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Rangoon 1942 '08

Rangoon, '42 Rules v10

Please note that, on game day, the Special Events Arena will be closed to admittance immediately after Start Time of this event. Please show up on or before Start Time if you want to get in. To get in after that point (such as if you get disconnected), please enter ".p roscoroo let me in" into your radio text buffer in the Main Arena to send a private message to Roscoroo, who is one of the CM's. He will let you in. (Start Time is *not* Takeoff Time -- for the distinction, please see the "Mission Timeline" section.)

Table of Contents

  • Dates and Times
  • Introduction
  • Further Description
    • Orders
    • Summary of Player-Enforced Rules
  • Forces
  • Scenario Environment
    • Map
    • Arena Settings
  • Operational Rules
  • Scoring
  • Mission Timeline
  • Notes and Special Stipulations
  • Settings
  • Reasons for Various Aspects of Rules
  • Aspects Particularly Different from Main Arena
  • Links to Historical Information
  • Credits
  • Change Log

Dates and Times

Players should register for this Aces High scenario to play in it so that they can get mission orders, although walkons are allowed to show up in the Special Events Arena on game day to see if there are any open positions to fill. This scenario will be a four-frame event (four battles) with one test frame (or "practice" or "beta" frame). The practice frame is on July 26, 2008. Frames 1-4 are on August 2, 9, 16, and 23, 2008. Start Time is 3 pm US Eastern Daylight Time. (For how that translates to your time, here is a time converter.) All frames run in the Special Events Arena.

Important: Please show up on or before Start Time to play. The arena will be closed to admittance at Start Time. If you are disconnected and can't get back in, you can private message the CM (Roscoroo) from the Main Arena by typing ".p roscoroo let me in" into your radio text buffer. (Start Time is *not* Takeoff Time -- for the distinction, please see the "Mission Timeline" section.)

Introduction

It is January, 1942, and the forces of Imperial Japan have been unstoppable. They have stormed out of their home islands and have swept all opposition before them. In just the past single month alone, they have advanced in China, annihilated the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, invaded Thailand and Malaya, captured Guam and the Gilbert Islands, sunk the capital ships HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales, invaded Burma, the Phillipines, and the Dutch East Indies, and captured Wake Island and Hong Kong.

China, already invaded, may hang in the balance. Allied forces -- American, British and British Commonwealth, Dutch, and Australian forces -- are doing what they can, but there aren't many of them left in the area. One critical task for the allies is to keep materiel flowing to China, in an effort to keep it equipped enough to fight back. With Southeast Asia cut off by Japanese expansion and dominance, the best route left is the renowned Burma Road. The allies can land materiel at Rangoon and use convoys to move it into China.

The Japanese know this and are working not just to conquer China from within but to strangle it from without by cutting supply lines. They have already established themselves in Thailand and are now entering Burma. The goal: take Rangoon -- cut the Burma Road. They are pushing forward, and the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force is ranging ahead, preparing the way.

The allied air forces consist of an assortment of Royal Air Force aircraft, manned by British and Commonwealth pilots, and a group from the US that has arrived only shortly before -- the American Volunteer Group, known as "The Flying Tigers".

In this Aces High scenario, the RAF and AVG forces (flying Hurricane Mk I's, Spitfire Mk I's, P-40B's, P-40E's, F4F-3's (FM-2's), Beafighters (A-20G's), and Buffalos (SBD's)) defend Rangoon against the IJAAF (flying A6M2's, A6M5b's, Betties (Ju 88's), and Dinahs (Bf 110C's)). Pilots get one life in aircraft (except for a limited number of 2nd lives in Buffalos) and unlimited lives as gunners on Betties. There will be four frames (battles), each lasting several hours.

The IJAAF goal is to bomb Rangoon into submission. No force on earth has yet been able to stop them. Can a regrouped RAF and the AVG make a stand to preserve the last artery of supply into China?

1 Further Description

This is a semi-hypothetical scenario of the Japanese attack on Rangoon early in 1942. In this case, a mixed Allied force is defending the city from air attack. The IJA is trying to gain control of the skies and bomb the defenses to enable a coordinated ground-naval assault. This was one of the first encounters between the AVG and IJA where the Japanese started to develop tactics to counter the stronger, faster US fighters. It was also one of the last desperate stands for the British-led forces before falling back to India.

In real life, the Allies were facing much older and slower Japanese planes. Since we do not have these available, A6M Zeros and Ju-88's (as Betty bombers) are being used, but in smaller numbers than actually took place relative to the Allied planes. The situation being depicted is that after an initial bloody nose was delivered by the AVG and RAF, the Japanese pulled in stronger air assets (using more modern aircraft) to wipe the skies over Rangoon clean so they could take the city.

Commentary: This is still a tough event for both sides. Fighters will meet co-altitude which is good for the IJA, but numbers are much closer which gives the IJA fewer options - the balance of close escort to sweeps is much keener.

1.1 Orders

Allies: Prevent the destruction of Rangoon and fighter assets.

Japan: Bomb Rangoon, inflict damage on Allied air assets.

1.2 Summary of Player-Enforced Rules

The following is a summary of some rules that regular pilots must enforce upon themselves during play (as opposed to those rules that are enforced by settings or enforced by how CM's or CO's set things up prior to frame start). This is intended as a handy summary list. You still should know the rest of the rules as well. For details of what a term means exactly (such as what is a "life", what constitutes "nearest non-flashing base", and so on), see the rules.

  • Bomber max altitude is 10,000 ft.
  • Fighter max altitude is 12,000 ft (except when engaged -- see rules).
  • Pilots get one life in aircraft (except for Buffalos -- see rules).
  • Fighters must fly in flights of at least half-squadron strength (except for Beaufighters).
  • IJAAF bombers must fly in flights of at least squadron strength.
  • Dead IJAAF pilots should man guns on IJAAF bombers.
  • Fighter rearming allowed everywhere.
  • Replaning allowed only at select bases (see rules).
  • IJAAF bombers must load max internal and external bombs.
  • Intentional ramming not allowed.
  • No vulching except at Rageng, Tovay, and Moulmein.
  • No drop tanks (except for IJAAF L.R. ESCORT).
  • Allied aircraft may not carry bombs.
  • Unlimited lives as bomber gunner or ground gunner.
  • Any planes still in the air at end of the frame are considered lost.

2 FORCES

2.1 FORCE DESCRIPTION

The Allies have a mixed bag of defending fighters, supported by a flight of Bristol Beaufighters.

The IJA has a solid package of A6M Zeroes and 2 medium bomber squadrons. A long-range fighter group of Ki-46-III's and Naval A6M5 Zeroes is capable of staying with the bombers for the duration of their flight.

2.2 Force Chart

ALLIED FORCES JAPANESE FORCES
HQ @ 4 P40E HQ @ 4 A6M5b
RECON @ 4 Beaufighter (A20G) L.R. ESCORT @ 4 x Ki-46-III Dinah (Me110C) + 4 x A6M5b
1 RAF Sqdn @ 12 Spit I 2 IJA Bomber Sqdn @ 3 Betty (Ju-88) Formations
1 RAF Sqdn @ 12 Hurri I 3 IJN Fighter Sqdn @ 12 A6M5b
1 AVG Sqdn @ 12 P40B 3 IJA Fighter Sqdn @ 12 A6M2
1 AVG Sqdn @ 12 P40E  
1 RAAF Sqdn @ 12 F4F-3 (FM2)  
* "Reserve" Sqdn @ 12 Buffalo (SBD)  

This is 68 allied fighter pilots to 90 axis pilots (84 axis fighter pilots, 6 axis bomber pilots). This is a ratio of total_allied:total_axis of 1:1.32.

2.3 Special Rules

  • US "Reserve" squadron allows the first 12 Allied pilots who die to replane in SBD's - everyone else is 1-life-to-live. SBD's kind of suck, but twin .50's are enough to finish off a Ju-88 or nail an A6M2 with a solid burst - they can be a last ditch defense over the city of pilots who died during the early intercept. Rear guns of SBD's may not be used.
  • IJA ESCORT flight are the only planes which may carry drop tanks. Basically they'll be the close escort duty and will be able to stay with the bombers without needing to refuel. They will NOT be allowed to freelance until after Allied fighters have been spotted in icon range.
  • If and as there is more demand by players to participate in the scenario, registration will be increased a squadron at a time. Registration on the allied side will be increased by 12 slots, and registration on the axis side will be increased by 18 slots. The additional allied pilots are to be assigned to Hurri I's or P-40B's. On the axis side, 17 of the 18 additional pilots are to be assigned to A6M2's, and 1 of the 18 is to be assigned to fly Ju 88's.

3 SCENARIO ENVIRONMENT

Notes:

  • Rangoon is A1. Magwe is A7. Toungoo is A4. Moulmein is A10.
  • Bangkok is A2. Tovay is A11. Raheng is A8. Phitsanulok is A5.
  • Central mountain range tops out at around 5000 ft.
  • There is a minor error in the terrain in that many of the fields shown as airfields on the map are actually vehicle bases. A15-A25, A29, A31-A38 are all vechicle bases.
  • For the most part, bases other than the airbases assigned to each side, are set at Rook, which means they are hostile to both sides. These are all vehicle bases, so consider each Rook base to be a small 2-gun antiaircraft position that (friendly or not) is twitchy and will shoot at any aircraft that come by. None of them have AAA (puffy ack), so there should be little trouble in avoiding their small number of short-range field guns.
  • The following bases will have ack disabled at them, so that there can be overflights and fighting nearby without any concern about ack: A19, A20, A21, A22, and A35.

3.1 Arena Settings

3.1.1 Max Altitude

  • Maximum cruise altitude for all fighters is 12,000 feet.
  • Maximum cruise altitude for IJA bombers is 10,000 feet.
  • For fighters, if you aren't close enough to an enemy, you MUST be at 12,000 feet or lower. To be above 12,000 ft you need either (1) icon visibility on an enemy aircraft or (2) dot visibility on an enemy aircraft and icon visibility on a squadmate who has icon visibility on an enemy aircraft. So once combat concludes, or once everyone in your squad is out of icon range of the enemy, or once you lose dot contact on the enemy, etc., you ned to get back to 12,000 ft.
  • We will try to have a thin, transparent layer of cloud at 12,200 ft to remind people about the 12k altitude rule.
  • There is no minumum altitude - but there is AAA.
  • There is a strong downwind at 16,000 feet -- enough above 12,000 feet to allow room for maneuvering in combat, but the limit helps avoid gross violation of the 12,000 ft altitude rule.

3.1.2 Radar

  • Allies have dot-dar for 10 miles around their bases. No other radar is on.
  • Allied and IJAAF bases will flash when enemies are within 10 miles.
  • Rook bases will not flash at all; so scouts, sweeps, bombers, etc. don't have to worry about that.

3.1.3 Rearming

  • Fighters may re-arm at any friendly airfield.
  • Allied fighters may exit and replane only at Rangoon, Magwe, and Toungoo.
  • IJAAF fighters may exit and replane only at Bangkok and Phitsanulok.
  • Bombers may exit and replane only at Bangkok.

3.1.4 Time Limit

  • The mission runs dawn-to-dusk on an accelerated clock whereby the lit hours use about 3 hours of elapsed time.
  • The mission ends when all planes are down or at 3 hours after takeoff, whichever occurs first.

3.1.5 Fuel & Drop tanks

  • Only the IJA escort can carry drop tanks. No other planes may carry drop tanks.
  • Fuel multiplier will be set to 1.0.

3.1.6 Bombs and Ground Attack

  • NO fighter aircraft on either side may carry bombs or attack surface targets.
  • NO attacks on AAA, hangars, or radar is allowed.

3.1.7 Flight boundaries

  • See map above. Planes are not allowed to fly outside the boundaries of the map as shown unless pursued there. Once combat is resolved, the survivor(s) must return to the play area at once.

3.1.8 Clouds

  • Clouds will be as follows: a thin, transparent layer at 12,200 ft (as a reminder to pilots on the 12k altitude rule); intermittent, scattered puffy clouds below 8k over the water; and intermittent, scattered larger clouds above 16k everywhere.

4 OPERATIONAL RULES

4.1 One Life To Live

  • You get one life to live as a pilot except as noted below. If you bail, ditch, get captured, crash, or get killed (anything other than a "landed successfully" message), it counts as using up a life. If you land successfully and then rearm (at an allowed field) or land successfully and then exit and replane (at an allowed field), it does not count as using up your pilot life.
  • The sole exception to this is that the first 12 Allied players to get shot down may replane in Buffalo's (SBD) - the CO or his staff will need to keep track of how many Allied flyers have been replaced this way, with the lead CM deciding on some points penalty if more than 12 SBD's are found to have been taken. Allied flyers replaning in SBD's MUST check in with the CO (or whoever he delegates) and request a new ride.
  • Once you have used up your life as a pilot, you can be a gunner on a bomber or man a ground gun and have unlimited lives in that role.
  • IJAAF pilots who use up their pilot life should join bombers as gunners.

4.2 Formation Rules

  • Bombers cannot fly in smaller than squadron strength. This means the IJA can have at most two strike groups. Or they can combine everything into one large group.
  • Bombers may NOT dogfight. Any kill awarded to the pilot seat of a Betty will be discarded. The IJA were pretty disciplined in terms of maintaining formation, so the bomber squadron CO's will be expected to keep their groups in tight formation to and from target.
  • Bettys must launch with full internal bomb racks of 20 x 50 kg and full external stores of 4 x 500 kg bombs. The Ju-88 is a quicker more nimble plane than the Betty, so we need to "dirty it up" some.
  • IJA/IJN fighters must patrol in at least half-squadron formations of 6. This means each plane must be in vis range of another plane in the squadron.
    Alled fighters must patrol/escort in no smaller than flight-size formations of 4. This means each plane must be in vis range of another plane in the flight. The recon Beaufighters may fly singly.

5 SCORING

5.1 VICTORY POINTS

Points are pretty straightforward. The Allies get points for downing bombers. The Japanese get points for destroying buildings. It all comes down to if the Japanese bombers can get to target and back week after week. There are also bonuses for "blow-out" results.

Objective Team Points
Per bomber destroyed. Allies -1
Per bomber dropping on Rangoon (see below). Japan +1
No bombs landing on Rangoon. Allies -5
No bombers lost (only if bombs delivered on Rangoon). Japan +5
Per Betty squadron forced to break formation or change altitude for reasons other than getting below cloud cover or landing. Allies -3
Per IJA squadron which takes > 50% losses in a mission. Allies -1/2
Per Allied squadron which takes > 50% losses in a mission. Japan +1

If a bomber pilot gets at least one "object destroyed" from his bombing of Rangoon, then he gets +1 for each of his bombers that was present in his formation while over Rangoon. For target purposes, Rangoon is both of the two cities near and just south of A1. One is an HQ city, and the other is the town for A1 -- collectively, they are Rangoon.

The "Bettys break formation" bonus basically is there to keep the Ju-88's from diving like maniacs towards the target or for home. That's not how the IJA flew. The Betty's must maintain a formation in level flight. If they decide to break or dive out and run on the deck to avoid getting shot down, that's a calculated risk as it effectively gives the Allies 3-kills worth of points. This rule is released once the Betty's are within a sector of Bangkok - then they can run for the safety of their AAA. The Betty's may also dump 500ft of altitude after their bomb run - a brief dive to regain speed from the turn for home.

Victory Level Mission Average
Japanese Decisive Victory +15.00 - ++
Japanese Major Victory +10.00 - +14.99
Japanese Minor Victory +5.00 - +9.99
Draw +4.99 - -4.99
Allied Minor Victory -5.00 - -9.99
Allied Major Victory -10.00 - -14.99
Allied Decisive Victory -15.00 - --

6 MISSION TIMELINE

Please show up no later than Start Time. The arena is closed to admittance right after Start Time. Takeoff Time is typically roughly 30 minutes after Start Time (but it varies and is subject to CM's judgement).

The following are times with offsets given in minutes.

Time Event
S (Start Time)
  • Start Time (as given above).
  • Arena is closed to further admittance.
  • If you are disconnected after Start Time, follow the instructions above on how to get back in.
  • Walkons start getting assigned.
S + 25 (approx. = T-10)
  • The CM will check with the CO's to see if they are ready for takeoff countdown to start. CO's are given some amount of time after S to get all their pilots assigned, arranged, and briefed. If they aren't ready at S+25, they are given a little more time, and the CM keeps checking. Once the CO's are ready, the CM starts the takeoff countdown.
  • If the CO's are not ready, eventually, ready or not (at S+35 or 40 or so, subject to the CM's judgement), the CM will start the takeoff countdown anyway.
T-5 (Takeoff Countdown)
  • Takeoff countdown starts. CM announces 5 minutes to launch.
T-0 (Takeoff)
  • Takeoff time. The CM announces that both sides clear to launch planes.
  • CO's, wait for the CM to announce clear to take off before you launch your planes.
  • Pilots, wait for your CO to tell you to launch before you take off.
  • Takeoff occurs at 6:00 am on the tower and aircraft clocks.
T+15
  • IJAAF must have launched bombers by this time.
T+180 (Nightfall)
  • Darkness settles on Rangoon -- mission is effectively over.
  • This occurs at 5:30 pm on the tower and aircraft clocks.
T+190 (Frame End)
  • All planes not landed by now are considered lost.
  • This occurs at 5:40 pm on the tower and aircraft clocks.

If prior to T+180, combat is finished and the CO's say that they are done for the day, the CM can end the frame earlier than T+190.

7 NOTES & SPECIAL STIPULATIONS

  • Players may use the clock any way they see fit - with the proviso that the bombers MUST make an attack each mission, that they MUST launch no later than 15 minutes after dawn (and actually fly to target - not just land and wait some more). This does raise the possibiliy of the fighters of both sides meeting in combat while the bombers are climbing back at their base, having time to rearm, and then fight again during the actual escort/intercept.
  • Ramming - intentional ramming is NOT permitted. A few occurances are to be expected in each mission due to the close proximity of so many planes. But if an inappropriate number of planes are lost due to mid-air collisions then steps will be taken. This may include disabling enemy mid-airs and giving the injured side extra replacements to make up for the ramming activity.
  • Vultching - NO. NOT ALLOWED. IF YOU'RE SEEING ENEMY AAA COMING AT YOU, YOU'RE TOO CLOSE. THE SOLE EXCEPTIONS ARE THE RE-ARM FIELDS AT RAGENG, TOVAY AND MOULMEIN.

Settings

Terrain. rangoon.res

Wind. 0 mph. -127 downwind at 16,000 ft -- remember -127 for a downwind.

Clouds. Some fleecy clouds if possible and a thin, transparent layer at 12,200 ft.

Object down time. Destroyed objects stay destroyed for the frame, but are restored prior to next frame.

Destroyed Objects. The ack at A19, A20, A21, A22, and A35, plus whatever other acks the CM sees fit.

Adjust Time. Go into "Options->Arena Setup->Environment->Adjust Time". At T-5, set New Time to 05:55 and Multiplier to 3.8333. This causes takeoff to happen at 06:00 (sunrise) and nominal end of frame (3 real hours later) to be at 5:30 pm (17:30).

Setting Name

Value

Explanation

BomberWarningRange

52,800

Bases flash when enemy is 10 miles away.

CommunicationFlags 0 No kill messages, ch 1 disabled.

DownTimeMult

200

Destroyed objects stay destroyed.

ExitWhileMoving

332 (gunner, boat, amphib, chute)

No exit while moving, except for gunner, boat, chute, and amphib.

FighterWarningRange

52,800

Bases flash when enemy is 10 miles away.

FlightModeFlags

1152 (Formations Enabled and Auto Calibrate Bomb Sight)

Formations. Easy-mode bombsight.

FogVisibilityMiles

15.0

15 miles visibility, or at CM's discretion.

FuelBurnRateMult

1.0

Fuel burn rate.

GroundAutoLethality[Armored] 0.1 To make sure puffy ack lethality is reduced.
GroundAutoLethality[Hard] 0.1 To make sure puffy ack lethality is reduced.
GroundAutoLethality[Soft] 0.1 To make sure puffy ack lethality is reduced.

KillShooter

0

KillShooter is off -- be careful not to shoot your own countrymen.

PerkPointsDisabled

1

Perk points are disabled.

PlayerResupplyTime

0

No resupply.

RadarMode[Bishops] -- allies

56 (Disable Friendly Counters, Disable Enemy Counters, and Tower Enemy)

 Allied dot radar in range around bases.

RadarMode[Knights] -- axis

48 (Disable Friendly Counters and Disable Enemy Counters)

No radar.

RadarMode[Rooks]

48 (Disable Friendly Counters and Disable Enemy Counters)

No radar.

RandomRotate

0

  
TowerBasedRadarRange 52,800 10 mile range on radar.

ViewModeFlags

2

External view for bombers only.

WarningFlags[Rook] 0 All off -- no base flashing.
     

Object Name

Hardness

Explanation

     
Bombable 3.3 Buildings in city near A1 at 3300 lbs.

HQ

 3.3

Hardness of HQ building in city near A1 at 3300 lbs.

Town 3.3 Buildings in town near A1 at 3300 lbs.

All other settings are the default settings listed here: http://ahevents.org/images/stories/scenarios_images/defaultSettingDocument/defaultArenaSettings.html

MOTD. The following can be copy and pasted to use as the MOTD, with appropriate number for frame number.

Welcome to frame 1 of the scenario Rangoon, '42!

If you need back in and the arena is locked, please
enter ".p roscoroo let me in" into a radio text buffer
such as from the Main Arena.

Allies = Bishops
IJAAF = Knights
walkons = Rook

If you are not registered, please change to country Rook,
go to the tower at field A3, and type on channel 200,
"Walkon requesting assignment."

CM checklist. Prior to Start Time:

  • Load terrain.
  • Load tables.
  • Rotate countries if needed.
  • Change field ownership if needed. Make sure A1 and allied fields are Bish, A2 and axis fields are Knight, and A3 is Rook.
  • Check that correct planes are enabled at correct fields. Save if any changes done.
  • Check arena variables. Save if any changes done.
  • Set object settings (building, etc. hardness) and destroy any objects (acks) needed.
  • Set MOTD.
  • Set .icon.
  • Set downwind at 16,000 ft.
  • Remember to do .startlog before takeoffs.
Time Event
S (Start Time)
  • Lock arena. "Options->Arena Setup->Environment->Arena Settings", set Locked to 1.
  • Start assigning walkons from A3 to whichever side needs them.
  • Assign such that the ratio of bish:knights stays around 1 : 1.32 (to keep the sides balanced).
S + 25 (approx. = T-10)
  • The CM will check with the CO's to see if they are ready for takeoff countdown to start. If they aren't ready at S+25, they are given a little more time, and the CM keeps checking.
  • Once the CO's are ready, the CM starts the takeoff countdown. If the CO's are not ready, eventually, ready or not (at S+35 or 40 or so, subject to the CM's judgement), the CM will start the takeoff countdown anyway.
T-5 (Takeoff Countdown)
  • CM sets clock. "Options->Arena Setup->Environment->Adjust Time", set New Time to 05:55 and Multiplier to 3.8333.
  • CM announces 5 minutes to launch.
  • CM starts log (.startlog).
  • CM announces that end of frame is at 5:30 pm on the in-game clock.
T-0 (Takeoff)
  • The CM announces that both sides clear to launch planes.
  • Tower clock should read 06:00.
T+190 (Frame End)
  • CM ends log (.endlog).
  • CM unlocks arena. "Options->Arena Setup->Environment->Arena Settings", set Locked to 0.
  • This should be at 5:40 pm on the tower/aircraft clock.

Reasons for Various Aspects of Rules

Start time and closing of admittance

Admittance into the Special Events Arena will be turned off right after Start Time elapses. This is because the sides in the scenario need a little time to get their players assigned, briefed, and settled before takeoff. We have found -- based on many previous scenarios -- that if admittance to the arena is not closed, players drift in late, and curious players who haven't heard of scenarios before continue to pop in to see what is going on. While we very much want players in scenarios, it is a large organizational problem to deal with players trickling in right up to takeoff or to deal with new players asking lots of questions about scenarios while trying to get things ready for takeoff. To accomodate players who show up on time but get disconnected in the initial stages of the scenario, players can contact the CM for admittance.

FM2 vs. F4F-4

We chose to use the FM2 as a stand in for the F4F-3 instead of the F4F-4. Which one to pick depends a little bit on which differences are more important, since neither the F4F-4 nor the FM2 are exact matches for the F4F-3 performance.

The F4F-4 was an F4F-3 with more armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, folding wings, up to 6 guns (instead of 4), and a slightly more-powerful engine. With the added weight, the F4F-4 was signficantly slower from about 15k on up and significantly worse at climbing than the F4F-3.

The FM2 had a little more power than the F4F-4, but was lighter and went back to 4 guns. As a result, it had climb like the F4F-3 and a gun package like the F4F-3. On non-WEP, it was a little faster than the F4F-3 below about 8k, about the same from 8k to 15k, and slower from 15k on up. With WEP, it's faster still below 8k, a little faster from 8k to 15k, and still slower above about 15k.

The main thing, though, is the gun package. While the F4F-4 can be selected with the 4-gun package, it is very easy to mistakenly take the 6-gun package in the scenario, and we felt that enforcing 4 guns and getting a better match on climb was more important than extra speed down low (especially since the Ju 88 is faster than the Betty).

Data for the above taken from America's Hundred Thousand, by Dean.

Aircraft Set Overall

In real life in this period in Burma (late 1941 to early 1942), the Japanese pushed the allied air forces out of Burma. Then the allies came and took it back starting late 1943 and early 1944. In this first period, the IJAF had Ki-21 Sally bombers (60th, 12th, 98th Sentai), Ki-43 Hayabusa fighters (64th Sentai, etc.), Ki-27 Nate fighters, and some other types of lower performance. They didn't have Betties, Zeros or Dinahs. Likewise, the allied forces had P-40B's (AVG 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Sqdn), Hurricane Mk IIa's (RAF 17 and 135 Sqdn and 1 other), and F2A Buffaloes (RAF 67 Sqdn). They didn't have P-40E's, F4F's, Spitfires, or Beaufighters.

Perhaps a mix of aircraft that would be more-historically accurate would be P-40B's, Hurricane Mk I's, and F4F-3's (with 4 guns, as a good fit for the F2A, actually -- see America's Hundred Thousand for a comparison of F2A vs. F4F) for the allied forces (with the ratio of P-40's:Hurris:Buffaloes being 1:1:0.333) and Ju 88's (as the best fit for the Ki-21), A6M2's (for Ki-43's), and D3A's (for Ki-27's) for the Japanese forces (with the ratio of A6M2:D3A being 1:1). However, historically, the IJAF forces drastically outnumbered the allied forces, so if these more-realistic aircraft were used (where IJAF fighters are much worse than allied fighters), we'd also need more-realistic side balance with the IJAF probably having, say, 3-5 times as many players as the allied side. DoK, the original designer, picked more-contemporary aircraft and more-even player numbers. We're keeping it that way (1) because changing as described above would be a major change, requiring redesigning the scoring conditions, experimenting with side balance and playability, etc. and (2) because this scenario is already delayed compared to our originally desired schedule. Maybe in the future version, we'll try a more-historically accurate mix of aircraft.

Rook Bases

In the first running of Rangoon, '42 in 2004, there were only the stated airfields for each side (Rangoon, Bangkok, etc.). Post-2004, the terrain was converted to the new terrain format and numerous vehicle bases were added so that the terrain could be used for other special events and different time periods. For this scenario to work, it is important that all those extra vehicle bases do not provide greatly expanded radar or base-flashing coverage for the two sides. Otherwise, possible approach routes for bombers and possible scouting paths for the allies would be greatly restricted. Thus, most the vehicle bases were turned into Rook fields, and Rook radar and base flashing is turned off. The bases still would shoot at anyone approaching, though, so in addition the CM will prior to start of frame destroy the ack at some of the bases that are closest to possible action. There are too many bases to do this for all of them, even the out-of-the-way ones -- so if in doubt, stay out of ack at Rook bases.

Aspects Particularly Different from Main Arena

This section is for describing some (not all) of the aspects to this scenario that are particularly different compared to flying in the Main Arena.

Increasing Aircraft Range

In scenarios, there are times when using techniques to increase aircraft range might be important. Setting the engine's RPM and manifold settings to the "max cruise" settings in the E6B will result in more range than full military power and is a good choice for a pilot who has no idea what might work better. However, there are times when settings different from the max-cruise settings will result in even greater range, such as lowering the RPM farther than max-cruise settings. Also, the E6B information does not suggest altitudes for cruising. If you have a longer distance to travel, it may be best to climb at military power to higher altitude, then lower the RPM below the max-cruise settings. For shorter distances or for aircraft that do not perform well at high altitude, medium altitudes might work better. Figuring out a plan for fuel management is, for some scenarios, a useful part of preparation.

Wind

Some scenarios implement wind. Level bombing in wind is a bit different than bombing without wind, in terms of accuracy and techniques that are best to hit targets. You might want to suggest to your bomber pilots that they practice bombing in wind prior to the scenario if they are not familiar with the impact of wind.

Links to Historical Information

Credits

Scenario design: DoK

Scenario CM: Roscoroo

Rules writeup: Brooke

Allied CO: Husky01 ("BearKats" is his handle in the arenas)

Axis CO: leitwolf

Change Log

This section mentions the changes in each version, so that when changes are made to this document, people don't need to read the whole document to find out where the changes are.

Note on terminology: In this section, "Clarified" has a very precise meaning. If a rule is listed as being "Clarified", it means that the rule and its intent is not being changed but that the explanation herein is being improved to make the rule and its intent more clear. Rules are sometimes Clarified during a scenario based on player questions or misunderstandings about wording.

v2.0, 5/4/2008
-- Start of the rules document.
-- Require Ju 88's to carry full bomb load.
-- Changed RAAF FM-2's to be RAF FM-2's, as there were no RAAF squadrons in Burma at this time. There were Commonwealth pilots flying for RAF, though.
-- Various questions on rules modifications and sections marked for filling in are denoted by brackets [].

v2.1, 6/21/2008
-- Added explanation of FM2 use instead of F4F-4.
-- Took out P-39.
-- Added section explaining "Aircraft Set Overall".
-- Added BearKats as allied CO.
-- Added some links to historical information.

v2.2, 6/27/2008
-- Took out references to allies bombing Japanese ships. The allies had no Boston III's and no scoring in the table for bombing ships. It was a leftover from an earlier version of the scenario design and is now removed.
-- Removed ability for CO's to call mission aborts (which would cancel frames of the scenario).
-- Clarified the 12k altitude rule.
-- Put in a 15k downwind to cut down on gross violation of the 12k altitude rule.
-- Got rid of sector counters for aircraft at high altitude. Alt limits accomplished by downwind instead.
-- Changed bomber scoring to be +1 per bomber that drops on Rangoon instead of +1 per building destroyed (which is hard to calibrate with building hardness).
-- Defined "drops on Rangoon" to mean that the bomber pilot must get at least one "object destroyed" for his drop to count.
-- Fixing table of arena settings to match other descriptions in rule set.
-- Set building hardness so that a Ju 88 bomber's full load (4x500 kg + 20x50 kg = 6600 lb) can kill 2 buildings (hardness of 3300).
-- Filling in some of summary of player-enforced rules. Moved it to a more prominent location.
-- Filled in table of contents.
-- Clarified that Beaufighters can fly singly.

v3, 7/2/2008
-- leitwolf added as IJAAF CO.
-- Clarified re-arming and re-planing rules.
-- Clarified one life to live.

v4, 7/3/2008
-- Set Roscoroo as CM for this one.
-- Added dates and times.
-- Removed "Ditching and Landing" section, as it doesn't apply. Is a holdover from an earlier incarnation that contemplated attrition rules.
-- Got rid of some redundant information.
-- Took out question about wind. Just left it at 0 mph as it was originally.
-- Took out option for second mission. It was never used in first run of Rangoon, and it makes the scenario timeline upredictably long and harder to manage. Time limit on mission set to 3 hours from takeoff.
-- Allied pilots replaning in SBD's must now check in with CO, not with CM.
-- Clarified "one life to live" rule.
-- In the "Rearming" section, clarified which planes can replane at which fields and rearm at which fields, clarified that there are more fields (i.e., some that are not allowed to be used), and stated the obvious (that there may be penalties assigned if pilots rearm or replane at unallowed fields).
-- Clarified "Max Altitude" rules.
-- Clarified "Mission Timeline".
-- In "Settings" section, added "Adjust Time" settings, MOTD (for easy copy and paste), and CM steps/checklist.

v5, 7/5/2008
-- New map reflects what is the actual terrain available for the scenario. See additional notes about map.
-- In "Max Altitude" section, there is a downwind now at 16k, not 15k. The settings allow wind settings only every 2k.
-- In "Radar" section, clarify that all non-Rook bases will flash if an enemy is within 10 miles.
-- "Rearming" and "Flight Boundaries" sections reworded to better correspond with new map.
-- Cleaned up "CM checklist" (added setting of downwind, etc.).
-- In "Settings", added a couple of missing settings and corrected hardness settings.
-- Added explanation for Rook bases in the "Rook Bases" section.

v6, 7/6/2008
-- Changed the FM2 squadron designation back to RAAF from RAF.

v7, 7/7/2008
-- In "Mission Timeline", corrected that IJAAF bombers must launch by T+15, not allied bombers (of which there are none).

v8, 8/1/2008
-- Added "Objects Destroyed" with a list of the acks in the "Settings" section for CM reference during setup.
-- In "Special Rules" section, clarified section that talks about expanded registration, and changed it so that the axis gets 1 additional bomber slot for every new squadron added to the allied side.
-- Removed notice that the rules are still under development.

v9, 8/8/2008
-- In "Settings", puffy ack lethality reduced to account for substantial increase in default puffy ack lethality in Aces High since last running of Rangoon.
-- Took out references to particular altitudes in the "Increasing Aircraft Range" section (such as 25-35k, which doesn't apply to Rangoon) to make the text generically applicable to all scenarios.
-- In "Special Rules", clarified that SBD's may not use rear guns (as they are Buffalo, i.e. fighter, analogs).

v10, 8/14/2008
-- Made the distinction between Start Time and Takeoff Time more obvious in "Mission Timeline" section.
-- In first paragraph and again in "Dates and Times", the distinction is now specially noted, and the reader is referred to "Mission Timeline".

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