"Ace of Aces" - WWII Challenge!

[justin_z3r0]

17 hours ago, justin_z3r0 said:

Arthur experienced his first victories on his first Sortie. one Fw 190 and one Bf-110. Although The 110 shot him up a bit causing a fuel leak in his right wing. He was able to back it back to Grave from the Venlo area where the fight occurred. The rest of his flight landing at Venlo.

A flight of Spit Mk IXe were in the area too enabling an 11:2 kill ratio for the allies. Not a bad start to Art's Tour.

 

2 air victories

 

After 3 more missions with enemy contact Arthur has increased his count to 12. The tempest packs a helluva punch, and gobs of speed. Shes thirsty but carries enough fuel to linger around much longer than the Spit XIV can. And much less twitchy in the Pitch axis so easier to control blackouts.

 

Art has lost his flight in every mission thus far. With the winter weather they're sending 184sqn up in - visibility is quite short range. But the Enemy is also sending theirs up. So plenty of targets.

[grcurmudgeon]

Mission 36 for Lt Litvyak Attempt IV brought one of those new in-game experiences (new for me at least). Lt Attempt's flight of 6 ran into a similar number of FW-190s and a nice furball ensued. She got on the tail of one, and in the turn pulled her nose ahead of it so it dipped just below, fired a burst, then eased up to see the results. At first it looked like nothing had hit, but then she noticed a small orange flare on the left side of its engine. Over the next few seconds the entire engine became engulfed in flames, and she turned away looking for another victim.

 

Normally I see damage right away from hits - explosions or immediate smoke. It was really cool to watch the fire build over a short period of time from what was likely one lucky hit in the right spot.

 

Mission 37 was a near disaster. She took a flight of 5 up on an intercept and came across a pair of 109s, a G-2 and an F-4. 3 of the flight went after the F-4, while Litvyak and the remaining Yak when after the G-2. Litvyak got on its tail and was working into a firing solution when her wingman started shooting over her canopy. She pulled off and watched him hound the 109. Making the mistake of thinking things were under control, Litvyak saw some more dots lower in the distance and went to go check them out. She found a flight of He-111s cruising just over the mountains and started circling down. Just as she's getting ready to line up a gun pass, her whole plane shuddered and one round hit her! With the plane falling apart and blood splattering the cockpit, she bailed and watched a 109 go flashing by. She should have known better than to trust her flight to handle a pair of outnumbered 109s. Luckily she made it down in one piece in friendly territory, and vowed next time to stay circling above until she knows her wingman has splashed his target.

Edited August 15, 2021 by grcurmudgeon

[Varibraun]

16 hours ago, justin_z3r0 said:

The tempest packs a helluva punch, and gobs of speed.

 True that!  Certainly my personal best aircraft so far, and I am grateful to Jason and the team for including it.  To quote Bob Sprudle from "The Blue Arena:"

 

On transitioning to the Tempest:

 

Our Tempests arrived!...They seemed huge after our dainty Spitfires.  But they could go!...They were magnificent gun platforms and apart from a slight tendency to swing left on take-off, had no real vices.  We were delighted.

P. 157

 

On being misidentified and attacked by P-51s:

 

Enraged, I turned on my particular tormentor and scared him fartless by firing bursts first on one side and then the other while he twisted and turned helpless against the far superior Tempest.

P. 173

 

 

[grcurmudgeon]

 

After a 17-day leave to recover from the wounds sustained in her previous combat, on her first flight back over the Stalingrad theater, Lit Litvyak Attempt IV was ordered to take 2 wingmen and attack some infantry near the frontlines. As soon as they reached the rendezvous area with their Mig-3 escort, her two wingmen took off for the target area, leaving her to fend for herself. As her and the escort approached the target at the frontlines, there were some Bf-110s and FW-190s bombing friendly ground forces, no sight of her 2 wingmen. Lt Attempt bombed the target, then turned to join the battle. After one pass at a FW, more were coming in. She went high over the first, but another one coming in from the right was lining up guns. Lt Attempt tried to pull high and right, but one round exploded in the cockpit, knocking her out. She came to in time to see the ground filling her windscreen and could do nothing to get out or pull out of the dive. 38 missions, 26 kills, shot down by a FW-190 on August 8, 1942.

 

I have to figure out what I want to do next. Maybe try to chase Kozhedub with a different squadron / plane (maybe try a VVS Spitfire squadron and go through its upgrades?), or go back and fly 109s for a while again?

[justin_z3r0]

On 8/14/2021 at 3:52 PM, justin_z3r0 said:

Art has lost his flight in every mission thus far. With the winter weather they're sending 184sqn up in - visibility is quite short range. But the Enemy is also sending theirs up. So plenty of targets.

After  a few more missions - Art received a promotion and the DFC (with bar). He's turning out to be the Squadron's best pilot by the numbers. but his leader doesn't like him much as he has a tendency to chase off after the kills. A bit like Screwball Beurling did.

But with a staggering record - he's got no choice but to keep him on.

 

Almost Caught back up to my Last pilot in ~8 missions. Flying so close to the front in an aircraft equally as fast (or better) than the Spit XIV and with much more firepower, and much easier to handle (with its less effective elevator), advancing quickly isn't too difficult. But - I've have many close calls already - Limping the Tempest back in to base quite often (I prefer not to use auxilliary bases if I dont have to). The tempest loses a TON of speed if damaged. Its aerodynamics seem to play a huge part in its speed characteristics.

Edited August 16, 2021 by justin_z3r0

[justin_z3r0]

On 8/15/2021 at 4:16 PM, justin_z3r0 said:

 

After 2 more missions with Enemy contact Art has scored another 3 victories.

This latest mission saw a flight of 5 Tempests sent for Armed recon for transports on the outskirts of Gorinchem. The flight never did see the targets, as a flight of Me262 were spotted in the target area. Each pilot split off and easy downed the rookie jet pilots. 

It was a blood bath with each pilot bringing down at least one plane for no losses. 4x Me262 and 3x Fw190 A8.

The escorting flight of spitfire downed a couple A8s and even 3x Me 110s but suffered 2 losses themselves.

 

184Sqn is becoming quite the crew of aces with 3 already and 3 more about to earn the title.

 

 

[Varibraun]

13 hours ago, justin_z3r0 said:

184Sqn is becoming quite the crew of aces with 3 already and 3 more about to earn the title.

 

That is great, I really enjoy the "Dynamic Squadron Simulator" aspect of PWCG.  As you know, getting your AI squadron mates skill levels to veteran and ace makes a huge difference.  Your 184th is destined to become a legendary squadron with 6 aces flying the Tempest.

 

Meanwhile, in late December 1941, my 233rd continues to be a hard luck outfit ravaged by the Luftwaffe.  Uri #3, finally has achieved 10 victories, but his squadron mates continue to fall.  No one else has more than 2 victories, all are still novices, and the highest ranking pilot is a Lt.  So, Uri may take command of the decimated squadron sooner than expected and has his work cut out for him - but at least those who have fallen helped stop the German offensive and Moscow is safe for the Winter.

[grcurmudgeon]

Szt Kozhedub Attempt has joined the VVS with the 57th Guards in Kuban (using the same Litvyak career history, but with Leave taken to get me to March 1, 1943) flying Spitfires. It has been an eventful 6 missions, with one ditch through a red-splattered windscreen, a couple of bailouts, 2 medical Leaves totaling 36 days, and 4 kills. His best mission was the sixth, where due to equipment losses he had to take a Spit V instead of the IX the squadron started with. The V is much harder to get into blackout conditions with thanks to the weaker engine. He got a hit on a 109 G4 and a 190 A5 that caused each to enter dives they could not pull out of before cratering in the mountains, and used a good long burst of 303s to get another 190 trailing gunk (but not enough to knock it down). He had a pair of flightmates each get their second kill on that mission, but neither made it home. It has been a bloodbath on both sides over Kuban.

[Hartsblade]

Bob McKenzie career has come to an end. On Sept 14, 1944 a single cannon round from a Fw 190 pierced the young officer cockpit ending his life and service to the Queen.

[Varibraun]

13 hours ago, grcurmudgeon said:

Szt Kozhedub Attempt has joined the VVS with the 57th Guards in Kuban (using the same Litvyak career history, but with Leave taken to get me to March 1, 1943) flying Spitfires.

 

Glad you decided to "stay East" to keep up the Kozhedub Challenge!

 

[PatrickAWlson]

@Varibraun  I would like to give the Richard Bong challenge a go.  I'll try to do it in a P-38 (have not had any luck with that crate yet).  I would have joined in earlier but my throttle issues prevented me from playing fair.

[Varibraun]

33 minutes ago, PatrickAWlson said:

I would like to give the Richard Bong challenge a go.  I'll try to do it in a P-38

 

Honored to have you aboard Pat!  This whole idea was really thanks to your "Interesting Mission" thread in the PWCG forum and seeing @Hetzer-JG51's 100+ Ironman career progress there.  Good luck! 

[grcurmudgeon]

The P-38 is a fun crate to fly, especially listening to the nice bass rumble of those engines on both sides of the open cockpit. I stopped flying it, though, when I saw how badly 109s would tear it up in career mode. I created a QMB with me and 3 other P-38s against a flight of 4 109s. By the time I got done with my merge turn, all 3 wingmates were gone. I'll have to try again with some of the recent AI improvements...

[oc2209]

36 minutes ago, grcurmudgeon said:

The P-38 is a fun crate to fly, especially listening to the nice bass rumble of those engines on both sides of the open cockpit. I stopped flying it, though, when I saw how badly 109s would tear it up in career mode. I created a QMB with me and 3 other P-38s against a flight of 4 109s. By the time I got done with my merge turn, all 3 wingmates were gone. I'll have to try again with some of the recent AI improvements...

 

You might do these things already, but if not, I just want to give some simple advice for the P-38 (which I enjoy flying as well):

 

Don't ever fly it with a full fuel load; don't ever give your AI wingmen a full fuel load; and if you can't turn with a 109, ease off of full throttle and drop flaps to about 15-20%.

 

I haven't tested it precisely, but I doubt the distances we fly for most career sorties would require full fuel tanks. The extra ammo weight is fine, because it'll be spent quickly enough in combat.

 

For the record, I never fly the P-47 with full tanks either. The game only starts the P-51 at a reduced load automatically, but really, it's pretty suicidal to take any long range American plane into regular sorties with full fuel.

[grcurmudgeon]

Szt Kozhedub Attempt made ace on his 7th sortie, bringing down a 109 G2.

 

On his 8th sortie, an offensive patrol just behind the lines, his flight of 4 came across 4 Ju-87s. No one in the flight, including Kozhedub, saw the escorting 109s until they tore through the formation. The other pilots continued to go after the Ju-87s, while Kozhedub attempted to turn into the 109s. He couldn't track them all and one shot him up pretty good, taking off the left horizontal stabilizer and putting him into an unrecoverable spinning dive. Kozhedub bailed but came down in enemy territory and was captured.

[grcurmudgeon]

For my next run, I'm going to start a new campaign back at October 1, 1941. I am also going to adjust the PWCG altitude config to have a base altitude of 2000m and a random additional altitude of 1500m to better approximate my understanding of Eastern Front combat altitudes, I'm flying way more missions at 4500m+ than I feel I should. I'm open to suggestions here for more accurate numbers. 

 

Szt Kozhedub Attempt (reusing the name for this new campaign since the last pilot did not make it far) will be joining the 11th Fighter Air Regiment flying LaGG-3s over the Moscow front.

[justin_z3r0]

On 8/17/2021 at 9:45 PM, justin_z3r0 said:

184Sqn is becoming quite the crew of aces with 3 already and 3 more about to earn the title.

 

After another couple Missions - Art earned a couple more. He now sits at 27 air victories after a CAP over the Troops near Emmerich on Christmas Eve 1944. This first half of the flight was calm, but then hell broke loose as another flight of Tempests and Thunderbolts were engaging with Fws.

Art - Leading his 2 man flight headed in the direction of the tracer fire and was able to quickly get a  burst off on a Dora. Its tail section was damaged, and Art saw the Fw diving at breakneck speed. Its unlikely he would've been able to pull out of it with a damaged tail (his wingman confirmed the kill).

He then proceed to try to clear the tail of another Tempest with a Dora on him. In the process, an Anton that Art didnt notice managed to get a high deflection burst into Art's Tail. His kite became unstable, forcing Art to disengage and leave the Tempest pilot to his fate. During the shallow descent back to friendly lines, Continuously checking his 6 - Art happen to glance another Dora approaching from high 6 but only a couple hundred yards away. He pulled up into it as it overshot and went full throttle to try to keep up. Even with the damage - the Tempests raw power helped him to climb and gain on the Dora. Firing a few long Bursts from Long Range (Hail Mary's really), puffs of smoke could be seen hitting the Long Nose. Then... Flames appeared. Another victory.

 

 

 

 

[justin_z3r0]

On 8/19/2021 at 9:37 AM, Hartsblade said:

Bob McKenzie career has come to an end. On Sept 14, 1944 a single cannon round from a Fw 190 pierced the young officer cockpit ending his life and service to the Queen.

Sad day. What was Bobs final victory count?

[Hartsblade]

5 hours ago, justin_z3r0 said:

Sad day. What was Bobs final victory count?

14 over 7 Missions

 

Not to worry, his brother Doug as enlisted and should be joining the fight soon!

Edited August 20, 2021 by Hartsblade

[Hastati]

Planning to return to my own variant on this, with my effort to top Richtofen just as soon as .04 comes out with the new FC V2 planes.

[grcurmudgeon]

19 hours ago, grcurmudgeon said:

I am also going to adjust the PWCG altitude config to have a base altitude of 2000m and a random additional altitude of 1500m to better approximate my understanding of Eastern Front combat altitudes, I'm flying way more missions at 4500m+ than I feel I should.

I don't think these numbers mean what I think they mean. My first mission is generating at 7287 meters. Maybe I just need to tone down the strategic intercept chance.

[grcurmudgeon]

Flight #2 saw Szt Kozhedub Attempt shot down by AAA behind enemy lines and captured. Szt Kozhedub Attempt II will now join the 11th Fighter Air Regiment.

[justin_z3r0]

On 8/19/2021 at 10:07 PM, justin_z3r0 said:

 

Art had an absolutely unbelievable flight during a patrol in the local area Dec 25, Downing 7 aircraft!!

A flight of D9s a med altitude were in a flight with P47s. Arts flight joined in where he downed 3. Once that skirmish was over Arts flight climbed back to 13,000ft to resume the patrol when the noticed contrails high above headed the opposite direction. The flight climbed to cut them off Reaching nearly 22,000ft. The tempest is not know to perform so well at high alt, but its climb rate is still quite impressive. The contrails ended up being a 3 ship of D9s. Art blasted 2 of them down from long range. convergence and sight set to 400yards.

He then headed a little lower where 2 x Antons appeared, which he was also able to dispatch. It was as if his gunnery was directed by some higher power on this morning. One of them exploded in his flight path showering him with debris..

 

One of the Doras managed to escape the Tempests but the Sqn later heard that a 2 ship of P47 were able to intercept further south and destroyed it.

 

One the way back in to Heesch coming from rather High Alt - Art was worried about overcooling the engine. He gave it short blips on the way down periodically to try to keep some heat in, but when he noticed the water temp down near 35-40C he jabbed the throttle full forward. Bad idea. the Engine made a hell of a racket and packed up.

"Great - now to dead stick into the field".

Keeping his speed up as best he could, and waiting to drop gear and flaps until the last moment the heavy kite flopped down on the main wheels, but without damaging her.

 

What a sortie. Unbelievable - but it was all confirmed by his flight mates and the camera footage. Another pilot - Halsey also made Ace now. that makes 4 for the Squardon.

 

[Varibraun]

12 hours ago, justin_z3r0 said:

Art had an absolutely unbelievable flight during a patrol in the local area Dec 25, Downing 7 aircraft!!

 

Quickly closing in on Pattle - Art needs to watch his 6 closely and hopefully he will be our virtual Commonwealth Ace of Aces very soon! 

 

On 8/19/2021 at 9:04 PM, grcurmudgeon said:

I'm going to start a new campaign back at October 1, 1941

 

Flying early war Soviets in PWCG is definitely "hard mode," as it should be...

18 hours ago, Hastati said:

Planning to return to my own variant on this, with my effort to top Richtofen just as soon as .04 comes out with the new FC V2 planes.

 

I hope to repeat this type of challenge for WWI once FCII is fully released.  Good luck in your personal run once Pat gets the 3 new aircraft added.

[justin_z3r0]

2 hours ago, Varibraun said:

 

Quickly closing in on Pattle - Art needs to watch his 6 closely and hopefully he will be our virtual Commonwealth Ace of Aces very soon! 

 

Very important advice!. The Tempest can give a feeling of invulnerability when up against poor quality late war German pilots. But its most certainly not true when up against a true German Ace.

[justin_z3r0]

16 hours ago, justin_z3r0 said:

 

New Ace Halsey Warner was cut down today. Art and Halsey went out on a 2 man free hunt for transportation. After hitting the target with Cannon, Art signalled to form back up and head in the direct of a furball happening near Arnhem. In that ensuing fight, Halsey managed to down another, but was then tailed by an Anton who proceeded to chew Halsey's Aircraft apart. Art witnessed the whole thing while breaking off from a fight he was in with an Anton. He watched Halsey plough the ground. No chute seen. Art Vowed to 'get that bastard' and rapidly persued it. The Anot saw him coming and broke, forcing Art to over shoot. Art switched back in a scissor manoever and pressed the fire button as the Anton crossed his nose at a high angle. His Cannon must've hit the fuel tank as the Anton exploded, showering the canopy. 'I got him Halsey!'

 

One of their escort P38s was also downed in that fight. A Rough afternoon December 27th was. Halsey showed such promise...

 

[justin_z3r0]

On 8/21/2021 at 2:54 PM, justin_z3r0 said:

 

The squadron had moved to Schindel on Dec 29th. This airfeild only had an East West Runway which presented a problem for take off and landing n Southerly Winds. On the 29th, a flight of 4 went up to sweep the area near Gorinchem. Low Cloud at about 4000ft, and a strong South Wind. The flight lined up on the East bound runway planning to take of with a Rear quartering wind of +15mph. Flight lead managed to get off the ground - full left Rudder but still veering hard to the right narily missing the control tower whilst taking off in the grass. Art (number 2) saw this and decided to proceed more cautiously while applying a little left brake. Still the tempest swung to the right. Art applied the brakes, planning to line up and try again, but by this time #3 thought he should proceed full throttle. He followed the flight leads path and made it up (on the wrong side of the control tower halfway down the strip) just as the flight leader had. #4 was the rookie and followed suit but was ill prepared for this with only ~3 hrs on Tempests. He plowed into the control tower probably going 90-100mph. Art witnessed it all while stopped on the runway. What a disaster!

 

After lining up again - Art made it up with much difficulty. He found the flight circling above the field and joined in. Now they were just 3.

 

About 5 miles North of the field the flight lead spotted an Me 110 dropping below the cloud base head on. The leader opened fire and must've managed to kill the pilot as the Me 110 Launched up into the cloud with dark smoke trailing behind, only to complete its loop below the cloud in a sharp dive towards the ground.

This is when another was seen dropping below the cloud. "This one is mine" Art Muttered to himself positioning himself on the tail of the twin engine. He persued it up into the cloud keeping close so as not to lose him. Just as he was disappearing into the cloud, Art fired off a long burst in the 110s direction. He levelled out and descended back below the cloud thinking it had escaped. But then... a dark smoke trail came beneath the cloud. It was on fire. "I must've hit it".

 

 Landing back at Schindle was a treat. 3 Attempts to line up the runway and land. With ample crosswind input ,the third attempt ended up being rather smooth though.

 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by justin_z3r0

[Varibraun]

February 1942 and there is finally a Russian name again being reported among the elite top scoring pilots.  It has been a brutal winter for the 233rd, but Uri (3#) Chebykin has proven to be survivor and made a name for himself with 19 victories.  The Moscow front winter has not been kind to Luftwaffe's top aces either, so there is now a political reporter attached to the squadron in anticipation of Uri passing more of the Germans' scores soon. 

 

For his part, Uri is doing his best to ignore the Pravda man and hoping to see his squadron mates improve their skills while he serves as the acting squadron commander as a junior Lieutenant.  Several of the other Lts are senior to Uri, but until one of them is actually promoted, they are deferring to Uri's natural abilities with the Mig to help keep them alive to see that promotion.    

 

Edited August 23, 2021 by Varibraun

[justin_z3r0]

On 8/22/2021 at 3:48 PM, justin_z3r0 said:

 

 

Arthur Rowe of 184 Squadron has achieved 44 Air Victories - Surpassing the great Pat Pattle.

 

Take off from Schindle was still a challenge Dec 30th but easier than the previous day. All 4 members managed to get airborne. After one circuit at the east end of the field. they proceeded east to perform a CAP over the troops at Kleve. But approximately 1 minute into the journey a call was made that 262s were over Heesch. A quick turn and there they were being hounded by AA. Art even saw one on fire that the AA must've damaged. When he turned his attention back to the enemy flight they were already directly in front coming head on. A quick 180 turn and throttle full he persued the buggers. One of his crew, (a pilot officer) managed to bag one of them. Art, rapidly gaining managed to get a burst into one which now trailed heavy smoke. "Let that one go - line up another". Bang Bang. Another trailing smoke. Line up another. KABOOM. A shell detonated its fuel fragmenting it all over Art's canopy, but luckily missing all vital components.

"Ok - Where did that last one go. There he is to the left with a Tempest in trail. Lets join in."

As Art approached he noticed his wingman was just sitting on the tail of the 262 but not firing - "Strange... He has a perfect shot lined up. Pull the trigger. Maybe his guns are jammed?"

Art quickly gunned the throttle to close the gap and got off a shot - White smoke now trailing, Art fired another burst at maybe 75yards. Terrible decision!!!

Debris smacked about all over Art's Tempest. A large chunk took Art's airscrew out in an instant, easily bending all 4 blades at that speed.

"Drats!"

Art knew he had just passed Volkel and pulled in a smooth 180deg turn to the right. He thought he might just make it to the field. Once it came in view he realized he might make it, but only if he leaves his gear up and deploy flaps at the last possible moment to maintain the speed and energy needed. His mind was made up - thats what he would do.

He made it to the South East corner of Volkel on his belly. The Tempest Could be repaired there.

 

It was Stange how the 262s didn't peel off and get out of there but rather just cruised along, making rather easy targets. They could have easily escaped us couldn't they?

6 x 262s were brought down for no losses - they didn't even hit their target at Heesch. Maybe it wasn't their target? Perhaps they were lost in the snow laden clouds?

Art earned the Victoria Cross that day.

 

 

 

Just now, justin_z3r0 said:

Arthur Rowe of 184 Squadron has achieved 44 Air Victories - Surpassing the great Pat Pattle.

 

A couple shots from Dec 30th 1944.

On 8/21/2021 at 10:58 AM, Varibraun said:

Flying early war Soviets in PWCG is definitely "hard mode," as it should be...

This is very True! My early war soviet pilots never made it past a few sorties.

I would add that flying late War RAF (in Tempests) is "easy mode"

23 minutes ago, justin_z3r0 said:

Arthur Rowe of 184 Squadron has achieved 44 Air Victories - Surpassing the great Pat Pattle.

 

Take off from Schindle was still a challenge Dec 30th but easier than the previous day. All 4 members managed to get airborne. After one circuit at the east end of the field. they proceeded east to perform a CAP over the troops at Kleve. But approximately 1 minute into the journey a call was made that 262s were over Heesch. A quick turn and there they were being hounded by AA. Art even saw one on fire that the AA must've damaged. When he turned his attention back to the enemy flight they were already directly in front coming head on. A quick 180 turn and throttle full he persued the buggers. One of his crew, (a pilot officer) managed to bag one of them. Art, rapidly gaining managed to get a burst into one which now trailed heavy smoke. "Let that one go - line up another". Bang Bang. Another trailing smoke. Line up another. KABOOM. A shell detonated its fuel fragmenting it all over Art's canopy, but luckily missing all vital components.

"Ok - Where did that last one go. There he is to the left with a Tempest in trail. Lets join in."

As Art approached he noticed his wingman was just sitting on the tail of the 262 but not firing - "Strange... He has a perfect shot lined up. Pull the trigger. Maybe his guns are jammed?"

Art quickly gunned the throttle to close the gap and got off a shot - White smoke now trailing, Art fired another burst at maybe 75yards. Terrible decision!!!

Debris smacked about all over Art's Tempest. A large chunk took Art's airscrew out in an instant, easily bending all 4 blades at that speed.

"Drats!"

Art knew he had just passed Volkel and pulled in a smooth 180deg turn to the right. He thought he might just make it to the field. Once it came in view he realized he might make it, but only if he leaves his gear up and deploy flaps at the last possible moment to maintain the speed and energy needed. His mind was made up - thats what he would do.

He made it to the South East corner of Volkel on his belly. The Tempest Could be repaired there.

 

It was Stange how the 262s didn't peel off and get out of there but rather just cruised along, making rather easy targets. They could have easily escaped us couldn't they?

6 x 262s were brought down for no losses - they didn't even hit their target at Heesch. Maybe it wasn't their target? Perhaps they were lost in the snow laden clouds?

Art earned the Victoria Cross that day.

 

 

 

A couple shots from Dec 30th 1944.

This is very True! My early war soviet pilots never made it past a few sorties.

I would add that flying late War RAF (in Tempests) is "easy mode"

If I am eligible to recieve another prize (since I already claimed the Albert prize), I'd prefer FC to try my hand at WWI dogfighting. The hurricane is ok too. I already have it and would simply gift it back to the community.  

Either way. Thanks for putting this together @Varibraun ! It's been a blast and has kept me engaged for a couple months now in most of my free time.

And thanks @PatrickAWlson for this fantastic application!

 

[Varibraun]

10 hours ago, justin_z3r0 said:

Arthur Rowe of 184 Squadron has achieved 44 Air Victories - Surpassing the great Pat Pattle.

 

10 hours ago, justin_z3r0 said:

Thanks for putting this together @Varibraun ! It's been a blast and has kept me engaged for a couple months now in most of my free time.

And thanks @PatrickAWlson for this fantastic application!

 

Congratulations @justin_z3r0 on some great flying, surviving, and entertaining narratives along the way!!  I am really glad you enjoyed the ride and we look forward to seeing you in 1918!  I also echo your thanks to @PatrickAWlson for all the time and talent he has devoted to this community through the years!  You earned him another beer too 

[justin_z3r0]

7 minutes ago, Varibraun said:

 

 

Congratulations @justin_z3r0 on some great flying, surviving, and entertaining narratives along the way!!  I am really glad you enjoyed the ride and we look forward to seeing you in 1918!  I also echo your thanks to @PatrickAWlson for all the time and talent he has devoted to this community through the years!  You earned him another beer too 

Thank you sir for your generosity!

I too will send Pat a beer I think.

 

I think I will take Art up to the infamous Jan 1 1945, then allow him to go on a home tour to get some rest.

 

Perhaps I will jump right into 1918 next (I've been meaning to read up more on Billy Bishop who hails from Owen Sound just a few hours North of me in Southwestern Ontario). 

Or maybe try some ground pounding in a Tiffy during Market Garden.

Or maybe jump back into an older PWCG campaign flying 109s in Jan 1942.

 

Decisions.... There's just so much to do in this IL2 Sturmovik and with PWCG - Its tough just trying to decide what to do next. We're truly spoiled!

Thanks @Jason_Williams and Team as well!

[grcurmudgeon]

Szt Kozhedub Attempt II got himself a 109 on his first sortie, got his plane shot up (including a smashed canopy / gunsight that just missed him) and had to bail while trying to get another on his second sortie, and on his third got a 109 trailing all kinds of stuff and losing altitude fast when one of his buddies came flying in, landing some hits, and forcing Szt Attempt to turn away (although he knew that one was not making it back to base). Getting his eyes on the attempted savior who boomed through, Szt Attempt was able to turn tight, and after a couple of buzzes was able to get on his tail. Staying on it was tricky as the enemy jinked and juked, and once he got a good look at the markings (and at the hovering red text and triangle) he realized he was on the tail of Hptmn Gunther Rall! A bit low on ammo after the first encounter, Szt Attempt tried to be careful with his shots, but ended up down to 12 rounds in the UBS with only one or two light hits to show for it. Sticking with Rall, he waited for the tell-tale flutter, and when Rall had to straighten got one good snapshot off that went right through the canopy. The 109 started a slow roll to the left and went inverted into the ground.

 

Rall lasted longer in the Litvyak career and was finally taken out by the ubiquitous AAA, this time he's gone a week into the Moscow career at Szt Attempt's hand. 3 sorties, 3 kills, all 109s.

[Hastati]

Well, with the new release of the generator, I'll be starting my attempt to end the Baron's life or beat his record. From the seat of a SPAD in Escadrille 103, at least to start with. Perhaps I'll jump around services on the Allied side as my pilots fall. Going to be especially brutal without parachutes!

[grcurmudgeon]

On his seventh mission Szt Kozhedub Attempt II went up as wingman in a 2-ship flight to cap some surrounded troops west of Moscow. As they neared the combat area the leader started climbing after some high dots. As they rose he watched some Hurricanes get into a fight with some 109s down on the deck, but the leader kept climbing and he followed. The Hurricanes got a bit chewed up, but the high dots turned into a flight of Stukas headed for the surrounded unit. In they went, one pass essentially emptying the guns, with a nice unload into the last one. His flight leader got wounded and so headed for the emergency field, while Szt Attempt headed for home. He stayed at high altitude until crossing the lines to avoid flak and the still-hunting 109s below. The 109s smartly turned away from all the AAA as he reached his home field, and he landed 2 downed Stukas while the flight leader made it to the emergency field and landed one.

 

Seven flights, 8 kills so far. After losing some solid veterans early, including the squad leader and his 3 kills on a mission Kozhedub was not a part of, there is now another Szt with a couple of kills and a few officers with one each. Kozhedub will have to see what he can do to keep them alive.

[PatrickAWlson]

Flt off. Patrick Diddly (Dead is dead -> did -> Diddly ... thinking of Bo here) got off to a fine start.  Never a proficient formation flier he started off behind, then ahead of, and then behind again before finally settling in.  As they approached the front the tell tale smoke showed the action below.  At 20,000 feet is seemed very distance.  The patrol route was half way done and Diddly thought they might not see any action.  However, Lt Burress kept going straight instead of following the mission flight path.  Soon Diddly spotted the four EA below.  Burress and Bell dove to attack.   

 

Diddly waited high with Lt Nettles until the enemy flight passed below them.  Diddly cut throttle and performed a split-S, targeting the tail end Charlie in the FW 190 formation.  The 190 spotted him and climbed.  With a massive energy advantage Diddly followed him easily and fired.   However, Diddly had too much speed and over shot.  The 190 scissored,  almost colliding with Diddly.  Diddly barrel tolled and got back behind the 190.  One bursts.  Two bursts.  Always start with the MGs and fire the cannon when you have the range.  One more burst and the 190 started pouring smoke and liquids and broke into a bizarre spin.  The pilot bailed.  Victory #1.

 

After finishing his first Diddly searched the skies.  A 190 was chasing Nettles!  Diddly closed in, but was not sure he would make it in time.  Nettles broke right.  Rather than trailing the 190 Diddly trailed Nettles, cutting the arc and hoping the 190 would appear before him.  The gamble paid off. The 190 popped in front of Diddly in firing range.  One burst.  Missed.  Second, that one scored.  The German was intent on Nettles.  One long burst with cannons and down he went.  This one did not get out.  Victory #2.

 

Sizing up the situation Diddly saw another 190 being chased by a P-38.  Diddly decided to go in and cover.  For some reason the P-38 broke off.  The German continued on.  Diddly closed the gap and pressed the MG trigger.  Nothing.  He closed on the apparently unaware 190 and fired the last of his cannon ammo.  Another down!

 

Diddly called bingo ammo and turned towards home.  There we reports of EA over the field but Diddly did not see them.  He started his approach when the right engine flamed.  What just happened?  He had sustained no battle damage!  Land with one engine then.  Diddly turned into the good engine as he had been taught.  He lined up the runway and approached it about 20 degrees off center, all while giving a little rudder and aileron to keep the plane straight with one engine.  Holding his breath hoping that the other engine would not fail, Diddly put the big plane down on the runway.  One bounce.  Two.  A third small one.  Landing was never Diddly's best quality as a pilot either.  Tap the left brake to try to keep straight on the runway.   Fail miserably and careen left and right, but finally stop, oddly perfectly centered despite the meandering path to get there.  Stop the engine and take a deep breath.

 

Diddly was credited with two victories.  Nettles got credit for the third and Buress dropped one of the 109s that were attacking our field.  No losses in the flight.

 

 

[grcurmudgeon]

Your landings sound like mine. I've been okay landing the 109 and the Yaks, but I have not yet figured out the rudder and brakes to keep the Spits and LaGG from doing a donut on the field.

[Varibraun]

Early February 42 on the Moscow Front - The last couple of days/missions were interesting ones for Uri Chebykin, reflecting the fickleness of life in the cockpit of the Mig-3.  On 11 Feb, while evidently recovering from a severe hangover, Uri climbed into the cockpit leading a flight bound on an intercept.  He trimmed the rudder (or at least thought he did) for the notorious right torque the little fighter displays on takeoff and began to accelerate down the strip.  The fighter still pulled right, Uri applied even more left rudder, but the fighter had a mind of its own and just continued right off the runway.  Uri checked his speed, saw the tower rapidly approaching, thought he might be able to save it, pulled up...and almost made it.  But not quite, he quickly found himself upside down minus a wing and spinning in the taxi way. 

 

He hung in the cockpit long enough to watch the rest of the flight lift off without further incident.  The rescue crew pulled him out, the Doc approached, poked him a couple of times, shook his head and declared him uninjured (but specifically did not comment on his "fitness" for flight).   Uri then walked back to his hut kicking a couple of empty vodka bottles back under his cot.  He wondered which Lieutenant would be the next "Acting" squadron commander.

 

However, the next morning Uri was happy to see his name still on the flight board to lead another flight of 2 on a high altitude intercept of bombers expected to be hitting Moscow.  Thinking this mission was going to need more firepower, he quickly rounded up two of the squadron's Szts and directed them to augment the flight.  He climbed into the cockpit, triple checked the rudder wheel, executed a textbook take off, and formed up the flight.  They climbed into the snow and gloom, finally breaking the overcast into a brilliant blue winter sky and leveled out at 8000m to begin the search.

 

Half an hour later they received the radio call that they had missed the bombers inbound leg but they should now hit them on their way back west.  Sure enough, they spotted the contrails almost immediately.  Unfortunately, the bombers' escort of two 109s were taking their role as shepherds seriously and they turned toward Uri's flight despite being outnumbered.  Uri made the snap decision to keep his inexperienced pilots together to face the fighters and exploit the favorable odds, especially since the bombers had already done their damage.  Uri issued a stream of "follow me" commands to his comrades keeping them close into the merge with the fast approaching skinnies. 

 

At that point the contrails mixed and twisted as the confusion of a dogfight began.  Uri told his boys..."patrol" to be sure they now knew they could engage freely.  One of the Szts quickly reported a fire and bailed out.  Uri was not pleased that the odds were getting better for the enemy.  He latched onto one of the 109s, scored a few hits before pulling away as tracers streaked by.  Looking over his shoulder it was one of his boys a little too eager on the trigger and not much concerned about exactly who he hit between him and his target.  Uri decided to let the lad have his target, no matter how poor his shooting.

 

Then it happened...the German's wingman decided to try to land a high deflection snap shot into his mate's pursuer.  But he was just a little early on the cannon trigger as the Mig overshot...and landed a beautiful (at least to Uri) cannon round right into his buddy!  Now the offending 109 pilot had to deal with Uri who had pulled above the fray and could use his superior position.  Uri pulled in behind and peppered the 109 with 12.7mm from his dual machine guns.  When Uri's guns were empty, the German was still flying but streaming what seemed like every fluid carried in his airframe.  The pilot made it a few miles back toward his lines, but was forced to ditch before reaching safety.  Uri wondered what his meeting was like with his aggrieved element leader when they got back together at the POW camp.    

 

When Uri landed, he was surprised to find that his 20th Victory had already been reported (he guessed the Pravda man had been pestering the other pilots as they landed as well as Regiment's intel gang to get confirmation).  HQ responded with his immediate promotion to SLt and official Squadron Command of the 233rd.  Seeing how he had cracked up the Mig just the day before and that several of the other Lts in the squadron were senior to him, this was definitely unexpected.  It seemed being the leading Soviet Ace finally meant something after all.  The boys (and gal) also seemed fine with his promotion and were eager to fly with him now that Uri could assign all flights.  Maybe he could now train some aces in the squadron!

 

Bad day for the Luftwaffe - the young II./JG51 Ltn was a little too quick on the deflection shot.  His Mig target had just overshot his 109 element lead he was trying to save (the unfortunate Hptm bailed shortly after eating his subordinate's cannon round and the Mig made it home):  

 

 

 

Uri's Unexpected Promotion:

 

 

Edited August 29, 2021 by Varibraun

[grcurmudgeon]

Szt Kozhedub Attempt II was killed in action on October 11, 1941, flying a patrol over surrounded troops, when he got a bit fixated / disoriented on a scissors with a Bf-110 and the two planes collided.

[PatrickAWlson]

The brief career of Patrick Diddly has come to an end.  Diddly's second mission was a ground attack in which he successfully destroyed a tank.  Hos third was an uneventful patrol.  And then the fourth mission.

 

It started badly.  There was rain and fog.  The flight path was through the soup and not over or under it.  Twice Diddly became disoriented and only pulled out with the ground coming at him.  Flying to rejoin his flight he arrived as a fight was underway.  Diddly attacked a 190 and brought it down with a point blank burst.  No chute.   

 

He then saw a wounded 190 breaking away.  As he approached two of his flight mates were getting there before him, so Diddly throttled back to let his squadron mates deal with him.  One hot the 190hard but for some reason stopped the attack and let the wounded 190 escape.  Diddly chose to remain with his flight.

 

More confusion in the low clouds.  Diddly headed towards the next waypoint, just in time to hear Taylor call that he was bailing out.  Taylors burning P-38 was right in front of him, arcing downward.  Diddly joined the fray but it was an unwise and fatal choice.  There were 190s everywhere and Taylor was the last friendly.  Realizing his mistake Diddly thought to do a high speed pass and then run for home.  Again disorientation in the clouds.  Again the ground coming up.  Diddly righted his plane and then heard the hammer blow of cannon rounds striking.  He pulled hard right, the P-38 still responding.  Then another burst from the190 killed Diddly in his cockpit.  

[Hastati]

I have officially had the most ignoble death in this entire challenge. Abelard Plessis was killed on his very first mission, piloting a SPAD VII. A breezy, stormy day over the western front, one would expect some sort of danger in the clouds.

 

But no, instead he lost control on takeoff when he hit a bump on the grassy field that made up the aerodrome, clipped a wing, flipped over his side, and caved his skull in. He had accomplished 1 minute of service time.

Edited August 31, 2021 by Hastati