11.

Air to Air Combat (ATAC)

Air combat occurs when air units of one side intercept air units of the opposing side flying a mission. Air-to-Air
Combat (ATAC) is resolved according to the rules below with each instance comprising of between one and three
engagements. These rules are suitable for resolving any instance of air combat in the TSWW system although it is
intended that in future an alternative ATAC procedure will be made available for the large scale aerial combats likely
in the strategic air war.
A. Definitions.
1. Air Unit.: This is a single counter and can be a squadron or a wing.
2. Mission: An air mission is an activity carried out by one or more air units during a player turn. They are covered in
detail in Rule 8.
3. Mission Force: The air unit or group of air units flying together to execute the same mission against the same target.
May contain escorts.
4. Intercepting Force: A specialised Mission Force comprised of Type F and HF air units only. Its sole purpose is to
attack enemy Mission Forces.
5. Pairing: When resolving engagements air units pair off against each other to determine who will fire at whom.
Players are free to determine how pairing is done, otherwise it is applied randomly.
6. Bypassing: The process by which a fighter paired with another fighter attempts to avoid combat in the current
engagement in order to attack a different target in a later engagement. A fighter attempting to bypass an opponent
may not fire at that opponent.
7. ACEV: Air Combat Efficiency Variable. This is a die roll modifier for combat based on the training, experience and
other soft factors (C3I, doctrine, etc.) that an air force has. The national ACEVs can be found in the CEV (Air)
table. NB: Naval air units (such as FAA, USMCAS and IJNAS) use their naval NEM as a modifier rather than ACEV.
8. EFT: Eliminated over Friendly Territory. Includes friendly owned but Isolated territory. Used to determine ARPs
gained in the air replacement system.
9. EHT: Eliminated over Hostile Territory. Includes air units lost over the sea. Used to determine ARPs gained in
the air replacement system.
10. Escorts: The term used below to describe Type F air units flying with a Mission Force to protect it against enemy
fighters.
11. Interceptors: The term used below to describe Type F air units attacking an enemy Mission Force.
12. Groups: Air units are split into groups at the beginning of ATAC in order to define their role in the upcoming
combat.
13. Engagements: During ATAC each combat between opposing groups is resolved in a series of engagements between
paired air units.
B. General Air Combat Conditions.
1. Players cannot avoid air combat by cancelling a mission once launched. During a mission the owner of the Mission
Force may cancel the air mission at any point including at the target hex, however, it is still subject to interception
in the target hex but not AA fire. The Mission Force of a cancelled mission would also be subject to mid-course
interception (Rule 8.I) and AA (Rule 8.J) if these optional rules are in play. In addition, once a mission has been
launched wings cannot be split into squadrons, unless as a direct result of implementing combat results, and
squadrons cannot form into wings.
2. A Mission Force can only be subject to one instance of ATAC during a mission unless the Mid-Course Interception
rule is being used.
3. A hex may see multiple instances of ATAC during a player turn because multiple missions can be flown into a hex.
Each Mission Force is intercepted by opposing fighters and engaged by AA on a mission by mission basis:
a. Day Missions: these may be flown by any air units and can be intercepted by any fighters. Where there are
multiple missions the contents and target of each Mission Force must be specified by the owning player in
order for the defender to allocate an intercepting Mission Force against it if he so chooses.
For Example: A player is attempting a day-time bombing raid against a Strategic Target in a hex whilst also
launching an Operational Bombing mission against another target in the same hex. Each Mission Force is
intercepted separately by the defending player and both instances of ATAC are resolved independently of
each other.
b. Night Missions: these are flown by air units with the ‘N’ descriptor and are completely separate from day
missions, even when flown against the same target in the same hex. Day and night ATAC is resolved
separately. Fighters may not fly as escorts at night and only Type NF and NHF fighters may fly interception
mission.
 For Example: A player is attempting to launch day-time and night-time strategic bombing missions against an
economic target in a hex whilst also attacking an operational target (a bridge) in the same hex. There would
be three Mission Forces with each one subject to interception in the hex separately by the defending player.
4. Type “F” units. There are four conditions that can directly affect the combat strength of type “F” air units in
ATAC. Note that Type F air units in a Mission Force that are carrying bombs can choose to jettison their bombs
(jettisoned bombs are not delivered to any target) and fight in ATAC without penalty.
a. All fighters with Ground Controlled Intercept (GCI) capability flying Short Range interceptions (up to ¼
printed range) have their air attack strengths doubled. See the GCI table for who has this capability and
when.
b. Fighters have their ATAC ratings reduced by 25% at Extended Range, but this is never modified below 1.
c. All fighters flying Long Range escort missions have their attack strengths halved, but this is never modified
below 1.
d. Fighters on bombing missions that choose to retain their bomb load during ATAC have their attack factor
halved (rounding up).
C. Air Combat Resolution.
1. Only Fighters can initiate ATAC which may comprise of a series of engagements, each of which is resolved before
proceeding to the next engagement. The attackers are the Intercepting Force and the defenders are the Mission
Force. Air units may only fire once in any individual engagement and may not split their fire between targets. A
target is a single air unit which can be a squadron or a wing. Fire between air units in any single engagement is
simultaneous with results applied after all air units have fired and prior to any subsequent engagement. If an air unit
is being attacked by more than one fighter and is able to return fire, it may choose which of its attackers to fire at.
2. Fighter Ratio DRM. Before the beginning of ATAC calculate the ratio, in squadrons, of Type F air units in the
Intercepting Force to all air unit types in the target Mission Force. The attacker may include Type HF units in the
calculation if the Mission Force contains no Type F units. If the ratio is 2:1 the attacker applies a DRM of +1 to all
Intercepting Force die rolls during the ATAC. If the ratio is 3:1 or higher the DRM is +2. Mission Force die rolls
are not modified.
For Example: an Intercepting Force of 5 wings of Type F air units attacks a Mission Force containing one wing of
Type F escorting a squadron of Type HB and a squadron of Type B – 10 squadrons against 4 squadrons – results in
a +1 DRM for the Intercepting Force in all its die rolls.
3. To resolve an ATAC engagement subtract the target’s Defence Rating from the Attack Factor of the firing unit and
this determines which column of the Air CRT to use. If the defender is allowed to return fire it does so using its
Attack Factor against the Defence Rating of the fighter.
For Example: an Me109E-1 with an Attack Factor of 8 firing at a Hurricane IIA with a Defence Rating of 5 would roll
on the +3 column, applying any relevant DRMs including ACEV. The Hurricane would return fire rolling on the +1
column – Attack Factor 7 less the Me109’s Defence Rating of 6 – applying any DRMs.
a. Using ACEV: subtract the lower ACEV from the higher ACEV to produce a differential which is used as a
DRM for both players’ die rolls on the Air CRT – positive for the side with the higher ACEV, negative for
the other, and no DRM if both have the same ACEV.
For Example: the ACEV for the intercepting player is +3, that of the defending player is (-1). The result is +3-
(-1) = +4 DRM to the intercepting player, -4 DRM for the defender. If the ACEV of the intercepting player is
(-2), and the defending player is +1, the result would be a +3 in favour of the defending player etc.
b. Using the Air CRT: roll 1D10 on the Air Combat Results Table modify by ACEV and any other DRMs (see
the Possible DRMs and Modifiers for Air-to-Air Combat chart).
i. Apply the results outlined below immediately and note that any fractions of dispersed bomb factors
are always rounded up:
1 R: Return to base, suffer no combat loss. If a bomber, 0.25 times the applicable bombing factor is
dropped. Roll for AA to see if the payload is dispersed if applicable
2 R*: Return to base, suffer no combat loss. If a bomber, 0.5 times the applicable bombing factor is
dropped. Roll for AA to see if the payload is dispersed if applicable.
3 1: Air Unit suffers 1 step loss. If the unit is a wing reduce it to a squadron and the squadron may
continue with the mission. Roll for AA if applicable.
4 2: Air unit is immediately eliminated whether it is a wing or a squadron.
5 2R: Air unit is immediately eliminated as above and in addition if after all other ATAC results
have been applied any other air units of a similar type have survived then select one of these at
random and apply an R result to it.
ii. Remove all eliminated air units from the map and place them in the EFT and EHT pools for use in the
air replacement system.
4. ATAC Procedure. Below attacking fighters are referred to as interceptors and defending fighters are referred to
as escorts.
a. Group Allocation. Air units in both the Intercepting Force and the Mission Force are placed in one of two
groups.
i. If the Mission Force has any fighters acting as escorts these go into the Escort Group whilst all other
air units, including fighter-bombers that have not jettisoned their bomb load, are placed in the Mission
Group.
1 If the Mid-course Interception rule is being used any or all escorts can be withheld from the
combat and these may continue to escort the Mission Force, assuming it survives this ATAC.
ii. The attacking player allocates interceptors to his Air Superiority Group which will engage the Escort
Group, or to his Bomber Destroyer Group which will engage the Mission Group.
1 Note that if there is an Escort Group but the attacker declines to allocate any interceptors to air
superiority, the unopposed Escort Group will engage the Bomber Destroyers before they get to
fire at the Mission Group.
b. First Engagement: Air Superiority Group against Escort Group.
i. Players pair off fighters against each other. If one side outnumbers the other doubling-up is allowed
only once all fighters have been paired against one opponent. If after doubling-up the larger side still
has additional fighters, trebling-up may begin etc. Escorts have the following options:
1 Unpaired escorts may bypass the interceptors unopposed and go on to engage the Bomber
Destroyer Group.
2 Paired escorts may choose to ignore their opponent(s) and attempt to bypass them and engage
the Bomber Destroyers instead. This is an opposed bypass and the interceptor(s) can fire at the
escort first with a +3 DRM. The escort cannot return fire. If after all damage has been applied
and the escort does not suffer a ‘Return’ result it may go on to engage the Bomber Destroyer
Group.
ii. Resolve the first engagement as in 11.C.3 above. Surviving escorts and interceptors return to base,
bypassing escorts proceed to engage the Bomber Destroyers.
c. Second Engagement: Escort Group against the Bomber Destroyer Group.
i. Escorts in an unopposed Escort Group along with any escorts that successfully bypassed an Air
Superiority Group now pair off against the interceptors of the Bomber Destroyer Group in the same
manner as in 11.C.4.b.i above. Unpaired interceptors will go on to engage the Mission Group;
interceptors paired with an escort have the following options:
1 Abandon their attack on the Mission Group and defend themselves. They engage the escort(s)
they are paired with without penalty.
2 Press home their attack on the Mission Group and attempt to bypass the escorts. This is an
opposed bypass and the escort(s) can fire at the interceptor with a +3 DRM. The interceptor
cannot return fire. If after all damage has been applied and the interceptor does not suffer a
‘Return’ result it may go on to engage the Mission Group.
ii. Resolve the second engagement as in 11.C.3 above. Surviving escorts and interceptors return to
base, bypassing interceptors go on to engage the Mission Group.
d. Third Engagement: Bomber Destroyer Group against the Mission Group.
i. Interceptors now pair off against air units in the Mission Group in the same manner as 11.C.4.b.i
above. If there are more air units in the Mission Group than interceptors any Type B or HB (only)
may double-up against interceptors, however, these air units cannot fire or be fired upon but may
generate DRMs when resolving the combat. When resolving the engagement any interceptor
outnumbered by at least 2:1 after pairing (calculated in squadrons) suffers a -1 DRM on the die roll
whilst the target of the interceptor returns fire with a +1 DRM.
Example 1: one wing of Type F facing 2 or 3 squadrons of Type B does not trigger any DRM, whereas 4
squadrons of Type B facing one wing of Type F would.
Example 2: one wing of Type F facing one wing of Type D and 2 wings of Type B may trigger the DRM
depending on how the pairing is done. If the Type F is paired with the Type D then the Type B wings in
the Mission Group are ignored and there is no DRM, but if it is paired with one of the Type B wings the
other may double-up and trigger the DRM whilst the Type D is ignored.
ii. Resolve the final engagement as in 11.C.3 above. Surviving interceptors return to base and surviving
air units in the Mission Group continue with their mission.
e. ATAC Example: The intercepting player has 6 fighters; the intercepted player has 3 escorts and 5 bombers.
The intercepting player allocates 3 fighters as the Air Superiority Group, and 3 fighters as Bomber
Destroyers. During pairing the intercepting player allocates one fighter against each escort which choose to
engage the Air Superiority Group rather than attempt to bypass and go after the Bomber Destroyers. The
Bomber Destroyer Group bypasses the escorts unopposed and pairs off against 3 of the bombers. The
remaining 2 bombers do not engage and are not engaged by the interceptors, but they can double-up and
may be able to generate DRMs in two of the three engagements.