PWCG P-38 Lightning Strikes Co-op Campaign

Painless · September 1, 2020

“Strawberry Bitch” reporting for duty skipper.

Sid · September 1, 2020

Sid's in...!!!

Prior notice chaps, I will be putting 485 skins in here ready for tonight. Hoping to get them up 19.00 ish. I will also put them into Checkskins.

Reggie · September 1, 2020

Big Bang Carla reporting for duty Sir! :salute:

BluBear · September 1, 2020

Can't attend tonight gents as I'm on holidays down in the New Forest. Make them have it!

Sid · September 1, 2020

485 skins in the 'Skault' for Checkskins users, in the 'Downloads' section and also attached here

485 Delta.dds 485 Friar.dds 485 Painless.dds 485 Pooka.dds 485 Reggie.dds 485 Sid.dds 485 APHill.dds 485 Artie.dds 485 Crash.dds

DD_Fenrir · September 1, 2020

Hi chaps, I've got my own personalized skin, please find attached.

P38J25_402nd_Fen.dds

Friar · September 1, 2020

Made it home......Just....

FoolTrottel · September 1, 2020

👍

DD_Fenrir · September 1, 2020

Another morning of success for the 370th Fighter Group, gentlemen. As the Limeys like to say, "jolly good show!"

Operations commenced at 0800Z with the 485th FS attacking enemy ground positions ahead of a push by the 9th Armoured Division, and the 402nd FS covering both the 485th and the ground forces from any potential enemy air intervention.

The 402nd drew first blood, spotting a force of ~6 Fw 190A aircraft crossing the frontline near Wanne and looking to intercept the 485th; the 402nd made a clean bounce and 2 e/a went down on the first pass by the squadron. The remainder stood little chance and were mopped up in short order, with Lt. Per Fesser & 2nd Lt. Fenton Rea claiming 2 each and one each awarded to Lt. Arjen Efftee & 2nd Lt. Louis Zook.

Furthermore, this means that in the course of a single mission the 402nd not only can boast of producing the 370th FGs first ace, but tremendously the first unit in the group to produce three - yes, that's THREE! - aces! Congratulations to Lts. Arjen Efftee and Per Fesser & 2nd Lt. Fenton Rea for reaching this particular milestone, all three now having reached the coveted 5-kill mark. Excellent work gentlemen!

Arjen FT would have been the Squadron and Group Top Scorer, had not one of his claims been denied by Wing HQ.

Furthermore we also have a new Bronze Star recipient: congratulations to 2nd Lt. Louis Zook!

Not to be outdone, the 485th took their task with gusto and between them accounted for 22 claims against ground targets, practically doubling their total ground claims since operations began in October in a single mission! Incredible work gentlemen and a tribute to your tenacity and acumen; you truly embody the spirit and calling of the 9th Air Force in your dedication to supporting our ground troops.

Alas, this determination came at a cost, with enemy AAA damaging numerous airframes and resulting in the tragic loss of FO Tim Pookie, the SWPTO veteran who joined the unit only days before. His aircraft was seen to crash in a fireball after being struck by flak as he made an attack run. A sobering reminder that the Flak respects no amount of skill or experience.

It looked almost as if it was to be a doubly hard day as Capt. Hawker Siddley was seen to crash land behind enemy lines, also a victim of the intense low altitude AAA barrage that was thrown up by the Krauts; however, thankfully he was recovered by advancing friendly forces, with only a few new nicks and cuts, courtesy of the Wehrmacht.

A remarkable day gents, and one that would normally earn you some well deserved rest... however, Met reports good weather for tomorrow, the 19th, so easy on the liquor tonight boys, you'll need clear heads for the morning. Well done, though boys, really well done.

[Next mission event to be held Sunday 6th September]

DD_Fenrir · September 1, 2020

The rosters and tally board as of the morning of the 19th October 1944:

Painless · September 2, 2020

485th, fine work chaps ! Sad to loose the new lad but we made Jerry pay for it !

Capt Hawker Siddley will be back with us as soon as he has been de briefed 😳

We have set a standard of excellence so far, no reason to change, take pride in that and well done !

A big thanks to 402nd for keeping those FWs off of our backs !

Reggie · September 2, 2020

Yes, 'twas a good one. I have run a test and have figured out what happened to me last night - 'twas as suspected, my rpm was set too low at 20, and when increasing throttle it didn't pick up revs fast enough, upping the revs picks it up again, but it takes a little while to catch up. I sadly didnt have enough speed or altitude for that to happen last night - lesson learned, it wont happen again.

I guess that may be why in the P47 they allowed throttle and RPM to be linked/locked together so they would always work in tandem if the pilot decides to be a dumbass.....

Painless · September 2, 2020

There you go Reggie, hope everyone reads that as it has definitely happened before both on takeoff and landing 😉👍🏻

delta7 · September 2, 2020

Flak was brutal, thought I had clear run as it was targeting someone else but on approach it locked on me and I got plastered. Managed to get home but wasn't only one hit and limped back we could have lost a few more . I think we need to target flak first as once reduced we can mop up remaining targets easier

FoolTrottel · September 2, 2020

Not sure if it should be here, not even sure it's of this campaign, and really sure not from the last mission... but hey ho...

Sid · September 2, 2020

31 minutes ago, FoolTrottel said:

Not sure if it should be here, not even sure it's of this campaign, and really sure not from the last mission... but hey ho...

What's that FT?

Pooka · September 2, 2020

Myself and a couple others dropped our bombs on targets in the open fields. Thence ( or is it hence) when trying to take out the flak in the trees we only had guns and that proved to be a waste of ammunition. I'll remember to drop my bombs on the flak guns and arty in the woods and save ammo for open field targets.

FoolTrottel · September 2, 2020

5 minutes ago, Sid said:

What's that FT?

It's a screen shot from a P38 mission?

Or does it not show up?

Sid · September 3, 2020

Yes it shows up....I was a bit slow as to what you were talking about 😉🙄

DD_Fenrir · September 3, 2020

12 hours ago, FoolTrottel said:

Not sure if it should be here, not even sure it's of this campaign, and really sure not from the last mission... but hey ho...

I strongly suspect this is from the 15th October Mission, as you are in the Red 3 slot - the low Eastern sun corresponds with the early morning mission we flew that day, with Fruitbat leading the squadron. Not long after this we ran into those 2 Fw 190s and then 2 further Bf 109s joined the melee.

Friar · September 3, 2020

yes but what colour were his underpants on that day....

DD_Fenrir · September 3, 2020

What underpants... 😉

Painless · September 5, 2020

Reporting for duty with clean undergrollies ready for tomorrow skipper....

Crash · September 5, 2020

I will be there. Maybe with a resprayed plane

Sid · September 5, 2020

Hello geezers

Due to the fact that I made some headway in learning about the reflective layers I have redone the 485 skins, the paintwork is better and gives a much better finish. I don't intend doing any more work on them so please redownload them from below. They will also be in the Vault and via Checkskins.

Thanks for your cooperation and cheers Tom for the info.

Cheerzen

485 Delta.dds 485 Friar.dds 485 Painless.dds 485 Pooka.dds 485 Reggie.dds 485 Sid.dds 485 APHill.dds 485 Artie.dds 485 Crash.dds