One Trick Pony - MiG 3s in Blood Red Skies

I suspect this new release from Warlord will be one of the most controversial. I think some people will love them, and some people will hate them. In many ways the MiG 3 is one of the worse fighters in the game (reasons in a bit), but as far as I am concerned it has one thing going for it - style!

Potted history first. The MiG 3 was the successor to the MiG 1. These planes were initially designed as high altitude interceptors. In the modern world of multi role aircraft we tend to blur the lines between roles but back in 1940 this was less so. The MiG was designed to be fast so that it could get up and catch incoming bombers. Manoeuvrability was not important because they would not be engaging in a dogfight. In some ways the designers got it right - at least in part. When it entered service the MiG was blisteringly fast, almost 50 mph faster than the equivalent Spitfire or Me109E at altitude, but there the good news ended. Handling was decidedly poor, dangerously so in fact. If it started to spin it was hard to recover, resulting in several fatal accidents where inexperienced pilots lost control. There were also problems with some systems such as heating and oxygen - all rather important if you are planning to fly high. Firepower was adequate for the time, but with hindsight could have been better.

The MiG3 was a major front line fighter when the Germans attacked in 1941, with just short of 1000 on strength. Soviet losses in the first weeks of the war were shockingly high, and to stem the tide the MiGs were committed to the fight lower down than they had been designed for. Unfortunately the speed advantage they held up high was much less pronounced in the thicker air and they suffered accordingly. Things got so bad that some squadrons were redesignated for ground attack. To make matters worse, the opposition started to get faster as new models were developed and the MiG lost even the speed edge it had started with. In a strange twist of fate the MiGs were being built in several of the same factories as the IL2s. Stalin personally demanded maximum effort building IL2s, so the MiGs were not given any development or production priority. By 1942 the type was looking decidedly second rate and was soon out of production. Wherever possible they were transferred from air force to Navy units where they continued on in service at the front until quite late in the war, but mostly in second line units.

The other thing that I have to mention is the looks. If the MiG3 were on an old episode of "Top Gear", on the Cool Wall, it would rate "sub zero". If James Bond were looking for a ride, he would pick the Mig3. That long nose and sleek streamlined fuselage all scream style and speed. It was not in any way hindered by some propaganda shots of MiGs in all white winter camo with prominent "go faster" arrows all the way down the side, bedecked in patriotic slogans, together with pics of white fuselages and red wing tips. They just look so damned fast. Some spoil-sports have suggested the red wings are actually a misreading of some black and white pics and should really be green, but those people don't have a soul.

So - Blood Red Skies. Stats wise the MiG is fast at Speed 8, and has Agility and Firepower 1. It also has the Great Dive Trait. The elephant in the room here is the "Sluggish" Trait. Basically this prevents a MiG pilot choosing the "Outmanoeuvre" pilot action. Against multi engine planes like most bombers this is not an issue, but against other fighters this is not good. One trait that is missing is "Poor Quality", which unlike most early war Soviet planes the MiG does not have - we thought Sluggish was enough! On the other hand against contemporaries you will always have the speed advantage, and combining that speed with Great Dive will mean you can really get in, and out of a fight very fast. In this sense the MiG is the first pure energy fighter in BRS. All is not lost as far as doctrines go either. The MiG Squadron comes with the option of the Sustained Dive doctrine, which will give you the chance to recover any advantage you burned in a dive. In points games the MiGs are cheap - the discount they get for being saddled with "Sluggish" means you can afford to get either more of them, or take better pilots, and a well handled MiG Squadron may well be quite a handful.

and then there is Alexs Pokryshkin, the Ace in the MiG3 release.

This is in some ways quite a strange choice of aircraft for him, as he is most famous as an Airacobra Ace, but he cut his teeth on MiG3s and was one of the few pilots to really master the type. Where he really shines however is he has the "The Right Stuff" Ace Skill - which allows him to ignore any negative traits on his plane. Yup - in his hands the MiG3 loses the Sluggish Trait. 

So there you go - and yes, mine will be white :-)