So much for comrades of the air

[JimAttrill]

Hi all, got a bit bored with chugging around in the 4sqn BE2b, even though I have made it to 5 hours and been promoted to 2nd Lt.

 

As I have just re-read 'Combat Report' by Bill Lambert and being very impressed by 24sqn's kill ratio - it must be 20:1 or maybe more, I signed on a newbie pilot for 24sqn at the beginning of the war, flying DH2's. Well, all I can say it is a bit of a toss-up which is the greater death trap. The DH is slow, unmanoeverable and gets shot down very easily. Further, when the red guys appear on the TAC display, all my comrades-in-arms disappear and leave me to my fate. I am getting a bit fed up with emulating Lanoe Hawker all the time.

 

I also find it very difficult to spot the German aircraft. At the moment I have an old and well-used MAG 14" CRT monitor (I think I bought it with my first AMD processor machine, which was a 386 DX4 IIRC). Will a Samsung 19" LCD improve my eyesight? At the moment I know what it is like to be a newbie pilot and not spot anything in the sky. Without the TAC I would get shot down even quicker by an aircraft I would only see after the bullets start flying

 

Is there any way to stop the other aircraft in the flight from leaving me to my fate?

 

BTW I can heartily recommend the above book. I 'lost' my first copy by lending it to the granddaughter of Southey who gets a lot of mentions in the book. He came from around here, and we worked together (with the granddaughter, that is). I found a copy for 1p on the Amazon.co.uk site. Unfortunately the barstewards charged me seven squid to post it! Oh well, the book is worth it being out of print for a while now. If anyone is interested, the book was published in 1975 by Corgi in paperback with good illustrations, originally in 1973 by William Kimber.

[Cameljockey]

You can signal your wingmen to attack by pressing "A", for them to split press "S", when you need help press "H", and when you want your flight to rejoin press "R".

 

CJ

[JimAttrill]

I tried R but maybe they were too far away. Next sortie I shall play a tatoo on that key! And the H as well...

 

I have to do something because my pc is full of dead pilots

[Cameljockey]

I tried R but maybe they were too far away. Next sortie I shall play a tatoo on that key! And the H as well...

 

I have to do something because my pc is full of dead pilots

 

I know how you feel. I'm working on my own Arlington National myself.

 

CJ

[JimAttrill]

I have looked at the pilot files .... I reckon I can easily write a program to duplicate those files - all you will have to do is enter:

 

numbr of pilots wanted:

 

Squadron:

 

date of enlistment:

 

Rank: (default to Sgt?)

 

 

Press Ok and they will be there!

 

What I do need is a list of first and second names from somewhere in a table. Maybe I can use an electronic telephone directory....

 

Does OFF have a limit on the number of pilots?

[jayo]

Yeah the further away they are,the less they see what you are signalling.

[andqui]

Is that really modelled?

 

In my experience any 2-seater except for the Brisfit runs away whenever I hit A or H.

 

I'd love to be wrong, though.

[godzilla1985]

Heres a couple things I did that helped me. Like you andqui when I first started flying BHaH I would routinely find myself alone fighting while my wingies flew blissfully off in the other direction oblivious to my plight. In the workshops I change "lead by rank" to "always lead". If your flight element has a pilot with a higher rank then you, even if your flight leader your wingies tend to follow him if you have lead by rank checked. Also when you decide to attack before you get too far away from your flight take a look to see where your wingmen are, if you have "always lead" they should be right with you if they are not hit the "R" (rejoin) key. If it doesn't work scrap the attack, better to live and fight another day then go down trying to shoot down multiple enemy aircraft yourself. Or you can do like one of the other guys here suggest to me when I made a similar post months ago.....buy your wingmen more rounds at the officers club so they watch your six better

 

Another thing I do that has helped me a lot is knowing your enemys equipment. One advantage us virtural BHaH pilots have over the real pilots of the era (besides not dying for real) is we can fly the aircraft were likely to face off against in combat. You mentioned your flying the Dh2 so your main scout adversarys are likely to be the Eindecker, Halberstadt and the early Albatros's. Take these planes up in QC and test them out, it's the best way to know what their strenghts and weakness are against your Dh2. It's time consuming but well worth it. Even placing yourself in one of these aircraft and flying against Dh2's in QC will give you great insight as to what works and what won't.

[JimAttrill]

Thanks Godzilla I will try that. In fact I deliberately signed on as the lowest Sgt rank and ticked the 'lead by rank' in the hope that the leader would look after me. I don't really want to lead the formation because that would be, of course, not as it was at that time.

 

And having a Sgt. rank available is a bit unreal as 99% of RFC pilots were commissioned.

 

Doubtless someone will prove me wrong, but I would love to see some sort of stats on that. The greatest number of RAF Sgt pilots were RAFVR volunteers in the WWII era. 1938 onwards

 

And don't think I am against the NCOs because I was one, though only a Corporal Aircraft Fitter (Propulsion) ie A Fitt. (P) as they called it. 1966-1973

 

And my father ended as a Flt.Sgt Fitter 1 (1923? - 1958) He started on Vickers Virginias with RR Eagle engnes.

Edited June 10, 2009 by JimAttrill

[godzilla1985]

Thanks Godzilla I will try that. In fact I deliberately signed on as the lowest Sgt rank and ticked the 'lead by rank' in the hope that the leader would look after me. I don't really want to lead the formation because that would be, of course, not as it was at that time.

 

And having a Sgt. rank available is a bit unreal as 99% of RFC pilots were commissioned.

 

Doubtless someone will prove me wrong, but I would love to see some sort of stats on that. The greatest number of RAF Sgt pilots were RAFVR volunteers in the WWII era. 1938 onwards

 

And don't think I am against the NCOs because I was one, though only a Corporal Aircraft Fitter (Propulsion) ie A Fitt. (P) as they called it. 1966-1973

 

And my father ended as a Flt.Sgt Fitter 1 (1923? - 1958) He started on Vickers Virginias with RR Eagle engnes.

 

Hi Jim, sorry I confused you with a different poster my apologies. Always good to meet a fellow vet (E-4 Electronics Warfare System Specialist 23rd TFW 1981-1983). I'm not sure about the RFC but I do think the French and Americans had NCO pilots in WWI.

[Cameljockey]

What more could a noob 2nd Louie ask for than a seasoned sergeant for a wingman. Many a rookie have been saved by an old NCO!

[Mr. Lucky]

There were some sergeants flying for the British, but I have no numbers. I have seen them mentioned.

 

Hey GZ, nice to see a fellow 'tweak' as we called them in the Navy (E-5 AT2 Aviation Electronics Technician Second Class on F-14's, VF-24 Renegades, 1979-1982, N.A.S. Miramar and U.S.S. Constellation)

[JimAttrill]

In the RAF they are called 'fairies'

 

Engine guys were called 'fitters' although this went out of use by my day as all trades were called 'fitters'. My father was a fitter IIE (ie engines) and eventually became a fitter I after WWII (engines and airframes). I was a A. Fitt (P) (ie Aircraft Fitter Propulsion which was their new name for engines).

 

Airframe fitters were always called 'riggers' though there wasn't much actual rigging to do on modern aircraft - if any at all.

 

And the armament guys were called 'plumbers'.

 

Radio and Radar guys were 'fairies' as above, and I can't for the life of me remember a nickname for electricians.

 

There were a few non-commissioned aircrew in the RAF in WWI, and occasionally a Sgt. observer would become a pilot, though they were normally commissioned at the same time.

 

By my day in 1966-1973 there were a few Warrant Officer pilots left over from WWII although they were getting on a bit by then. I do remember at least two on 115 sqn, they were both Poles. Terrific pilots, terrible English even after 25 years, used for flight checking of ILS, TACAN etc. They couldn't go home, so stayed on in England.

Edited June 11, 2009 by JimAttrill