cornhelium 0 Posted November 6, 2003 Hi, The great Tonal Background file got me thinking about the possiblity of adding a few Allied WW2 units into the OPFOR mix as TDF units or TRF weaponry, to make for an even more exciting mix of technologies. Here's a very quick quote from www.naval-history.net, summarising the strategic situation in East Africa, June 1940: >>From bases in Italian East Africa [italian Somaliland, Eritrea, Ethiopia] the Italian Air Force and Navy are capable of cutting Allied supply routes to Suez through the Red Sea. The Italian army is also powerful enough to conquer British and French Somaliland and pose a threat to the Sudan and Kenya<< I can imagine Tonal having been a useful airbase for protection of shipping lanes between British colonies like Aden, Kenya and British Somaliland. Maybe a couple of Beaufighters could have been left lying around? Or for WW2 history right on Tonal's doorstep, how about this (from http://world.std.com/~Ted7/altcamp3.htm#cMad): >>Madagascar (May-Nov 1942) ...Britain feared use of Madagascar as a Japanese base at the western end of the Indian Ocean. The disruption to shipping to and from India was completely unacceptable. The solution was to take Madagascar from the Vichy French before that could occur. The operation was called Ironclad. Operation Ironclad opened with an attack by carrier-borne aircraft against Diego Suarez, Madagascar's main port and only naval base....18 Swordfish from HMS Illustrious attacked the Diego Suarez naval base, sinking a sloop and a sub. 6 Albacores and 6 Sea Hurricanes attacked the air field, reportedly destroying "more than 20 french fighters." This is more than were at Diego Suarez at the time. Forces French Units  Ivato Tananarive Escadrille 565 Escradrille 555 6/13 MS.406 4 Po.63-11 Diego Suarez Detach 565 Detach 555 5 MS.406 2 Po.63-11 More information about French aircraft in Madagascar May 1942 British Air Units  HMS Illustrious No. 881 Sqdn No. 882 Sqdn No. 810 Sqdn No. 829 Sqdn 12 Martlet III 8 Martlet III, 1 Fulmar NF 9 Swordfish 9 Swordfish HMS Indomitable No. 800 Sqdn No. 806 Sqdn No. 880 Sqdn No. 827 Sqdn No. 831 Sqdn 8 Fulmar II 4 Fulmar II 6 Sea Hurricanes 12 Albacores 12 Albacores Once Diego Suarez was secure and its air field open, South African Air Force units were brought in to finish the campaign. In August, 1942, No. 806 Sqdn was assigned Martlet IIs. [Martlet I, II & III = Grumman F4F Wildcat as used early in the Pacific Theatre http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Aircraft/MartletWildcat.htm  ]<< Wildcats, Swordfish & Hurricanes then?  ...Or how about this from the same site: >>An interesting side show of the war was the fighting in Ethiopia. Italy had conquered Ethiopia in 1936, using modern weaponry against a rather primitive army and nearly non-existent air force. In 1940, anxious to decrease the number of "backdoors" it had to watch, Britain gathered a rather motley collection of colonial infantry, half-trained air units armed with obsolete equipment (including South African Air Force Ju-86 bombers!), and a few armored cars, and invaded the Italian holdings in East Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland). The Italians, cut off from reinforcements by Egypt and Sudan, had a fair amount of air power in East Africa, but it was mostly obsolete (even for Italian equipment). The result was a last hurrah for pre-World War II aerial technology.<< I can actually see the old South African JU86's having more of a place on modern day Tonal than the Swordfish or Hurricane (as a transport or TDF maritime recon patrolling for drun/gun runners), though how the TDF kept them running through 60 years of monsoon and desert dust without spares I'll leave to someone else to explain   I can imagine a couple of Martlets being kept running as trainers though. Whaddya think? Cheers  Cornhelium Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cornhelium 0 Posted November 6, 2003 Sorry - I should've put this in Addons & Mods:Discussion forum Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Frenchman 0 Posted November 6, 2003 Hey! Thats not a bad idea at all! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TopCover 0 Posted November 7, 2003 Good Idea. A Tonali C-47 would be the a great troopcarrier, me thinks. Modified P-51 for CoIn and CAS maybe? BTW is the Ferret APC WWII era or after? Because it seems to me it would fit the Tonali background pretty good. And with UA in mind (thx CoC) and Tonal as background (thx BAS) some good WWII howitsers would be nice as well. Daaang! Aint war the coolest? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cornhelium 0 Posted November 7, 2003 Aye TC, you read my mind. I was thinking a TDF Dakota would fit very well with Tonal being Brit-occupied during WW2. I could also see an import/export firm on Tonal having bought one to airfreight stuff to and from the mainland. I'm pretty clueless about historical infantry weapons, but can imagine I44 and other WW2 rifles/MGs becoming popular additions to Tonal missions (eg. Bren/Sten guns? PIAT?). A TRF Vickers machine gun nest would be a fun thing to stumble into in the swamps of Zinaba...or on the back of a technical  : Ooh, I love mixing up technology from different eras - it's all a bit "Tattooine", ain't it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hellfish6 7 Posted November 7, 2003 Sorry - I should've put this in Addons & Mods:Discussion forum That's what I'm here for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
