Wings of Glory: World War 2 – B-17
Wings of Glory: World War 2 – B-17 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Basic Rules for Multi-Engine Airplanes
Airplane Center
On multi-engine airplane cards and bases there is no longer a single "center" of the airplane. The airplane stand (or the blue dot at the center of the airplane on the airplane card) is used to decide whether the airplane is inside or outside the gaming surface and for any other use apart from firing. Multiple colored dots indicate the position of the machine guns for the purpose of firing.
Tailing Multi-Engine Airplanes
The blue dot on the airplane base (or the blue dot at the tail on the airplane card) is used as a reference point for the Tailing optional rule.
Multiple Arcs of Fire
All multi-engine airplanes have several machine guns. Colored (red or dark yellow) dots are used to mark machine gun positions: there is one dot for each firing arc.
To measure the range when firing with a specific machine gun, use the appropriate colored dot. The number inside the circle on the firing arc is used to identify the machine gun. The firepower of each machine gun is indicated on the airplane card, beside the appropriate number.
When playing with Basic Rules, only use machine guns indicated by red dots. Machine guns indicated by dark yellow dots are only used with Advanced Rules.
Pay attention to firing arcs that overlap other firing arcs; a target airplane can be fired at by more than one of an airplane's machine guns at the same time, if it is within more than one arc.
Airplanes with several firing arcs can fire at one target for each arc in each turn. If the same gunner handles multiple machine guns (as indicated by the Airplane Management Card, see below), he can fire only one of these guns in the same turn.
Note: a 360°–rotating machine gun is identified by a white octagon, with a red (or dark yellow) border and a number, instead of a dot.
Airplane Management Card
This pack includes an airplane management card. The card shows several role circles, each indicating the role a crewman has on the airplane. Each circle includes a Roman numeral, which refers to the specific crewmen handling the role. If the same Roman numeral appears inside different role circles, connected by a black line, it means the crewman designated by that numeral has multiple roles.
The role of pilot is indicated by the blue pilot symbol in a blue circle.
The role of gunner is indicated by the machine gun symbol in a colored circle. Each role circle for a gunner is connected to the number of that machine gun on the airplane, matching the number used on the airplane card.
When using Basic Rules, the management card is only used to show you if a crewman has multiple roles.
Cards and Counters
- 1 Airplane Card (F or G version)
- 1 Management Card (F or G version)
- 1 Maneuver Deck: XC (11 cards)
- 3 Bomb Cards
- 2 Target Cards
- 1 Industrial Complex Card
- 6 Engine Damage Counters (Blue)
- 10 Crewman Hit Counters (Red)
- 3 Crew Damage Counters (Green)
- 6 Crew Damage Counters (Yellow)
- 11 Casualty Markers (Gray)
- 4 Presence Markers (Green)
Note: to fully use all of the specific rules and counters for the airplane included in this pack, you should use the complete rules included in the WW2 Wings of Glory Rules and Accessories Pack.
Boeing B-17
Game Stats
| Version | Engines | Fire Arcs | Damage Resistance | Climb Rate | Maximum Altitude | Crew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | 4 | 7/8 | 50 | 9 | 12 | 9/10 |
| G | 4 | 6/7 | 50 | 9 | 12 | 9/10 |
Values after the slash (/) are used with Advanced Rules.
Crew Damage Table (for use with Standard Rules)
| Version | Crewman | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| F | I | Pilot |
| F | II | Pilot |
| F | III | Front Gunner |
| F | IV | Cheek Gunner |
| F | V | Dorsal Turret Gunner |
| F | VI | Radio Operator Gunner |
| F | VII | Left Side Gunner |
| F | VIII | Right Side Gunner |
| F | IX |
* Advanced Rules only.
Special Rules
Lateral and Nose Machine Guns
The Boeing B-17s (both F and G version) have two lateral machine guns on the sides of the fuselage, one on the left and the other on the right (B-17F: machine guns 5 and 6 / crewmen VII and VIII; B-17G: machine guns 4 and 5 / crewmen VI and VII) manned by two gunners.
The B-17F version (WGS303A) also has two gunners in the nose, one the frontal machine gun 1 (crewman III) and one manning the "cheek" machine guns 2 (crewman IV).
In both cases, if one gunner is eliminated, the other gunner can move to his position and continue firing. On the airplane management card, these pairs of gunners are indicated by two role circles connected by a black line.
At the start of the game, place a presence marker on each of the two roles. If one of the gunners is wounded, place a casualty marker on the gunner's role circle and remove his presence marker; the other presence marker can be moved from one of the two role circles, and the presence marker can be stacked with the casualty marker without limitations, if needed. If the second gunner is also wounded, remove his presence marker and replace it with a casualty marker: both machine guns are then silenced.
B-17G's Chin Turret
The B-17G version has a front position 1 including both a chin turret and two "cheek" machine guns, manned by two men (crewmen III and IV).
At the start of the game, place a presence marker on both role circles. Position 1 can fire a B/A shot at any target in the firing arc with the chin turret and a second A/A shot at the same or any other target with one of the cheek machine guns.
If one of the gunners is wounded, place a casualty marker on the gunner's role circle and remove his presence marker; in this case, the remaining gunner can only fire the B/A shot. If the second gunner is also wounded, remove his presence marker and replace it with a casualty marker on his role circle: Both machine guns are then silenced.
Advanced Rules: the B/A chin turret shot can only fire against targets at the same altitude or lower, while the A/A shot can fire against targets at any altitude. When one of the two gunners is wounded, the player can choose to fire either a B/A shot or A/A shot. The choice is only allowed if the gunner did not fire in the previous turn; if he fired, he can only fire the same weapon.
Ventral and Dorsal Turrets
Advanced Rules (this section is marked in the source with the Advanced Rules symbol):
The Boeing B-17 has a ventral turret (machine gun 8 on B-17F; machine gun 7 on B-17G). The ventral turret can fire 360°, but ONLY against targets at a lower altitude. This weapon is not used when playing with Basic or Standard Rules.
The upper turret (machine gun 3 on B-17F; machine gun 2 on B-17G) and the radio operator's machine gun (machine gun 4 on B-17F; machine gun 3 on B-17G) cannot fire at targets at lower altitude.
Optional Rule – Tail Blind Spot
The upper turret (machine gun 3 on B-17F; machine gun 2 on B-17G) and the radio operator's machine gun (machine gun 4 on B-17F; machine gun 3 on B-17G) have a tail blind spot: they cannot fire at enemy airplanes if, when connecting the weapon dot to the target's center, the ruler passes across the black section on the tail of the airplane (see Blind Spot rule – WW2 Wings of Glory Rules and Accessories Pack rulebook, page 33).
Advanced Rules: neither machine gun can fire at airplanes at the same altitude across the black section on the tail, but they can fire at targets at higher altitude, ignoring the blind spot.
Industrial Complex Card
The Industrial Complex card included in this Special Pack represents one of the most common types of bombing target during World War II.
The card shows a red dot (the center of the target) and an inner area (the rectangle inside the thin red line).
When a bomber drops bomb to hit this target card, there are four possible outcomes:
- If the red dot on the target card is totally covered by the bomb card, the target takes full damage (or the player scores full victory points).
- If the red dot is not totally covered but a part of the inner area of the target card is covered, the damage (or the score) is halved (round down).
- If the inner area is not covered, but at least part of the target card is covered, the damage (or the score) is 1/4 (round down).
- If no part of the target card is covered, the bombs miss and the damage (or score) is zero.