The new Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures: War at Sea -- Task Force set hit store shelves on Jul 25th! For our second salvo, we take a look at the HMS Illustrious and the Barracuda.

HMS Illustrious
First in her class, Illustrious was designed with a fully armored flight deck. Although she was only designed for 33 aircraft, in wartime practice she and her sister ships normally carried 50 or more. HMS Illustrious might have struck one of the single most decisive blows of the war on the night of 11 November 1940, when she launched Swordfish torpedo-bombers against the Italian fleet anchorage at Taranto. Her planes torpedoed three battleships, knocking out half of the Regia Marina’s battle line for months—and tipping the balance of power in the Mediterranean.

Barracuda Mk II
The Fairey Barracuda was intended to replace the Swordfish as the Fleet Air Arm’s principal torpedo bomber. The plane was not very successful in that role, but turned out to be a decent dive-bomber..

Check back next Monday when we will be focusing on a new pair of units from the Task Force set. Until then, go to our message boards to talk about this preview.

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