From: ke4bss@aol.com (Ke4bss)
Subject: London's Burning

I have some ideas on strategy and an addition to the game that makes it
more interesting.

For Stategy:  I suggest letting the Germans have Hells Corner (the lower
part of the board or what is South East England.).  The targets are too
close to France and your respose time is very limited.  Scrambling to
intercept is nearly impossible and flying standing patrols eats up pilot
fatigue and makes your radar nearly worthless.  Radar is your secret
weapon so use it to track targets past the threat of the Raid attacking a
radar site.  If the Germans do attack a  radar site and you have not
scrambled to intercept then most likely the damage done will be minor and
easily repaired.  One site out of action is not a big deal, even two sites
play into my strategy.

Let the Raids at least  complete 2-3 pulses then scramble.  After the Raid
is past your radar sites then its time to get em.  Early in the game the
Raid will most likely hit their target before your fighters intercept  and
you will have to catch them and just maybe ,even later in the game as
targets are damaged,  you will intercept before the Raid drops its bombs. 
Intercepting over your own territory is a good idea for several reasons:
1. pilots shot down have a better chance of surviving, refrain from
fighting over the channel. 2. damaged planes usually do not have far to
fly to a safe airfield and more import   3.  damaged enemy planes usually
crash thus adding valuable kills towards your pilots ace status. 
Intercepting Raids close to France usually means that damaged enemy planes
will land safely.   Always try to have atleast some tactical advantage
when intercepting, diving out of the sun or head on attacks or both.  A
sort of beware of the Brit in the sun.  This gives your pilots a valueable
suprise attack and initial advantage.  I mostly use those advantages to
bounce the German Fighters.  I have also quickly come to grief when the
German fighters attack my fighters from a higher level altitude so its a
good idea to try to place your planes so that the German fighters engage
you at the same altitude or lower altitude.  I also use my planes together
as a team rather than separating them.  Your pilots will fight at 2\1 odds
and greater.  Using fighters to attack without the support of the 2nd
fighter is basically foolish.  As long as you have 2 fighters, use them as
a team.  I have wiped out 4 and 5 plane raids by placeing my planes
together.

The above is based on a full game using historical weather.  Upcoming rain
days make for easy repair time.  I usually try to fly a combination of
patrols over targets and scrambling.  If the first 2 phases of the day go
by without a Raid then I fly patrols over targets.  This way the fatigue
that is spent is recovered that night by pilots resting.  Never neadlessly
risk an ace pilot.  My first objective with regards to my pilots is to get
them to be aces.  Pilots are easily killed or wounded and the loss of an
ace by trying to over use him is not a good idea.  For example I had and
ace Spit pilot and regular Hurr. pilot in one battle.  The Hurr. pilot was
blasted out of the sky by a 109 which left the ace.  He faced two 109 and
a 110.  The 110 was at a higher altitude.  My ace probably would have
evaded their attacks but I just did not want to loose him, so I broke off
the fight.  He has since gone on to shoot down many more Germans.

One thing I didnt like about the game.  Pilots, not enough of em.  I
doubled the number of pilots to 10 Hurr, and 6 Spit. pilots.  The rules
have where if pilots are killed or wounded and you start running out of
pilots, then simply revive one.  I think this cuts out a major element
that was a consideration during the actual battle.  Dowding had plenty of
planes.  Not as many as the Germans but British factories were pumping out
hundreds of fighters per month.  They could not pump out that many pilots.
 Dowding could get the planes but he could not count on a e reserve of
pilots.  By adding the additional pilots and disregarding the reviving
method of the game, you add a critical element to the game.  If you take
heavy losses in pilots the RAF will not be able to keep up.  You can
afford to loose about 3 pilots a week.   I got pilot names from men who
actually flew during the battle.  My sources were:
Aces Over Europe  computer game by Dynamix.  In the game there is a list
of British Aces that you can fly against and all of them served in the
Battle of Britian (I think)

Battle of Britian  computer game by Lucas Films.  I took some names of
pilots from the users manual.

Defenders of the Realm  video from Knights of the Sky series.

The only pilot that I chose that did not fly in the Battle is ME.  I
couldnt resist.  I snatched an American flag marker from my Civil War game
and use it to represent me.  I think it is fair since there were Americans
that did fight for the RAF during the battle.  Besides I really needed
another Hurr, pilot.

Well thats about it.  Tell me what ya think.

Wade Griffin

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so
few."
          Winston Churchill

From: rgtft@aol.com
Subject: Re: London's Burning
Date: 5 Jan 1997 06:13:16 GMT

In article <19970104084600.DAA13383@ladder01.news.aol.com>, ke4bss@aol.com
(Ke4bss) writes:
>For Stategy:  I suggest letting the Germans have Hells Corner (the lower
>part of the board or what is South East England.).  The targets are too
>close to France and your respose time is very limited.  Scrambling to
>intercept is nearly impossible and flying standing patrols eats up pilot
>fatigue and makes your radar nearly worthless.  Radar is your secret
>weapon so use it to track targets past the threat of the Raid attacking a
>radar site.  If the Germans do attack a  radar site and you have not
>scrambled to intercept then most likely the damage done will be minor and
>easily repaired.  One site out of action is not a big deal, even two
>sites play into my strategy.

This wouldn't work in the short game.  If you get too many
places bombed out (at two points a crack) you aren't going
to be able to shoot down enough German planes to win.

>1. pilots shot down have a better chance of surviving, refrain from
>fighting over the channel. 2. damaged planes usually do not have far to
>fly to a safe airfield and more import   3.  damaged enemy planes usually
>crash thus adding valuable kills towards your pilots ace status. 
>Intercepting Raids close to France usually means that damaged enemy
>planes will land safely.   Always try to have atleast some tactical
>advantage when intercepting, diving out of the sun or head on attacks
>or both.  A sort of beware of the Brit in the sun.

Agree with everything here.  Also, try to keep London from "burning"
You don't need the additional plane added to raids.

>If the first 2 phases of the day go
>by without a Raid then I fly patrols over targets.  This way the fatigue
>that is spent is recovered that night by pilots resting.

Agreed.  I never patrol unless I know I can recover the fatigue
at night.  (Of course, my base could get bombed or a pilot shaken,
but I'll take those chances)

>One thing I didnt like about the game.  Pilots, not enough of em.  I
>doubled the number of pilots to 10 Hurr, and 6 Spit. pilots.  The rules
>have where if pilots are killed or wounded and you start running out of
>pilots, then simply revive one.

Hunh?  You get your two pilots.  Two in the reserve box.  And the
rest are placed on the "Sundays" on the calender.  (8 total) If you
are out of pilots (dead, wounded...), you are outta luck.  [Maybe I
missed the reviving dead pilots section.  Calling Spitfire pilot
Lazarus!  :-)  Where in the rules is this?]

>I think this cuts out a major element
>that was a consideration during the actual battle.  Dowding had plenty of
>planes.  Not as many as the Germans but British factories were pumping
>out hundreds of fighters per month.  They could not pump out that many
>pilots.

I think that one of the major decision points of the game is how
to expend your pilots.  Your pilots are limited, which makes the
game fun.  At one point you say there are not enough pilots, and
another you say there are too many.  The game does limit your
pilots, not planes which gives you a similar problem like Dowding
faced in your example.

Get the latest issue of The General  (31.1).  It adds rules for a Defiant
to be flown.  It's a lousy plane to fly, but if you have no other
choice its better than nothing.  A fun addition to a fun solitaire game.
 
RGT