[RELEASED] Scenario for testing: Sandies and Jollies - 1968

[cwemyss]

New scenario for testing... this is my first scenario upload, so be kind.

Single-side scenario, playing as the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service in 1968.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospace_Rescue_and_Recovery_Service

I built in in Bld 490, play-tested it there and once in Bld 498 after updating to latest CWDB. All feedback is very welcome!

Scenario Description:
March 1968

A US Marine Corps F-4 was shot down over southern North Vietnam and both crew members ejected. A rescue mission is on standby at Da Nang Airbase. Take command and pick up the downed aircrew!

Total Units: Approx. 40
Scenario Time: 3 hours

Side Briefing:
An F-4J from VMFA-334 working an Iron Hand mission over Route Package Two was shot down late yesterday. Both crew members ejected with only minor injures in the hills west of Dong Hoi and made contact with other aircraft before going to ground for the night.

An O-2, call sign Nail, launched just before dawn to fix the exact location of the downed crew. A rescue force is on standby at Da Nang to pick up the two men. Enemy ground forces are expected to be moving find and capture the crew; air opposition is possible but considered unlikely. Radar coverage is provided by Red Crown (USS Chicago) in the Tonkin Gulf.

The approximate location of the two crew is marked. Once friendly aircraft are within range they will make contact via survival radio. To initiate rescue the helicopter must hover over a downed airman's position for 60 seconds to make the pickup.

Assigned forces are as follows:

Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service
One O-2, call sign Nail
One HC-130, call sign King
One HH-53, call sign Jolly
Four AD-6, call sign Sandy

VMFA(AW)-235 Death Angels
Six F-8E, call sign Cartwheel

[Primarchx]

What a fun little scenario! Absolutely loved it. Finished with 20pts (Triumph). Lost a Crusader to a MiG-19 30mm shot but shot down 6 MiGs (all cannon kills). Chased a MiG home early on but he came back at the end of the game at very low level (just got a RWR warning from my Jolly Green, not Red Crown!) and had to hunt him down in the weeds with my CAP.

Blasted all the NVA formations with Sandy. Those 20 mike mike strafing runs are deadly!

One thing to note is that none of the AAA DShKs got shots off at all, even with my aircraft at very low level (~1500 FT AGL).

[cwemyss]

I'm really glad you enjoyed it, I had a blast building it. Yeah, I wondered why the 12.7s aren't doing anything, I hadn't had time to investigate yet. And AIM-9Bs stink... I think in two play-throughs I've got one kill with them. Tail chase only + low pk is a rough combo for a dogfight.

[dandin384]

I also had a lot of fun with this one; small, fast-paced, and very engaging. Took me a minute to realize Cartwheel 1 & 2 were under manual altitude orders, so that first dogfight lasted a bit longer then expected. [:D] After that little user error it played great!

Great Job overall.

[Primarchx]

AIM-9Bs are really bad, just as they were in real life. They have a pathetic DLZ and an extended min range so getting them into firing parameters is tough. Even if they get off the rails their pk sucks, too! My best cannon shots were in the high 30% range after range and target maneuverability adjustment.

Staying on a MiG's tail in the F-8 wasn't too bad, in fact I found myself staying at min throttle during most of the close maneuvering to prevent over-shoot, with occasional Cruise and AB spurts where needed. One tactic I used after losing a Crusader to a front-quarter MiG cannon shot was to to let them bore in during the merge with my aircraft starting a turn, then kick in AB just as they were approaching for a shot. The sudden burst of speed made it difficult for them to keep their nose on my ship and they'd slip behind me a tad. Then I'd chop throttle, reverse the turn and move in behind them for close-in cannon shots.

[Casinn]

Fun, I had about same luck as Primarchx, triumph 20. Lost the one fighter due to having no idea early sidewinders were tailchase only! Agree that the Sandys just annihilated the enemy, if they shoot back it will be less onesided.

Great job on a realistic feeling downed airman scen.

SIDE: Downed Aircrew
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------


EXPENDITURES:
------------------



SIDE: PIRAZ
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------


EXPENDITURES:
------------------



SIDE: Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------
1x F-8E Crusader


EXPENDITURES:
------------------
11x 20mm Mk12 x 4 [100 rnds]
28x ZUNI 127mm HVAR Rocket
8x Mk77 500lb Incendiary Bomb
16x Mk81 250lb LDGP
4x SUU-11/A 7.62mm Minigun Burst [100 rnds]
148x 20mm M3 [200 rnds]



SIDE: NVA
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------
2x MiG-19P Farmer B
2x MiG-19P Farmer B
1x MiG-21FL Fishbed E
4x 57mm ZSU-57-2
1x Binoculars (Visual)
16x 12.7mm DSHK Twin
20x 7.62mm MG


EXPENDITURES:
------------------
3x 23mm NR-23 x 2 Burst [40 rnds]
2x AA-2a Atoll [R-3S]

[NickD]

This is a great little scenario: I also managed a triumph but didn't suffer any losses

EXPENDITURES:
------------------



SIDE: PIRAZ
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------


EXPENDITURES:
------------------



SIDE: Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------


EXPENDITURES:
------------------
10x 20mm Mk12 x 4 [100 rnds]
8x AIM-9B Sidewinder
28x ZUNI 127mm HVAR Rocket
8x Mk77 500lb Incendiary Bomb
12x Mk81 250lb LDGP
120x 20mm M3 [200 rnds]
4x SUU-11/A 7.62mm Minigun Burst [100 rnds]



SIDE: NVA
===========================================================

LOSSES:
-------------------------------
2x MiG-19P Farmer B
2x MiG-19P Farmer B
2x MiG-21FL Fishbed E
16x 12.7mm DSHK Twin
32x 7.62mm MG


EXPENDITURES:
------------------
1x 23mm NR-23 x 2 Burst [40 rnds]
48x 23mm ZU-23-2 Burst [20 rnds]
38x 57mm ZSU-57 HE

[Primarchx]

One idea for generating more AAA is to create PAVN Exclusion Zones so they don't need to identify USAF a/c as hostile.

[cwemyss]

Yep, and I had a couple other thoughts to introduce some variation. Sounds like it could be a bit tougher too.

[Coiler12]

For replay value, you could add random events. So, sometimes more MiGs would appear, and other times you'd have different ground forces.

[cwemyss]

ORIGINAL: Coiler12

For replay value, you could add random events. So, sometimes more MiGs would appear, and other times you'd have different ground forces.

That's pretty much what I had in mind... when I get some time I'll:
a) Figure out why the DSHK batteries aren't engaging
b) Add in some random events to both mix it up and make it a bit tougher
c) Change scoring so that triumph = both crew picked up with no losses, but you lose credit if you lose aircraft. Hard to call it a Triumph if you've got a couple dead F-8 drivers.

Side notes:
1) I loved working in F-8s for a scenario... I used to work at Vought, and when I started (mid-1990s) there were still old-timers who talked about the Crusaders.

2) MGellis had a good idea for making the aircrew harder to find... make them neutral, they don't share their position. But with just eyeballs and binoculars I couldn't get the O-2 or the Sandies to spot them, even flying directly overhead, at loiter, at min altitude. And it didn't matter if the pilot was on a hilltop or in a valley, they're just damned hard to find. Hence the teleport trickery.

[Primarchx]

F-8s are my favorite Vietnam fighters. Their pilots were the only ones who never said they had inadequate dogfight training. The aircraft was perfect for besting the MiG 17/19/21 with the restrictive ROE and AAM teething issues of the Vietnam era.

[mikmykWS]

Very impressive!

M

[Dimitris]

ORIGINAL: Primarchx
F-8s are my favorite Vietnam fighters. Their pilots were the only ones who never said they had inadequate dogfight training. The aircraft was perfect for besting the MiG 17/19/21 with the restrictive ROE and AAM teething issues of the Vietnam era.

Shin Kazama agrees with you!



(although later he traded up for an F-20...)

[edfathead]

Good Fun, thank you.

[mikkey]

nice scenario, thanks cwemyss

[cwemyss]

OK, finally got around to tweaking the scenario. I think it's closer to being ready for the Community Pack. Let me know what you think!

Changes since Release 1:
Updated to latest build and DB
Added NVA Exclusion Zone to auto-id aircraft as hostile
Added an SA-2 battalion at the southernmost North Vietnamese air base, to prevent the air battle straying too far north
Added "Generic Optical Sights" to all AAA btty that lacked them
Directly related - Added additional triggers to find downed aircrew (on my first play-test, the O-2 got shelacked by a DSHK)
Added a scoring penalty for losing any friendly aicraft.... hard to call the rescue a triumph if you lose a couple F-8s and a couple Sandies.

[cwemyss]

Anyone have a chance to play Release 2?

[Casinn]

Will replay it over weekend

[cwemyss]

ORIGINAL: Casinn
Will replay it over weekend

I appreciate it. In the meantime, here's Release 3 (which I think is ready for prime time).
Fair warning to all... AAA that shoots back makes Rel 2 & 3 quite a bit tougher than Rel 1.