[Pursuivant]

Singapore: Of all the crummy maps in Pacific Fighters, this one sucked worst.

First of all, most of the "interesting" aerial action took place up near the Thai border, which isn't even shown on the map.

The initial IJN and IJA raids vs. Singapore were virtually unopposed night raids, made easier by complete surprise by the Japanese and the fact that the city wasn't blacked out at all. Later raids were virtually unopposed because the IJN had achieved air superiority.

For IJN raids, you've got the G4M-1 which was used in limited numbers, but of course the G3M, the main workhorse of IJN bomber fleet in 1941, is missing.

Forget a historical mission where you sink the Prince of Wales and Repulse, because not only is there no G3M, but the area where those ships were sunk isn't on the map!

Early RAAF and RAF bombing raids (using Blenheims and Hudsons) could have possibly slowed the Japanese advance, but of course the Blenheim isn't flyable and the Hudson isn't in the game. And, the battles where they were used aren't on the map.

Mercifully, the last point where the ABDA Force AF made any serious attempt to use tactical air support was at Yong Peng, which is on the Singapore map. There are no scenarios for this action, but they could be made.

Again, the major Japanese ships which supported the invasion are mostly not modeled in the game. There are also no small British/Australian ships or boats although they were very heavily targeted by the Japanese as the Europeans tried to evacuate Singapore.

So, very little joy for Japanese anti-shipping missions, made worse by the fact that there is almost no sea area around the southern portions of the map.

Singapore looks like a sleepy little village although it was (and is) a thriving, highly advanced, heavily populated seaport. There are no distinctive "Singapore" or "Malaysian" objects to make the map more interesting.

There are almost no British Army ground objects, despite the fact that the Japanese advance was heavily supported by tactical air strikes. So, in addition to the lack of Japanese ground attack aircraft, like the C5M/Ki-15, or Ki-51 in the game, they have very little to attack!

The "Buffalo Mk. I" seems to mostly be a F2A2 with the serial numbers filed off. The Brits made a number of modifications to the basic B-339 design which made an already obsolete fighter into an utter disaster. Not least, they specified an oil tank which was too small to cool the engine, guaranteeing engine overheat at full power when used in tropical conditions!

In a hopeless attempt to stave off disaster, British and Australian ground crews heavily field-modded the Buffalo, reducing fuel tankage, removing unnecessary systems, reducing armament, etc. in an attempt to make it a more effective fighter. This means that there should be a Field-mod Buffalo I with reduced armor, fuel, fewer guns, etc. which behaves a bit more like the B-239, but with the inevitable trade-offs.

FWIW, there were also a few early mark Beaufighter night fighters committed early in the battle. But, rather than being used to defend Singapore as night fighters, some idiot decided to use them as ground attack aircraft in the early phases of the campaign up near the Thai border.

Another British addition to the battle was a civilian paramilitary scouting force equipped with light aircraft like De Havilland Tiger Moths and Puss Moths. They were very brave, but they were easy meat for planes like the Ki-27 and A6M2.

The Vickers Wildebeest and Blackburn Shark were only used in limited numbers and to no great effect, and only saw battle during WW2 during the Malaysian campaign. For those reasons, there's no real reason to add them to the game.

The Fairey Albacore served in a similar role in Singapore as the Wildebeest and Shark and was much more widely used, so it would make a good addition.

Finally, the ML-KNIL (Dutch East Indies AF) put in an appearance, so possibly the export version of the B-10 (139WH-3) could be added. Since this type saw service in Java, and possibly the defense of Northern Australia, it might be a decent addition, especially since it gives the Dutch a bomber of their own.

After Singapore fell, it was bombed twice by the Allies in 1945 using high altitude B-29 attacks against docks and shipping. Enemy resistance was very light. With proper objects added, this would be a good map for hypothetical flyable B-29 mission.