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#4497980 - 11/22/19 06:48 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
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33lima Offline
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In we go! I say 'we' because (though I didn't know it at the time) another Spitfire is going in with me.

[Linked Image]

I'm completely preoccupied with my own target, and soon shoot a 110 off the tails of the Spitfires attacking the bombers.

[Linked Image]

But I'm then distracted by a call for help. The likely source is a distant Spit I can see against the clouds, with another 110 rolling in after him.

[Linked Image]

In my haste to help, I go wide, giving the big Messerschmitt a clear shot at the Spitfire.

[Linked Image]

But I quickly pull in behind the Hun. My first burst whacks him fair and square and as if in surprise, he pulls up sharply and falls off to one side. There's a scary moment when I flash in front of him but he's in no state to do much about it.

[Linked Image]

The 110 sorts himself out and makes a run for it. With me after him again. The tables are well and truly turned.

[Linked Image]

Here I come, ready or not!

[Linked Image]

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot11-21-19-16-55-12.jpgShot11-21-19-16-55-49.jpgShot11-21-19-16-56-45.jpgShot11-21-19-16-58-04.jpgShot11-21-19-16-57-21.jpgShot11-21-19-16-58-28.jpgShot11-21-19-16-59-22.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 11/22/19 06:52 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4498009 - 11/22/19 11:16 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
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33lima Offline
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The fleeing 110 has cast caution to the winds and is just...well, fleeing. I put another burst into him when I get into range. I'm quite oblivious to the presence of another 110, who is coming up from below and right on a slowly converging course.

[Linked Image]

I hit my target again and this time it's enough. Which is just as well, for my ammo runs out just as the 110 flips over to the right.

[Linked Image]

Next thing I know, he has flicked into a wicked spin, obviously completely out of control. I break up and left, feeling rather smug and self-satisfied.

[Linked Image]

For some reason, his friend takes no action. Perhaps he's out of rounds, too.

[Linked Image]

Blissfully unaware of how close I came to getting the chop, I roll over...

[Linked Image]

...and head back the way I came. While the Messerschmitt, likewise, heads back towards France.

[Linked Image]

He can't not have seen me, but he's probably glad to see the back of me.

[Linked Image]

Meanwhile, the Hun I sent down out of control is still going down, out of control. Both crew members are no longer visible in their seats. It looks like I hit both pilot and gunner with that last burst. Sad, but such is war. They should have stayed at home, instead of risking their lives for the sake of Adolph's mad dreams of conquest, glory and a Thousand Year Reich.

[Linked Image]

As I suspected, the bombers are indeed Junkers 88s. At the moment, I think all WotR's Ju88s are from Kampfgeschwader 51 'Edelweiss', just as all the sim's 110s seem to be from Zerstoerergeschwader 52 (which was actually folded into ZG2 in June 1940, just before the Battle of Britain).

[Linked Image]

No matter. Such things are quite over the head of a common-or-garden service pilot like myself. I had acquired a few holes in a wing early on, and now I'm out of ammo. I decide to leave the boys to get on with it, rather than hanging around in the combat area until I too get shot down. So I prepare to turn onto the slightly south of westerly heading which I know will take me back to Tangmere and the nice strong cup of tea I feel I deserve, for once. Below me, the doomed Messerschmitt is seconds from a becoming a tangled mess of burning German scrap in an English field.

[Linked Image]

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot11-21-19-16-59-35.jpgShot11-21-19-16-59-53.jpgShot11-21-19-17-00-16.jpgShot11-21-19-17-00-54.jpgShot11-21-19-17-01-00.jpgShot11-21-19-17-01-06.jpgShot11-21-19-17-01-22.jpgShot11-21-19-17-04-05.jpgShot11-21-19-17-04-12.jpgShot11-21-19-17-04-41.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 11/23/19 11:22 AM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4498063 - 11/23/19 11:00 AM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
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33lima Offline
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As I head home, there are other aircraft in the sky, all distant. But one of them, slightly high and left, is coming my way.

[Linked Image]

I turn towards him defensively and soon realise he's a 110, despite the glare from the early morning Sun. With eight machine guns but no ammunition, this is not an encounter to which I'm looking forward.

[Linked Image]

The Hun seems no more enthusiastic than I am, and slides past to my left. I fly on briefly, more in surprise than anything...

[Linked Image]

...then begin to pull up and around after him. I see the 110 is also making a wide sweep behind me, rather than a determined effort to get onto my tail. It's like we're both wary of a fight, and just being cautious.

[Linked Image]

I make up my mind and take the chance to break off. Down I go, in a full-throttle descending turn towards the nearest clouds on my left.

[Linked Image]

Long before I get there, the 110 is just a distant receding speck. Phew! That could have been nasty!

[Linked Image]

I level out but keep up my speed...

[Linked Image]

...and settle down onto a course for home as I near the deck.

[Linked Image]

'Beware the Hun in the Sun', they say, but the sky behind me stays clear. Throttling back, I take the opportunity to order the boys to break it off and return to base. They've had plenty of time to get low on ammo and in the process, do whatever damage they could. The R/T chatter has eased off and the combat is probably over, anyway.

[Linked Image]

Time to get back to Tangmere and find out if the day went well. And sip that overdue cup of tea!

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot11-21-19-17-05-41.jpgShot11-21-19-17-06-00.jpgShot11-21-19-17-06-07.jpgShot11-21-19-17-06-14.jpgShot11-21-19-17-06-50.jpgShot11-21-19-17-07-05.jpgShot11-21-19-17-08-25.jpgShot11-21-19-17-08-45.jpgShot11-21-19-17-09-09.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 11/23/19 11:09 AM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4498109 - 11/23/19 09:08 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
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33lima Offline
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I clear my tail every so often as I cruise back to Tangmere, canopy now slid back. I'm looking for any sign of the other boys, as much as for Huns. But the skies remain clear. Apart from all that cloud. Oh and that ragged group of distant specks, which might or might be what's left of the rest of the squadron

[Linked Image]

From the low level I've descended to, I can see a ridge of higher ground, left and ahead - the South Downs, I fancy. It wouldn't do, to fly into it if conditions deteriorate. I start a gentle climb, just in case.

[Linked Image]

My port wing bears the scars of hits I believe I took quite early on, probably from a 110 rear gunner. Handling seems unaffected so hopefully nothing critical is damaged.

[Linked Image]

Sure enough, visibility deteriorates. I stop climbing though, since I can still see the ground for a good distance ahead. I don't want to climb into cloud and then have to descend through it into murk, later.

[Linked Image]

I pull up slightly to ensure I've got good clearance over the ridge, as I begin to cross it diagoinally.

[Linked Image]

Where the ground falls away on the other side, the visibility suddenly improves...

[Linked Image]

...and it's not long before I spot Tangmere and begin my approach. Rather than fly a circuit, I decide not to tempt fate with my damaged kite, and go straight for the near east-west runway, rather than the longer north-south one from which we took off.

[Linked Image]

With everything hanging and the approach going reasonably well, I get a shock when another Spitfire lands across my front. Reminds me of the scene in 'Angels One Five' where the newly-arrived 'Septic' Baird has to hop his Hurricane over another one who's damaged and landing crosswind. Fortunately no such antics are necessary this time, bit I keep a good look out to my left in case there are others. Which there aren't.

[Linked Image]

And I'm soon safely down.

[Linked Image]

It's been a pretty bloody encounter for both sides. We have lost no less than four pilots killed and five Spits destroyed. It's a terrible price to pay, even for the ten kills we're claiming, including my own 110. Blue 2 - Jack White - is claiming four of these, but celebrations will be muted...

[Linked Image]

...even though news awaits me that I've been awarded a gong! To be honest, I'd rather not have lost the chaps we won't be seeing again, after today.

[Linked Image]

Footnote - the 'multiple fighters attacking multiple enemies' stutter hit me very noticeably at the start of the air fight, for maybe 30 seconds or so. Smooth it wasn't; it didn't improve my shooting, though it didn't entirely spoil it either. I'd happily put this down to my somewhat sub-spec 1.5Gb GTX 580 (even though it breezes through other sims, old and less old). But it seems this serious stutter appears with better, more modern cards, too. And it can't be much if at all reduced by toning down graphics settings. So I hope something can be done, which doesn't (and frankly mustn't, for WotR's sake) involve reducing formation sizes below the numbers needed to produce the sense that you're fighting in large-scale air battles (which some recent missions have done admirably). On a more positive note, I loved the environmental representation of early morning and/or poor visibility, which gave everything a cold, stark feel, quite different to that on sunnier days. I do hope the screenshots conveyed this.

Attached Files Shot11-21-19-17-11-25.jpgShot11-21-19-17-15-42.jpgShot11-21-19-17-18-14.jpgShot11-21-19-17-18-25.jpgShot11-21-19-17-20-58.jpgShot11-21-19-17-22-46.jpgShot11-21-19-17-24-36.jpgShot11-21-19-17-25-20.jpgShot11-21-19-17-25-58.jpg65 Sqn debrief 31 Aug -1.jpg65 Sqn campaign AFC award.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 11/23/19 09:31 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4498506 - 11/27/19 06:46 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
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33lima Offline
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65 Squadron, Tangmere, 4 September 1940

Bad weather has scrubbed flying of late, but while the respite is welcome, replacements for pilots and aeroplanes have been slow to arrive. So when the call to action comes, near to mid-day, we can again muster just nine Spitfires. I should be grateful, because the roster shows we have seven serviceable, with none under repair!

The weather today isn't much improved, as you can see. Apparently, it's a bit better in the target area, but not by much, as it turns out.

[Linked Image]

So where is the target? The mission's a scramble, and I'm pleased that defensive 'covering' patrols are now rarer, as they should be. Multiple enemy aircraft are reported to be closing on our fighter base at Biggin Hill, south-south-east of London, at 14,000 feet. We are vectored directly to Biggin, then to patrol the area, so that even if we don't bump directly into him, we will ready and waiting when the wily Hun arrives.

I dither about whether or not to open the cockpit canopy and so I'm a little slow in getting away. The boys are keen about their take-offs, and like to get away smartly when they can.

[Linked Image]

Here's our route and the target area. The other two airfields inside our triangular patrol pattern will be Croydon to the north, and below that and west of Biggin, Kenley.

[Linked Image]

I start climbing hard, leaving the others to catch up. Visibility is poor and it's still raining. Soon, the fields below will disappear into vague, featureless greyness.

[Linked Image]

I can only hope we'll be above all the murk by the time we get up to fourteen thousand. In the meantime, I ask for a fresh Vector from the Controller. He tells me we're still on course, but the enemy is now at sixteen thousand.

[Linked Image]

At about ten thousand feet, I level off slightly as we come into clearer skies, the better to have a good look around and enable the boys to avoid straggling.

[Linked Image]

There's nothing to be seen but grey clouds and Spitfires...

[Linked Image]

...so up we go again.

[Linked Image]

We can now see the ground below us in several directions, but not an awful lot else. I don't recognise any landmarks.

[Linked Image]

If this works and we meet the Huns, it will be another of those 'wonders of modern science' jobs, because I am doing no more than following directions from the ground. Which admittedly is how the system is supposed to work. The problem is those clouds - the Chain Home early warning stations look only out to sea, and inland, we're reliant on sightings from Observer Corps posts. Stout fellows, they are no doubt, but fingers crossed, they will not lose track of the enemy now!

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot11-26-19-20-45-49.jpgShot11-26-19-20-46-42.jpgShot11-26-19-20-47-30.jpgShot11-26-19-20-49-03.jpgShot11-26-19-20-53-06.jpgShot11-26-19-20-54-25.jpgShot11-26-19-20-54-48.jpgShot11-26-19-20-56-08.jpgShot11-26-19-20-53-41.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 11/27/19 06:59 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4498514 - 11/27/19 07:54 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
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33lima Offline
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We're now at about seventeen thousand and nearing Biggin Hill. The squadron has begun to straggle again and I feel I can afford to ease off a bit and let everyone catch up. Now contact with the enemy is approaching, I don't want us to arrive in dribs and drabs.

[Linked Image]

Another check reveals the Huns - technically, it should be the Controller's calculated interception point, not the position of the raid itself - are 16 miles away and slightly right, so I adjust course accordingly.

[Linked Image]

I cruise on the new heading and keep a good look-out. The others too, I hope.

[Linked Image]

It's me who first spots the other aircraft. It's a small formation, and as nobody calls them in as Bandits, I'm thinking it's another RAF squadron.

[Linked Image]

Which it is - 66 Squadron, flying Spits like our own, bearing the identity letters LZ.

[Linked Image]

Are they here to intercept the same raid? I turn after them, thinking maybe they know something I don't. As a precaution I also check with the Controller - who reports that he now has nothing for us! Either touch with the raid has been lost for now, or he no longer thinks we can get to it, perhaps because it has turned away. The raid could have been a diversion, to lure us up and clear the way for a real raid while we have to pancake and refuel.

[Linked Image]

Hearing this, I watch the other Spitfires depart...

[Linked Image]

...and then start patrolling the skies around Biggin Hill.

[Linked Image]

Around our tri-angular beat we go.

[Linked Image]

In some places, we can see the East End of London, including the Royal Group of Docks, off the River Thames. Not an easy landmark to miss, for friend or foe alike.

[Linked Image]

Most of the boys are keeping up reasonably well, although one of them is straggling a bit, back on my right.

[Linked Image]

Not expecting much, I check again with the Controller - and the game is on again! Huns - roughly south, but nearly forty miles away. I turn briskly onto the heading indicated.

[Linked Image]

Soon, we're leaving London behind.

[Linked Image]

Another check indicates the range is coming down, so the raid is coming our way, pretty well straight ahead of us.

[Linked Image]

I ease back the revs a little so the formation can stay reasonably close.

[Linked Image]

Right, boys, here we go! Won't be long now!

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot11-26-19-20-56-52.jpgShot11-26-19-20-58-21.jpgShot11-26-19-21-00-09.jpgShot11-26-19-21-01-10.jpgShot11-26-19-21-01-38.jpgShot11-26-19-21-02-48.jpgShot11-26-19-21-02-59.jpgShot11-26-19-21-04-13.jpgShot11-26-19-21-04-28.jpgShot11-26-19-21-05-43.jpgShot11-26-19-21-06-00.jpgShot11-26-19-21-07-33.jpgShot11-26-19-21-07-54.jpgShot11-26-19-21-08-22.jpgShot11-26-19-20-58-02.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 11/28/19 12:54 AM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4498542 - 11/27/19 11:24 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
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33lima Offline
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There they are! Eleven o'clock, slightly low. About ten of them, visible against a white cloud, above and behind a slightly bigger bunch largely hidden against the ground. Immediately after I've noticed them and begun to turn in their direction, one of the others calls them in on the R/T.

[Linked Image]

The lower group is, as I had suspected, composed of bombers - Junkers 88s.

[Linked Image]

The fighters come at us. They're 109s, but for a moment I hesitate, not sure if they lack dihedral and could thus actually be Hurricanes, however implausibly from their aggressive behaviour. The first tracer smoke trails coming our way remove any doubts - and the party begins.

[Linked Image]

I come up and around after a Messerschmitt as the airwaves start to fill with the usual cries of battle.

[Linked Image]

The Hun is moving very quickly and clearly has no intention of being shot down. He rolls left and dives away.

[Linked Image]

One of his friends isn't so lucky and catches a round with his starboard wing as he just about clears a stream of .303s aimed at him from behind.

[Linked Image]

The bombers thunder on un-molested. Their escorts have done a good job today.

[Linked Image]

Rather than lose height for the sake of chasing down the original 109, I bank right and head for a wild air fight that's in full swing about a mile away.

[Linked Image]

I see one fighter chasing another and instinctively fall in behind the aggressor, on the basis that 50:50, he's a Hun and the chap in front is one of ours in need of salvation.

[Linked Image]

But as I close in, I can see that the rear aircraft is actually a Spitfire hard on the heels of a 109. I've no regrets - better safe than sorry!

[Linked Image]

My next target is a definite 109 that's banking as he crosses my nose from left to right, slightly above.

[Linked Image]

I try to roll left and get after him, but have one of those frustrating moments when my aeroplane mulishly refuses to go where I'm trying to point her. Strong adverse yaw, possibly. By the time I'm back in control and going where I want to go, the Hun has got well away.

[Linked Image]

But there's other fish in the pond, or 109s in the sky, and I steer back towards the dogfight to pick up another prospective victim.

[Linked Image]

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot11-26-19-21-10-10.jpgShot11-26-19-21-11-09.jpgShot11-26-19-21-12-31.jpgShot11-26-19-21-13-10.jpgShot11-26-19-21-14-07.jpgShot11-26-19-21-14-21.jpgShot11-26-19-21-14-34.jpgShot11-26-19-21-15-06.jpgShot11-26-19-21-15-42.jpgShot11-26-19-21-15-53.jpgShot11-26-19-21-16-23.jpgShot11-26-19-21-16-54.jpgShot11-26-19-21-19-32.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 11/27/19 11:33 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4498547 - 11/27/19 11:54 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
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33lima Offline
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I latch onto a 109 who seems to have decided to call it quits and go home alone. Bad idea, Hans.

[Linked Image]

I land some hits from my first burst.

[Linked Image]

The 109 rolls over...

[Linked Image]

...and falls away. Is he shot down or just getting out of my way? Hard to tell - the sheer volume of fire tends to give an exaggerated sense of hitting power, as I have learned.

[Linked Image]

He's definitely not shot down, and levels off. We seem to be on our own so I go down after him. The Hun goes into a fast but otherwise rather lazy left turn...

[Linked Image]

...but levels out when I start pumping lead into him again.

[Linked Image]

He rolls left this time...

[Linked Image]

and then falls away sharply. Before I break up and away, I notice that the Hun's canopy has swung open. Got him!

[Linked Image]

But all is not as it seems...

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot11-26-19-21-28-39.jpgShot11-26-19-21-28-55.jpgShot11-26-19-21-29-00.jpgShot11-26-19-21-29-10.jpgShot11-26-19-21-30-08.jpgShot11-26-19-21-31-45.jpgShot11-26-19-21-32-01.jpgShot11-26-19-21-32-33.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 11/28/19 12:00 AM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4498553 - 11/28/19 12:32 AM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
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33lima Offline
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I stay above the stricken 109 and wait to see the pilot bail out and the machine plunge earthwards. But neither of these things happen. I soon realise that the Hun has levelled off and is simply flying on.

[Linked Image]

A typical piece of underhand and downright unsporting Hun trickery, if you ask me! Needs must put a stop to this sort of thing. The 109 has gained a bit of ground, but I'm soon chasing him down again....

[Linked Image]

...and winding down the range. He must know I'm coming, but doesn't do anything about it.

[Linked Image]

So of course I let him have it, and edge aside only I've started him burning.

[Linked Image]

Surely that ought to do the trick?

[Linked Image]

Yes it does. the fire seems to have died away but the Hun has finally decided to do the decent thing and hit the silk.

[Linked Image]

By this time I'm well out of sight of anyone else and call up the boys with an order to return to base. The chatter on the airwaves has died down and it seems the fighting has died down with it; like me, everybody is probably low on ammo.

[Linked Image]

Once I'm satisfied I'm well west of the combat zone I throttle back and lose height, calling now for the squadron to re-form.

[Linked Image]

After a few minutes, they do so - just two of them, out of eight besides myself. This is not looking good, but I don't recall hearing anything really bad on the R/T, so I'm still hopeful.

[Linked Image]

Back at base, I find we have sadly lost my replacement Number 2, Jake Thompson, whose first and last flight in my section this was. Everyone else is fine and only the one Spitfire was lost. In return and including my own, we are claiming four destroyed, all 109s no doubt.

[Linked Image]

An excellent lunchtime's work for Sixty-five! If we make it through the day without disaster, this will be worth sinking a few pints over later, at the nearest suitable hostelry!

Attached Files Shot11-26-19-21-33-36.jpgShot11-26-19-21-34-48.jpgShot11-26-19-21-36-12.jpgShot11-26-19-21-36-40.jpgShot11-26-19-21-36-56.jpgShot11-26-19-21-37-07.jpgShot11-26-19-21-37-54.jpgShot11-26-19-21-38-10.jpgShot11-26-19-21-41-53.jpg65 Sqn debrief 4 Sept .jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 11/28/19 12:44 AM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4498612 - 11/28/19 03:26 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
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Rick_Rawlings Offline
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A great tale and a stout yeoman's day's worth of work! (both the typing and the flying!)


The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4500842 - 12/18/19 05:36 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
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33lima Offline
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65 Squadron, Tangmere, 7 September 1940

Apparently, September 6th was quite a busy day in the Battle of Britain but in this campaign, weather severely curtailed flying. So our next show is on the 7th, and as per real life, the Huns seem to be going for London. The ten Spitfires we can muster are scrambled to deal with a raid heading for the capital from the south-east.

[Linked Image]

We're soon away...

[Linked Image]

...and climbing to the north-east.

[Linked Image]

Some of the boys mill around a bit but they soon catch up...

[Linked Image]

...and shake out into formation.

[Linked Image]

I get a fresh Vector from the Controller, which confirms we're still in business. Keen not to miss the party, I begin to edge ahead of the pack again.

[Linked Image]

There's quite a lot of cloud about, some of it rather dark and menacing.

[Linked Image]

Still, visibility of the ground isn't too bad, so hopefully the Observer Corps people will not lose track of the Huns.

[Linked Image]

Climbing at full power, I'm soon passing through ten thousand feet...

[Linked Image]

...and ease off a bit to allow the others to get back into formation. We've still about thirty miles to go out of just over fifty, so there's plenty of time. Hopefully.

[Linked Image]

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot12-18-19-15-58-08.jpgShot12-18-19-15-59-07.jpgShot12-18-19-16-00-22.jpgShot12-18-19-16-04-44.jpgShot12-18-19-16-04-13.jpgShot12-18-19-16-06-07.jpgShot12-18-19-16-06-29.jpgShot12-18-19-16-07-41.jpgShot12-18-19-16-08-46.jpgShot12-18-19-16-08-04.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 12/20/19 08:46 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4500855 - 12/18/19 08:55 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
33lima Offline
Senior Member
33lima  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
Belfast, NI
I level off and throttle back as we near the predicted interception point. By this time we're at about nineteen thousand, a couple of thousand feet above the last reported height of the raid.

[Linked Image]

Through gaps in the clouds, it's apparent that we are over London's southern outskirts, as expected. Another check with the Controller reveals that the Huns are now only a few miles away!

[Linked Image]

Despite adjusting my course accordingly, I see nothing amongst the clouds. Worse, when I check again, fearing we've run past the intruders, the Controller seems also now seems to be in the dark. Not surprising perhaps - spotting from the ground is going to be patchy in the cloudy conditions.

[Linked Image]

Nothing else for it! I start a right turn tom lead the squadron into our assigned patrol pattern, around our original vectored location.

[Linked Image]

Down below, London's docklands looks peaceful enough. I expect I'd see the Ack Ack fire if the raiders were anywhere near the capital. But apart from us, the skies seem clear of aircraft.

[Linked Image]

Out to the east, the scene looks equally quiet. The Thames Estuary is a ready-made avenue for attackers and has many targets along its banks like Tilbury Docks and the refineries at Thameshaven, but all seems as it should be.

[Linked Image]

The patrol continues uneventfully...

[Linked Image]

...until another check with the Controller reveals that we are back in business! The Bandits are nearly thirty miles away and more to the south.

[Linked Image]

A different raid, perhaps? No matter - time to get busy!

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot12-18-19-16-11-14.jpgShot12-18-19-16-12-20.jpgShot12-18-19-16-15-12.jpgShot12-18-19-16-15-26.jpgShot12-18-19-16-17-00.jpgShot12-18-19-16-17-48.jpgShot12-18-19-16-19-07.jpgShot12-18-19-16-19-43.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 12/18/19 08:59 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4500857 - 12/18/19 09:43 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
33lima Offline
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33lima  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
Belfast, NI
Chasing southwards towards the enemy, things get worse, before they get better. I'm forging ahead again when, glancing back to check on the others, a flash of fire followed by diverging smoke trails catches my eye. Two of the boys have collided!

[Linked Image]

Chastened. I let the rest catch up. No point worrying over it now. We have Huns to catch, and now have another reason not to fail.Two more reasons, probably, as it seems likely both pilots have been lost.

[Linked Image]

And there they are at last! At least I'm assuming they're Huns, as the last Vector led us straight to them. But what are they, and what are they doing? They are split up and wheeling around, seemingly aimlessly. There's one visible inside my prop disc in the pic below, and two more inside the inverted 'L' shape formed to the left by the dark clouds.

[Linked Image]

I steer for the nearest (presumed) enemy aircraft, just as one of the others reports them on the R/T. He must have better eyesight than me, or perhaps he's simply made the same assumption as I did.

[Linked Image]

Sure enough, they're Huns - Messerschmitt 110s in fact. They could be dogfighting, except that we seem to be the only RAF fighters in the vicinity. How curious!

[Linked Image]

The nearest 110 banks towards me but can't get his powerful front battery to bear. I bank right with the intention of coming around onto his tail. Going head on with these fellows is not wise.

[Linked Image]

The 110 rolls left and dives, as if aware of what I'm planning. Or perhaps he's going for the aircraft down there, which I didn't notice at the time.

[Linked Image]

I cut the corner and close the range rapidly. The big Messerschmitt disappears below my nose as I start shooting. I ease the back pressure on the stick to let him fly through my line of fire...

[Linked Image]

...which he does. I don't seem to have done too much damage on the first pass, but firing my guns at last has certainly boosted my confidence. I go below the Hun, out of his rear gunner's field of fire, determined to finish the job with my next attack.

[Linked Image]

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot12-18-19-16-21-46.jpgShot12-18-19-16-24-36.jpgShot12-18-19-16-28-39.jpgShot12-18-19-16-28-57.jpgShot12-18-19-16-29-43.jpgShot12-18-19-16-30-20.jpgShot12-18-19-16-30-45.jpgShot12-18-19-16-31-07.jpgShot12-18-19-16-31-38.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 12/18/19 10:10 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4500920 - 12/19/19 01:27 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,704
Rick_Rawlings Offline
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Rick_Rawlings  Offline
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,704
Heeeeeeeeeeeeee's baaaaaaaaack! Good to see you in the air again, Lima!


The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4500956 - 12/19/19 07:26 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
33lima Offline
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33lima  Offline
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
Belfast, NI
Thanks Rick!

In my efforts to ensure that the 110 is NOT glad to see me in the air, I fail to notice a group of single-engine fighters coming in from the left - my boys about to get stuck in, as was soon to be confirmed by the R/T chatter.

[Linked Image]

As for my Hun, he reverses direction, not a great move really...

[Linked Image]

...then runs for it, with me right behind him, firing as I come. There's some return fire at this point, but I pretty well ignore it...

[Linked Image]

...except by stepping up my efforts to shoot down the blighter. By this time, some of the boys are reporting their own attacks, so things look to be reasonably well under control.

[Linked Image]

I see something rather large detach itself from the 110, leading me to think someone has bailed out, or at least, jettisoned a cockpit canopy. But the next moment it is gone. Although the Messerschimitt is still apparently under control, he now seems to be coasting slowly downwards in a gentle descent. For him, the war is over, I'm pretty sure.

[Linked Image]

The crew have disappeared from sight, probably hit and slumped down in the cockpit.

[Linked Image]

Anyway, the 110 is definitely going down. All the way, hopefully.

[Linked Image]

I bank around to the right and clear my tail. From the R/T chatter, the party is still in full swing and it's time to take stock. I'm supposed to be in charge here, after all, not simply doing my own thing.

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot12-18-19-16-32-16.jpgShot12-18-19-16-31-54.jpgShot12-18-19-16-32-26.jpgShot12-18-19-16-32-46.jpgShot12-18-19-16-33-03.jpgShot12-18-19-16-33-32.jpgShot12-18-19-16-33-45.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 12/19/19 07:40 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4501086 - 12/20/19 08:16 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
33lima Offline
Senior Member
33lima  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
Belfast, NI
Looking around, I can see specks whirling about here and there. The closest aircraft is another 110 a bit higher up, and I order it attacked.

[Linked Image]

The promised attack seems to take a while to materialise. So I chase the Hun myself for a bit.

[Linked Image]

I get some hits and he makes a run for it. Gratefully, I slip into what I hope is his blind spot.

[Linked Image]

Just when I think I’ve got him lined up nicely, my ammo runs out. Which I was expecting, admittedly, because my first target seemed to soak up an awful lot of rounds. Either that, or my shooting wasn’t as good as it looked.

[Linked Image]

I break off gently downwards, clear my tail again and await developments. The 110 makes no move against me and still seems interested only in getting away. The gunners on the ground apparently think they will have better luck, and let fly. Blue 2 also seems keen to have a go, judging from the R/T.

[Linked Image]

I can see some of the boys trying to re-join formation, so it looks like the battle is fizzling out. I circle around for a while in the hope of seeing somebody having a go at the 110.

[Linked Image]

Blue 2 reports attacking him, more or less at the same time that the Ack Ack boys decide to have another pop, too.

[Linked Image]

The Hun flails about a bit for a while, but shows no signs of being shot down.

[Linked Image]

So I call the boys to order and head for home...

[Linked Image]

...losing height as we go. Only four re-join, which is a bit of a worry.

[Linked Image]

The trip home gives me plenty of time for dark thoughts, but I put them out of my mind until I get home. Perhaps things won't be as bad as they look.

[Linked Image]

Back at Tangmere, I find that we have lost three aircraft with their pilots! So someone else went down somewhere, apart from the two poor clots who collided before the battle. Only one other pilot fired his guns, and I’m the only one making a claim. On top of that, my Number 2 was wounded; but at least he got down in one piece. Not a good show, by any standards. It looks like most of the 110s got away before the fighting really got started. Quite what they were doing when we arrived, zipping about in ones and twos, I have no idea. Regardless, one pilot lost in return for one victory (assuming my claim is confirmed) would have been borderline acceptable, but that mid-air collision rather spoiled the innings. Beneath the usual cheerful, stiff-upper-lip surface, squadron morale is probably at rock bottom. We badly need a success on the next show!

Attached Files Shot12-18-19-16-34-24.jpgShot12-18-19-16-35-11.jpgShot12-18-19-16-35-37.jpgShot12-18-19-16-36-14.jpgShot12-18-19-16-36-56.jpgShot12-18-19-16-37-24.jpgShot12-18-19-16-37-37.jpgShot12-18-19-16-38-36.jpgShot12-18-19-16-39-26.jpgShot12-18-19-16-39-42.jpgShot12-18-19-16-48-16.jpg

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4501129 - 12/21/19 02:20 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 2,079
Blade_Meister Offline
Member
Blade_Meister  Offline
Member

Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 2,079
Atlanta, GA, USA
Nice AAR 33lima. I am off for 5 days after today and am hoping to get in some stick time. yep

S!Blade<><

#4501233 - 12/22/19 09:28 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
33lima Offline
Senior Member
33lima  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
Belfast, NI
Thanks Blade and as per that famous line from Robert Shaw/Sqn Ldr Skipper in the movie - 'Don't just stand there, get one up!' I need some help here, these Huns won't stop, and they are whittling us down some more, every day!


65 Squadron, Tangmere, 8 September 1940

It's eight in the morning and the Controller wants us to patrol to the north-east of London. After yesterday's bloodletting, there's just four of us flying. Four Spitfires, against goodness knows how many Huns.

[Linked Image]

I sit briefly in my cockpit before starting up, and am surprised to find myself hoping the trip will be uneventful. Normally I would be ranting about flying wasteful defensive patrols but not today - I've no desire to commit suicide while waiting for replacement men and machines to arrive. I test the controls absent-mindedly, without enthusiasm.

[Linked Image]

I'm jolted out of my reverie by the roar of Merlins starting up behind me. I fire up my own engine and off I go. To my right, the early morning sun is as bright as my mood is dark.

[Linked Image]

A gentle turn to the right is all that's needed to put me on course for our patrol area.

[Linked Image]

The boys are soon in position...

[Linked Image]

...and I lead them up in a long climb to the north-east.

[Linked Image]

I can only hope that in an hour or so I'll be leading them all back.

...to be continued!

Attached Files 65 sqn brief 8 sept.jpgShot12-22-19-18-58-09.jpgShot12-22-19-18-59-39.jpgShot12-22-19-19-00-36.jpgShot12-22-19-19-03-16.jpgShot12-22-19-19-04-50.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 12/22/19 09:40 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4501238 - 12/22/19 10:12 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
33lima Offline
Senior Member
33lima  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
Belfast, NI
It's not long before the capital is visible up ahead. By now, we're at about fourteen thousand, our patrol height...

[Linked Image]

...but I put on another couple of thousand feet before levelling off. Today is one day I definitely don't want to run into a bunch of Huns with an altitude advantage and a point to make.

[Linked Image]

A gentle course adjustment to the right is needed to put us on course for that darned steel factory we've supposedly come here to stop getting bombed. The famous U-bend in the Thames, around the Isle of Dogs, is as usual an unmistakeable landmark, for Hun bombers as much as ourselves. But the skies are clear, which a check with the Controller back at the Ops Room in Tangmere, confirms.

[Linked Image]

On we go. Below my aircraft you can see several other landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster (a.k.a. the Houses of Parliament) and further downstream on the Thames, Tower Bridge.

[Linked Image]

Ahead and to the right are Tilbury Docks. The sun glints prettily in the water of the Thames Estuary, but I haven't come here for sightseeing.

[Linked Image]

Suddenly I realise there are aircraft to my right rear, flying away from us. They're not attracting Ack Ack fire, no-one has reported them as hostile, and a check with the Controller confirms he doesn't think they are, either.

[Linked Image]

Another RAF squadron going about its business, evidently. They're soon slipping away behind us. I watch them go, just to be sure they don't suddenly do something hostile. Which they don't. Which suits me, in my present unwarlike mood.

[Linked Image]

By now we've reached out patrol area so I begin to orbit. Warily. After that collision on the last trip, I'm concerned that some idiot could run into me and thwart my heartfelt plans to come through today, and preferably the whole battle, in one piece.

[Linked Image]

But suddenly, I've got other things to worry about. A check with the Controller reveals that he has some trade for us.

[Linked Image]

The Huns are coming!

...to be continued!

Attached Files Shot12-22-19-19-09-50.jpgShot12-22-19-19-13-03.jpgShot12-22-19-19-13-16.jpgShot12-22-19-19-16-14.jpgShot12-22-19-19-16-38.jpgShot12-22-19-19-17-50.jpgShot12-22-19-19-18-02.jpgShot12-22-19-19-20-01.jpgShot12-22-19-19-34-45.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 12/22/19 10:20 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

#4501343 - 12/23/19 09:20 PM Re: Combat Reports - AAR [Re: Polovski]  
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
33lima Offline
Senior Member
33lima  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,712
Belfast, NI
My earlier misgivings take a back seat as I work to make the interception, which I still dread but know I cannot shirk. I turn onto the heading indicated and lead the boys towards the raid. I throttle back a bit when I realise I’ve drawn ahead of the others…

[Linked Image]

…and re-check the raid’s position with the Controller. They’re coming in from the south-east, towards the Thames Estuary.

There they are! Looks like about twenty bombers, with a close escort of maybe eight. A reasonable prospect for a squadron operating at full strength of twelve, but with just the four of us, we’re badly outnumbered. And we’re closing from nearly head on, so there’s not much time to think.

[Linked Image]

The escorts break up and come straight at us – 109s, probably. I should perhaps have climbed to keep our modest height advantage, then tried to come around onto their tails. But things are happening very fast.

[Linked Image]

I order the boys to get stuck into the Huns, which they do at once. Then roll right towards the bombers as they slide below. My plan is to make one quick pass, before accepting combat with the fighters.

[Linked Image]

I put a burst into a Heinkel on the left of the formation and see some hits before I break away, low.

[Linked Image]

But then I’m hit myself! At first I think it’s return fire, then I realise it’s from somewhere behind. One of the Messerschmitts has got me in his sights! I break more steeply left and down.

[Linked Image]

Though I can’t see him either, I’m also being fired at by a second 109 who’s coming down from above. All I know is that their rounds are suddenly whacking into me. This is it! My turn has come – it’s me for the chop today!

[Linked Image]

I briefly flip into the beginnings of a spin, which possibly saves my life, for the hits stop. I recover into a full power descending turn, leaving a trail of smoke behind me.

[Linked Image]

I can see and hear the air combat continuing up above, but my only thought is to get away from my attackers. I expect to take a fatal blow at any second, and slide back the cockpit canopy so I can bail out quickly, if I’m not killed outright.

[Linked Image]

The shooting stops and I level out, heading west towards the outskirts of London, looking for an airfield to get down at, while my engine is still running. The Heinkels are now well above me, on roughly the same course; possibly also looking for an airfield!

[Linked Image]

I feel guilty at running away, of course. But those 109s had me well taped and my Spit has the holes to prove it. I’m lucky simply to have survived the so-nearly-deadly encounter.

Up ahead I can see an airfield – Hornchurch, I think. Thank goodness – I’m not sure how much longer my Merlin would keep going. Already, I can see and feel the revs are falling off.

[Linked Image]

I make a wide circuit, though, just in case the bombers are going for Hornchurch. But not this time!

[Linked Image]

Back on terra firma, I’m more than a little relieved to find that nobody got killed, or even shot down. It seems I came off worst, wounded as well as my kite badly damaged. Several of the others fired their guns but no kills are claimed. In the circumstances, we did well not to get wiped out!

I’m hospitalised for five days, this being the report that greets me on my return, on 13th September:

[Linked Image]

The really good news is illustrated in the squadron roster. We’re getting close to being back at full strength in pilots and aircraft. Next time up, I feel sure we’ll give a much better account of ourselves.

[Linked Image]

Sixty-five is back in business, good and proper - let the Huns beware!

Attached Files Shot12-22-19-19-39-31.jpgShot12-22-19-19-39-51.jpgShot12-22-19-19-40-33.jpgShot12-22-19-19-40-47.jpgShot12-22-19-19-41-31.jpgShot12-22-19-19-42-07.jpgShot12-22-19-19-42-38.jpgShot12-22-19-19-43-55.jpgShot12-22-19-19-44-00.jpgShot12-22-19-19-44-33.jpgShot12-22-19-19-45-06.jpgShot12-22-19-19-46-04.jpg65 sqn time advance summary 8 sept.jpg65 sqn roster 13 sept.jpg
Last edited by 33lima; 12/23/19 09:40 PM.

SimHQ Battle of Britain II screenshots thread
CombatAce Mission Reports
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

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