Bucha, Ukraine - 27 Feb 2022 - 15mm
Dogfight in MiG Alley! (Korean War 1950 – AirWar C21)
Oriskany Jim and his better half Jennifer climb in the cockpit for a duel in the skies set in the Korean War of 1950-53.
Although combat jets had seen active service on both sides during World War II, Korea would be the first time opposing jets actually fought EACH OTHER in live combat. One of the most dangerous parts of this aerial war was so-called “MiG Alley,” a section of northwestern Korea near the Chinese border.
Like the Messerschmitts and Spitfires of the Battle of Britain, the MiG-15 and F-86 Sabre is a classic historical fighter matchup, with pilots and aircraft more or less evenly matched in this deadly contest.
Tune in! Be part of the show! See how it turns out!
Live Sunday at 2PM East US Time, 7PM UK Time
Some very quick background material for today's game, showing the very broad strokes of the Korean War. I added some basic information about where "MiG Alley" actually was, where the major air bases were for these particular fighter types, and where the game will actually be taking place. There's also some quick photos for viewers not familiar with the period or the aircraft involved.
The map for tomorrow's game, with deployment areas. These planes are VERRRRY slow compared to the ones we usually use with AirWar C21, so I made the deployment zones very deep so the first three turns aren't the two sides droning steadily toward each other. :) 
The playing pieces I have made for tomorrow's game. The stock images were easy to find, I added some shadows, highlights, the white outline, changed the canopies, and updated the markings. These are formatted as transparent-background .png images so they "float" on our virtual gameboard. The text is also editable so we can track aircraft status, ammo, damage, airspeed, etc.
Here's a small sample of the kind of action we might see in today's game. The MiGs have initiative, so force the Americans to move first. The first Sabre pair move up from the southeast, where they are charged for a head-on gun pass by the second pair of MiGs. The lead pair of MiGs waits, while the second US pair tries a Split-S Manuever to "get on the 6" of the MiGs who just bounced the lead pair. Two problems: One of the Sabres fails the split S roll, whole the second pair of MiGs executes a Barrel Roll (the Barrel Roll counter is beside the wrong pair of MiGs) to make a gun pass at the new Sabres. It's a high-deflection shot, which isn't great, but that lead American F-86 Sabre could be a in a peck of trouble all the same.
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