Under Southern Skies - Check Your 6

Under Southern Skies - The Darwin Campaign Feb 1943 - Nov 1943 Check Your 6 Scenarios for Check your 6! Air Combat Rules by Gary Archer, George Paler, Steven Reid UNDER SOUTHERN SKIES is a scenario and campaign book for the popular CHECK YOUR 6! Air Combat and Campaign Rules. The book provides five campaigns and 35 scenarios covering the air campaign over Darwin, Australia and neighboring Japanese-held islands in 1943.  The first 7 scenarios deal with reconnaissance missions by both sides and the first two Japanese Naval Air Force raids on Darwin in March 1943 as No. 1 Wing, led by W/C Clive Caldwell, tries to learn how to stop them. The next 9 include early efforts by 31 Squadron RAAF Beaufighters to strike Japanese bases and the JNAF’s attempt to neutralize the Beaufighters’ forward staging base at Millingimbi. These are followed by more raids on Darwin, including a large one by the Japanese Army Air Force; No. 1 Wing finally “learning the ropes”; JNAF floatplanes trying to interdict the sea lanes north of Australia while the RAAF takes measures to stop them, and finally, a night raid on Darwin. Zeros dogfighting Spitfires! Beaufighters strafing things! HISTORICAL RESEARCH Information is provided concerning the reason for the campaign, problems faced by each side, and mistakes made by each side. Special Rules account for mechanical and armament issues plaguing the Allies and the abysmal state of gunnery training in No. 1 Wing. Scenarios were created using primary sources from both sides along with secondary sources; an annotated bibliography listing them is also provided along with several maps. AIRCRAFT STATISTICS and CAMPAIGN INFORMATION Included are aircraft statistics in CHECK YOUR 6! format for the aircraft used in the scenarios, some of which are new, such as license-built Hudsons and Beaufighters, the Ki.48 Lily, and the Ki.49 Helen. The Darwin Campaign of 1943 was one of attrition; included is an easy to use campaign system to replicate that aspect, emphasizing that it’s not just how many enemy aircraft you shoot down, it’s also how many of your own aircraft are lost in doing so TABLE OF CONTENTS Campaign Introduction  Dedication and Acknowledgements  Authors’ Notes  Annotated Bibliography  Campaign History  Radar, Tactics, Leaders, and…  Of Aircraft and Their Problems  Campaign Aircraft  Scenario Rules  Scenario Special Rules  Campaign System  Getting Started Campaign Scenarios  Increasing Pressure Campaign Scenarios  The Height of the Campaign Scenarios  Slowing Down Campaign Scenarios  Sputtering to A Stop Campaign Scenarios