Raid on Taranto

Or someplace similar.

Sunday was a playtest of the Check Your Six (CY6) game planned for Tundra Con IV by Chuck Seegert.  The scenario had six B-25 bombers paying a visit to some Italian port with some mission that we needed to figure out.  Sharp-eyed readers will identify it as Pearl Harbor, but don't worry and just appreciate the gorgeous mat. 

The bombers were escorted by a quartet of P-40 fighters and four P-38s.  There were a couple of aces on the American side and a lot of rookies.  The defending Italians started with six fighters airborne, four Mc-202s and a pair of Mc-205s.  Two Italian flown Bf-109E were just lifting off.  Yes, the 109E had been withdrawn by now from the Luftwaffe, but these were hand-me-downs to the Regia Aeronautica. 

This is the player sheet for your plane(s), up to four.

Starting positions over the beautiful harbor.

We wasted no time mixing it up.  A P-40 is hit!

The B-25 is a very robust target, especially against the under-
armed Italians.  But Chuck's saves were poor initially.

Hits are exchanged and a second B-25 goes down.

 The dice on the flight stands represent the plane number (black dice), speed (reddish dice) and flight level (blue dice).  There are three different stand heights for low, medium and high with the dice indicating where within the band you are flying.

The lead flight drops and misses as a third B-25 is flamed.

And it's victor is immediately taken out.

Things have thinned out considerably.  

 At the time the above picture was taken there were three B-25s down, a pair of P-38s and a P-40 were damaged, an Italian had run out of ammo and left, my experienced pilot was damaged and out of ammo so also leaving, and two Macchis had been shot down.

A Macchi is tailing the bombers and "hitting" but the B-25 kept saving.

The Mc-202 is destroyed but it's victor is in turn claimed by the 109 ace.

At this point the surviving bombers were going off table and the only remaining Axis fighters were the two aces.  Counting up six American fighters still on table we broke off and the game ended.  The score was 39-24 in favor of the Italians.  There were a lot of high probability shots that were missed and a lot of saving throws were made or it might have been even bloodier.  Six .50 cal. MGs or four and a 20mm cannon just shredded our less-than-robust Italian fighters.

My second exposure to CY6 and I'd certainly play again given the chance.  Come to Tundra Con IV on Jan. 6th at the American Legion Hall in Appleton and check it out.