Mistel Rules 

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Mistel Special Rules 
by Nigel Hickman
Background: The Mistel was an unconventional attempt to fill the Luftwaffe's 
need for a long-range bomber, by converting a medium bomber into a pilotless 
missile, flown to the target by an attached fighter. The theory (based on the 
proven pre-war success of the Short Mayo flying boat combination) was that a 
medium bomber, which did not have to make a return journey, could expend all its 
fuel on the outwards journey, doubling its range, and the fighter it carried 
would only need to make the return journey, also doubling its range. In 
practice, this was not quite the case, but the combination did have potential to 
operate at ranges beyond that of conventional bombers in the inventory. 
The very first model was a simple modification of a war-weary Ju88A-4 and an 
obsolescent Bf109F. Flight trials of the first conversion in 1943 involved using 
a manned Ju88, with a special two-man cockpit bolted on in place of the planned 
warhead. The success of this led to 15 Mistel ("Mistletoe") conversions being 
requested, using Bf109F-4s as the upper component and expired Ju88A-4s as the 
lower component. The Ju88 crew area was replaced by the bolted-on two-man 
cockpit for delivery and training purposes, and this could be quickly replaced 
by the warhead when needed. The fighter aircraft was carried on struts above the 
wing centre section with just enough clearance for the propellor. Electrical 
cables to allow the pilot of the fighter to control the bomber were simply taped 
to these struts, and plugged into sockets on the fighter's underside. 
The warhead itself was a 3800kg (over 8000lb) shaped-charge. The fuse was 
carried on the end of a long probe which jutted out in front of the aircraft to 
maximise its effect. In tests, this was able to penetrate 26 feet of steel, or 
66 feet of concrete, with ease! In use, some examples also carried external 
bombs to increase their explosive power. 
In May 1944, KG101 received the first operational examples, and their target was 
intended to be Scapa Flow. However, the first five operational examples were 
used against ships suuporting the Normandy landings instead. One aborted due to 
mechanical failure, but the other four all made successful attacks under the 
cover of darkness, although none of the four ships that were hit were sunk. 
This was enough to prompt the Luftwaffe to ask for an advanced version. The 
Jumo-engined Ju88A-4 and the Daimler-Benz powered Bf109F-4s used different fuel 
grades, and this limited the combination to the short range of the Bf109. The 
narrow 109 cockpit was also a less than ideal place to put two extra sets of 
controls and gauges for the bomb's engines! The Mistel 2 solved this by 
combining the BMW-powered Ju88G-1 model with a BMW-powered FW190A-8. The latter 
could draw on the former's fuel on the outward journey, increasing its effective 
range to double its normal endurance. 
Plans were made for 60 of these to make a night attack on the Home Fleet in 
Scapa Flow. The required number of weapons, now all part of KG200, were ready by 
December 1944, but inclement weather over their bases prevented them from taking 
off as planned. 
By this time aviation spirit was a precious commodity in the Third Reich. A 
long-range mission by, essentially, 120 aircraft was no small undertaking under 
the circumstances. That such an attack was contemplated shows that the Mistel 
was regarded as a legitimate stategic weapon by the Luftwaffe, and not the mad 
gamble it it sometimes looked upon in the history books. However, by December 
1944, the planned target no longer had any significance. When originally 
planned, the strike was intended to cripple the Home Fleet and allow the Tirpitz 
to sail, but since then it had been first badly damaged, then sunk - without 
ever firing its guns at an enemy vessel! The planned attack on Scapa was finally 
cancelled. 
The Mistels' next planned operation, "Eisenhammer", was to be an attack by 100 
Mistels on factories and power stations around Moscow, to take place in March 
1945. The take-off bases in East Prussia were overrun before enough Mistels were 
available, as BMW-powered Ju88s were then becoming hard to find, and a number of 
completed examples were destroyed on the ground by an American air raid. 
The final developments of the concept used new-build Ju88G-10 and H-4 airframes 
from the production lines. The Jumo-engined G-10, intended as a long-range 
Zerstorer, was paired with the FW190A-8, which used overwing long-range fuel 
tanks to extend its range, the combination becoming the Mistel 3C. The use of 
the stretched BMW-engined H-4 long-range bomber was the most ambitious, as this 
was intended to be used as a manned pathfinder, carrying its own parasite escort 
fighter for launch when needed (a concept revived by the FiCon program many 
years later), although the latter still required the use of overwing fuel tanks. 
However it did not see service, nor did other experimental combinations of 
components, including the use of Ta152s in place of the FW190s. 
Ultimately, the Mistel, conceived as a massed long-range strategic weapon, but 
never used as such, was used in the final months of the war in penny packets as 
a tactical bomber, attacking bridges in an attempt to slow the advancing armies, 
and having some success. Ironically, the original short-ranged Mistel 1s were 
used on many of these missions. In spite of operating mostly at night, and with 
escorts, Mistel losses were still high due to their poor performance, and the 
need to fly straight and steady at the target during the attack run to set the 
gyro-contolled autopilot of the bomb, offering a perfect target to enemy 
aircraft and AA gunners alike. 
Mistel ADC
A separate ADC for the Mistel is not required, since ADCs for their components 
are available, and can be used by the application of some special rules to the 
Ju88C-6 ADC. 
1. Crew: It has, of course, no crew in the Ju88 component, only a pilot in the 
FW190.
2. Weaponry: Again, the Ju88 is obviously unarmed. The FW190 is the A-8 model, 
but with the outer wing guns (W2 and W3) removed to save weight.
3. Power: The extra power of the three BMW radials was offset by the extra 
weight of the warhead and the drag of the connecting struts. Use the Power vs 
Speed chart normally, except the combination has three engines.
4. Performance: Treat the aircraft as Overloaded, with a ceiling of 14,700 feet 
(its maximum level speed was 235 mph, already accounted for by the overload 
rules).
5. Maneuvers: Vertical climbs and dives, inverted banks, and skids are not 
allowed. Slips are allowed within the limits of the overload rules.
6. Damage: When attacked, its defence factor is still 6. However, after a 
damaging hit is scored, roll the die again, multiply it by the hits scored and 
divide by 10, rounding off. These hits are applied to the FW190 component, the 
rest to the Ju88. Critical Hits are calculated per component, not overall. 
[Example: 8 hits with a criticals rating of 2 are scored. The second roll is a 
4. The FW190 takes 3 hits and 1 critical, the Ju88 5 hits and 2 criticals.] 
Any critical on the Ju88 that results in a "crewman wounded or killed" hits the 
warhead instead, which explodes (automatically killing the pilot). Use the same 
procedure as for a V-1 explosion (OTR, p55). If either component reaches 
severely damaged status, or one engine on the lower component is out, the bomb 
must be jettisoned. If the Fw190 engine stops, the pilot will abort, and attempt 
to return to base on the bomb's engines (requiring a jettison of the bomb and a 
bail-out or deadstick landing on arrival).
7. Bomb Release: Op-scale: Mistels must be at VL to attack. Mistels that are 
attacking are subject to attacks by all types of Flak at a -2 in addition to 
other modifiers. Successfully launched bombs are attacked again by Flak at a -2. 
All bombs that survive both of these hit their targets. If there are 
Interceptors in the same square, the Mistels must avoid the fighters at OMT/TMG 
scale, or successfully disengage from Combat scale, to attack; if they do so, 
then any Light Flak present may attack them twice as above, but no other Flak 
type may attack.
Combat Scale: Attack procedure is identical to ATG Rocketry, except the Mistel 
must be in a steep dive with less than or equal to 1/3 of FPs being VFPs, wings 
level, and may not bank, turn, or make any maneuver during the aim period. The 
Mistel must also expend HFP/VFP in exactly the same sequence, and losing the 
same altitude with each VFP, throughout the aiming period. Any damage to engines 
causing power loss, or damage to control surfaces during the aim period 
invalidates it, and aiming must begin again. However, once the minimum aim time 
has been achieved, the Mistel may be released and flies on, using the same 
HFP/VFP sequence and with the same throttle setting, until it reaches level 0. 
The "slant range" modifier for the Allied 3in/25 rocket is used. The attack roll 
is also modified by +1 for each critical on a control surface of either 
component before launch, a +1 for each control surface critical sustained by the 
Ju88 after launch, and a +1 for each 2 other criticals suffered by the Ju88, 
whether sustained before or after launch. 
[Example: A Mistel begins its attack at Speed 5.0. Its FP expenditures are 
HHV(-0.2)HH. Next turn, it must fly V(-0.2)HHV(-0.2)H. After launch, the bomb 
flies HV(-0.2)HHV(-0.2) and so on until it reaches level 0. The HHV(-0.2) 
sequence is the same even if there is a speed change] 
Bomb Data: 
      Name TypeWeightLoad PointsSoft/Hard
      Attack StrYear Avail
      MistelAP8360N/A400/600Jun 1944

8. Attrition: The undercarriage of the Ju88 was designed for a maximum T/O 
weight of 14 tonnes. A fully-fuelled and armed Mistel weighed over 20 tonnes, 
and many were lost due to take-off accidents. There is a +2 to all Mistel 
take-off attrition rolls.
9. Endurance: The fighter component of the Mistel 2 could draw fuel from the 
bomber's tanks on the outward flight. The composite's endurance is reduced to 
140, and only gains 2/3 value from any external fuel tank. The FW190 may carry 
its own external fuel tank as well, but after separation, is considered fully 
fuelled (including a full drop tank if carried). 
 