Crete offers another opportunity for testing evolving Europa naval systems. The situation is fairly unique; a strong surface fleet bereft of meaningful air cover attempts to interdict a transport fleet bereft of meaningful naval cover.

"Airdrop on Crete" provides one interpretation of the situation in the form of the Second Front naval system, but there are plenty of other Europa naval ideas around. The OB given here provides a basis for modifying "Airdrop on Crete" to accommodate other naval approaches.

The lack of a standard system naval game means that you must adapt the information here to fit whatever naval system you might use. In particular, you may need to delete certain light forces such as MTBs or submarines from this OB. MTBs are basically equivalent to American PT boats. Italian torpedo boats (TB), however, are considerably larger, about two- thirds the displacement of a small destroyer.

Note that this naval setup is only for operations in the Eastern Mediterranean around Crete. The Centml and Western Mediterranean also had their share of activity in the May II turn. The British were busy ferrying Hurricanes to Malta, and the Italians were running a big convoy to Tripoli. Assume that the Italian fleet will stay out of harm's way for the duration of the battle and that no significant reinforcements are available for the British.

If you attempt to construct the entire Eastern Mediterranean you will find that the older WD and NE maps don't mesh perfectly with the newer map 15B. For best results place maps in the order 18, 19, 15B, 20.

All naval units are given with their ship class, followed by a list of their individual ship names. This makes the Order of Battle adaptable to almost any conceivable naval system.

When the "Airdrop on Crete" Order of Battle lists a unit as deploying or arriving in the Middle East Holding Box, place that unit in Alexandria (19:2423) or Sidi Barani (19:0725).

Axis

Airfields. Place permanent airfields at Rhodes (19:1003) and 19:1004.

Italian:

Surface Forces. Place at any Axis controlled port in the Aegean Sea.

1x Mirabello Class DD (Mirabello)
2x Spica Class TB (Saggitarrio, Lupo) [Note: possibly others]
1x Curtatone Class TB (Curtatone)
6x Type 500 Class or MAS Class MTB (specific designations undetermined)
10 pts naval transsport

Submarines. These deployment instructions are general guidelines that you should modify to suit the particular rules of the naval system you decide to employ.

Place on-station in the Eastern Mediterranean, anywhere south of Crete.

2x Squalo Class SS (Squalo, Tricheco)
4x Perla Class SS (Adua, Dessie, Malachite, Uarsciek)
3x Sirena Class SS (Sirena, Smeraldo, Topazio)
1x Fisalia Class SS (Fisalia)

Deploy on-station in the Aegean Sea (north of Crete).

1x Sirena Class SS (Nereide)

Allied

British

Rawlings' Force. Place on-station anywhere on the map.
BB Warspite, Valiant
CLAjax, Fiji, Gloucester, Orion, Perth
CLA Dido, Naiad, Calcutta, Carlisle, Phoebe

Pridbam-Whippell's Force. Place at Alexandria (19:2423).
BB Queen Elizabeth, Barham
CVFormidable with 1x Mxd (4F3 1C8)
2xlanding craft (Glengyle, Glenroy)
16 pts naval transport

Light Forces. Place with either Rawlings' or PridhamWhippell's force, split up in any way the Allied player desires. DDs
2x Douglas (or D) Class (Decoy, Defender)
2x Gallant (or G) Class (Greyhound, Griffin)
5x Hero (or H) Class (Hasty, Havock, Hereward, Hero, Hotspur)
3x Imperial (or I ) Class (Isis, Imperial, Ilex)
I0x Javelin (or J) Class (Janus, Juno, Jervis, Jackal, Kandahar, Kelly, Kelvin, Kimberley, Kingston, Kipling)
2x Napier (or N) Class (Napier, Nizam)
1x Stuart Class (Stuart)
1x Tribal Class (Nubian)
2x Vendetta (or V) Class (Vendetta, Voyager)
1x Wishart (or W) Class (Waterhen) DEs
2x Auckland Class (Auckland, Flamingo)

Place the following unit at Suda Bay (15B:2113) with hits sufficient for immobilization according to the naval system you decide to employ.
CA York

10th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla. Place at Suda Bay (15B:2113) or Khania (1513:2114).
5x Vosper Class MTB (67, 213, 214, 216, 217)

Airdrop on Crete: May, 1941 Scenario

The Invasion of Crete
Orders of Battle: Axis and Allies
Detailed Naval OOB
Smile: Pronounciation Guide
Europa as History: Step by Step Invasion
Improving the Crete Scenario