Operation White Box WWII: Air Combat Options, Planes, Flyboy Class

Almost finished with this one. Need to finish a few airplane stats (mostly German and Japanese), work over some Flak and Bombing Rules and reconsider the final ability of the Flyboy class.
So a mostly finished post. A work in progress. I'll re-up it with pics when I get done.
But for now............

EDIT:
Cleaned up the post, modified a few small rules, finished the Flyboy class.
More planes (especially enemy and bombers), flak rules, and bomb rules on the way soon.

DAVE'S OWB WWII AIR COMBAT
Combat Proceeds As:
1. Spot Foe
2. Maneuver Roll
3. Initiative
4. Movement
5. Attacks, etc

SPOT FOE
Normal Ambush/surprise checks with bonus/penalty as applied by the War Master.
Came out of the sun, came from behind, etc.

MANEUVER ROLL
This is an opposed Piloting check (Dex checks + bonus from the Death from Above ability) between Flyboys involved in battle.

The Flyboys are dog-fighting and doing other combat tricks to gain the advantage.
A Flyboy must make their check by rolling their Dex score (+ bonus) or less on a 1d20. If both make their check whomever made by the most wins.

• The winner has maneuvered into an advantageous position over his foe and gets a +2 to hit and +2 to Initiative bonus until the beginning of the next round. He also receives  a +2 bonus to his Piloting Maneuver roll the next round.
• A tie equals no bonus to either Flyboy.

For Example: 
A 1st level Flyboy with a Dex of 14 (and a +1 Death from Above bonus for a total of 15) runs into combat with a 3rd level Flyboy with a 14 Dex (and a bonus of +2 for a total of 16.)  Both roll. The 1st level Flyboy rolls an 8, the 3rd level Flyboy rolls a 12.

The 1st level Flyboy made his roll by 7, the 3rd level Flyboy made his by 4. The 1st level Flyboy gains the Maneuver bonuses this round and has a +2 to initiative next round.

Not every pilot in the sky is a Flyboy.
If a pilot flying an aircraft is not of the Flyboy class their maneuver roll is at a -4 penalty.

INITIATIVE
Normal 1d6.
+2 bonus for a Flyboy's All in the Reflexes ability.
+2 if a Maneuver roll was won the previous round.

MOVEMENT
Movement is tracked  with normal OWB rules. The following applies in combat:
The loser of Initiative moves first to allow the Maneuver winner to see where the loser places his plane and then place his own plane.

AC Bonus and Air Speed
Airplanes move a LOT faster than ground vehicles, often going hundreds of miles per hour. Unlike ground vehicles where you multiply the speed by yards x 10 (or 30'), with aircraft you multiply the aircraft speed by yards x 30 (or 90') to get it's movement in feet per round.
https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/ww2-aircraft-ranked-by-speed.asp

Their speed also makes them harder to hit.

Speed Categories
Current Speed AC Bonus
10 +1
15 +2
20 +3
25 +4
30 +5
35 +6
40 +7
45 + +8

In a plane vs plane combat the speed AC bonus of a slower flying plane subtracted from the bonus of a faster flying plane. The remainder is added as an AC bonus to the faster plane. (The faster plane is better but doesn't completely overwhelm it as it does a ground target.) A P-51 going all-out vs a Messerschmidt 110 going all- out has a +1 AC bonus (7 -6 = 1.)

When speed is reduced either by choice or damage use the lower speeds bonus.

ATTACKS, ETC
Armor Class
Vehicle AC
+ Dex bonus
+ Speed Factor
+ bonus from Flyboy Ace ability
+4 Flying defensively (no attack attempt)

To Hit
Normal 1d20 plus pilot's Ranged Hit
-2 non-Flyboy or Grunt class
+2 maneuver bonus if gained
+ linked weapon bonus if applicable

Damage to Aircraft
1. IF aircraft is at half Hp's or less, -4 to Piloting rolls.
2. When at half Hp's or less every damaging hit is a critical hit.
3. A natural 20 is a critical hit.

Roll 1d6.
On a 1-4:  an engine/critical system hit. See engine criticals below.
On a 5-6:  1d3 crew are hit. Save for half damage.

Aircraft at 0 hp or less, roll a 1d6. On a 1 it explodes for 6d6 damage. On a 2 it bursts into flame causing 1d6 per round to crew. On a 3-6 it falls from the sky trailing smoke and impacting in 1d4 +2 rounds.

Targeting the Engine or Pilot
-6 to attack the engine or cockpit/crew (due to position and better armor at these locations.)
See Engine/Critical System damage below.

Engine/Critical System

• x2 damage.
• The total damage done  is the percentage chance on a 1d100  that the plane's performance is impacted. Roll for each successful attack successfully.
• IF this roll is successful drop speed by 1/4 of full speed on the first hit.
• Each additional hit and successful percent roll drops the speed by another 1/4 of full speed until the plane reaches 0 speed and falls from the sky.

Stalling
IF a natural 1-5 percent is rolled on any of the engine/critical system percentile rolls the engine stalls and the plane begins to fall from the sky.

• The Pilot must make an Int check (+ Pilot bonus) - total engine damage to restart it.
• The Pilot has 1d4 +2 rounds to get restart or get out.

Linked Weapons
Multiple machineguns liked to fire at the same time and same target. Each extra weapon gives a bonus to hit or damage as seen on the chart below. If more than one caliber of weapon is linked choose the highest damage for the base damage. Remember: the guns fire three times per combat round.

Linked Weapons
2 guns  +1 hit
3 guns  +2 dmg
4 guns  +2 hit/+2 dmg
5 guns  +2 hit/+4 dmg
6 guns  +3 hit/+4 dmg
7 guns  +3 hit/+6 dmg
8 guns  +4 hit/+6 dmg

Autocannon
Autocannon, small 15mm 2d6
Autocannon, medium 20mm 2d6+2
Autocannon, large 30mm 3d6
vs Personnel: Explosive Radius 30'

Airplane Bursts
Three attacks per round, 10 bullets per weapon per burst.
 The pilot can choose to use only one or two bursts to conserve ammo.

Rockets
Airplanes equipped with rockets under their wings were great at knocking out enemy armored vehicles and other hard targets.

Treat the rockets as a Heavy RPG  (8d6 damage) with a 200' range increment.
They can be fired in pairs or even larger groups of four, six, etc. Treat bonuses to hit and damage as if fire-linked. Two rockets fired would be a +1 to hit, 4 would be a +2 hit/+2 dmg, etc.

AC Bonus and Air Speed
Airplanes move a LOT faster than ground vehicles, often going hundreds of miles per hour. Unlike ground vehicles where you multiply the speed by yards x 10 (or 30'), with aircraft you multiply the aircraft speed by yards x 30 (or 90') to get it's movement in feet per round.
Their speed also makes them harder to hit.

Speed Categories
Current Speed /AC Bonus
10 +1
15 +2
20 +3
25 +4
30 +5
35 +6
40 +7
45 + +8

In a plane vs plane combat the speed AC bonus of a slower flying plane subtracted from the bonus of a faster flying plane. The remainder is added as an AC bonus to the faster plane. (The faster plane is better but doesn't completely overwhelm it as it does a ground target.) A P-51 going all-out vs a Messerschmidt 110 going all- out has a +1 AC bonus (7 -6 = 1.)

When speed is reduced either by choice or damage use the lower speeds bonus.

Alternate Strafing Run
Operation Whitebox gives rules for Strafing Runs on page 59.
As an alternate system we can use the Speed AC Bonus above:
A soldier on the ground is firing at a P-51 mustang. The AC of the plane receives a +7  bonus as it roars by at over 400 mph bumping its AC up to  20 + the Pilot's Dex bonus + his Death From Above bonus.

Unfortunately for the pilot it is harder to hit man-sized targets while you're roaring through at 400+ mph. Using all three Machine Gun attacks per each set of available linked weapons allows the Pilot attack an area 30' wide by a number of feet equal to current airspeed. Everyone in this area is rolled against as possible targets but get a bonus to AC equal to the plane's current airspeed bonus plus a cover bonus if they are under partial or soft cover and the War Master rules they can be hit.

Our soldier above who fired at the P-51 gets a +7 to his AC bonus against the plane and since he is standing behind a brick barricade the War Master gives him a +4 cover bonus for a total of +11 to his AC vs the plane.

Airplane Profiles
Generic Small Plane (via OWB)
AC: 7 [12]
HP:  12 (HD 3)     
Move: 9/36, +6 airspeed bonus
Attacks: Medium Machine Gun (x2) [operator-linked]
Mods: Aerial, Communications
Country: Any
Year: late 1930's
Crew: 1
Range: 1000 miles
Ceiling: 27,000'
Climb: 2000' per minute

P38 Lightning
AC: 13
HP: 18 (HD 3)     
Move: 9/41 flying, +7 airspeed bonus
Attack: All [operator-linked]
⦁ x4 fire-linked Large Machine Gun (+2 hit, 2d6+2)
⦁ 1 medium Autocannon (2d6+2)
⦁ x10 Rockets
Mods: Aerial, Communications
Country: USA
Year: 1939
Crew: 1
Range: 2237 miles
Ceiling: 43.963'
Climb: 2500' per minute

F4U Corsair
AC: 13
HP: 15 (HD 3)     
Move: 9/42 flying,  +7 airspeed bonus
Attack: All [operator-linked]
⦁ x6 fire-linked Large Machine Gun (+3 hit, 2d6+4)
Mods: Aerial, Communications
Country: USA
Year: 1942
Crew: 1
Range: 1016 miles
Ceiling: 36,909'
Climb: 3000' per minute

P-40 Warhawk
AC: 13
HP: 15 (HD 3)     
Move: 9/42 flying, +7 airspeed bonus
Attack: All [operator-linked]
⦁ x6 fire-linked Large Machine Gun (+3 hit, 2d6+4)
Mods: Aerial, Communications
Country: USA
Year: 1941
Crew: 1
Range: 240 miles
Ceiling: 38,156'
Climb: 2142' per minute

P-47 ThunderBolt
AC: 13
HP: 15 (HD 3)     
Move: 9/43 flying, +7 airspeed bonus
Attack: All [operator-linked]
⦁ x8 fire-linked Large Machine Gun (+4 hit, 2d6+6)
⦁ x10 Rockets
Mods: Aerial, Communications
Country: USA
Year: 1942
Crew: 1
Range: 449 miles
Ceiling: 49,994'
Climb: 3200' per minute

P-51 Mustang
AC: 13
HP: 15 (HD 3)     
Move: 9/44 flying, +7 airspeed bonus
Attack: All [operator-linked]
⦁ x4 fire-linked Large Machine Gun (+2 hit, 2d6+2)
⦁ x4 fire-linked Medium Autocannon (+2 hit, 2d6+4)
Mods: Aerial, Communications
Country: USA
Year: 1942
Crew: 1
Range: 851 miles
Ceiling: 41,900'
Climb: 3475' per minute

FLYBOY CLASS
Identical to Wheelman with the following Class Abilities:

Death from Above
A Flyboy adds a +1 bonus to Piloting (Dex) checks at first level. The bonus increases to +2 at third level and +3 at fifth level.

This applies to all Piloting checks called for by the War Master but will be most useful in combat as it will help win the opposed Piloting check at the beginning of Airplane combat rounds for the +2 Maneuver bonus.

This bonus also applies to his vehicle's AC when flying.

All in the Reflexes
The Flyboy receives a +2 bonus to initiative while behind the stick of a plane in  Vehicle Combat.

Grease Monkey
Pilots are often called upon to make field repairs on their damaged vehicle engines or other mechanical parts. To fix a vehicle they must have the parts, take the time set by the DM, and make a successful Int check with a +1 bonus at first level, +2 at third level and +3 at fifth level.

Saving Throw
 When flying a plane a Flyboy receives a +2 bonus to all Saving Throws made to resist the effects of flax and crew damage.

XP Bonus for Dexterity
Flyboys with a Dexterity of 13 or 14 receive a 5% Experience Bonus, and those with 15 or higher get 10%.

Ace (3rd)
At 3rd level the Flyboy has a reputation as a skilled dog-fighter and Ace. At this level any vehicle weapon used by the Ace does one extra dice of damage.