The Fallschirmjäger now have a means to assault England, the new DFS 230.
The DFS 230 was developed by Deutsche Forschunganstalt für Segelflug (German Research Institute for Glider Flight) in 1933 and was a state-of-the-art design by Hans Jacobs. It could carry nine soldiers and their equipment in addition to the pilot (four passengers facing forwards and four facing the rear). The ninth passenger sat beside the pilot where he could operate a forward facing MG 34 machine gun.
It had an astonishing glide ratio of 1:18, so could be dropped quite a way from the target. As an assault glider it was equipped with a braking parachute that allowed it to dive steeply through any flak directly onto its target and come to a halt within 20 metres of its target. The number built from 1933 to 1941 was in excess of 1,500.
This MDF & card model comes with a wing span of 20 ¾ inches (53 cm) and a body length of 9 ¾ inches (25 cm). Build as an objective or crashed terrain, your Fallschirmjäger will be ready to spearhead any invasion!
In Bolt Action
Full rules can be found in Operation Sea Lion and the forth coming Gigant supplements, a great way to create new scenarios or replay famous actions such as the assault on Fort Eben-Emael.
| Cost: | 15pts (Regular), 20pts (Veteran). |
| Weapons: | 1 forward-firing MMG. |
| Damage value: | 6+ (soft skin). |
| Transport: | 9 men, plus pilot. |
| Special Rules: | DFS 230 Glider |
German Fallschirmjäger Assault group
Speaking of scenarios, here is a fantastic set comprising of 3 DFS 230 assault gliders, 30 Fallschirmjäger, and their commander (and limited edition figure) Otto Skorzeny ready to surprise the enemy defenses!
Gran Saso Raid
The action he is arguably most famous for was the airborne liberation of the fascist Italian dictator Mussolini from his mountain prison. Skorzeny along with six German Air Force and Army special agents were selected to lead an airborne operation to rescue the imprisoned Benito Mussolini. Numerous attempts had been made to retrieve Mussolini, but were unsuccessful, as the Italians had been moving the ousted leader around to avoid detection. Skorzeny took many pictures of each of the locations that they thought he was being held in, giving him a better view to plan, eventually tracking Mussolini to the Gran Sasso mountain, which was only accessible via a single cable car! Skorzeny’s team launched a high-risk glider mission and succeeded in rescuing Mussolini without firing a shot.
Read more about the man here:
Full Glider Rules in Operation Sea Lion!
Recruiting for the invasion!
Tom Mecredy
Alessio Cavatore