This week, we’ve got a brand new scenario for Blood Red Skies! Protect your lumbering transport as the interceptors come scything out of the sun!
Every major power participating in the second world war undertook paratroop operations of some sort. These ranged in size from a single Douglas C-47 Dakota with a pair of SOE agents in the back, to fleets of Junkers Ju-52 loaded down with apprehensive Fallschirmjäger.
These operations were exceptionally risky endeavours, even when local air superiority could be assured. Parachutes might fail to open, bad weather or enemy fire might cause jumpy pilots to overshoot the target area.
German Fallschirmjägers landing on Crete in 1941.
Another risk was that an enemy interceptor might get amongst the defenceless transport aircraft and shoot it out of the sky, killing both pilots and paratroopers in a blazing conflagration. Friendly fighters were assigned to escort the transports and prevent the enemy interceptors getting through.
This new scenario, written by designer Andy Chambers, allows you to recreate these perilous aerial operations.
Download the scenario using the link below:
Linking with Bolt Action
If you’re looking to integrate this scenario with a game of Bolt Action, we’ve got some unofficial guidelines for you:
- When setting up to play Transport Hunt, have a copy of your Bolt Action list to hand. When deploying a transport aircraft, whether at the start of the game or because of the Search Area special rule, assign two infantry or HQ units to the aircraft.
- If the transport aircraft successfully escapes, the transported units participate in the Bolt Action game as normal.
- If the transport aircraft is shot down during the Blood Red Skies scenario, roll 2d6 on the table below to determine the fate of both units:
| Roll: | Result: |
| 2 | Fiery Conflagration: Both units are completely destroyed by an aircraft explosion and may not participate in the battle. |
| 3-6 | Behind Enemy Lines: Both units ignore any special setup rules for the Bolt Action scenario and follow the rules for outflanking with the following caveat: it must enter the table in the opponent’s deployment zone. |
| 7-10 | Dropped Off Course: Both units ignore any special setup rules for the Bolt Action scenario and start in reserve. |
| 11-12 | On Target: Both units participate in the Bolt Action scenario as normal. |
Begin the Hunt!
If you’re looking to try out the transport hunt, pick up a set of these beautiful 1/200 scale Ju-52s for your intrepid Fallschirmjäger. Combined with the contents of the starter set, you’ll have enough aircraft to play out the Transport Hunt scenario.
Dan Hewitson
