Battle of Britain Wargame

Introduction

By Mike Crane

Two years ago I marked the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Britain while visiting London on vacation. After a visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral, I determined to play a wargame reflecting the event when I came home. Unfortunately, all my previous attempts at air wargames had gotten bogged down in complicated rules using 1/72 plastic models. I decided to start from scratch and make a simple set to play solo using 1/285th scale models.

Fortunately, Issue #20 of The Gauntlet magazine arrived in the mail the day after I got home. Inside was a very short set of rules called “Schnell Bomber” written by Matthew Sparkes. “Schnell Bomber” used the DBA combat mechanism, and it was so simple that I determined to use it as the basis of my game also.

The next problem was obtaining the airplane models. The vacation had cost more than expected, and my wife said it would be several months before we could afford to buy more “toys”. Undaunted, I used my computer to make some flat paper counters with the sillouettes of the airplanes printed on them. These were hard to pick up and move about, however, so I continued to experiment until I came up with the 3-D paper models. It has taken a while, but I am finally satisfied with the way they look on the table.

Four photocopies of the page with the airplanes will provide all the models needed for this game. Only one copy needs to be made of the page with the flexible rulers and the target. The suggestions given in the previous article, “B-17!” will apply to these models also. Be sure to put a bend in the wing of the Ju-87 Stuka to give it the cranked-wing effect. The flexible rulers make measuring easier and will save a lot of time. Fasten the halves together with brass brads. The rulers may also be used with the “B-17!” game. Another improvement is the use of #6 or #8 flat washers as markers. I used small pebbles at first, but the washers are easier.

I hope people will enjoy this game and will use it to develop more scenarios. If someone designs a simple campaign, I certainly hope he will share his ideas.

Battle of Britain Wargame by Mike Crane

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