• GM's summary and stats:
• "Ransack"'s comments:
• "TopWop"'s comments:
• "Zinger"'s comments:
• Gnat#1's comments:
• "Grumpy"'s comments:

Well, its ended. After an action packed last turn, everyone remaining
disengages and returns to base. 

Quick summary and a few stats:

Two Sabres, one Gnat and one MiG-21 shot down (all to cannon fire).
All but Sabre#2 eject succesfully (Sabre#1 is POW).

Missiles: 
4 AIM-9B launches attempted. 2 failed to launch (still on rail), 1 launched
succesfully but missed, 1 prox hit doing no damage.

Gunshots:
F-104s between them made 3 snapshots and 1 full burst.
        #1 killed MiG#2 with 2 snaps and missed Gnat#1 with the full burst.
        #2 killed Gnat#2 with a snap.
MiG#1 made 1 shot (head on diving) and missed.
Gnats made 4 shots.
        #1 killed Sabre#2 and missed Sabre#1.
        #2 damaged Sabre#2 and killed Sabre#1.

A few quick comments:
  Thanks for the great game John! This is definitely the best way to play
TSOH. I only wish we could realistically use a system like this for the BOB
campaign.

 The Indians were extremely lucky the last couple turns - we must have had 5
attack rolls in them that needed only a 7 or less to be able to cause damage
and scored _NO_ damage. On the other hand, I did get to nail Gnat#2 with a
single snap shot :-)

  I've been trying to find a pic of a Mig-21 with gp/missiles to add to my
web page (after all, when you get a nice, close-in picture like that, you
just gotta show it :-). 

 One thing that really seemed to help us (the Pakistani side) was the
generally great radio comms we had. I had contact with almost every plane
for almost every turn (there was only a few where I couldn't see someone,
and they were not reported by my wingies). I regret that Waki-Paki got
nailed by the gnat, but I thought they couldn't possibly not know where I
was, and thus the gnat would break right (to safety). But no, he gives me
this beuatiful shot - 0 deflection, just about every -mod possible... after
taking out Waki.

 And Terry's Mig was rather fortunate that the edge was there. If I could
have gotten 1 more H in my move (turn 15) I could have tried to launch my
winders again...

  It was fun guys! I look forward to the next fight!!

  Randy (F-104#2)

Horrido!

Well, Ransack gave a summary, and I thought that since John Coley put so
much effort into the game, I too would try to kick out a summary for his
Webpage.

The view from the cockpit of F-104 #1:

The View -

Generally, the view was pretty good.  The 104 has good cockpit visibility,
and I found my movements only constrained by my cockpit visibility on one
occassion.  In contrast, it was relatively easy to maneuver into my
opponents' blind arcs.  The Gnat and MiG are nice airplanes, but their
cockpits are poorly designed.

A major contributor to the visibility from my cockpit was the fact that I
was a Veteran with excellent eyesight.  Being able to eyeball bogies and
keep two of them padlocked every turn was a critical factor in maintaining
SA.  There were only two occasions when I didn't have vital visual
information during the game.

Comm Discipline -

I'm sure all those who played in the game would agree that good comm was
critical.  Although we went over comm procedures during the mission
prebrief, I have to admit to being very frustrated with the messages from
one PAF pilot.  Sending a message "Bogies at 9 o'clock and 11 o'clock high"
doesn't do anything but demonstrate your recall of WWII movie dialog.  A
message like this is worse than no message at all, because it confuses your
flightmates.  Send range, bearing, altitude, and if possible, speed
information about sightings.  You also need to give a known anchor for your
bearing.  If you are sending a message to your wingman, and you have that
wingman in sight, give bearings with respect to your wingman's aircraft.
If you are sure the intended recipient of your message can see your
aircraft, go ahead and use your aircraft for a bearing anchor.  If you need
a common point of reference, but are unsure of what everybody sees, use a
prominant map feature--like a dam or the end of a ridge--for your bearing
anchors.  I hate to say it, but had our flightmate sent intelligible
messages, he--and eventually his unprotected wingman--might not have been
shot down.  The previous statement may seem harsh, but from what transpired
during the latter part of the game, I have to believe it to be true.  No
personal criticism intended; just file this one under "vital lessons
learned."

My Wingman -

As luck would have it, I drew a great wingman.  We communicated well, he
was aggressive but not stupid, and most importantly for a Starfighter
pilot, he kept his speed up.  Once the fight was on, I don't think Ransack
spent more than a turn or two at subsonic speed.  At the beginning of the
game, I knew we F-104 pilots would do well if we could just maintain a high
Mach.  We did.  Speed is life.  Thanks Ransack; I'll buy the drinks.

A Hairy Moment -

Speaking of speed (or lack thereof) and stupidity, the most hairy moment
for me was when I had to wade into the fight with only 700 mph on the
clock.  This foolish move was prompted by two things: Waki Paki's dire
situation (a MiG perched on his tail ready to shoot), and the chance at a
beautiful, low-angle, tracking gunshot on a delta-winged foe.  I thought
the pros outweighed the cons, so I went in, dropped the MiG, saved Waki
Paki (for a short while), and ended-up at 650 mph amongst the bad guys.
Only the F-104's quick acceleration and high speed got me out of that
mess.  I'd do it again, but I'm sure I'd have the same feeling in the pit
of my stomach.

The Value of Mutual Protection -

During the mission prebrief, I asserted that because of the disparity
between the F-86's and the F-104's performance, the PAF couldn't rely on
mutual protection between sections.  Here we PAF pilots were at a
disadvantage to the IAF.  The MiGs could afford to slow down to cover, and
be covered by, the Gnats.  We had to keep our F-104s fast, and the Sabres
fight best when they're slow.  The Sabre pilots had a tough lot.  Once they
engaged, they were stuck in it for the duration, with only the protection
of a single wingman; they didn't have the shields of acceleration, speed
and climb rate.  When Grumpy went down, I knew that Waki Paki would soon
follow.  It is testimony to Waki Paki's skill that he lasted as long as he
did.

PAF Critique -

Other than the comm problem, we didn't have many hitches on our side.  The
F-104s lurked on the outside of the fight, keeping their speed up and
waiting for a chance to fly through and drop and unsuspecting bandits.  We
104s got separated once, but both of us had plenty of Mach and were able to
rejoin to mututal coverage in a few turns without any scares.  The last few
turns of the game were a tailchase, with our 104s rapidly overhauling the
fleeing Gnat and MiG.  But for the truncation of the game, I doubt whether
more than one IAF aircraft would have returned home.

I don't feel qualified to critique the Sabres tactics or flying.  I didn't
see Waki Paki go down, and I only saw Grumpy after he got hit.  How and why
Grumpy got where he was is a mystery to me, so I won't comment on it.  As I
said before, I think the Sabre pilots had the toughest job in the game.  At
best, they were dangerous bait.  At worst, they were helpless targets.
Despite their eventual downing, my hat is off to my F-86 comrades.

IAF Critique -

Though the MiG was a far more dangerous foe from my perspective, the Gnats
proved to be quite capable in dealing-out abuse.  The Gnats could rip
through tight turns, then accelerate back up to high subsonic speed within
a turn or two.  I have to admit that I was a bit confused by the movements
of the surviving MiG.  He kept a lot of speed on his airplane, but never
joined the fight with his flightmates.  Had he been facing lower
performance aircraft, perhaps these would have been effective tactics.  But
as it was, the MiG was seriously outclassed by the 104 at supersonic
speeds.  This would have been readily apparent had the game lasted a few
more turns, as Ransack and I would have double-teamed the MiG and then
concentrated on the Gnat.  Had I gone for the MiG rather than the Gnat, I
could have put missiles in the air from a mile in trail of the MiG on Turn
15--with 300 mph closure before firing.  A tighter MiG-Gnat section might
have prevented this.

Summary -

Bad die rolls (I guess those first snapshots threw off our missile
electronics and gunsights for the rest of the game) and other frustartions
aside, I heartily enjoyed the game.  My compliments to John Coley for an
excellently conceived and managed scenario.  I take away a confirmed
conviction of the importance of good communication and mutual support.  And
I learned a new respect for the wiley Gnat.  A toast to my flightmates and
opponents (and gamemaster) alike.  May we meet again in the skies over
southern asia.  Keep your eyes open though; you won't hear me until my
shockwaves and I have passed you by. ;-)

Top Wop out.

Thanks John for running a great game!

Mark, you were wondering what that surviving MiG was up to - its called
being late to post at the time of the merge with Randy in his 104 and taking
the default move which shot me out of the fight at supersonic speeds .
After this, it was just a case of catching up again...

This move also cost me contact with everyone flying - for a while I had the
world to myself.

The F-104 at speed is impressive. It is very difficult for the MiG to get
into gun or missile range (both ranges are about the same in this era...)
with the F-104 zipping about at 900 mph.

Cheers,
Terry Nonay (MiG#1)

A few comments from Gnat-1:

1) Thank you very much John Coley!  The game was both a lot of fun and very
well run.  You inspired me to do my umpiring of Assault double blind and
with limited communication.  So far (the start of turn 3) I've made more
mistakes than I noticed in your whole game.

2) Sorry Gregg!

3) Topwop seemed quite upset that his missiles missed me.  That's what I'd
expect when firing AIM-9Bs at a target in Idle (+1) with a size modifier
of +2 (total modifier +3 - with to hit numbers of 3 and 7).

4) I will make a comment about VPs on the Air Power list that relates to the
situation in this scenario.

5) It is quite unnerving to know something's there and not be able to see
it.

Umpired adds so much to a game!

Not much I can add, having gone down so fast ;-)  Thanks for the
sympathy Neil. Being a rookie at the system I expected to go down fast,
especially considering the aircraft I had (not impossible, but an expert
touch needed, I think). And as noted, yes, most of my air combat
knowledge is in the WWII era, not jets.  Anyone want to take me on with
me flying a Zero?  Thought not ;-)

As to the handling of the game, I thought it was quite well done.  Having
run e-mail games, I know the difficulties and time constraints. Not being
an expert in the game system, I can't comment on fine detail, but thought
the rulings well thought out and explained.  John, thinking of running any
other type games (I wouldn't join in another TsoH and saddle that side
with my MiG-bait meanderings)?  On the other hand, it was fun getting
ALL mail and watching the game unfold (sort of a Heaven's eye view, as
my pilot was pulped by cannon fire in his cockpit).

Thanks again John.  Good luck all.

Gregg Belevick
gbelevick@holycross.edu