A map of the battle area for us. (Other groups patrolled other areas of Germany.) In frame 1, our home base was a16, in sector 13.11.
After-Action Report
2/13/2011
by Brooke, GL, III/JG1
This was a scenario that ran in the multiplayer on-line air-combat simulation Aces High.
I was the Group Leader (GL) of III/JG1, a Luftwaffe fighter group. We were flying Bf 109G-6's. Today, III/JG1 consisted of me (Brooke), Chem, CRAZYiVN, DickBong, Elburko, Mako, SEAv8tor, Seighin, SNIPER30, Snpshot, tudza, Turbo18, Wedge, and wnt2.
A map of the battle area for us. (Other groups patrolled other areas of Germany.) In frame 1, our home base was a16, in sector 13.11.
III/JG1, in our Bf 109G-6's, awaiting takeoff at a16. I/JG27 is taking off in front of us. From left to right in our group: Chem, Snpshot, Turbo18, me (Brooke), Seighin, Mako, SNIPER30, several planes (can't make out individuals), wnt2, DickBong, and Wedge. t=0:00
We took off and headed for 10.11.2 for rendezvous with the various groups that made up Gotha Jag, a large group that was tasked with protecting Gotha, which was a possible allied bombing target. Gotha Jag consisted of I/JG27 (109's), III/JG1 (109's), I/JG26 (FW 190A-8's), and I/ZG76 (Bf 110G-2's). The role of us 109's was to clear away allied fighters so that our bomber killers could get to the bombers.
After racetracking near 10.11.2, looking at the radar reports (sector counters), I felt that I had a pretty good idea about the location of the bombers coming in. I asked BigRat (commander of Gotha Jag overall) if I could take III/JG1 toward the enemy concentration, and he allowed it. I headed us west (a bit off the side of what I figured was the center of their concentration, so that we could skirt forward allied fighter sweeps), then NW into what I figured would be about the center.
A view from behind my aircraft as
we end up right on top of the allied bomber formation (visible lower left of picture). There are lots of enemy fighters around, though (all of the dots in the air are enemy fighters at about 34k). I put out a radio report of the situation and location. This is near a72. t=0:36
Our mission was to disperse the enemy fighters, so I told our group to go after those. I asked them to be careful about doing 180 degree turns at this altitude, though -- that if they did a 180 to go after a fighter that passed them, they wouldn't catch it. Best to move ahead and look for opportunities to get on the tail of planes that didn't require a 180. I let a group of P-47's fly by us at about our same alt (34k), then turned in on a next flight that came by slightly lower (so that we could do diving turns onto their tails).
I shoot down one of the P-47D-11's. A high-altitude flight of P-38's is coming in. wnt2 and SNIPER30 are in the picture as well. t=0:37
A better picture of the situation as I'm shooting down the P-47. III/JG1 and I/JG27 aircraft are around in force mixing it up with enemy fighters right near the bomber stream. From left to right: DickBong, tudza, Chem, gwurzel, (2 I can't make out), Fishguy, kansas2, me, PEZ, and Dolby.
Based on the above situation, I called for the guys to push forward to get over the bombers (and not get tangled up behind the bombers and left behind). I started to push forward toward the bombers.
As I move toward a position over the bombers, more high P-47's come in, and I get chased and fired at. I start to dive to keep out of close guns range. t=0:38
At this point, I figured that I could either dive out to escape from chasing P-47's, or make a run through the bomber stream and not waste my dive. I chose the latter.
I dive on the trailing formation, P-47's in hot pursuit of me. t=0:38
I shoot up one of the trailing B-17's. I get lots of good hits, but he stays up.
I race past, right underneath the trailing B-17 and line up on my next target. I'm gently porpoising my aircraft to throw off the B-17 gunners, and I'm trying to find the best place to be that causes bombers to have to shoot at each other to get shots on me.
I pick one out of the herd, and open up on him, zooming close underneath other bombers that I didn't pick.
There is a hailstorm of defensive fire, and P-47's are still chasing me. I work over this next B-17 with my cannon and MG's, but it, too, stays up. kansas2 is back there, perhaps making a run on the bombers as well.
On to the next B-17 -- the bomber group leader. I zoom close over the left wing of my previous target. I'm landing a lot of cannon rounds into the left wing of the lead bomber.
But -- alas -- the volume of fire is too much for my trusty Bf 109, and as I am tens of yards behind the lead bomber, still pouring cannon rounds into him, my left wing is blown off and engine oil spews forth as rounds blow my engine apart.
Smash! In the next instant, my out-of-control plane smashes through the already damaged wing of the lead bomber. I lose another wing, and he loses one, too. Down we both go.
I took off from a16 and flew toward Gotha, hoping that there would be stragglers to fight.
Coming up on 11.10.1 area, I see what looks like a spread-out melee. In the distance I can see the explosion of what seems to be a bomber getting shot down. I call out the action on the radio. As I get closer, I see German and US fighters and even some US bombers spread out over a wide area and fighting. t=0:50
I dive after after a P-47D-11. In the picture from left to right: potNpans, KKEN, me, Snpshot, and proploss. The P-47 maneuvers hard to evade me, but I'm lined up on the B-17 at that point, and so go after it. t=0:51
I pour rounds into the B-17's right wing and blow it off. His gunner puts some rounds into me, but luckily for me, no systems are destroyed. t=0:39
A few minutes later, as I scout W and NW for more targets, I see a large number of B-17's coming in with lots and lots of escort. All of the black dots are enemy fighters, and there are a lot more of them than appear in this picture -- all over the sky. I call it out on the radio. t=0:56
I figured that there were at least 40 enemy fighters around my location, almost all of them with lots of altitude on me, and no friendlies yet that I could see. I decided that pressing an attack into that mass would just get me shot down with no inconvenience to the enemy. Instead, I decided to swing right in a diving turn to parallel the bombers' course, to get out another radio report, then to move ahead of the bombers, to see if I could outdistance them to the front, then climb in front of them.
Screaming along parallel to the bombers. They are headed in the direction of Leipzig, which I report on the radio. After I pass them, I will start climbing out in front. Turbo18 is out in front doing the same. t=0:56
Yet another flight of P-47's comes in. All of those black dots in the image are enemy fighters. They overfly me as I try climbing in front of the bombers.
Turbo18 and I were trying to climb in front of the bombers. Occasionally, a P-47 would come chase one or the other of us, and we would dive hard. When we were low enough, the P-47 would break off and climb, and so would we. We did this for a while, always heading toward Leipzig and putting out radio reports.
After a while, several more friendlies came our way. I warned every one I saw that, behind me, were about 40 P-47's at 34k and that it was suicide to fly into that. Most of them then flew along with me and Turbo18, climbing toward Leipzig in front of the bombers. My plan is to turn around once I'm at 34k, when I have a chance against the swarm of 34k P-47's. From left to right: Ditto, chris3, AKKuya (our CO), SlapShot, SKfgALPO, me, Mello, Krusty, and Turbo18. t=1:10
The lead P-47's start to run up on us about as I reach 34k. At this point, the bombers have already hit Leipzig. Some of those lead P-47's started to mix it up with the folks who were lower than I was. But it looked not too lopsided, and I decided not to join that fight but to keep going to any large concentration of high enemy fighters I saw, as I could at least get at them, try to disperse them, now that I was at 34k.
After my 180 degree turn back toward the enemy, heading west, I do eventually again see a sky full of high black dots, and some lower ones that are probably B-17's. I press on. It is hard to catch up with them, as they are all heading back west.
I catch up with the egressing bombers and find a P-47D-11 that I can line up on. I go after him. He sees me and evades into a split S. I get a few hits on him with my MG's, but I don't follow him down. A group of FW 190's is working over the bombers. From left to right: me, SWchef, VonMessa, Wrek, HamrDown, and Hopper. t=1:19
A flight of high P-47's comes in after me and Turbo18, and we have to evade. The bomber stream is visible on right side of the picture. Other Luftwaffe fighters are catching the bombers, too. From left to right: remy1dog, Drew86, Seighin, SWkando, Erikel, jedi25, me, and RRaine. t=1:20
I evade those P-47's and look for enemies as I get on a heading back toward the bombers.
I find a P-47D-11 that is chasing a friendly. I dive on him and pour on the cannon rounds. His plane explodes shortly after this picture was taken. Other P-47's are around, some higher than I am, so I turn after I down the P-47, to get some distance and back up to altitude. Ahead of me in the picture: USRanger. t=1:23
At this point, I was far behind the bombers, and decided to head back east. There were still straggling enemy fighters back to the east. On the radio, there was a report of P-38's running from a gaggle of Luftwaffe planes, so I worked to intercept.
I dive down on, catch, and flame one of the P-38's. I can't catch the other three ahead of him -- they are really hauling. t=1:45
There were some reports of enemies near a38, so I headed in that direction. Whatever enemies were there were cleared up before I got there. Then there was a report of enemies near a34, so I went there with the same result. Now, I was down to about 4 minutes of fuel, so I landed at a38 and went to refuel.
While I was refuelling at a38, Ditto called on the radio that he was being chased to a38 by two P-47's. I echoed the info on the radio. t=2:09
Before I was done fuelling, more P-47's showed up. I kept up the radio announcements of increasing action on the deck at a38 and took off as soon as my fuelling was complete. There as a fight with three P-47's right next to the field, so I was in a fight right after wheels up.
I put some rounds into a P-47's wing root on the deck. His wing blew off as a result, but it was only an assist for me -- someone else had already worked him over. t=2:10
More P-47's kept showing up, coming in now with much altitude on us, as we were fighting on the deck.
One of the incoming P-47's dives on me. I see him and turn as hard into him as I can manage (slow and on the deck), but he gets some hits into my engine, which is now streaming oil. From left to right: me, 4brkfast, mosca1, and Ditto. t=2:10
I head back to a38 and land. As it isn't my home base, no more aircraft for me, but I do jump into a ground gun, as now there are more P-47's, P-38's, and P-51B's showing up, pressing the attack. We call for our guys to head to the field if in trouble.
I blow the tail off a P-38 that was going after one our guys near the field. From left to right: KKEN, 4brkfast, and proploss. t=2:15
I shot down two P-47's, two P-38's, and one B-17 and got an assist on two P-47's and a B-17. I bailed once and landed once (but not at home base).
Overall, III/JG1 killed 13 aircraft and got 21 assists. I think our first mission to disrupt enemy escort on that first bomber raid to Gotha was successful -- at least it seemed that the escort was mostly dispersed and lagging the bombers after we engaged them. After that, III/JG1 was spread out, with individuals attacking as they could. I had folks take off and head toward enemy activity as soon as they were ready to re-up rather than wait, as I didn't know if the enemy would just be egressing after that first strike, and wanted folks to be able to catch enemies rather than regroup but then miss the egressing enemy. Some III/JG1 pilots were in action until the enemy was all out of Germany.
Most importantly, I think the frame was a lot of fun!
-- Brooke, GL, III/JG1