Notes: The source is the "autobiographical" Whirlwind Squadron by Eric Thomason DFC DFM - by co-incidence, an Australian from my home town of Adelaide. As the title implies, he began his career flying Whirlwinds in 137 Squadron, but finished flying Tempests from a base in Germany itself.

The first version of the scenario had some extra Rules of Engagement taken from this account. However, I now have reason to believe that this book is, in fact, a work of fiction, although it appears to draw very much from the true experiences of others. Therefore, I have made suitable amendments to the scenario.

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Version History:
1.0 Initial Version
2.0 Corrected Rules of Engagment, Designer's Notes.