[1]
<Name>
Intro
<Description>
CAMPAIGN DIARY:
August 24th, 1940. 

Ok, kill that gramophone. I think all by now have heard Connie Boswell singing "Marta" and "The Nearness of You". And listen up.

Two more quiet days. But the respite seems to be over for now. Large enemy formation are coming in, both over the North Sea and the east, and over the Channel and the southeast.

But while we wait for orders from Group, I want to talk tactics a bit. Look at the black-board here.

In the late 1930s, the top brass in Fighter Command were not expecting to see single-engine fighters over Britain, only bombers. With this in mind, they cooked up a series of "Fighting Area Tactics", involving a series of intricate manoeuvres designed to concentrate a squadron's firepower to bring down bombers.

With no apparent prospect of escorting fighters to worry about, we have been educated to fly in tight, vee-shaped sections of three. You know, "vics". These restrict squadrons to tight 12 aircraft formations in another tight "V". 

With this formation, only the squadron leader at the front is free to actually watch for the enemy; the other pilots have to concentrate on keeping station. It's too rigid. It doesn't work.

By contrast the Germans employ a loose section of two, based on a leader followed at a distance of about 200 yards by his wingman, who also flies slightly higher and is trained to stay with his leader. 

While the leader is free to search for enemy aircraft, and can cover his wingman's blind spots, his wingman is able to concentrate on searching the airspace in the leader's blind spots, behind and below. Pretty smart, eh?

We are all acutely aware of the inherent deficiencies of our old tactics. 

We are now trying out a compromise, whereby squadron formations use much looser formations with one or two "weavers" flying independently above and behind to provide increased observation and rear protection.

								*************
MISSION
Ah, yes. Alright men, we now know more. The Jerry formations that are approaching over the North Sea obviously aims for the area to the north of the Estuary.

Our task is to intercept them. It is a large force of twin-engined bombers, mainly Heinkels, escorted by both 109's and 110's. (By the way: no one has spotted a single Stuka for a number of days now. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they have been withdrawn after that last massacre.)

Any questions? Fine! Good luck. Here we go!

								*************

You'll be flying as second element of C section
[2]
<Name>
Success
<Description>
HISTORIC  NOTES
This mission tries to emulate the famous low-level attack on Kenley, August 19th, when a staffel from the KG76, specialists in this type of raid managed to navigate to the target airfield without interception, over unfamiliar enemy territory, on time and exactly on the planned route. 

But the mission was not  success. The Dornier crew expected to be polishing off a damaged fighter station, but the initial attack had failed to materialise - not here though. 

Some of the Dorniers were actually by downed by a battery of Unrotated Projectile, or UP, a novel short range rocket-firing anti-aircraft weapon that were supposed to snag enemy aircraft by their wires. In this mission they have been substituted by low-level barrage balloon. The effect is pretty much the same, except that they stay up all the time - so beware!
<Slide>
FighterBoysDebrief10.jpg
<Caption>
[3]
<Name>
Failure
<Description>
HISTORIC  NOTES
This mission tries to emulate the famous low-level attack on Kenley, August 19th, when a staffel from the KG76, specialists in this type of raid managed to navigate to the target airfield without interception, over unfamiliar enemy territory, on time and exactly on the planned route. 

But the mission was not  success. The Dornier crew expected to be polishing off a damaged fighter station, but the initial attack had failed to materialise - not here though. 

Some of the Dorniers were actually by downed by a battery of Unrotated Projectile, or UP, a novel short range rocket-firing anti-aircraft weapon that were supposed to snag enemy aircraft by their wires. In this mission they have been substituted by low-level barrage balloon. The effect is pretty much the same, except that they stay up all the time - so beware!
<Slide>
FighterBoysDebrief10.jpg
<Caption>
