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BluBear in the Groove.

402nd FS Combat Report - 17/12 - Attack armour near Duren Both the 402 and 485 had the same target today, so it made sense to fly as a group. Unfortunately it didn't get off to a great start, the 402 had an aircraft go U/S due to control linkage failure before take-off reducing them to a trio and as documented by Lt Nailed, the 485 also lost an aircraft on the taxiway due to peculiar enemy clandestine activity. After forming up over Florennes, Capt Rea who was leading the group seconded one of his lot to fly as our Red 4 in order to balance the squads. With an initial grimace, we accepted Capt Payne into our formation as he nestled up snugly to Lt Vanderweit's wing and proceeded to chew our ears off for the entire ingress to target, with tall tales and blue jokes aplenty. Armour was spotted in the fields to the west of Duren transiting towards the cover of a wooded area, flak was light to medium. 402 were ordered to cover high whilst the 485th made their attack runs. Frustratingly, the sizeable escort cover we were offered managed to spend most of the time putting their big fat P-47s uncomfortably in our way; how there wasn't a collision Lord only knows. We subsequently made our own attack runs, but our 1000lb'ers scarcely made a dent today. With the group out of bombs, Zenith leader called us to investigate targets of opportunity at Kelz airfield SE of Duren. Trailing the 485th by about 5-10km we observed AAA coming up at them, but despite swift warning calls it became evident Capt Rea had been hit by a hot shot barrage and had to bug out West badly knocked about with a buggered P-38. Get well soon Capt! Understandably, we decided to steer clear of Kelz and quickly found targets of opportunity to the South, consisting of artillery and AAA guns. Sadly, on the first strafing run, 2nd Lt James Hendley (AKA Scrounger) flying as Red 2 was observed to lawn-dart quite spectacularly. Whether it was dive-brake failure, a stuck throttle or just misjudgement we'll never know. A regrettable loss to the squadron nonetheless. We'll miss his sublime oil can drum solos with a pilfered pair of ground crew's favourite wrenches. The rest of the mission went comparatively smoothly, with Red 3 and 4 working as a highly effective fighting pair as I flew as spotter and decoy, picking off targets along the way. A respectable haul of enemy hardware destroyed and an effective display of teamwork. Well done gents! That Capt Payne actually turned out to be alright in the end, all things considered.

Brems on the wing.

If it’s not against ze regulations under pain of prosecution, what about staying at the hotel anyway for a Dogz weekend ? If it becomes apparent nearer the time that we are not allowed then we could cancel the rooms if necessary ?

We could hold out hope for the Duxford September show? Just a thought. They haven't released tickets yet. Other than that, some kind of dogz meet up would be a grand idea.

Even though I've cancelled the hotel room, I'd be up for a Dogz weekend

Best be putting 09-10/07/22 on the calendar then

Forfuckingfuckssakefucketyfuuuuck!* (*Sorry FT)

There must some sort of catchy tune in this? It looks pretty astonishing for a freebie btw

Flying as Red4 in 485th. Uneventful flight to target, spotted the 410th in the distance as we entered the battle zone, Capt Rea spotted the targets and Red 3/4 went in with guns blazing to silence them. Attacked 2 groups of targets holding in the woods like scared little rabbits hiding from the eagles. Red 3/4 went in and had good drops on the first group, but poor results on the second. Once all ordanance was expended we ventured to the south to drop the proverbial chamber pot on the local geman airbase. Again Red 3/4 dove in, eager to trade some lead with the Jerries, while Red 1/2 played bait. (Red 1 played the part particularly well and caught an 88 for his troubles) Both Red 3/4 hammered our targets however. Upon watching Red 3 pull up and away while I stayed in the dirt, I mused that the silly bugger is going to get plastered. Coincedentally an almighty wallop introduced itself to my aircraft. I immediately called hit and turned for home and started assesing the damage: #2 engine hit, fuel leaks, and the wobblies. Reducing throttle and adjusting rudder trim I climbed to 4,500 and took stock. Both engines seemed to still be operable and she was still flying. I elected to return to base. Overflying the field Flaps were extended to combat and the roll nearly took her over. Retracted flaps and decided on flaps up landing. Gear came down with no trouble. two decending orbits later I was lined up on final and touched down with an extra 20mph for luck. Everything held and all that was left was to have a beer and count the holes. (140 by my count, and missing a flap)

After messing up my run in, I went low level to attack some flak. they didnt like it and fired a lot of shells at me. I got a message that said "David Crosby...I am on fire, bailing out" I wasnt and I didnt. Flew back with a lot of holes in my plane

Chaps, I hope you got my tally for last night. I claim 1 x German Spy disguised as a member of our Ground Crew. Stupid bugger walked across the taxiway as I was taxying past straight into my engine, resulting in engine damage. 🤬 I know this, because I have just pulled his wallet out of my engine intake - his name is apparently Hans Von Pratt 😁 To be honest, I had no idea the "human" models had any kind of collision/damage model and didn't even try to avoid him, thinking I would just pass through him. There was no big explosion, or jarring halt or anything of the sort, it looked like I did just pass through him, and then about 5 seconds later, I had warnings of engine damage on the side that hit him. Very frustrating as I was looking forward to last night 😰 Hope you all did well - but none of you got the notorious Nazi spy, Hans Von Pratt - only me - I am the spy catcher 😂

Bad news fellow Dogz: Dear Friends of Flying Legends, In the light of yesterday's message from our Prime Minister, and the uncertainty surrounding the UK opening fully for business, it is with deep regret and a heavy heart that we must cancel this year's event. We understand the government's careful position but cannot safely stay the course in the light of the potential loss and lack of clarity so close to show time. We sincerely apologise for the disappointing news but the circumstances are truly out of our control. We will be reimbursing all of you, our faithful friends of Flying Legends who pre-paid for tickets in the coming days. On a personal note and in the name of the whole team at The Fighter Collection who have worked so hard this past year to prepare the aircraft and the show itself, please know that this decision has not come lightly. We are very sad but pray that next year will be COVID free for all and that Flying Legends 2022 will be a classic. Thank you for your understanding and for your dedication and support. Yours sincerely Nick Grey Director