Singapore Blitz 1942
When the Japanese launched their Pacific wide surprise attacks on Australian, British, Dutch and US forces on the 7th and 8th of December 1941, the Malayan Peninsula and its crown jewel on the Southern tip, Singapore, were in the cross hairs of the Japanese Army. At the time of the Japanese invasion, the Allied air forces in Malaya and Singapore consisted of Brewster Buffalos, Bristol Blenheim, Lockheed Hudsons, Vickers Wildebeests and Fairey Albacores. Within a day after the invasion, Japanese aircraft were operating from Northern Malaya and on the 10th of December Japanese bombers sank the HMS Prince of Wales and the HMS Repulse with torpedoes.
With no real Royal Navy presence the Japanese steadily pushed down the Malayan peninsula, forcing the British and Commonwealth forces back to Singapore. The RAF and Commonwealth Air forces tried desperately to lighten the Buffalo by removing the armor, replacing the heavy 50 cal guns with 30 cal and flying with less fuel but they were still no match for the newer and more aerobatic Ki-43 and the A6M2. Help would arrive on January 3rd in the form of 51 Hurricane IIs. All 51 Hurricanes were put together in two days and 21 were ready for operations in three. 48 more Hurricanes would fly in from HMS Indomitable on January 27th to bolster the Singapore defenses but the writing was on the wall for the Allied forces in Singapore.
On January 31st the last Allied forces left Malaya and destroyed the last causeway that linked Johore to Singapore. The Japanese would invade Singapore on February 7th, and it would finally fall on February 15th. The RAF and Commonwealth forces would flee to Sumatra and Java, where they would fight on, eventually having to flee Java to Australia after the capture of those islands by the Japanese. The capture of Singapore was a disastrous loss for the Allies and over 130,000 Indian, British, Australian and Dutch personnel were captured. This FSO depicts the situation in Malaya and Singapore in the months of January and February 1942.
PLANE SET:
SPECIAL RULES:
Hurricane Mk II - 8x 303 - ONLY
Bombers MAX ALT 14K
Fighters MAX ALT 20K
AIRCRAFT SCORING:
OBJECT SCORING:
SHIP SCORING:
ACE MISSIONS:
Each side will have one mandatory Ace mission per frame. These frames will represent notable pilots of the time and theater. One pilot from each side will be designated an "Ace" Pilot. They must fly the Aces listed aircraft. They will be scored as follows.
Ace Pilot = 20 Points
Ace Pilot Kills = 5 Points
So for example if an Ace Pilot is shot down they are worth 20 points to the other side. Likewise, every victory an Ace Pilot lands they will be rewarded 5 points.
ALLIED:
Ricky Wright - Hurricane II – Wright was a Battle of Britain veteran with 605 Squadron credited with 6 victories and awarded the DFM before the end of 1940. Wright was transferred to India and later flew off the HMS Indomitable to bolster the defense of Singapore with new Hurricanes. Within days his squadron CO was killed and Wright was promoted to CO of No 232 Squadron. He would evacuate to Sumatra and then Java before he was captured and spent the remainder of the war as a POW. He was awarded the DFC after the wars end. Wright passed away in 2007.
Geoffrey Fisken – Brewster Buffalo – Fisken was a farmer from New Zealand who learned to fly privately in the 1930s. Fisken joined the RNZAF as a Pilot Sergeant in 1941 and was stationed in Singapore when the Japanese attacked on December 8th. He would claim at least 9 enemy aircraft during the defense of Singapore before being wounded February 6th and then evacuated before Singapore fell. He would return to service flying P-40s at Guadalcanal. He would finish the war with 11 credited victories and be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Fisken passed away in 2011.
Edwin Taylor - Hurricane II – Taylor was an instructor pilot with 136 Squadron before getting orders to the Middle East. Instead Taylor would be sent to Singapore and joined 232 Squadron. Taylor was the highest scoring pilot on the Island before 232 squadron was evacuated to Sumatra. Taylor was killed in combat on February 8th 1942. Despite being outnumbered by Ki-43s he was credited with a 6th victory in his final combat. Taylor was posthumously awarded the DFC in August 1942.
AXIS:
Sadaaki Akamatsu – A6M2 – Akamatsu was already an 11 victory ace in China when the Pacific War broke out. He participated in the initial attacks on Clark Field and claimed several damaged and shared aircraft in the Philippines campaign. From there he would fight in the Dutch East Indies scoring victories over Surabaya. He also participated in the raid on Darwin. Akamatsu would go on fighting all the way to the end in the defense of Japan. He was credited with 27 victories at wars end. Akamatsu passed away in 1980.
Hiroshi Onozaki – Ki-43-II – Onozaki was a veteran of the Manchurian campaign but failed to see combat. He was then transferred to South East Asia for the start of the Pacific war where he would see his first action and his first kill over Malaya in December of 1941. He was the top ace of the 59th Sentai and claimed 8 Hurricanes and a Bristol Blenheim over Java. Onozaki would serve in New Guinea and be evacuated due to illness. He survived the war as an instructor in with a total of 14 kills.
Junichi Sasai – A6M2 – Sasai was part of the infamous Tainan Air Group and saw action first in the Philippines on the raid to Luzon but was forced to abort due to engine troubles. The Tainan AG then headed to Java where Sasai saw considerable action claiming a Buffalo and P-40E of the 17th PS. Sasai would not become an ace until May of 1942 while fighting in the Solomons. Sasai would be recognized for 27 aerial victories although he personally claimed 54. Sasai was killed on August 26, 1942 on a mission to attack Guadalcanal.
SETTINGS
- Malaysia terrain
- Icon Range – Friendly 3k, Enemy 3k.
- No Radar
- Fighter and Bomber Warning Range - 79200 (15 miles)
- Tower Range – 79,200 (for display to match the above Fighter and Bomber Warning)
- External view for bombers (F3) - On
- Friendly Collisions - Off
- Enemy Collisions - On
- Kill Shooter - Off
- Fuel - 1.0
- Ack - 0.3
- Formations - Enabled
- Bombsite calibration - Main Arena Standard
- Time:
FRAME 1 - 0900
FRAME 2 - 1200
FRAME 3 - 1500
- Object Downtime – full (200)
- Winds - MAX Downdraft 20K
- Clouds - Light - 5K
Designed by Nefarious