YOUR DAM RIGHT IT IS! (add your own #%&*$# 'N')you just dropped way way---- way down the 'Mucker-Douchebag Scale' there Sir!!!

SBlade<><

Meanwhile, back at the war...

...next mission report is imminent - this is merely a holding screenshot showing Green 2 of 605 Squadron at low level 'somehere over southern England, August 1940' during a secret test of new technology (new to me anyway, courtesy of Blade_Meister) - TrackIR - whose pending introduction in the Battle of Britain can now be revealed!

It's now 17:16 and this is how the plots look on the General Situation Map:



A 'Thirty plus' raid - Hostile 651 - seems to be forming up inland from Calais. Another raid has split into two more 'Thirty plus' groups - Hostile 752 and behind them, Hostile 753 - which are coming in just east of the triangular headland of Dungeness. Bear in mind there is an inbuilt time lag here between plotted and actual positions. I have five fighter squadrons in the air, tasked to intercept one raid or the other.

First to sight the enemy is 'pioneer' Spitfire squadron, No. 19, so I accept the offer to fly, picking the Green 1 position as usual. Here I am in QV-J, with Green 2 on my right. As usual, thanks to the Multiskin feature built into BoB2's BDG 2.13 update, we have both correct squadron codes (technically, 'identity letters') and a unique individual letter on each aircraft.



BoB2 only models one squadron formation and this is it. Sections are in three-aircraft vics, with sections in a flat wedge. Some squadrons flew with vics in line astern, and over the course of the Battle, others experimented with less rigid formations, like aircraft within sections in line astern rather than vic. I don't think the Luftwaffe 'finger four' was adopted until 1941, likewise the 'fluid six' formation which operated as six pairs, divided into two flights.



Up ahead, there's a raid which looks like about thirty bombers. I can't see an escort, but there is what (from its flat formation) looks like another RAF squadron, out to the right, making for the Huns. We are between Folkestone and Dungeness, heading diagonally inland, and my first reaction is that we've been caught out and are in for a tail chase.



But these Huns - Hostile 752, probably - aren't the ones we've come for. The boss announces bombers at six o'clock low, and orders them attacked.



You can actually see five groups of aircraft behind Green Section, in the pic above. The ones on the right look like some of our boys; the ones in the middle, higher up, could be bombers (possibly Hostile 651 now crossing the Channel); those off to the left are too far away to make out. The group lower down in the centre, behind my tail, are possibly the ones we've been ordered to attack.

A look left shows the rest of the squadron peeling off; a look right before I follow shows Green 2 is still sticking with me, as is Green 3. Below Green 2 you can see more aircraft.



Round we go! I've lost sight of the rest of the squadron but Green Section is still with me.



I pick the only bombers I can see in the immediate vicinity. Which is this group of ten, coming in near Folkestone, whose Ack Ack boys are giving it their best efforts. I cut across the Huns in an effort to set up a head-on attack. It's not often in BoB2 that you find ten bombers out (apparently) on their own like this and I intend to take full advantage!



...to be continued!

As usual, I make a mess of my head-on attack on the bombers, who turn out do be Dorniers. Incidentally, here I'm using a 'work in progress' mod by Boreas, which subtly darkens and dulls the Spit's canopy frames, consistent with them being viewed in semi-silhouette against a light background. You can see this and some of Boreas's other work over on the A2A forums, here: https://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=21877&start=465



Coming around for a stern attack instead, I see some other Spitfires have beaten me to it! From the radio calls I can hear - BoB2 correctly has only your squadron on the same frequency, I'm prety sure - it's my own outfit. So these were the bombers the CO had ordered us to attack.



My meanderings have left Green 2 and 3 struggling to keep up, but I will now lead them into the right bunch of Huns. I think only when playing as the leader of the squadron - Red Leader, by BoB2 convention - can you issue orders to other aircraft. The rest of the time, they operate according to inbuilt 'Standard Operating Procedures, with 'attack the raid you were scrambled to intercept' being the 'prime directive'. It's quite distinctive, but for the RAF, it seems to produce results that correspond well with the many pilots accounts I've read.



I weave about a bit as I come in behind the Dorniers. There aren't many of them, but their shooting seems both aggressive and accurate.



Nevertheless, I manage to clobber the Hun on the outside left, at the rear of the formation.



Here's the same view from the outside. The Dornier looks to be jettisoning its bombload, which is good news for the target, less so for those just ahead and below.



I have collected rather more hits than usual and break away wildly. Control of my kite has definitely been affected. But equally definitely, my Dornier is going down!



Regaining control, I bank right after the Huns, going near the vertical as I struggle to cope with the different feel of my damaged controls. Three other Spits are showing their Sky bellies as they streak through the bombers, with another one in the queue to attack from behind. It'll be my turn again soon!



...to be continued!

I start to roll the wings level as I aim for another stern attack. You can see that I collected a round in my armoured glass windscreen, which is going to interfere with my aim. Another Spitfire is attacking, while another two are falling away below and behind. Apart from my victim, the Hun formation is still intact and showing no signs of damage. These fellows seem to be above average and to be giving as good as they get.



I've soon joined the conveyoy belt of Spits making passes on the Dorniers.



My first burst goes well wide, though, thanks to the difficulty I have aiming with my windscreen damaged.



This is me at the same point in time. Damage decals are good in BoB2, but their placement seems a bit 'canned' - even after engine damage, the only places I recall seeing strike marks are in the wings, cockpit area, rear fuselage or tailplane. However, BoB2's rendition of RAF early-war fighter colours is the most convincing and authentic in any sim I have seen, for service aeroplanes as opposed to molly-coddled preserved warbirds.



If and when I get around to making a BoB Spit from my kit 'stash', this is how I would want it to look. Except for the IFF wires from fuselage to tailplane, which I gather are more Mk II than BoB-era Mk I. The exhaust stubs are a bit bland, but apart from that - and that there is no variation between A and B Schemes (which were mirror image) the BoB2 aircraft are works of art. And they portray so much of the real-life variations on both sides, including those in RAF undersurface colours and markings - Sky with small roundels near wing-tips, in this case.



But enough of that - there are Dorniers to destroy. I've picked the next Hun in from my previous victim and after closing the range, I manage to get him smoking.



But he doesn't go down and I take a chance, trying to pick him up in my cracked windscreen and flying - and firing - into the smoke he's leaving behind. Hits from return fire smack into me, but I'm committed.



I break off at the very last split second and somehow manage to avoid crashing into the Hun. I have the impression he fell off to the left, but looking down, I can't see him.



There he goes! The Dornier is spiralling down. I very much doubt that he'll recover.



However, I'm in not much better shape. Both wings are riddled. and my engine's revs are rising and falling.



I have some ammo left, but airframe and engine are hard hit and I decide to call it a day. The remaining bombers - six out of the original ten - carry on towards the Thames Estuary. This bunch of Huns is as determined as they are good shots; I think I have occasionally seen bomber formations turn away from targets, with fewer losses than this lot has taken. It looks like their escorts have let them down.



I slip away and watch the attacks continue. There are fewer Spitfires now too.



I slide back the canopy and get a vector for home base, which is about 50 miles away. So if I were minded to land - which I decide I'm not - I'd pick somewhere closer. I can see in my mirror that I'm trailing smoke, as is another Spitfire who's coming up behind me.



He has his own plans, and I have mine. Which if this was real, would include an early cup of tea, before finding out if I'm going to have to get a lift home, or my kite can be patched up wherever I get down and I can fly back. If truth be told I'm quite glad to have seen the backs of those Dorniers - they were a tough lot!

The tea-time raids are still coming thick and fast when I get my next call to action. It's with 601 Squadron who is intercepting a raid that's attacking our fighter airfield at Kenley, just south of London. This is me, in UF-W, with Green 2, in UF-N.



And there are the Huns! I look around anxiously - using TrackIR courtesy of Blade_Meister. This is my first campaign outing with this kit, which I'm still getting the hang of. I don't see any snappers - fighter escort - just three groups of what seem to be bombers. Those on the left look smaller in number, for some reason.



I haven't yet got enough keys assigned to my joystick so rather than sending my TrackIR view haywire while I'm fiddling with padlock and radio keyboard commands, I let the boss take his time. Sure enough, he orders the attack. But I'm slightly confused when some RAF fighters cut across in front of me, going from left to right. At the time, I thought it was my squadron, coming around in a circle instead of going straight for the Huns. Which is what I'm doing. But looking at the next screenshot, I see they are actually Spitfires - note the distinctive elliptical wings, lower right corner. Meanwhile, the bombers have briefly been engaged by Ack Ack fire, but they plough on regardless.



As do I!



Over to my right, the Spits are heading around in a wide circle, towards London's Isle of Dogs which is cut off from land on three sides by the famous U-bend in the Thames.



Green 2 is still keeping up, anyway.



The Huns start a turn to the left, from roughly west towards the south. They have likely bombed and are homeward bound, but it's not to late to exact a price. Even if it's just Green Section tackling them.



At least Green 3 is also still with me.



I close in steadily if not rapidly, heading for the smaller group of bombers on the left. They are fast, these fellows, and as I get closer, my suspicion is confirmed - they're Junkers 88s, the fastest and most modern of the Luftwaffe's bombers.



Green 2 and 3 are lining them up too, having slipped over slightly to my right.



And we're not alone after all. The rest of 602 is coming up behind us. This is going to be interesting!



...to be continued!

I pick my target and let him have it, ignoring the return fire. Possibly because there isn't any! I seem to have caught these Huns napping, thinking they had got away with it.



My rounds whack into the Junkers 88, setting its left-hand engine on fire and sending fragments flying.



I fire off a short final burst into the centre of the smoke obscuring the Hun and then break left, just as the bomber begins to fall out of formation. I take a couple of hits, but get out of there quickly.



Down goes the bomber. I don't see anyone bailing out. He's clearly had it!



Up and away I go, out of range of his mates. The level of zoom below makes them look closer than they are.



To my right rear, the rest of 602 is about to make its presence felt.



And there they go!



The boys don't waver, coming right up behind the central group of bombers...



...and going straight through them, like a hot knife through butter. The smaller group of bombers on the left, the ones I attacked, decide to make a run for it and split left from the others.



They pass just below me as I roll back in for another crack.



I contemplate going for these fellows, but quickly decide to stick with the squadron. As I come in, the main body of Huns makes another left turn, which puts me below and behind the larger group, out on the right.



The boys are still concentrating on the leading group, to the left. It's already been visibly whittled down, with two aircraft straggling. For the sake of concentration of force, I decide to attack this group. Lanchester's Law at work, Fighter Command style - we'll inflict greater casualties if we stick together and don't spread out our firepower. I hope!



...to be continued!

Over on my left, the bombers which broke away look like they'll make good their escape.



No matter. I line up the Huns to my left front. Before I can get in range, one of the stragglers is hit again...and blows up!



By the time I'm getting close, it looks like the rest of the squadron has about completed its second attack. So I'll be presenting the Hun gunners with a solitary target, if I just press on.



Which I do anyway. Happily, by the time I open fire, another Hurricane to my right has done likewise - you can see his tracers, bottom right.



We both break left at about the same time. My target is smoking, but still in formation. I've heard a few hits on my own kite, but everything seems fine.



Levelling off and looking right, I can see a Ju 88 sliding down and out to the right, leafing fivw out of the six that were in that group when I started my attack. I think it's my target that's going down, because he was definitely training smoke when I left him.



My guns are still going, my trusty Merlin's still running normally, and my controls are still answering. So in we go again. A quick look around and in the mirror shows no sign of escorts.



However, I find that I have to watch out for other Hurricanes, who have the same idea as I do. I have to weave a bit as I close on the Huns, to avoid any unpleasantness between friends.



Having done a little dance to put a bit of room between myself and the chap in front, I close in again, now aiming for the bomber on the right rear of the formation, who is leaving behind a light trail of grey smoke.



I don't have much time to get him in my sights but I think I managed to add to the holes in his airframe, because he begins to fall away.



At this point, looking left, I see the bombers which broke off, earlier. I decide to see if I can spoil their little break for freedom.



...to be continued!

As I chase after the Huns, I can see that the main formation - what's left of it - is nearing the coast, harried all the way.



Up ahead, I have four bombers to choose between, for a target. I decide to go for the one on the left. He's so far out from the others that there's no risk of being caught in a crossfire.



Damaged some of the Junkers 88s may be, but they are all going lickety-spit, and the Hurricane isn't the fastest figher in the world. I have plenty of time to watch the other three as I slowly overhail them. My cosy observations get a bit of a jolt when I hear Red Leader - the boss - being told he's got a Bandit on his tail. But if enemy fighters have arrived to rescue the bombers, they are nowhere near me.



Likewise I pay no particular attention when one of my own section, Green 3, announces he's got some hits. He's obviously one of the aircraft still attacking the main German formation, over on my right. I slide in below and behind the bomber I'm chasing. Not long now.



I pull up and let him have it. Or try to. I press the trigger, but not a round is fired! All this way for nothing! I break quickly left, fortunately without taking any return fire that I notice.



My intended victim is by now nearly at the coast, west of Dungeness. He seems to be able to maintain height, so it looks like he's got a sporting chance of getting home.



His remaining friends are still being chivvied along by the boys. I can still see no sign of Hun fighters. Anyhow it's been a good day for 602. Not so for our opponents, who, though we would not have known it, are from Kampfgeschwader 51, as indicated by their 9K unit marking.



Hopefully, they will think twice before coming back this way. And I seem to be getting the hang of Fighter Command's new secret weapon - TrackIR!

It's a quarter to six and a WAAF announces that north-east of London, North Weald fighter base has been severely bombed and is out of action. I can't do much about that, but I can take on an incoming raid, over to the west. Hostile 754 looks like it intends to mete out a similar fate to the damaged sector station at Tangmere. In the way is 73 Squadron, which has come all the way across from Warmwell in neighbouring 10 Group's Sector Y.



I accept the offer to fly, and find myself staring up at a wedge of escorted bombers. They're several thousand feet higher, abouty thirty bombers with a squadron of escorts above and just ahead.



The boss orders our 'B' Flight to take the fighters, while 'A' goes for the bombers. The formation breaks up and I begin a nervous turn to the left, where Green 3 is still sticking with me.



Up above, the bombers sail past. Where are the escorts now? A few are vaguely visible above the bombers, but the rest have vanished.



In fact, some of them are already coming around behind us!



As I could not see this lot in the cockpit view, I ignore them. For want of anything better to do, I spiral up after the bombers, while keeping a careful eye in my rear-view mirror. I can now see that two out of the original three flights of escorts are still up there. The bad news is that I can now see that each flight of enemy fighters is actually a full squadron.



I come around behind and below the aerial armada. It doesn't look like I'll be able to catch them before they reach Tangmere. What good I'll be able to do even then is a moot point.



By this point, the calls I can hear on the R/T make it clear that the rest of 'B' Flight is already engaged with enemy fighters. It's clearly not those fellows up above, so the bunch I lost sight of must have come down on us.
I look right, hearing a warning from Yellow Leader, in command of 'B' Flight. There they are! Five aircraft in a dogfight!



I level off and bank right. A Hurricane drops out of the fight with a 109 spiralling down after him.



A desperate call for help draws my attention to another Messerschmitt chasing one of our boys. The Hurricane turns in towards me, bringing the 109 with him . I get in a short deflection shot as the Hun flashes past my nose.



It doesn't do any good, for the 109 catches the Hurricane and sends him down vertically, trailing smoke. The only consolation is that I clearly see our boy's 'chute pop open.
In an effort to even the score, I chase the Hun, but by now he's above me. And he's not hanging around to be shot down.



A long tail chase to the west follows. This ends unexpectedly, when my Hun nearly runs into two other 109s, one behind the other, coming in the opposite direction.



The one I've been chasing banks to avoid his mates, which gives me the chance to cut his corner. Perfect!



I get some hits from a couple of short bursts and down he goes!



I dare not watch to see if he goes into the drink, with those other 109s around, so I break off and look around. Where have they gone?

...to be continued!

I look around anxiously for the other two 109s – at the same time, getting used to the odd feeling - second nature to established TrackIR users no doubt, but still new and odd to me - of gyro-stabilising my eyeballs while moving my head. I don’t see them. The Huns, that is, not my eyeballs.

What I do see is eight of the beggars. Fortunately, they’re apparently homeward bound - and possibly haven’t seen me. They’re in two groups of four, a fair bit higher up.



Having established that there aren’t more where they came from, I decide to have a crack at this lot. I know that in certain circumstances, BoB2’s escorts will not react, so like some experienced players, I have adopted the policy of one crack only. If there’s no reaction, I will clear off rather than taking advantage.

As it happens, the issue isn’t put to the test, for the Huns are in a hurry, while I’m in a Hurri . I just can’t catch them.



So I implement the second part of my plan, and clear off.



On my way back to Blighty, I notice a raid coming the other way. Clearly, they're headed home to France. This will be the bunch the escorts stopped us getting to. There’s three groups of bombers, with a fair old cloud of fighters, just above.



I watch them for a while, then decide to see if I can sneak up on one of these fellows, instead. So I bank left and steer a course to intercept them. I must be bonkers, trying it on with this lot! Even Albert Ball would have had second thoughts.

The rearmost group of escorts starts milling about as I approach. I knew I was going to regret this!



However, instead of swarming me, the 109s assemble again, above bombers. Saved and emboldened, I slip in behind them. Time to put into practice the tenth 'rule for air fighting' of famous South African RAF fighter leader Adolph 'Sailor' Malan - said to be the basis for Robert Shaw's character, 'Squadron Leader Skipper', in the Battle of Britain film - "Go in quickly – Punch hard – Get out!"



This could be interesting! On the other hand, it could be downright unpleasant!

...to be continued!

I plough into the nearest group of 109s from behind, firing as I go. First victim is this yellow-marked fellow, who rolls over and goes down, damaged at least.



I promised myself not to, but as he goes, he leaves another 109 directly in front of him, taking his place in my sights. So I give him a burst, too. He breaks - these particular Huns may be in 'go home' mode, but they're not just going to sit there and be shot down. So I don't feel guilty.

I do, however, feel exposed. So I break left and down, forgetting that's where the Hun bombers are. Lots of them.



And there are lots of 109s too, just above. 'Meat in the sandwhich' comes to mind.



Nothing else for it now, but to implement the last part of Malan's dictum - "Get out!"



Down and away I go, with at least one yellow-nosed b'stard after me.



For some reason, he soon gives up and disappears from my mirror, as I dive away. The Channel is rather wide at this point, so I expect the 109s didn't have much fuel to burn. I'm not complaining, mind!



I keep the throttle open but avoid diving too steeply, as I would prefer to be able to pull out before smacking into the drink.



Which I nearly manage to do anyway. But a miss is as good as a mile, I tell myself. At this point, the R/T traffic indicates that the boys are on their way home. They've obviously got more sense than I have. So I ask the Controller for a course for base.



Crossing the coast, I climb a little, slide back the canopy and turn west for Warmwell. At this height, you can see clearly that what looks like rather flat terrain from high up is actually quite undulating in places.



Levelled off, I continue nearly due west. Flying with many different squadrons, and opting for air starts at that, you don't get as well-oriented as you would, if you were flying out of the same base each time. What you do get, gradually, is a decent mental picture of where the main fighter bases and landmarks are. Flying BoB2, I've learned more this way than I would have, simply studying the usual campaign maps.



Warmwell is quite a long way off, so I decide that honour will be satisfied when I reach the nearest airfield. Which turns out to be the Coastal Command base at Ford.



The hangars are sometimes drawn in when fairly close, if not perhaps as close as CloD, but when you do see them, the level of detail is impressive. As for parked aircraft, there are no Ansons - a Coastal Command stalwart in those days. Anyway, they should be dispersed and/or camouflaged. What I can see are what looks like three Tiger Moths.



And there are some more, on the other side of the base. I thought at first the paler specimens were Swordfish, but I think that's just the effect of BoB2 texture modder Boreas's latest lighting tweaks, which I'm using at the moment.



This is my last view of Ford, before I quit the mission. The perimeter track is a bit angular, but the level of detail and historical accuracy are impressive, especially as this isn't even a fighter airfield.



This wasn't the most productive of missions, not least as we hadn't climbed enough in our haste to get across from Warmwell. But I put a few holes in some 109s and didn't let the side down. Could have been better, but it could have been a whole lot worse, too!

Nice reports 33lima. It is nice to see some pics down low. The scenary and buildings look pretty good. I am looking forward to loading up BOBII this winter. I have my work cut out for me right now, but your AARs are making me want to experience this.

S!Blade<><

Thanks Blade! Lots to see and do in BoB2's 'time machine', including checking out BDG modder Boreas's new brighter/sunlit terrain textutres as Keith Park, resplendent in his famous white flying suit in his personal Hurricane, OK-1...



...and trying out takeoffs from Tangmere with the clickable cockpit activated, in Douglas Bader's LE-D...



First time out I remembered nearly everything, including flicking on both magnetos, setting fully fine prop pitch, throttle forward a little, and pumping the primer a few times, but I forgot to turn on the fuel cock - serves me right trying to do it without brushing up on the checklist first!

Nice stuff as always, 33lima! Still hoping for some videos!

Yeah, honestly videos would be nice. I was recommending BoB2 just yesterday on Discord, but I had nothing animated to show - or at least nothing really up-to-date. A bit of a pity

If anyone wants to show someone a video that does BoB2 justice, this is the one:



This is quite an old version now, the current terrain is better as regards transitions between land and sea, and settings now available considerably improve ground object placement, including trees (and farm animals, but as I said before I don't believe in exposing them to the horrors of modern war).

Some of the other BoB2 vids have fog rendering issues I don't see, or have ugly (tho useful) peripheral vision markers or gauges turned on, or use equally ugly fisheye lens external views, tho they do give you a sense of the sound effects and R/T chatter.

Yeah I saw this one... But it's 360p - I just can't show that in 2019

Never mind the resolution, feel the artistry!

This one works in 720p. I don't know why the engine sounds are turned down so low (and the 2.12 ones sound better that 2.13, for Merlins any) and it has some of those irritating on-screen aids turned on, but it's still pretty good, and illustrates the near stall rattling (which matches nicely the pilots notes) some of the R/T traffic and other aspects like the negative G cut-out. I think it represents an attack by the Me110 fighter-bombers of ErpGr210 on Westhampnett, Hawkinge of Lympne.





They have 'hear your own voice. enabled, which is why you hear your own comments from time to time.

And there's this one by Heinkil, as a preview of 2.12, also able to be set to 720p, in which you can see the slats working on the 109, and even hear them banging in:



Anyway, I need to get back to defending the Realm against all these beastly Huns!

August the 16th comes to a quiet end as the tea-time raids return to France and disappear from the plotting table. But not before a WAAF has reported that Westhampnett is off the air and out of action. Now, all of Fighter Command's coastal belt airfields are unserviceable. And a quick check reveals that our losses are as bad as the enemy's, in aircraft if not in aircrew. Our best hope is that in having to penetrate more deeply to hit our inner airfields, the enemy will be easier to intercept before he bombs and we'll be able to concentrate more forces against him- what we've got left to throw at him, that is. I've just started reading Leonard Mosley's account of London at war, 'Backs to the Wall' it's called, and that's how I'm beginning to feel. Probably, much as 11 Group's New Zealander boss Keith Park felt, during the real battle.

The day ends with the news that coastal convoys are being reduced and more goods traffic is being diverted to the railways. So I can stop wasting resources on convoy patrols. Frankly, I need all the breaks I can get, at this stage.



And the Germans aren't letting up. Just after seven on the morning of the 17th, four distinct raids are charging across the Straits of Dover. Two are plotted as sixty plus; two at thirty plus. I order extra squadrons scrambled against them and watch as our blue and white markers appear before starting to track down towards the enemy.



First into action are the Spitfires of 65 Squadron and I accept the offer to fly with them. This was the unit of Aussie Gordon Olive DFC, whose accounts (and evocative watercolours) were happily published a few years ago ('Spitfire Ace').

And here we are climbing southwards, towards the enemy naturally. Below us, the Thames snakes away to the east, past the busy Tilbury Docks and its modest balloon barrage.



To our left front, and much higher, one of the other raids is coming in - three groups of bombers, with a shower of escorts barely visible above them. Lower down and further left is what looks like one of our fighter squadrons, trying to catch them.



But these aren't the Huns we've come here to get. Our Huns are up ahead of us, and seem to have been engaged already. The boss has spotted them and calls them in on the R/T. Looking up, all I can see is the contrails, with some pale specks ahead of the ones on the right. I'm not quite sure what I should be doing about this, except continue to climb. Which I do.



Over on the left, the other raid is now catching some Ack Ack fire. But I have more pressing things to worry about.



I watch the the contails on the right anxiously. I don't like the look of them at all.



They could be Stukas I suppose, and Tilbury Docks could be their target. There's certainly plenty of shipping down there, and the quayside warehouses are probably full of all kinds of things that the Huns would be keen to see go up in flames.



I didn't notice at the time, but over to my right, two other RAF squadrons are nearby. Despite the greater warning from the Germans' longer approach, we all seem to have got off too slowly to get enough height. What I do notice is that I'm on my own; the rest of 65 has disappeared somewhere. I've not been paying much attention to the R/T traffic; have I missed something important?



I quickly find out what I've missed. The Huns I've been watching are diving all right, but they aren't Stukas. They're 109s! And they're diving on us!



...to be continued!