|
HEINKEL 111 THE SPADE PLAY TEST QUESTONS
AND ANSWERS |
A: Yes, that is added to the die roll on
Table B-2 on both day and night missions.
Q: Would there be flak on a mine laying
mission ? ( except if you are rolling for flak if flying over a populated
area on your way to the Bristol Channel ?)
A: There will only be Low-Level Flak on a
mining mission, and only if there is no Balloon Coverage in the target area on
route to it. There will be Low-Level Flak in the Target Zone when you return to
base. Also, there will be Search Lights both to and from the target. I noticed
now that I had forgotten to add “To Target:
He 111 Table B-2 is +1 if caught in a Search Light” on page 11 in The Sapde.
Q: Several RAF / RN fighter aircraft on the
"Surprise Attack" phase are not noted to be night fighters.
A: That is true. The Hurricane and Gladiator
were no night fighters, but they were used on night fighter patrols with out
radar, relying on ground control and search lights. All fighters on Table NM-2
Attacking Night Fighter will be referred to as a night fighter even though the
Gladiator and Hurricane were day fighters. Nos. 73, 85 and 87 used the
Hurricane on night patrols and No. 247 Squadron used the Gladiator on night
patrols in the Plymouth area after it was removed from the day fighter role. It
was outdated and no match for the German fighters. The Defiant was used as a
day fighter at first, but when it met the Luftwaffe for the first time in the
Battle of Britain it was a failure and was removed from day fighting to be used
in the night fighter role. Radar was installed in the Defiant in 1941 I think.
The “true” night fighters were the Blenheim and Beaufighter. The Blenheims were
with out radar, but some had them installed in the summer of 1940 before the
Battle of Britain. When the Beaufighter appeared in September it was first
without radar, but from October all had it in the nose.
To simplify Table NM-2 (page 17) make all night fighters in July to September a Blenheim and in October make all "non-Beaufighters" a Blenheim. A Beaufighter will be a Beaufighter.
Q: Why is there a choice in using table B-1,
B-2 or Night Fighter Contact table ?
A: I see now that Table B-1 and B-2 are
confusing and will try to correct that. Use B-1 and B-2 “WAVES” (on the left in
the table) on day missions and “NIGHT FIGHTER” on night missions.
A: On Table NM-2 Attacking Night Fighter a
“Blenheim” and “Beufighter” is without radar and a “Blenheim IF” (IF added) and
a “Beaufighter MK IF” (MK IF added) will have radar. I am thinking about
chaning “IF” and “MK IF” to “(w. Radar)”
to make it less confusing.
Q:
The G-1 mod for the pilot +1 (Pilots who have flown
0-5 only or under missions) Is this mod added to the dice roll? Suggestion:
List under B-1 table mods where they come from & what affects
B-1 dice
roll.
A:
Yes, Table G-1/1 (Kettenkeil) note a) is +1 to the
die roll if pilot has 0-5 missions, and –1 if he has flown 6
or more missions.
Excellent suggestion. I will add something about this in The Spade.
Q: Is the +1 for Defiants on Table B-4 (for the four
.303's) is this added
to the dice roll or to the number of hits? Defiants in a Vertical Climb
attacks
on B-4 say as an example, rolls a 6 giving +1 for it's .303's=7 This on
the
chart in the Vertical Climb column result is a 1* Is the '1'
changed to '2' due to the Defiants +1 mod or is the dice roll
increased
by '1'?
A:
Defiants add one hit to the total number from Table
B-4. In your example this would result in 2 hits. If I remember
correctly now,
the Hurricane and Blenheim will also add one hit. The Gladiator and the
Spitfire
MK Ib (with cannons and only four .303 MG) will have the result
decreased by
one hit.
Q: I'm confused with the rule under B-4 Table
* If Fighter has a
+1 or higher damage modifier this is '0' and ...etc"
A:
This
is something I would like to change into
something that is easier to understand. I wasn’t sure if my
idea would come
across. If a fighter has a damage modifier of +1 (Defiant, Blenheim or
Hurricane) a result of No effect will be 1 hit. It seems that I have
put too
many asterixes on that table. Only “No Effects”
should have and asterix. I
think I’ll change “no effect” to
“0.” Do you think that would be easier to
understand? BUT, in that case a fighter with a damage modifier of x1.5
(non
included in this variant at the moment) will have
“0” hits, when my idea was to
have it score at least 1 hit.
Q: Does the Defiant get a +1 mod when it gets a
chance to fire it's rear
gun after the Germans Passing Shots are over?
A:
Yes, but I am not sure how realistic this is. It
fires first with its turret, and while the Defiant passes the He 111
the rear
gunner traverses the turret and fires a second time. If it hits it will
add 1
to the total number of hits, because of the four .303 close together in
the
turret.
Q: Missing Levels? Or are these not possible due to
line Of Sight
restrictions due to the HE111 P-1 gun positions?
6 Level on the M-1 Table?
9 Low on the M-1 Table?
9 Low on the Passing Shots Table?
A:
6 level is not missing. It is not within the filed of
fire. On some photos it seems that the rear ventral MG could fire at 6
level,
but I am not sure. There were versions of the He 111 with a MG in the
tail
cone, remotely fired I think and I don’t think that it was
factory installed. I
decided to not put that detail in this variant as I wasn’t
sure of which models
had this gun and when exactly it was used.
3 and
9 low on Table M-1 is also out side
the field of fire, but I am not certain. It seems that the waist window
guns
may be able to fire in this direction, but it may also be too narrow
inside the
He 111 for the gunner to be able to aim properly. I chose to make 3 and
9 low
outside the field of fire to try to reflect the fact that the He 111
had weak
defenses. I may add
these to the field
of fire though.
Q: Mechanical Failures page 8: Do I roll on Table G-11 in
EACH zone?
A: DO NOT
roll on He 111 Table G-11 in each zone. You roll 2D6 in each zone before moving
in to the next, or turning around in the target zone. If the result of this
dice roll is 12, roll on He 111 Table G-11.
A: The GAZ Modifiers on the map are a simplification for
the play-tests. When there are two modifiers use the left hand side on the
route to target and right hand on the return trip. (I am working on two
Gazetteers at the moment. One is for KG 55 and the other for KG 1 and 53.
Q: I am assuming that if there are fighters at the 3 Low
and 9 Low position the HE111 cannot engage these with any of its gun systems as
I don't see the position listed in the defensive fire charts.
A: That is correct, although I am not certain about 3 and
9 low. I may add that too to the field of fire. My sources are limited. I have
seen some drawings and photos and it seems that it may not be possible to fire
at 3 and 9 low.
Q: I am afraid the whole passing shots rule escapes me at
the moment. I assume that if the fighters miss the HE111 then using the passing
shot position table the HE111 may fire upon the passing fighter.
A: I see now that this section is still incomplete and
may be confusing. I’ll correct it. In the original B-17 rules the tail
gunner can fire at fighters attacking from 12, 10 and 1. They will be at 6
o’clock and he hits on “6.” In HE 111 not only the fighters from the front can
be subject to passing shots, but also those attacking from other directions. (I
am thinking about making this an optional rule and restrict the “basic” passing
shot rule to the original B-17 rule.)
There are a couple of things
I am unsure of here:
i) I assume you can only fire a passing shot if you have
not already used that gun system during the initial combat round against the
fighter ie if I use the dorsal gun to fire at a target in a combat round I
cannot then also use it in the same combat round to fire a passing shot?
R: A gun which has not fired may fire a
passing shot if the fighter attacking is within the gunner’s field of fire.
Move a fighter from its attacking position to the passing shot position.
ii) When using the passing shot
position table, say I have an enemy fighter attacking me from 12 High; he
misses the HE111 and I get to have a passing shot at him as he flys to position
6 o'clock. As the table does not specify at what height he is ie low, level or
high at 6 o'clock; which gun systems would be allowed to fire at him... the
dorsal, the ventral or both?
R: An attacking fighter will not move from his original
altitude for the passing shot position. If it attacks from 12 high, it will be
at 6 high for the passing shot. If it attacks from 12 level it may seem that he
will collide with the bomber to get to his passing shot position at 6 level,
but he will only pass very, very close to the bomber. (I have a guideline for
this in another variant I am working on. If a fighter is KIA or FBOA there is a
chance that it will collide with the B-17.) There is one exception: A fighter
at 6 low will not move to 12 low. It will move to vertical dive and no He 111
passing shots will be possible.
Q: I could not find anything which talks about allowable
aborts. For example my HE111 took a hit in the fuel tank and only has 3 zones
of fuel left. Does this mean that I would drop out of formation and attempt to
return home alone or do I have the choice as in B17 to fly on
regardless, hopefully bomb the target and ditch somewhere on the homebound
journey?
A: You can choose to go on or abort. Use the original
B-17 rules for aborts. In this example I would abort. I’ll add a section on
allowable aborts or refer to the original rule with some exceptions.
Q: I also think a note got missed on Table B3 where
under wave type 65 note e is referenced but their is no note e in the text
block below. I assume only the ventral gun system could fire at this target?
A: That is correct. I noticed this mistake on my last
mission. The note should be (d).
Q: Fighter cover... some of the targets are deep within
England and effectively outside normal Fighter cover duration. ME109's we
limited to the south and didn't get that much further inland. Is this
limitation of fighter cover featured in the game or have I just missed the
rules? It seems that a single fighter cover role might distort the actual
position if you say, roll good cover for a mission that is deep within the UK!
In this instance would the cover be just Bf110's or no cover at all for example
as seen in Luft V missions against the North East?
A: The fighter cover range is something I forgot to
include in He 111: The Spade. I sent out an email with the range, but have
forgotten to send it to you. Me 109s will escort your bomber to Zone 5. (This
may be a little too far for Me 109s, so I am considering to change it to Zone
4.) Me 110s will escort you to Zone 6.