Air War On The Central Front: The Red Air Force’s First Day Of War D+0 (9 July, 1987) Part II

The preemptive airstrike launched by Israel in the opening minutes of the Six-Day War destroyed the majority of the Egyptian Air Force on the ground. The Soviet Air Force digested the lessons of Israel’s overwhelmingly successful operation and soon thereafter began developing countermeasures aimed at making it impossible for NATO to catch the Soviet and …

Let’s Try This Again: WWIII 1987 Scenario Build For Early Summer 2023

Evening, everyone. I wanted to take a moment to talk about a renewed wargame project I’m considering at present. First off, I know my earlier attempt to draw up a few scenarios based on WWIII 1987 ended in frustration and failure. However, the appearance of NATO Air Commander and recent posts related to the air …

WWIII Aircraft Losses: Warsaw Pact, 16th Air Army, Central Front D+0 Part II

16th Air Army    Zossen, GDR (Continued) 126th Fighter Division   Zerbst, GDR 35th Fighter Regiment    Zerbst, GDR A/C Strength 0000 Hours D+0: 53x MiG-29 Fulcrum A/C Combat Losses D+0: 17 7 Fulcrums lost on AD missions AM/PM 7 Fulcrums lost on OCA Escort missions AM 3 Fulcrums lost on OCA Escort missions PM 833rd Fighter Regiment …

WWIII Aircraft Losses: 4 ATAF, Central Front D+0 (9 July, 1987) Part IV

WWIII Aircraft Losses: 4 ATAF, Central Front D+0 (9 July, 1987)  Part IV 4th Allied Tactical Air Force (continued) Canadian Forces 4 Wing CFB Baden-Söllingen, Federal Republic of Germany 409 Squadron A/C Strength 0000 Hours D+0: 18 CF-18A Hornet A/C Combat Losses D+0: 2 CF-18A Hornet   DCA     AM   Light CF-18A Hornet   BAI      PM    Light 421 …

WWIII Aircraft Losses: 4 ATAF, Central Front D+0 (9 July, 1987) Part II

WWIII Aircraft Losses: 4 ATAF, Central Front D+0 (9 July, 1987)  Part II Since we’re in the Easter weekend, I wanted to post a short entry on 4 ATAF losses before we move to concluding the USS Kitty Hawk’s demise on Monday or Tuesday. I’m also going to take the opportunity to let readers know …

WWIII Aircraft Losses: 2 ATAF, Central Front D+0 (9 July, 1987) Part II

2nd Allied Tactical Air Force -Continued Author’s Note: The Luftwaffe air losses for D+0 are missing from this post. They are on a separate flash drive at home. I’m in Florida for a few days so at some point next week I will be sure to post them. Apologies. Belgian Air Force 349 Squadron, Beauvechain …

5 Primary Factors That Contributed To The Soviet/WP Defeat On The Central Front: Operation Dark Comet Part I

Operation Dark Comet was a bolt out of the blue, impacting the Soviet armies and air forces just a handful of hours prior to the start of the Warsaw Pact offensive on the Central Front. It was long accepted as fact on both sides of the Iron Curtain that the Soviets and their Pact allies …

Memories of WWIII: Destination Bitburg Part III

Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Andrew Baker, USAF (Ret.)- “The next morning, Drool (Major Ed Leahy, 27fth TFS operations officer) and I hit the ground running. By first light Drool was busy working out air plans with the Bitburg wing staff and contemporaries from our sister squadrons there. For most of the morning on 5 July, I …

2021 Holiday Tournament Round 1: Tactical Games

#1 Team Yankee vs #8 City Fight When it comes to tactical level wargames simplicity wins out. The more complex and involved a game’s mechanics and rules are, the less fun it ends up being for the player. This match up is an excellent example of that. Team Yankee is an easy-to-play game that can …

Gaming World War III: Building the Air War Part I

When I began laying the groundwork for the gaming phase of this WWIII project, I suspected modeling the air war in Central Europe would be a major league challenge. First and foremost because there was not a single tabletop game or computer game available that could accurately create an air war in the amount of …