Amerika Bomber First Flight

April 1947. Hauptmann Steiner lifts off in his Me364 from, curtesy of Spain, the new Kampfgruppen 300 airbase in the Azores. His orders are to drop his bomb load on NYC and then continue inland and drop an Abwehr agent.

At the extreme range for Luftwaffe fighter cover the flight is attacked by 2 F8Fs flying off USS Yorktown. A Me262 chases one off, while the other F8F makes a steep diving pass doing no damage.

As Steiner spots the lights of NYC, the Belly Turret gunner shouts “2 P80s climbing from below”. The Ventral Turret explodes one before it can close, while the other makes a climbing run doing no damage.

As the run-in begins, the Amerika Bomber catches a hail of heavy flak. The American’s 120mm Stratosphere guns hammer the bomber. Seriously wounding the Tail Gunner and destroying the gun position. The Bomb bay doors take minor damage and the Airframe absorbs 2 hits.

Our Navigator and Bombardier are rattled enough that while the bombs are On Target, they barely scratch the Port Facilities.

The AAA gunners were surprised when the Bomber continued in-land rather than heading out to sea. However, the Stratosphere guns again pepper the bomber. The Navigator suffers a minor leg wound and the airframe is rattled again.

As the Abwehr Agent is about to jump, 2 P80s make attack runs. The Nose gunner explodes one, while the belly gunner prevents the other from making an effective pass. The Agent jumps and Hauptmann Steiner heads for the Azores.

Just as the Bomber crosses into the Atlantic, 2 F8Fs again barrel in. The Belly gunner again holds one at bay. The other is screaming in from 11 o’clock. The nose gunner runs out of ammo as the F8F closes in, tracers flashing past the cockpit. At that moment, the top Turret gunner stitches the F8F and it explodes.

The rest of the flight is uneventful. The Navigator will miss the next mission and the Tail Gunner will be in hospital for a month. However, our beloved Me364 “Brunhilde” will be patched and ready to go for our next mission.

Final thoughts about the game 

Horrible rules. Rules don’t say how to use the damage charts from AAA. You kind of have to deduce how the three tables interact. No biggie for veteran gamers, just frustrating. Newbies would have many question. You have to go to BGG for Special Ops mission selection. It is mentioned in the rules, but not how to pick from the three.

The game plays fast and scratches an itch. So a no-regret purchase.