Table Air Combat Il-2 Shturmovik

A second new addition to Table Air Combat has arrived, this time the iconic tank buster the Il-2 Shturmovik. I read recently that they weren't as tough as they were reported to be, with a very high casualty rate amongst the Shturmovik regiments compared to other branches of the VVS. I'm not surprised given their extremely hazardous ground attack role. This set includes a range of scenarios that are typical of these types of low level, ground pounding efforts:

Air and Bread: Attack a bridge on the Berezina river to slow down the invading German army.  This is a standalone scenario using only the Il-2.

Circle of Death:  Il-2s form a defensive Lufbery circle against  Bf-109 fighters.

Anti-Transport: The Luftwaffe tries to supply by air, but has a shortage of transports.  He-111 bombers are loaded with supplies and used instead. The Il-2 aircraft are assigned to shoot down the lumbering aircraft.. The airfield is defended by Bf-109F fighters.

Zement bomber:  Fight the battle of Kursk by attacking German tanks.  Il-2 are escorted by Yak-7 fighters, but the Luftwaffe defends with Fw-190A fighters and counter-attacks Soviet tanks with Ju-88 bombers.

Table Air Combat B-25J

There's a new addition to the Table Air Combat stable in the shape of the ubiquitous B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, in this case the B-25J variant. This is an excellent choice for a USAAF aircraft to add to the existing fighters and heavy bombers that are already available. The set also includes three scenarios, two of which come with target markers for a bridge and rail marshalling yard, so there's plenty of scope for re-cycling them into other missions. Excellent! I haven't had a game of T.A.C. for ages so this is a good excuse to dig out the rules and set one up, especially as the holidays are only a few weeks away.