Patrol has been catching a lot of flak on GEnie lately, and has even been thrown out wholesale and replaced with Opportunity Intercept (01) in the Leningrad., 1941 scenario. I confess that I used to like 01, and said many nasty things about Patrol. But the more I think about it (and use it in play), the less I like 01, and think that Patrol can be saved with just a touch of messing. First of all, let me tell you what I think patrol and interception represent in the real world.

Interception is the entire command, control, communication, and warning system by which one air force intercepts another's planes in mid-air. As such it has nothing to do with pilot or airplane quality per se. It has everything to do with the professionalism of the air force, the quality of its air warning and fighter control systems, and the technical equipment that it uses, primarily the use of radios and radar. In general, without radar the only way to intentionally intercept an attacking air group is to have a network of visual air warning stations or ground troops trained in the timely reporting of enemy air activity overhead.

When enemy air units are transiting friendly territory en route to a target without radar it is very difficult to intercept them from anywhere but at the target. That's why air battles tend to occur over the target, because that's where the air units congregate and the odds of finding the enemy are much greater.

Without a sophisticated air defense system, defending fighters must be relatively close to the enemy to intercept them before they get away, especially ground attack planes at the front. Even with radar it can be difficult. The Luftwaffe had a very difficult time intercepting IL-2s attacking the front lines because the Soviet ground attack planes flew in low under the radar cover, did their work, and retreated quickly past the Soviet lines. They often got away before the German fighters could reach them.

To pursue them into Soviet territory, flying low and taking fire from lots of light flak, was a melancholy idea. I imagine this wasn't limited to IL-2s. With radar against deep penetration attacks it is an entirely different matter. As occurred in England in 1940 and occupied Europe during the Allied bomber offensive, an established radar network is fully capable of directing interceptors from far and wide to the incoming bombers. This is the one place that I see Opportunity Intercept as being appropriate.

Patrol represents fighter planes flying in patrols around the sky looking out for trouble. They are generally in small groups of squadron strength or smaller, and encounter the enemy pretty much by accident (although they know that the enemy can be found near air bases and the front lines). They can be directed by radar, but they are still in a small group. Patrols cover the friendly sky like a thin cloud, thus the weakness of the Patrol table. Patrols are generally limited to one's own side of the front line, but in cases of total air supremacy such as France in 1944 or poorly defined front lines such as in Tunisia in 1943, the fighters patrolled over a very wide area well into the enemy rear or in no man's land. Fighter sweeps, air umbrellas over distant targets, are included in this concept.

A patrol mission in Europa represents the ability of an air force to react quickly to a Europa-scale air attack by putting patrols of planes over the threatened target. A less aggressive air force will not patrol as far from base as a more proficient one. An air force with poor air control procedures will not be able to intercept passing bombers well. This will be reflected in the patrol ranges listed below.

I see three changes necessary for the Patrol Rule. The first is that a mission's escorts be patrolled before the mission force. And to make it interesting, if the patrolling air unit's strength is greater than the defender's strength, a roll of 6 aborts the target (anybody can get lucky). Escorts get to fire back if their strength is greater than the escorts, with a 6 being an abort.

Also, Patrol should be a mission, meaning you can't patrol and intercept in the same player turn, and is rolled for at the end of the opponent's air movement, not during it. Given the Europa scale, while it may be possible to deceive the enemy for a mission or two, over the course of a half- month game turn I don't see deception as historically justifiable.

Below are my suggested intercept and patrol ranges reflecting the relative competence of the various air forces. The years show that a particular range is in effect from the Jan I turn of that year until the next year noted. For example, Soviet fighters have a 2-hex patrol range from Jan I '39 through Dec II '41.

Range	German	Allies	USSR	Others
Patrol range	1939-1/2	1939-1/2	1939-2 1942-3 1942 - (1/2)# 1943-1/2	1939-1/2
incpt range	1939-3 1941 - (1/2)**	1943-1/2	1939-3 1939 - (1/2)** 1943-1/2	1939-1 1942-2 1943-3	1939-2 1942-3

* A patrol or intercept range of "1/2" indicates a range of 1/2 the air unit's movement rating (rounded down).

# Soviet Guards fighters have a patrol range equal to 1/2 their movement rating (rounded down) starting with the Jan 1 42 turn.

** When using an integrated radar network, interception and opportunity interception (01) missions may be conducted to 1/2 range (rounded down).

Air Defense Radar

This simulates the capabilities of the British and German home defense radar systems. Such systems are an integrated network of fixed radar sites tied in with fighter bases and fighter control stations. They take a year or more to develop and install and are quite different from the tactical radar warning systems developed in many countries and available at the battle-front.

The effect of such a system in game terms is to allow Opportunity Intercept (01) such as that found in Leningrad 1941. The British are considered to have such a system from 1939 on. Any Allied fighter based on the isle of Great Britain may use 01 for as long as the British home radar system is operational.

From Jan I 41 on, the Germans are considered to have such a system in Germany, and any German fighter based in Germany may use 01. From Jun I 1941 on, the radar network extends into occupied Belgium, Holland, or France as long as those countries are occupied by Germany and there are no Allied forces present. This air defense radar benefit stops in a particular occupied country on the turn that Allied ground forces in regular supply are in that country. It resumes if that country is again fully occupied by the Germans. The capability in Germany never goes away. 01 may not be performed in enemy-owned hexes.

"Messing" with the Europa Air System

Introduction
1. The Popularity of GS missions
2. Type B Bombers
3. Harassment
4. Patrol Attacks
5. Gratuitous Air Missions
6. DAS Reconsidered and a Revised Air Sequence
7. Optional Rules