PWCG P-38 Lightning Strikes Co-op Campaign

[Painless]

Reporting for duty skipper...

[Jabo]

Likewise...

[BluBear]

I'll be giving this one a miss gents, it's the young man's birthday weekend and we're working our way through the last four James Bond films in the absence of being able to do much else in lockdown! 

Best of luck to you all, give'm hell. 

[DD_Fenrir]

You'll be missed Christoph but give my namesake our warmest birthday regards and wish him well from all of us at chez Fenrir. 

[Perfesser]

Couple of bits of recorded action.

Ground attack

Air kill

 

[BluBear]

Looks like I missed an action packed mission. Did it 'take'?

If so, RIP 1Lt Fesser and 2Lt Zook 😔

[Painless]

Not a bad mission 485th. Well done white flight for your brace of air kills. Bloody shame  2nd Lt Key Moe got bounced on the way to our patrol area, at least he can rest knowing revenge was swift and complete. A replacement is in the pipe line. A fair haul of ground targets meant that red flight didn’t waste their aviation fuel. We will be practicing accuracy on staffing runs and general wingmanship over the next couple of days to improve our efficiency 😉
EDIT...  Would be interesting to know exactly what happened when Kimo got bounced as he was Red 4 and it was White flight who dropped their bombs and engaged the enemy some distance behind Red flight. Can anyone shed some light on that one ?

[Sid]

A note from the 410th Bomb Group. The mission to bomb ground targets near to Rotterdam using A20s worked and resulted in a number of targets destroyed by Major Sid Viscous. There was only one technical issue and that was that no AI aircraft took off and joined me for the mission.

The waypoints to the target from Eindhoven were nicely spaced and allowed for a reasonably steady climb to 14,200ft through the waypoints. Careful monitoring of engine temps was necessary to avoid overheating in the climb but it was perfectly doable as the rendezvous waypoint for the escorting P51s was a long way in to the target and, as hoped, I met them at the rendezvous as scheduled. The last legs were also spaced adequately for a high level bomb run if required however yesterday a low level run was carried out. As with previous low level attacks with P38s by the 402nd and 485th the flak can be just as lethal to an A20 and so in order to maintain airframes it is highly likely that I will be looking to carry out A20 missions from heights above 10,000ft. I picked up a fuel leak over the target but made it back well into Allied territory before having to carry out a successful dead stick belly landing 20km from base due to the fuel running out.

Thanks for letting me try it out Tom, your work is always appreciated, and I would be more than happy to fly A20s in the campaign. On that point, I believe that there is the possibility of other flyers joining the 410th and Tom has no problem with me advertising this. If anyone should fancy a dab at high level bombing then you will be welcome in the 410th although as Tom said last night, transfers between units would need to be monitored in order to maintain viable P38 units.

Cheerzen

[Jabo]

11 hours ago, BluBear said:

Looks like I missed an action packed mission. Did it 'take'?

If so, RIP 1Lt Fesser and 2Lt Zook 😔

Yeah it did Chris. So Perf & Zook will now need replacing. No word on who with yet.

[DD_Fenrir]

Debrief for the 8th November 1944:

402nd - Escort of RAF B-25s to Gorinchem.

485th - Patrol for Air Targets over Front Lines, Gorinchem sector

An unusual day on many counts, some good, some bad. 

Away from our normal sector of operations the 370th FG were tasked with missions that were in direct support of a push by Commonwealth forces attempting to cross the Waal river; this involved a longer than usual cruise to target. Despite many missions of only paltry appearances by the Luftwaffe they certainly showed up today; a flight of 190s jumped the 485th, with a second group attacking the bombers that the 402nd were tasked to escort.

Alas, we did not come off lightly. In the 485th, cruising just below cloud and not yet having even crossed the front line, Red Flight was targeted by the enemies initial pass, with 2nd Lt. Key Moe's Lightning paid particular focus and their aim was all too true. The unfortunate Lt Moe's P-38 was last seen diving out of control and no chute was observed. Further inquiries with our Allies have determined that the wreckage of his aircraft was discovered with his body still strapped in it. 

Sufficed to say the 485th's vengeance was swift and merciless and they subsequently downed all of the marauding Focke-Wulfs for no further losses, 2nd Lt. Colin Fryer accounting for one & 2nd Lt. Dave Scott getting a further two. White flight then had the good fortune to happen upon a flight of Ju-52 transports and dispatched all 3 in short order, 2nd Lt. Tom Apeehill claiming one and 2nd Lt. Gary Funflaque claiming the other pair.

Lt. Funflaque's aircraft was damaged in the engagement, though whether from the rear gunner of a Ju-52 or a nearby AAA battery is currently unknown, as he force landed at Gilze-Rijen airfield, otherwise seemingly none the worse for his adventures.

Having opted for carrying a bomb load in the event that Jerry didn't make a showing in the air, Red flight of the 485th used these to good effect bombing and strafing enemy positions in and around the front line, garnering a respectable total of 13 ground targets destroyed, both Maj. Mick Payne-Less and newly arrived 2nd Lt. Artage commendably each gaining five apiece. 

Nice work gents.

The 402nd had barely rendezvoused with their charges when three Fw 190s attacked from the bombers high 12. In the ensuing furball all were eventually smacked down, with one each credited to Lt Arjen Efftee, Lt. Per Fesser and 2nd Lt. Fenton Rea; however, this was not before one of their number had managed to mortally damage the lead B-25 which fell out of formation not long thereafter.

Despite the apparent danger having passed, in the effort to regroup the slightly scattered squadron after the dogfight the Squadron leader for this mission, Lt Per Fesser and his wingman 2nd Lt Louis Zook tragically collided; there were no survivors. The two veterans, nee stalwarts of the squadron, both much liked and highly valued by their CO will be sorely missed by all.

Taking over the lead of the squadron Lt. Efftee escorted the remaining bombers to their egress waypoint, then led the group back down to the target area to see what mischief could be made. AAA was heavy however, and only two guns were claimed, with 2nd Lt. Rea coming away with significant damage, though Lt Efftee quickly destroyed the offending position shortly thereafter. 2nd Lt. Rea managed to strafe another gun position on his egress, despite some "interesting" control issues and a fuel leak & limp back to Florennes.

We've had worse days, gents but we've also had better. Today's losses were entirely avoidable. Remember to keep a good lookout at ALL times, not just when you expect the enemy to show; it seems that the recent dearth of Luftwaffe activity may have lulled some of you in to a false sense of security. If Lt. Moe's unfortunate demise has taught you anything it is to keep your head on a swivel and that the Krauts will punish complacency in the severest terms. And whilst operating substantial numbers of aircraft in formation will always bring risks of collision, it is each pilots responsibility to ensure that the air where his plane is headed is clear and to take his own measures to avoid collisions and not expect other aircraft to get out of his way.

On that note gents, looks like the weather is clamping in again; next clear spell is expected for the 11th November. [Event to be held Tuesday 24th November 2020]

 

 

[DD_Fenrir]

370th FG

Awards and Promotions

The following pilots have been decorated for their recent acts of valour:

2nd Lt. Casey Baker - Bronze Star

2nd Lt. Colin Fryer - Bronze Star

2nd Lt. Gary Funflaque- Bronze Star

2nd Lt. Dave Scott - Bronze Star

Heartiest congratulations to you gentlemen, and keep up the excellent work; you are indeed setting an example for your fellow pilots to emulate.

And with heavy heart we also announce that in his last action: 

Lt. Per Fesser - Distinguished Flying Cross (posthumously)

 

 

Group have decided that the following pilots have earned Promotion in rank, effective immediately:

1st Lieutenant Arjen Efftee is promoted to Captain

2nd Lieutenant Colin Fryer is promoted to 1st Lieutenant

2nd Lieutenant Fenton Rea is promoted to 1st Lieutenant

Each of you has demonstrated not only individual prowess in the air but also excellent leadership and decision making.

[DD_Fenrir]

410th BG

[FoolTrottel]

That FW 190 I claimed (I got it all fired up and shift) is not in the narrative ... Claim not granted by PWCG? Probably because there was nothing left of it ... all burnt up!

 

Or it was stolen?  Who did that? Gimme back! 

[DD_Fenrir]

12 minutes ago, FoolTrottel said:

That FW 190 I claimed (I got it all fired up and shift) is not in the narrative ... Claim not granted by PWCG? Probably because there was nothing left of it ... all burnt up!

 

Or it was stolen?  Who did that? Gimme back! 

Merely a formatting error on my part FT... now corrected. Your place in the anals annuls of history is now complete.... 😉

[BluBear]

To whet everyone's appetite once again for tomorrow's instalment, here's another little movie of a close call a couple of missions ago.

On 11/11/2020 at 1:19 AM, DD_Fenrir said:

Debrief for the 5th November 1944:

402nd - Air Patrol of the front-lines between Gerolstein and Nettersheim.

...

With the remainder of Red section headed direct back to Florennes, Baker and his wingman, 2nd Lt. Fenton Rea set course for Bierset - it was looking all too unlikely that Baker would be able to return to home base, such was the rate at which his fuel was disappearing. Spotting a flak gun on the front line Rea asked permission to break off and attack, which was granted. Having attacked and destroyed the gun, Rea then attempted to rejoin his leader who was now several miles ahead and a good few thousand feet above, aiming to get above cloud and if necessary glide to a friendly field. Struggling to gain on his lead Rea watched Baker disappear into the cloud layer and was blindly following suit when through a chance gap in the clouds spotted two bogeys high above, and duly warned his leader. Sure enough these resolved into 2 long nosed Fw 190s who were setting up to jump Baker, though thanks to Rea's warning, Baker was able to evade their attack. Despite a couple of close calls, Rea and Baker (even with the damage to his aircraft) managed to down one bandit apiece. 

With the skies now apparently clear, Rea covered his leads forced landing at Bierset and then made his way home to Florennes.

 

[wingflyr]

Excellent BluBear! Well done.

[Painless]

Great editing BB, stylish and professional!

[Painless]

Good chance I won’t make this evenings mission 🙁 

Busy installing a new Win10 OS on a new SSD C drive and shift and then all the other stuff.

Colin has 485th if I’m not done in time chaps. 👍🏻

[Friar]

Gulp!

I have put the HS20 (or whatever it is called) on pause at the moment, that is real crap for you Mick.

Hope you are able to get it sorted.

[Crash]

I will be there. I will give my install a good test this afternoon. Good luck Mick

[Jabo]

I'd just do the update Col, you're only putting off the inevitable - and you never know, it might be fine.

Following the automatic updates are a much better way of ensuring that you don't have problems with future updates than trying to pick and choose what to install - for instance there are half a dozen specific updates that have to be carried out before 20H2 will install correctly - if they're not, it'll fail for definite. Good news is that if you use the auto update function they were all installed in the weeks running up to the release of 20H2.

Just my opinion though.

[Reggie]

Chaps apologies for the late notice, but I will not be able to make tonight

Wish you the best of luck, bag a couple of them for me 👍

[BluBear]

Reporting for duty

[FoolTrottel]

Good show 402nd, all B25's made it home, and all six of us made it back to Florennes as well!  (And some ground targets left and right!)

 

[Sid]

410th nicely lined up