A map of our target areas. Mission 1 was for the fighter hangars at a37 (Isle of Sheppey) in sector 12.12.
After-Action Report
9/28/2013
by Brooke, GL, KG 53
This was a scenario that ran in the multiplayer on-line air-combat simulation Aces High.
A map
of our target areas. Mission 1 was for the fighter hangars at a37 (Isle of
Sheppey) in sector 12.12.
KG 53 up in our He 111H's, at the French coast. t=0:32
A
view up and left of my bomber at KG 54 in their Ju 88's, also at the French
coast. Hello, gents! <S> KG 54's target was to destroy the remaining
fighter hangars at a40 (Kenley).
First contact with RAF fighters at the English coast. Lots of LW escorts
are above us to meet the Spitfires. t=0:36
With a lucky shot, I blast the vertical stabilizer off an attacking Spitfire.
A couple more Spitfires are diving through on attack runs. t=0:36
I
light up another attacking Spitfire I, as do several other KG 53 pilots. A
flak round has exploded near the tail of my bomber.
A
pink Spitfire blows up from accumulated gunfire. CorkyJr and Joker1 are in
hot pursuit. t=0:40
Uh oh! A large group of Hurricanes shows up, 8 o'clock high and are diving
in to attack. t=0:40
A flight of Spitfires is simultaneously arriving at 2 o'clock high.
We are soon under heavy attack. One of Sg's bomber is trailing smoke, and
one of Fang's bombers has just blown up. I am firing from my dorsal gun,
but often several enemies are attacking me nearly simultaneously, and it is hard
to pick which one to fire at. t=0:41
Sg's and Volron's bombers blow up. The air is full of tracers and
attacking RAF fighters.
A view behind me of a typical moment during the attack. One bomber is
missing half its horizontal stabilizer, and is going down. Sg is under
attack in his lone bomber and evading. Most pilots, including me, have
lost at least one bomber. We are shooting down enemies here and there, and
our escort is fighting hard to help keep us alive, but I'm worried about making
it to our target. The RAF is here in force, attacking ferociously and with
great skill, taking a deadly toll. t=0:41
Another view back as I put some rounds into an attacking Hurricane (piloted by
OOZ662, as it turns out -- hello, OOZ). Another Hurricane is going down
vertically, trailing smoke, seemingly having had its horizontal stabilizers shot
off. Bemo has set a Hurricane on fire. One of Popsman's bombers has
just lost half its left wing (probably from the Hurricane going straight down)
and is soon to roll out of control out of the formation. Volron's bomber
is trailing fuel or coolant (upper left off the edge of the picture).
Fortunately, our defensive fire and our tenacious escorts have thinned out the
attackers. Our escorts are still with us, fighting like demons to get us
to target.
I
put a bunch more rounds into OOZ's Hurricane as he dives under me for Tudza.
By now, we are almost to target. I have already assigned particular
fighter hangars to particular people, but with several pilots dead and KG 53
still under some attack, as we come up on target, I call for everyone still
alive to pick out a fighter hangar and drop on it. t=0:42
Bombs away on a37.
A view a a37 with all fighter hangars on fire. My bomber resembles Swiss
cheese. With a37 taken down, I check to see if a40 is destroyed yet.
Not yet, and KG 54 also was heavily attacked. I don't know if they
survived, so I have KG 53 turn left and head for a40 as a backup.
The small group of survivors of KG 53 on their way to a40. The burning a37
is visible behind. Awesome escort pilots are still with us, despite the
running fight that seems like it lasted forever. They are chasing off a
lone remainnig Spitfire that just did a run on Fang. They handle another
enemy or two as we make our way toward a40. t=0:47
I can just barely make out a40 in the distance. Through the haze, I can
see that a few fighter hangars are still up. I correct our heading to line
up. t=0:53
Hurricanes -- 12 o'clock high, diving out of the sun! They shoot at my
cockpit, shoot up my lead bomber, but fortunately don't destroy it. I fire
back and land some hits. Our escorts are on them after that first pass.
t=0:54
I'm looking at a40 when I see fighter hangars start to blow up. KG 54
takes it out. Well done, KG 54! I call for an immediate left turn
towards the English coast for KG 53. t=0:54
We
get attacked by another Spitfire on our way to the coast. He comes in
high, dives through, and blows up one of Soulyss's bombers. No one can
stop an enemy diving in and getting a pass, but our escorts are on him after
that, and this the last attack on us. t=0:55
Bombs away on p71 (Folkstone) as we cross the coast. Those of us still
alive still had one stick of bombs left, and we didn't want them to go to waste.
We made it back to France to land. t=1:06
KG 53 (foreground) and KG 54 (above) on our way in mission 2 to London.
t=1:37
A view of me firing at a lone cannon-armed Hurricane II scout diving through our
formation. He blows up one of our bombers. Unfortunately, we lose
two other bombers from friendly fire. We are still climbing in France and
are not sorted into our defensive formation yet. t=1:38
A view behind me as several RAF fighters show up near the English coast.
We have some escorts who are working hard to protect us, but unfortunately not
many escorts. t=1:52
A view forward at the same time. More Spitfires are racing to us from
ahead. A running fight ensues, growing larger as more and more RAF
fighters show up. KG 53 is badly mauled. Most bombers are shot down,
but some manage to survive.
The survivors have a respite from attack, but only briefly. Pannono is one
of our few remaining escorts. t=2:00
A view back as more attackers come in, setting bombers ablaze and blowing them
up. Tudza is on fire, and Fang has just blown up. Popsman's single
bomber is trailing fuel. Volron is trailing fuel. I am lacking most
of my defensive guns and now need to start evading as my response to attack.
I am down to two bombers. t=2:01
Down goes my 2nd bomber, minus a wing. Someone in the background has blown
up. There aren't many of us left. We are finding that these
Hurricane II's, especially the occastional cannon-armed ones, are much more
lethal per pass than their Hurricane I forebears. Some LW fighters are
starting to show up from our long six o'clock. t=2:02
I snap roll my He 111 in a desperate attempt to avoid getting shot down. I
hear on radio LW fighters announcing their arrival at our long 6, but I fear
that I won't survive many more seconds. There are RAF fighters all around us,
attacking. t=2:03
I regain control of my spinning He 111 and decide in desperation to try diving
out. I don't think I'll survive up there long enough for the LW fighters
to get to me. I call out on radio, "I'm diving out. Everyone try for
London the best you can. Good luck, guys."
I race along, 50 feet above the Thames, trying to sneak out of the melee and get
to London. For a brief time, it works, and toward the setting sun, I can
see London in the distance. t=2:06
But as I underfly more RAF fighters, not all of them miss seeing me. Three
give chase. As two draw near, I turn hard to evade, but they rake my He
111 with gunfire and set it on fire, and down I go.
In mission 1, I got 3 kills (two Spitfires and one Hurricane), 4 assists, and destroyed one FH at a37. I also destroyed some buildings at p71.
Overall in frame 4 in mission 1, KG 53 got 8 kills, 35 assists, destroyed a37, and destroyed many buildings p71 on our way back. Well done, guys! It has been a great pleasure flying with you, and I would be honored to fly with you guys again in any scenario. <S>
-- Brooke, GL, KG 53