Hun In The Sun: MTO 1941-1943
"Marseille had about three victories per mission on average. He could have been the top ace above Hartmann, if he had lived." -Hannes Trautloft
The fighting over the Mediterreanean during the Second World War often gets over looked compared to events that happened over the Western and Eastern Theatres of Europe. The fighting that took place over an endless sea of sand, blazing hot suns, with cold windy nights was brutal, intense, and shear terror over the sands and warm Mediterrean waters. It was often an unforgiving fight, where pilots maneuvered their planes in close quarters and engagements. Have a bandit on your six was not the only problem these pilots faced. If one was shot down they had to navigate an unforgiving terrain where miles of endless sand stretched out in all directions.
With the arrival of JG27 to the theater the allies began to suffer heavy losses. Equipped with the Bf-109, the Luftwaffe pilots favored diving out of the sun on unexpecting formations of Tomahawks, and Hurricanes. Normally targeting the tailend charlies, the Luftwaffe pilots would often down one, two, and sometimes three aircraft before climbing back into the sun. The RAF would quickly form a defensive circle known as the Lufberry Circle. In theory any enemy fighter that entered the circle had to cross into someones gunsight, therefore allowing those in the circle to keep maneuvering, while shooting down the Luftwaffe fighter. The allies had yet to encounter Hans Marseille, the soon to be "Star of Africa". Jg 27, Jg 53, and Jg 77 had great success in the theater, but so did their allied conterparts.
By the time the United States had entered the war, and entered the fighting in the MTO the RAF and the Luftwaffe had seasoned veterans commanding the squadrons, and fighting over the MTO. The US fighter pilots would have to quickly the learn the game or fall victim to the guns of the Luftwaffe. Flying P-38's, P-39's, P-40's, and Sptifires the US fighter pilots would eventually stake their claim as a force to be reckoned with.
| Ace Mission | Biography |
| Allied: Clive Caldwell (P-40C) | |
| Axis: Wolfgang Lippert (109E4) |
| Ace Mission | Biography |
| Allied: John L. Waddy (Spitfire Mk. V) | |
|
Axis: Hans Marsielle (109 F4) |
| Ace Mission | Biography |
| Allied: Levi Chase (P-40 F) | |
| Axis: Franz Schiess (BF-109G6) |
In early August, JG 53 were withdrawn from the Eastern front and, following re-equipment, deployed to the Mediterranean theatre. From bases in Sicily, Schieß operated over Malta recording 11 victories, one of which was not confirmed, including his 20th victory, a RAF Spitfire fighter shot down on 18 July 1942. At the end of November, JG 53 was operating over Tunisia. Schieß continued his success, gaining a further 13 victories, including his first four-engine bomber, a USAAF B-17 shot down near Bizerte on 29 January 1943 for his 36th victory. On 16 February 1943, Schieß was appointed Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 53. He successfully led the unit through the campaigns in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy. He recorded his 50th victory, a USAAF P-38 twin-engine fighter near Pantelleria, on 21 May. Oberleutnant Schieß was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 21 June for 55 victories. He was then sent on a lengthy leave. Returning to the front in August, Schieß shot down 12 enemy aircraft in 11 days of which seven were P-38 twin-engine fighters. Schieß failed to return from a mission on 2 September 1943. He led a scramble against a USAAF bomber formation over Mt Vesuvius. Schieß attacked the fighter escort and a dogfight developed extending over the sea to the island of Ischia. It is thought that Schieß, in Bf 109 G-6 (W.Nr. 160 022) “Black 1â€, fell victim to the USAAF P-38 twin-engine fighter escort. “Nawratil†Schieß was credited with 67 victories in 657 missions. He recorded 14 victories over the Eastern front. Of his 53 victories recorded over the Western front, three were four-engine bombers, 17 were P-38 twin-engine fighters and 18 were Spitfire fighters. |
Side Split: 50/50
Frame One (Egypt Terrain)
| Allies |
Aircraft Available: Hurricane Mk. I (Min of 12) Hurricane Mk. II (Max of 24) P-40 C ( Min of 12) Boston Mk. III (Min of 12)
|
Available Fields
|
| Axis |
Aircraft Avaiable: Bf-109 E4 (Min of 12) Me-110 C-4 (Min of 12) Ju-87 D-3 (Min of 12)
|
Available Fields |
Frame Two (Egypt Terrain)
| Allies |
Aircraft Available Hurricane Mk. II (Min of 12) Spitfire Mk. V (No Min) P-40 E (Min of 12) Boston Mk. III (Min of 12) |
Airfields |
| Axis |
Aircraft Available Bf-109 F4 (No Min) Bf-110 C-4 (Min of 12) Ju-87 D-3 (Min of 12) |
Frame Three (Italy Terrain)
| Allies |
Aircraft Available: USAAF P-38 G (Max of 24) P-40 F (Min of 12) B-26 B (Min of 12) RAF Spitfire Mk. IX (Max of 24) Hurricane Mk. II |
Airfields |
| Axis |
Aircraft Available Luftwaffe Bf-109 G2 (Min of 12) FW-190 A-5 (Max of 24) BF-109 G6 (Max of 24) Ju-88 (Min of 12) Italians MC. 205 |