WAGON WHEEL DEFENSE

A common tactic of the Russian Il-2
Sturmoviks was to go into a "wagon wheel"
defense when faced by enemy fighters.
The Sturmoviks would form a large wheel,
with tail gunners and front guns
providing mutual defense.  If several of
the defenders were downed, however, gaps
appeared and the wheel lost its
effectiveness.  This happened on 3
Febraury 1943, when 5 Il-2s of the 218th
Ground-Attack Regiment led by Major P.G.
Plokhov approached their target in the
Droskovo-Verkhnyaya Sosna area.  As they
neared the target, they encountered 20
Bf109s.  Major Plokhov decided to hit the
target (a truck convoy) anyway and put
his flight into an echelon formation.
Two Il-2s were shot down on the first
pass.  The last three formed a wagon
wheel, but were so spread out that they
could not maintain mutual fire support.
All three received crippling fire and
turned for home.

MISSION

Attack the truck convoy (the rail target)
and destroy at least 4 "truck" targets.
There will be heavy fighter opposition so
make your strike and head for home.

NOTES

This is a snow mission.

SCENARIO DESIGNED BY

Gregory M. "Sturmer" Smith
x