Cartwheel Part 1, Frame 1 Pictorial

Fire Over Malta was a scenario that ran in October, 1999 in the multiplayer on-line air-combat simulation Air Warrior.


Brooke in an A6M5 Zero as part of Fighter Group 6, along with Frag (upper right of Brooke in the picture). Fighter Group 6 is escorting Bomber Groups 2, 3, and 4, elements of which are visible in the lower left of the picture. The Bomber Groups have B5N Kates and D3A2 Vals and the mission to bomb Villa Point, the airfield which is directly ahead of them, and Munda Point, which is the city and airfield forward of Brooke, to the right of the mountain.


Fighter Group 6 was also assigned to carry bombs and to divebomb Munda Point airfield. Here, Brooke lining up for his drop. A US Army jeep is at the end of the runway, ready to use its 50-caliber machine gun to help defend the airfield.


A view from inside the cockpit of Brooke's Zero as he releases his bomb. The target building is just visible in the lower part of the gunsight reticle.


It's a hit. This is a view of the explosion (the black cloud) and crater (brown circle of dirt) as Brooke pulls up into a hard climbing turn.


Brooke's bomb didn't completely destroy the building. Greif (another member of Fighter Group 6) hit the same building, and that did destroy it. Elements of one of the bomb groups are visible in the upper left of the image, coming in for their bomb runs.


The bombers have attacked. Many more craters are visible at Munda Point airfield. Jittr in his bomber has taken some AA fire and is trailing smoke in the lower right of the picture.


Brooke escorts members of the bomb groups back after the attack.


After escorting, Brooke goes over to protect bombers attacking shipping near the enemy base Torokina. Whels has sunk a ship, and an enemy F4U Corsair is coming in to attack. Brooke in his A6M5 tries to protect Whels.


More Japanese bombers and more US fighters are showing up. Just on shore near the shipping, Brooke goes inverted to try for an attacking P-38J Lightning.


Brooke tries for an F6F-3 Hellcat that has just done a pass through the bombers that are attacking the shipping.


Down near wavetop altitude, Brooke chases and fires on a P-38J, but misses. There are a lot of enemy fighters in the area now, diving in from altitude and zooming through the slower IJAF fighters and bombers. By this point, Brooke has already taken some hits from another P-38.


Brooke does a hard diving turn to avoid an F6F-3, but dies an instant later from effects of earlier gunfire from the F6F. However, the IJAF bombers have sunk most of the US ships, as indicated by the black plumes of smoke on the water.

Final Results

Brooke got a bomb hit on a building, but no kills or assists.


by Brooke P. Anderson
e-mail: brooke@electraforge.com

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