| Opening Salvo: Pt. 4 |
| War at Sea -- Task Force Set |
| by Rich Baker |
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The new Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures: War at Sea -- Task Force set hit store shelves on Jul 25th! For our fourth salvo, we take a look at Great Britain's Beaufighter and Italy's SM.79.
Beaufighter
Variants of the Beaufighter were fitted out as heavy fighters, night fighters, torpedo bombers, and anti-shipping strafers. The Beaufighter was viciously effective in this role due to its heavy armament, as demonstrated during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea (March 1943). Allied land-based air forces consisting largely of Beaufighters and B-25 Mitchells annihilated a Japanese convoy of troopships bound for New Guinea in two days of intense air attack.
SM.79
The SM.79 Sparviero was the principal Italian torpedo bomber of the war. An awkward-looking trimotor, it was in actuality a very rugged and capable plane. SM.79 attacks took a heavy toll of British convoys struggling to keep the island-fortress of Malta supplied with food, fuel, aircraft, and ammunition.
Check back next Monday when we will be focusing on a new pair of units from the Task Force set. Until then, go to our message boards to talk about this preview.
Additional Material
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