After-Action Report
11/2/2008
by Brooke, GL, I/JG3
This was a scenario that ran in the multiplayer on-line air-combat simulation Aces High.
I was the Group Leader (GL) of I/JG3. I/JG3 consisted of me (Brooke), FlyinFin, KKEN, Rapier, Gazoom1, Babalon, 0LDemon, and stodd. We were in Bf 109E-4's, loaded with 100% fuel. Our takeoff field was A47 (Boulogne-Colembert).
I/JG3 taking off from our home field Boulogne-Colembert (A47) in our colorful
Bf 109E-4's. This is a picture from just behind Gazoom1. From top to bottom:
KKEN, Babalon, me (Brooke), FlyinFin, 0LDemon, Rapier, and Gazoom1. (Not shown
is stodd, who is up a bit higher than the others.) (t=0:03)
We fly along on the deck, skimming treetops, staying under the radar coverage.
(Radar towers at Dover cover out past our home field.) We are heading east to
meet up with the Ju 88 bombers of I/KG53, which we are to escort to and from
target. In the picture from top to bottom are: Babalon, me, and FlyinFin.
A view back-right out of my cockpit as we rendezvous with I/KG3 and climb to
take our postions for escort. From left to right: Rapier, Serenity (GL of I/KG53),
NatCigg (in Ju 88's), Gazoom1, 0LDemon, and Tudza (in Ju 88's). (t=0:18).
A view from under Tudza's bombers as we reach the coast of France. This shows
only a portion of the escort that I/KG53 has. From top to bottom: Babalon, stodd,
FlyinFin, KKEN, me (the unlabelled dot), Gazoom1, 0LDemon, Tudza, Dantoo and
2-3 squadmates whom I can't make out, Vulcan, asw, Whels, BluTrain, Barkhorn
and one I can't make out, NatCigg, and Serenity.
With our mighty escort, we all made it to the coast of England. 0LDemon spotted a Hurricane scout along the way and shot it down, but the rest of us in I/JG3 didn't see any enemies. There were at times reports of enemies in the target area (p106, the port at Dover), but they were cleared out shortly before we arrived.
A view of my fighter in the foreground (as I patrol the area over Dover) with
Serenity and NatCigg in the background releasing bombs on the Dover port. (t=0:56)
The bombs miss the vehicle hangar (the building right off my left wingtip) by
a small amount. They sink a ship at the dock and destroy the buildings next
to the vehicle hangar.
I/KG53 came back around for another pass on the port (from N to S). After that run, we got reports of a fight with Hurricanes just south of p106, so I asked the bombers to turn left after the run. They did that, got some separation, and came back in to attack the port and the port city from the west.
As the bombers were in the Dover area, I saw a bogie coming in from about 9
o'clock high to the bombers, but below me. I went to intercept and found it
to be a Hurricane Mk I. I came screaming in (over 400 mph) from about 25k altitude
and rapidly closed on it. As I got to about 1.5k yards out, it did a hard break
turn to the left, with badger8 also in pursuit. As it was no longer a threat
to the bombers, I zoomed past and took back up my position over the bombers.
Also visible in the picture is Serenity in the upper left. (t=1:02)
I take up postion over the bombers as they leave the area for home. Here, we
are over Dover port (p106). The vehicle hangar is still up, but the buildings
to the left and right of the vehicle hangar are destroyed as is one of the ships
at the dock. From left to right: Serenity, me, NatCigg, and Tudza.
I'm touching down back at our base (a47) along with Babalon and Whels (from
another fighter group). A couple of I/JG3 are behind me, and others of I/JG3
are already down. Ahead of me in the picture are Babalon and Whels. We did lose
stodd on the mission. He got involved in a fight down low in the Dover area
and got jumped on by a few enemy fighters. He took off in a Ju 87 Stuka and
went on to take out radar towers on the English coast. (t=1:14)
I/JG3 taking off again to escort I/KG53 back to Dover to bomb the port and the
port city. From left to right: 0LDemon, me, KKEN, and Gazoom1 on his takeoff
run. The rest of I/JG3 is up, but not visible in this shot.
We again stay low for a while, then join up with I/KG3. This time, we are the only escort for I/KG3. The path to Dover does have other LW fighter groups in it, though, and the way to Dover is clear. Before we get there, Stukas have destroyed the VH at p106 and started hitting the port city, and I/KG3 is ordered to hit the port city as well, which it does.
A picture of us leaving the Dover coast. It's later in the day, so the moon
is visible. From left to right: 0LDemon, badger8, FlyinFin, me, Tudza, NatCigg,
Serenity, and Gazoom1. At some point before this, I think KKEN went down at
a result of a collision during a dogfight.
A view forward-left out of my cockpit as I pull in closer to Tudza. We are almost
at the French coast. From left to right: Serenity, NatCigg, and Tudza.
I got 0 kills and landed back at base.
Overall, I/JG3 reported 2 kills (a Hurricane by 0LDemon and one by KKEN), and at least one radar tower destroyed (and probably more by stodd), two losses of Bf 109E-4's, and no losses of the Ju 88's we were escorting. Most of I/JG3 saw one or no enemies, and I think that all but three of us didn't even fire our guns. The RAF must have put its fighters toward other intereceptions. I don't expect future frames (where we go after airfields increasingly inland) to be so uneventful.
It seems that the LW did well. I saw reports of all four target ports destroyed,
two cruisers destroyed, and all but one of the coastal radar stations destroyed
from among the ones we were targetting. These reports need to be verified by
command, of course.
-- Brooke, GL, I/JG3