Awards Ceremony

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

I had a good mission yesterday and came home to an impressive awards ceremony.  My pilot received an Air Medal, a Silver Star and Distinguished Service Cross and the Congressional Medal of Honor.

?

 

I mean, I love me too but that seems a little excessive, doesn't it?

 

The next day before my pilot's final flight (that ended with a personal revelation about compressibility while trying to bounce a couple of 190s) someone apparently came up to him and said, "You know what goes great with Air Medals?  Oak leaves!"

 

That final flight ended with another Air Medal, SS and DSC and of course a grave marker.

 

Edited January 2, 2020 by HeavyCavalrySgt
forgot pic

[Stoopy]

“The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.”

 

― Lao Tzu, Te Tao Ching

[danielprates]

13 minutes ago, =[TIA]=Stoopy said:

“The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.”

 

― Lao Tzu, Te Tao Ching

 

I was thinking the same thing. This pilot of yours will die in the next mission! 

[LukeFF]

I went back through and looked at the award parameters for the USAAF, and I saw that there is a way to change things so that pilots aren't taking home a bucket full of medals after just one mission. The result should be that you can only earn either the SSM, DSC, or MoH for single-mission performance. Air Medal and DFC criteria will remain the same, since those medals were awarded for total kill counts / missions completed / flight time accrued.

Edited January 3, 2020 by LukeFF

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

3 hours ago, LukeFF said:

I went back through and looked at the award parameters for the USAAF, and I saw that there is a way to change things so that pilots aren't taking home a bucket full of medals after just one mission. The result should be that you can only earn either the SSM, DSC, or MoH for single-mission performance. Air Medal and DFC criteria will remain the same, since those medals were awarded for total kill counts / missions completed / flight time accrued.

 

Sweet! How?

[Bremspropeller]

Being German, I'm not too opposed to geting drowned in oak-leaves ("Blumenkohl" / cauliflower in Landser-speak), but I thinkl it's a bit overdone, getting awarded an AM and then getting thrown an oak-leaf-cluster the next day. Shouldn't that be reserved for repetitions?

 

I mean, I can understand, why General Failure and General Caution would award me with another Air Medal for finding my own bed that night, but it gets a bit out of hand quickly.

I'm already looking like a north-korean party-secretary...

[LukeFF]

3 hours ago, HeavyCavalrySgt said:

Sweet! How?

 

Magic  But, seriously, it just means being a bit creative with the award configuration parameters.

 

3 hours ago, Bremspropeller said:

Being German, I'm not too opposed to geting drowned in oak-leaves ("Blumenkohl" / cauliflower in Landser-speak), but I thinkl it's a bit overdone, getting awarded an AM and then getting thrown an oak-leaf-cluster the next day. Shouldn't that be reserved for repetitions?

 

Well, the thing is, that's the way the Air Medal and DFC were awarded in the ETO - awarded once for each plane shot down or every 10 missions completed. They were, by design, meant to be relatively easy to earn. 

[Gambit21]

3 hours ago, HeavyCavalrySgt said:

 

Sweet! How?

 

To expand in case it’s not clear to you, he’s been given access to the config file - it’s not something you can mess with. You may have already understood this. Clarifying just in case.

[sevenless]

23 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

Well, the thing is, that's the way the Air Medal and DFC were awarded in the ETO - awarded once for each plane shot down or every 10 missions completed. They were, by design, meant to be relatively easy to earn. 

 

Thanks, didn´t know that. Not sure if I understood that correctly. You mean Francis Gabreski got 28 air medals for his 28 victories in the ETO?

[LukeFF]

4 hours ago, sevenless said:

Thanks, didn´t know that. Not sure if I understood that correctly. You mean Francis Gabreski got 28 air medals for his 28 victories in the ETO?

 

No, not quite that many. He had 7 Air Medals in total (probably a couple earned in Korea).

 

The most common award criteria for the Air Medal in the ETO, in both the 8th and 9th Air Forces, was to award an Air Medal for each of the pilot's first 4 victories, or one for every 10 missions completed. The Distinguished Flying Cross would be awarded for the pilot's 5th victory or 50th completed mission, then a second DFC for 10 victories or 100 missions completed. Late in 1944-ish the 8th Air Force changed their system to one purely based on flight hours (in an attempt to eliminate the problem with "score-carding)."

 

Air Medal and DFC award requirements were a bit different in the Pacific, where it was based more on flight hours (since pilots often flew long missions over vast, empty spaces while rarely encountering the enemy).

 

Meanwhile, the Silver Star and Distinguished Service Cross were awarded for an act or acts of gallantry, usually for something like shooting down multiple aircraft in one mission or for shooting down a large number of planes over a short period of time. They weren't awarded for a pilot's accrued flight time or total kill count.

Edited January 3, 2020 by LukeFF

[SvAF/F16_Dark_P]

Was just about to post a similar thread...  I to just got showered in medals for two kills in my P-51 career ?

Think i had to get like 5 kills or something for my EK2 in my last German career.

[Ansirial]

23 hours ago, LukeFF said:

 

No, not quite that many. He had 7 Air Medals in total (probably a couple earned in Korea).

 

The most common award criteria for the Air Medal in the ETO, in both the 8th and 9th Air Forces, was to award an Air Medal for each of the pilot's first 4 victories, or one for every 10 missions completed. The Distinguished Flying Cross would be awarded for the pilot's 5th victory or 50th completed mission, then a second DFC for 10 victories or 100 missions completed. Late in 1944-ish the 8th Air Force changed their system to one purely based on flight hours (in an attempt to eliminate the problem with "score-carding)."

 

Air Medal and DFC award requirements were a bit different in the Pacific, where it was based more on flight hours (since pilots often flew long missions over vast, empty spaces while rarely encountering the enemy).

 

Meanwhile, the Silver Star and Distinguished Service Cross were awarded for an act or acts of gallantry, usually for something like shooting down multiple aircraft in one mission or for shooting down a large number of planes over a short period of time. They weren't awarded for a pilot's accrued flight time or total kill count.

 

What about Bronze Star and Distinguished Service Medal? None in my squadron received one, are them in use?

Edited January 4, 2020 by Ansirial

[LukeFF]

22 hours ago, Ansirial said:

What about Bronze Star and Distinguished Service Medal? None in my squadron received one, are them in use?

 

The Bronze Star Medal was a mistaken recommendation of mine. While there were a very, very few pilots who earned it (including Chuck Yeager, for his efforts in helping a fellow airman escape after being shot down), it was meant to be a medal earned for valor in ground combat. So, I've pulled it from the list of awards you can earn.

 

The DSM was meant for high-ranking officers, so it really doesn't apply to the ETO. It was created originally for Kuban, as Alexander Pokryshkin was awarded it in 1943. The Legion of Merit essentially was the award given to lower-level unit commanders. 

Edited January 5, 2020 by LukeFF

[Ansirial]

Maybe something has changed since last variation of the rules for USAAF, and maybe is right but now seems I ceased to receive any award. At the beginning I were awarded with a lot of medals, now, even if in the last week (in game) I shot down five planes in a sortie... twice, nothing happens. 

 

Last award was when I shot down four planes in a sortie. 

 

It's OK for me to not receive 5 awards per week, I think it's more historical, but I'm signaling this behavior just for sure. 

 

Edited January 19, 2020 by Ansirial

[LukeFF]

On 1/19/2020 at 3:07 AM, Ansirial said:

Maybe something has changed since last variation of the rules for USAAF, and maybe is right but now seems I ceased to receive any award. At the beginning I were awarded with a lot of medals, now, even if in the last week (in game) I shot down five planes in a sortie... twice, nothing happens. 

 

Last award was when I shot down four planes in a sortie. 

 

It's OK for me to not receive 5 awards per week, I think it's more historical, but I'm signaling this behavior just for sure. 

 

You've probably earned everything possible available to a USAAF pilot - there are only so many awards you can earn for accumulated victories, and likewise for scoring multiple missions in one sortie.