Flying Tigers - America Volunteer Group

[Koppi]

Another report about a comic series, a fighter group and some models to play with.
Report in German and English.

https://thrifles.blogspot.com/2019/08/flying-tigers-america-volunteer-group.html

[zippyfusenet]

Thanks for the blog post Koppi, I enjoyed it. I couldn't find the link to your post re the Burma Banshees. Could you post is again? I'd like to read it.

You've done well painting your Blood Red Skies airplanes. I didn't know that P-40Cs were available. I thought the American Squadron flew Mustangs. Do the Japanese have any Haybusas, Nicks and Nates, or just Zeros?

The Flying Tigers comic was entertaining. The style reminds me some of Milt Caniff's Terry and the Pirates, but with more focus on warbirds and less on girls.

https://www.google.com/search?q=terry+and+the+Pirates&client=firefox-b-1-d&channel=cus&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=yH2dwsWdYYbwpM%253A%252CeWYuE-PiJE6R2M%252C%252Fm%252F018mzj&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQtJ2lVG53MQrfNIv_pCmxYo8Teqw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjIkICwrqHkAhUwT98KHVm1Bl0Q_B0wE3oECAkQAw#imgrc=yH2dwsWdYYbwpM:

The Chinese theater of WWII is a favorite of mine for airwar gaming. I'm just pulling my models together for a Rangoon 1942 game this Wednesday night.

[Jemima Fawr]

Zippy,

The three squadrons of the AVG started 1942 with all P-40 B/C (many without the wing-guns), but started to get P-40 E during late March to early April 1942.  As they had bomb-racks, the E models tended to get used for ground-attack, with the B/Cs providing escort.  They never received any other aircraft types.  The first USAAF squadrons operating in support of the Chinese out of Assam, India were equipped with P-40 and A-36 Apache (the dive-bomber relative of the Mustang).

I did an early-war Burma campaign with my Minions some years ago.  Have a look at this thread on The Other Place, which includes a full order of battle for the early part of the air war over Burma (at 1:2 ratio - I scaled the numbers down by half to make it more playable): http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=370152

Re Japanese opposition to the AVG in Burma: It was all IJA, so no Zeroes, as they were purely an IJN aircraft.  While some Oscars/Hayabusa (of the 64th Sentai) did turn up over Rangoon during the Christmas raids of 1941, they were immediately then sent off to Malaya and didn't come back to Burma until the 64th Sentai returned in mid-March 1942.  The vast majority of IJA fighters over Burma were Nates; chiefly belonging to the 50th Sentai & 77th Sentai, but joined during March 1942 by more Nates from the 1st Sentai and 11th Sentai, as well as the Oscars of the 64th Sentai.  There was also the curious 47th Independent Chutai, which flew half a dozen pre-production Tojo/Shoki interceptors. 

Bombers were predominantly Sallys, with some Lliys, as well as Babs recce birds fitted as light bombers (mistakenly listed as Anns on my orbat), joined later in the campaign by more Sallys and some Sally IIs.

[zippyfusenet]

Thanks for the link Jemima. You put a lot of work into that Burma campaign, I appreciate you sharing.

My comments on aircraft were WRT the game pix on Koppi's blog. It looks like he was playing a Blood Red Skies game with Sally bombers, Flying Tiger P-40Cs and...either Zeros or Hayabusas, I couldn't quite tell. The last time I looked at BRS, Warlord Games offered a Japanese squadron of Zeros and a US squadron of Mustangs, but no other types of aircraft for those nations. I wondered whether Warlord had expanded their canon to Flying Tigers vs. IJAAF.

As for my own games, I'll sometimes stage not-quite-historical match-ups. I know the Japanese never flew their Ki. 45 Toryus over Rangoon, but I've built a set and I might put them into a Burma game some day. Or maybe I'll save them for ramming attacks on B-29s, like the Japanese did.

[Jemima Fawr]

Ah, gotcha!  It was late... 

[FlyXwire]

Very much enjoying and benefiting from the thread here. 

I've collected some 1/144th scale models over the years, in the hopes of doing some China-Burma aerial actions, and having tried Blood Red Skies just recently, have resurrected the idea (though probably doing the North African Desert War first - over Tunisia) .

In the meantime printing out JF's TMP thread, and thanks to Koppi for the topic, and Zippy for his discussion here! 

[Jemima Fawr]

Very much enjoying and benefiting from the thread here. 

I've collected some 1/144th scale models over the years, in the hopes of doing some China-Burma aerial actions, and having tried Blood Red Skies just recently, have resurrected the idea (though probably doing the North African Desert War first - over Tunisia) .

In the meantime printing out JF's TMP thread, and thanks to Koppi for the topic, and Zippy for his discussion here!

Someone appreciates me! 

That thread reminds me that I should perhaps stick that on my blog...

[malto cortese]

of course I assume you are all familiar with the real and inimitable flying tigers ()

http://www.salimbeti.com/aviation/comics1.htm