PWCG P-38 Lightning Strikes Co-op Campaign

[Squawk]

P-38 Pilot:  Norman Gannet reporting to the 485th. 

After 2 weeks of (wo)mandatory sensitivity training, and proper pronoun radio etiquette courses.  He will be permitted to fly.

[Painless]

Welcome aboard Norman, glad to have you sir !

[Sid]

A new skin for Norman Gannet aka Squawk 'Fully Committed'

Please delete 485 Squawk and replace with this new one.

Cheerzen

485 Squawk.dds

[Crash]

I wont be there on Sunday. See you soon

[Painless]

Reporting 4 Due Tea.....

[BluBear]

Unlikely to make it tonight sorry gents, just finished here at Old Warden, by the time I'm home and fed it will be pushing it. Apologies and good luck!

[Reggie]

Reporting for ops tonight chaps. 

[BluBear]

2 hours ago, BluBear said:

Unlikely to make it tonight sorry gents, just finished here at Old Warden, by the time I'm home and fed it will be pushing it. Apologies and good luck!

Yep. Only just got home, M25 was a biatch and have fish and chips waiting to be eaten. Give em hell dogz!

[DD_Fenrir]

Fairy Muff Chris, glad you had a good day, shame about the traffic. Enjoy your fishy delights! 

[DD_Fenrir]

Mission Date 11/12/44

402nd FS - Air Patrol, Jülich

485th FS - Chattanooga, Dusseldorf

410th BG - Strike Armour, Jülich

 

Debrief:

370th FG

402nd FS:

 

Group CO's note: Good job smacking down the enemy today, gentlemen. Just what we've come to expect when the 402nd and the Luftwaffe cross paths! Good to see our newest recruit getting his first blood in too, even if he was obliged to take to the silk - we're glad he's safe.

 

485th FS: 

 

Group CO's note: Another auspicious haul from our premier Ground Attack unit; it would have been a hard push to better your last mission score, but 34 ground kills in a single mission is still the 2nd best tally you've ever had. Sterling work boys, keep it up!

 

410th BG

 

 

370th FG

Awards and Promotions:

None.

Personnel:

No changes.

 

410th BG

Awards and Promotions:

None.

 

Personnel:

No changes.

[Painless]

Another good show 485th. Running a four and two ship flight we were tasked with attacking a transport, (road and rail) hub near Grevenbroich. Completely unable to pronounce our target name over the radio I was relieved to find that our actual target was in fact just south of Düsseldorf as shown on the tactical map. Dignity restored ! We used our 6x500lb bomb loadouts to great effect, enjoying the spectacle of trucks, AAA units and associated personnel flying into the air propelled by US high explosives. Savage?..... not at all, we are in this to win gentlemen.

All pilots worked well, heeding Capt Rea’s advice on how to avoid being blessed with lead after conducting a AAA assault...... almost without exception. Once our designated target had been ravaged we headed SW following the rail line to Greveannbroocher? The rail station had a train just sat there so despite the fierce AAA we blew it up along with the bloody AAA. That’ll learn em!

Lt Apeehill sustained starboard engine damage to the cooling system necessitating a landing at a forward airfield escorted by 2nd Lt Jimmy Johnson who landed with him. The remaining four ship flight returned to home base to show the ground crews how to perform a textbook midfield break landing (very nearly).

Once again superb wingmanship was the order of the day with Lt David Reginald, 2Lt Chet Badame and Lt Apeehill doing a sterling job. Huzzah !

Footnote: we have established that it is Capt Rea who “really hates the Romans” the most ! 👍🏻

 

[DD_Fenrir]

Scoreboards (as of the morning of the 13th December 1944):

370th FG:

 

410th BG:

 

Pilot Rosters:

370th FG:

402nd FS

 

485th FS:

 

 

410th BG:

[Painless]

Rootin tootin for doody flipper.

[Crash]

I will be there

[BluBear]

reporting in

[Reggie]

Reporting for duty 

[Pooka]

Hi Fen,  I believe I was captured in the last mission I flew.  Could I take the opening that was created with the name :  2Lt.  Rick Snocker USAAF

(Honest,  that was the name of the Lt on our Forward Observation Team in VN)

See you later this evening.

[DD_Fenrir]

Mission Date 13/12/44

402nd FS - Frontline Air Patrol, 's-Hertogenbosch

485th FS - Cover Ground Troops, Oss

410th BG - Rail Strike, Gouda

 

Debrief:

370th FG

402nd FS:

 

485th FS: 

 

410th BG

 

370th FG

Awards and Promotions:

2nd Lieutenant Karl Spartan is awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

 

2nd Lieutenant George Vanderweit is awarded the Bronze Star.

 

2nd Lieutenant James Hendley is awarded the Bronze Star.

 

 

Personnel:

2nd Lieutenant Brem Sprow was transferred from the 485th FS to the 402nd FS.

 

 

410th BG

Awards and Promotions:

Captain Harold Powell is awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

 

Personnel:

No changes.

[Painless]

Probably one of our best missions yet 485th ! 
A small but perfectly formed Red and White flight,(four and two ship respectively) proceeded towards the front lines north of Oss.

We were on an air patrol with the caveat being to prioritise protecting our ground troops from air attack. With this in mind I decided to transit at a lowly angels 10 instead of at least 15 mentioning on the radio that “I hope we don’t get bounced by fighters with 5000ft on us”. Some distance from the front lines we were bounced by fighters with 5000 ft on us.

With everything going nicely to plan in a six on six fight we called in 402nd who were not far away at this point to avoid having a fair fight on our hands. However, having dropped our bombs in response to a very bad tempered head on initial assault by the Grey meanies our very own Capt Rea,  Lt Reginald and 2nd Lt Artage dispatched all of the D9s. 
Curiously I could swear I saw a Bf 110 hit by Lt Reginald, (after which it spun out of control towards Earth) which did not appear as a kill in the stats except in the form of a second D9 ? [EDIT: PWCG doing silly things; the 2nd kill should be the Bf 110. Fen]
Capt Rea did great work bagging three D9s and at some point Lt Apeehill shot down one of those new fangled  propeller less Me262 abominations.  [EDIT: more PWCGisms; no ME262s in the 485th fight. AP killed a Fw 190D-9. Fen]
Apologies to 402nd for the unnecessary scream for help but one was shitting one’s self at the time. 
After all of this excitement we reformed as best we could and proceeded to once again ruin the day for a truly vast number of enemy types on the ground all along the front lines north of Oss.

2nd Lt Snocker, Lt Apeehill and 2nd Lt Jean Artage all performed extremely well, drilling both machine gun and cannon rounds deep into the hearts 😘 of the Third Reich, bloody marvellous!  Lt Reginald once again performed as the perfect wingman keeping me both alive and unventilated.

Both Lt Apeehill and 2nd Lt Snocker landed at a forward airfield without damage, (something about haemorrhoids?).  
The remaining four of us returned to home base filled with the warm glow of righteous retribution having been administered by an appropriate agent........ THE 485th !!!!!
 

[FoolTrottel]

1 hour ago, Painless said:

(...) deep into the heart of the heart of the Third Reich, (...)

 

May I suggest some navigational training Sir? Or maybe geography class? Some history lesson?

You squadron was flying and fighting over Dutch territory. Occupied by the German forces in 1940, until May 1945-ish.

[delta7]

Apologies for sharp exit, dropped on takeoff onto runway. Just carelessness . I'm taking a break from these missions, just not enjoying them as much as normal co-ops. Appreciate all the work that has gone into this but only one mission a night with same plane isn't as much fun.

[Painless]

3 hours ago, FoolTrottel said:

May I suggest some navigational training Sir? Or maybe geography class? Some history lesson?

You squadron was flying and fighting over Dutch territory. Occupied by the German forces in 1940, until May 1945-ish.

With all due respect Arjenski, we were shooting at the hearts of the Germans not the scenery! 🤣

Anything to keep you happy my darling, original post edited 👍🏻

[Reggie]

4 hours ago, FoolTrottel said:

May I suggest some navigational training Sir? Or maybe geography class? Some history lesson?

You squadron was flying and fighting over Dutch territory. Occupied by the German forces in 1940, until May 1945-ish.

Too true - I knew we were in Holland because I was flying so low I could see the wooden clogs on the farm workers' feet 😁

@Painless - thank you for the gifting of the enemy a/c last night, to be honest I am thoroughly enjoying flying as your wingman, the teamwork is working well, so thank you for that. 👍

I have also gained a real appreciation for the P38 - she is a great bird. I understand how Robin Olds felt when he got his P51 - and loved it, but still pined for, and missed his P38 😃

[Sid]

52 minutes ago, Reggie said:

 

@Painless - thank you for the gifting of the enemy a/c last night, to be honest I am thoroughly enjoying flying as your wingman, the teamwork is working well, so thank you for that. 👍

 

There will be a price to pay at some point Reggie..... 😏 .... be prepared

[Painless]

Thanks for the Edit clarification Tom. Thought I was having flashback hallucinations  from my “mushroom experimentation” days 😳