The Double D's

[Slartibartfast 153]

Well Plt Officer Anderson went out on his second run a photo hop this time so no wingie was selected,

 

2 Winders

Full Guns

2 Drop Tanks

Chaff and Ecm Pods

 

Well my favourite sort of mission alone and taking pictures low and fast over some Commie Airfield lets see them catch me out. Take off was lonely after my morning mission with another 7 I went out alone standard practice for us it seems climbed to 6000ft and stayed there until I crossed the Foward lines then dived to around 1500ft cruising along nicely so I thought looks like the planners goofed as I ended up flying over a headquarters with 57mm 23mm and 14.5mm flak no SAM's though. After I had been airborne for around 20 minutes I picked up a glint of silver around 10000ft so dumped the tanks and prepared myself locked on a winder and after confirming that it wasn't one of ours (In fact didnt see sight of any of ours heard the German's down the road making a mess out of a Red strike though) popped the winder away by the time it hit I found I had taken out an AN-12 okay not a fighter but a kill's a kill in my old book also meant either some bigwig got a Viking Burial or some supplies aren't getting through. At the IP point a radar started to track me so I decided to run with it and if it fired I would then take action... Popped to 500ft over the target took the photo and headed home at 200ft right over an SA-10 site Pucker factor went right up at that point as I extended away heard about those SA-10's and they are not a good thing to play with at around 5 mile's he popped a missile my way down to 50ft the chaff filling the sky behind me time to Introduce the site to the Aden Twin's... came back around ahrd and fast well anything's fast at 50ft... Popped up to 500ft to get a decent run in and let loose on the site about a mile out trashing a launcher and the Radar as it dropped of the warner at the same time as I picked up twin explosions in front of me I then ran for home very low and extremely fast 600kt's give or take for 50 miles and then popped up as I crossed the forward lines again landing after that was easy as eating cake...

[Slartibartfast 153]

Damn bad luck Cliff there looks like the old timers are biting the bullet bad...

[UnknownPilot 33]

I don't know how they even managed to become "old timers" lol

 

I can't survive more than a few missions. I'm really starting think that it is impossible (or at least for me) to survive Rolling Thunder. I can't even imagine how bad Linebacker II must be.

 

7 missions as a fighter (well, 6.5) is my record. 3 as A2G. Inevitably they send me in SEAD. And there is no way to approach a gun emplacement that will prevent it from shooting at you. It's basically suicide. It's so damned frustrating to put so much time and effort into coming up with a name, flying the missions, being as careful as possible, and then when doing what you are tasked with, seeing a gun swivel and put green tracers through the wind screen.

 

And only 2 SEAD planes? Deep into a AAA nest? Why....? If I were calling a war... well, let's say an all out war, which I know that wasn't, I'd send up squadrons of attack planes with fighter cover, to start from the shore and move slowly inland picking every gun, sam, and target of opportunity off possible, then I'd send the marines in to get a beach-head, rinse, repeat as often as is necessary. This way no planes are caught deep inland in hostile AAA infested territory, nor more or less alone as a shooting gallery for hundreds of little bastard gunners.

 

Now I'm off to find a new name and figure out which campaign angle to try next. ::: sigh :::

[TempestII 262]

 

My campaign with my new pilot has started well.

Plt Officer Ethan Cambell flying the CF-18 with 421 Sqn has completed 4 missions in the 1986 NF4 campaign with 15 A/A kills and 1 A/G.

Although the Soviets forced us to move airbases after the 3rd mission, the 4th one was very successful.

 

 

 

The SA-13s are still causing problems though. I've had too many near misses for my liking with only flares & tight turns saving my backside.

[Slartibartfast 153]

As to making it to oldtimers all I can say is I aint found that secret yet call it a work in progress...

 

Me I look at the route and modify as much as I can but I am now riding Jaguars in NF4 and I am wondering whats going to bite me and I know what it is its Mr SA-10 I am gonna do something stupid and get into a fight with one again... but even in Simulation having a talk with Lady luck helps as well... Always ask for Sim Luck before you leave...

 

As to the SA-13's I dont have much of a problem with them maybe its because I am flying NF4 and not plus... but learning SAM evasion techniques always helps out... and always know your enemy...

 

Right of to drive the Shaguar time to go plaster the Reds or photo them...

Edited January 16, 2010 by Slartibartfast

[Slartibartfast 153]

Well Plt Off Anderson is now in the hands of the KGB...

 

2 Sorties both single ship :-

 

First sortie nice and short strike a warehouse easy enough.

 

Single Jaguar

6 750lb's

2 Aim-9J

Full Guns

 

Well this was going to be a short dash in and out hit the warehouse and fly home. Looks like I am getting the Royal treatment today as I took off and headed out I picked up a pair of F-111's turns out those boys are my Flak Suppression!!! Anyway heads out to hit the warehouse and everythings going lovely even have 4 F-15C's riding over the whole lot. Gets to IP and wonders whats going on the Reds are asleep wish I was damn crazy hitting a target at 6am anyways park 2 750lb's into the warehouse easy as while the F-111's are working the SAM & Flak sites see's a bunch of fuel tanks so turn back in to flatten those be a waste hauling them back. Drops on the Tanks blowing up 4 of them as I start to turn to home the 111 lead has picked up a trailer and is shouting like crazy I pitch back in and fire my first Aim-9J Mr Mig see's it and ducks out of the way my second one goes of for a joyride and fails... Time for the ADEN twins to play again close right up on the Mig who is trying for a guns kill on the F-111 which he doesn't get instead his plane ends up with 30mm itis and comes apart...

 

 

Mr F-111 is sounds relieved where the hell are those F-15's I am thinking... ho hum turns out Mr F-111's wingie is also in trouble of I turn and go to solve his problem with a dose of the old 30mm just about to fire on his problem and it explodes as 4 F-15's streak past me. Quick waggle of my wings and off home I go. Kill 4!!! one more and I will be an ACE!!!

 

Second Sortie :-

 

Report filed by special forces... The camera jet you sent over was taken out by a zip gun while dogfighting 4 red Jet's pilot got out but was too close to the Airfield to be rescued captured by local troops.

Edited January 16, 2010 by Slartibartfast

[Lt. James Cater 62]

07NOV66

Between getting wounded, being banged up in a crash and Administrative duties, i wonder how long it will be before i finsish my tour.

 

Intell got some solid information about a truck park and so we had to deal with it. Normally we would send at least a flight but i thought it was no big deal and so decided on just taking 2LT Curtis Clifton on the mission.

 

The weather was as perfect as can get and take off was a delight as well as climbing up to our cruise altitude of 12,500ft. Since we didn't want to deal with any flak on the way to the target area, we went due north out of Pleiku until we reached Quong Nam, then turned west. It was a nice flight. The sun shining brightly, not a cloud in the skies, unlimited visibility, etc, etc. What a way to experience a war, eh?

 

As we closed in, we set the switches, went green and waited for the proper moment. At what felt like the right time, i gave Clifton the order and down we went.

 

A nice smooth dive, easy on the controls, get the aimpoint right and "OH @% THERE'S FLAK HERE!?!?! DAMNIT!!!!!

 

Since i prefer a smoother attack profile i was apparently chosen as the easier target. I jinked as much as possible but since this was the bomb rum, the available range of manuvers was rather limited.

 

As i heard Clifton calling "bombs away" i settled on the target and released just as i saw the first of Curtis's bombs going off, then pulled up hard and rolled the aircraft into a hard right turn to clear the area.

 

By now i knew we had a big problem. Heavy light AAA had now opened up and we had missed the target also! As i was down and low, trying to figure on the next move, something flashed by the plane.

 

 

TRACERS!

 

As i pushed on the stick to get over the treetops i heard a hit somewhere. Soon after the moment i glance to the side and see light damage to the right wing.

 

It seems Clifton was in trouble too because his response on orders to attack the target again were in the negative. Right then i kew what had to be done.

 

Hoping for the best, i told Curtis to head back to base and began setting up to finish this and go home myself. The trucks were in an area which resembled somewhat of wide shallow bowl and so i hoped i could pop over a side and make a fast gun run as i zoomed in.

 

Yeah right!

 

As i made my way to what i hoped was a good point to begin the attack, i noticed the bigger stuff going off at altitude. Damned if ol Wingie decided to climb within range of those guns.

 

And so it goes...

 

Over a ridgeline i go, full thottle and trying to keep as low as possible. the closer i get, the better i feel. Perhaps the enemy are distracted by Curtis. Just over a mile out, the gauntlet begins. Th first fire came from 10 o'clock then from 11, 1'oclock until it was pointless to do anything than stare through the gunsight at the target.

 

It's a weird feeling knowing that your are dying. Time stills and you move in a deliberate stumbling. It's some sight to see the tracers connecting the guns to the aircraft. Vivid flashes of hits virtually right in front of your eyes. How much longer before you are an earthbound fireball?

 

The trucks were in front of me and i pulled the trigger, despite the situation in a careful controlled manner to avoid the guns jamming. Through the flames and explosions, the execution countinues.

 

It's even worse now, you don't even have the benefit of facing the firing squad. Hit after hit slams into the plane. Holy Jesus! If this was some zoomie, fast mover, super science "modern" jet it would have long since been history!

 

The controls are severly mushing and so i guess this is it.

 

But no!

 

The sound of metal on metal ceases and i'm still flying.

 

 

Forget about flying according to plan, i countinue in a straight line and head for altitude, then change course to the south.

 

It's harder than it seems. Rudder gone, an aileron shot away, flap gone. I KNOW the engine took hits, i saw those right through the gunsight and so i wonder if it will fail soon.

 

But no!

 

The Wright growls on and so i'm allowed the chance to putt home.

 

 

The landing took some work but i got the plane down. Time to send the manufacturer a letter of thanks. Perhaps i should talk to the Chaplain too?

 

 

EDIT-APPARENTLY I FORGOT TO "ACCEPT" THE DEBRIEF AND SO THIS MISSION DID NOT COUNT!

Edited January 16, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[Slartibartfast 153]

Well my 3rd new Pilot...

 

Pilot Officer Mark "Pirate" Graham

5 Squadron Tornado Bruggen Airbase

Red Storm 1986

Nato Fighters 4

 

2 Sorties so far :-

 

1st Sortie was Airbase Cap

 

4 Ship Wall to Wall Skyflash and Sidewinders

 

Well after the past 2 months of tension it kicked off this morning at 5am the Reds invade my first sortie was a CAP over the base nice and easy I thought blasted out of the HAS and was airborne in 4 minutes with 2 3 and 4 close behind. GCI sent us to shoot down a strike team inbound which turned out not to be a strike team but 8 Mig-23's loaded for intercept. That was a fierce fight took out the first 2 before they even knew what was happening and 3 and 4 account for 3 others. After the merge it went pearshaped jets all over the sky RED Flag was nothing like this missile trails all over managed to pick out a MIG-23 hunting Wingie 3 unfortunately Wing 3 took some rounds in the tail but he nabbed the guy he was chasing best thing was to send him home with wingie 4 who was also damaged. It got down and dirty my Wingie 2 I didn't see him after the merge turns out he lost me in clouds. It was then that I realised I was in a 3 vs 1 and I down to the gun and a Skyflash bit of mutliple targetting going on I think. I extended and then turned back into the fight and I got onto one of the Mig-23's and before he could shout VODKA he was out of his jet taking the silk ride to earth. Next guy took the Skyflash at 4 miles heading in while I dodged his Apex pucker factor really working overtime there. The last guy though he went home with holes in him damn they build those jets tough. Settled into a classic dogfight damn I wished my jet turned better. We fought for a good 10 minutes from 100ft all the way to 30000ft and back again the guy was good as in real good it was like fighting an Weapons Instructor. How he managed to keep that jet in the air was beyond me. After I ran out of guns I had to evade and went low he bugged out and went home if he ever made it I don't know. As I turned to land Wingie 2 turns up and lands ahead of me the cheek of it he still had his drop tanks. Whereas I was putting on an Airshow for the base in burner most of the time. But damn this bird is fast on the deck. Anyway after landing turns out that wingie 3 Fg Officer Milne was lightly wounded. Well I am now an Ace.

 

Sortie 2

 

This was an lowlevel intercept over Fulda to help out the army boys down there god help em. Take of and routing was easy as we came over Fulda at 500ft picked up 2 Su-17's and quickly despatched them with a Skyflash and a Winder. The had a pair of Mig-21's up for Flak Suppression and they dumped their gear and took us on for a gunfight one died to a Sidewinder rather rapidly the other guy though got in close and stayed there turned into a knife fight in a phonebox. Managed to nab him though in a vertical scissors at 25000ft and he got the silk letdown took his port outer wing off...

 

So that makes the total now 9.

[Lt. James Cater 62]

7NOV66

Went on a mission that was according to plan until LT Hill went Tard near the IP. Lost time trying to get him back into formation and so fell behind the other flights going into the area. Finally had to send him to the target while i did my thing up above. Luckily, it made for a high-low attack and things worked out fine. Hill got the target and i got a piece of what was a perfectly laid out group of POL tanks. Better luck next time i figure. Not much in the way of AAA until bombs were on their way. Maybe repeated strikes in the area are wearing the North Vietnamese down.

 

Low and fast until we got to the Garden and back to altitude and home.

[UnknownPilot 33]

I finally survived an entire campaign!!

 

 

 

 

.....it was one mission long. 

 

 

 

 

Started Rolling Thunder in the Marauders (forget the #) with the A-7A, and struck a factory (which was a cool target), cleaned up some AAA (seems I can survive better in the A-7 than in the A-4, but it might have been just luck too), got back to the carrier, (bounced a few times), and when I finally landed, hit escape and saw a message that there was a halt placed on all aerial attacks, and the campaign was over. I really didn't think it was that late in the campaign, but I guess it was.

 

 

[TempestII 262]

OK, this is going to be a fairly long post...

 

5th mission on the 23rd October 1986.

Had to intercept some MiG-27s on a C.A.S mission but the nearby F-15Cs killed them all when we were still 30 miles away. However, having plenty of fuel left, I led the flight north following the Eagles to steal some of their targets.

It turned out that more MiG-27s with MiG-23 escorts were about 40 miles away so my Hornet flight went full burner to catch the MiGs before the F-15s got them. Well, here are the results...

 

 

I got 2 kills while my flight got another 2. It was enough to get me promoted anyway.

 

 

6th mission on the 24th Oct was a C.A.P, nothing all that interesting happened other than one of my squadron members making Ace.

 

 

7th mission was great. I decided to take the whole squadron (-1 wounded) on a fuel tank strike.

 

 

As we approached the target, I told flight's 1&2 to engage ground while 3&4 went A2A. As they distracted fighters & flak, I killed the fuel tanks with cluster bombs.

 

 

With that completed, I used the rest of my A2G ordinance on SA-13s.

 

 

And I was rewarded...

 

 

 

Unfortunately, 2 Hornets were lost with our Sqn Leader captured & the other pilot K.I.A

Edited January 17, 2010 by Josh543

[+Cliff7600 1,148]

Hi, I have a new pilot, flying for the Belgium air force during the 68' Red Hammer campaign (NF4).

Does anybody know how to fly the F-104G? I need some advices, as you can read...

 

 

1^st mission

 

2Lt Henry Golfaurla

 

No. 350 Squadron, Wittmundhafen – F-104G Starfighter

 

08/21/68

 

Take off 07.19 – Landing : 08.00

 

Target : Gütersloh, Intercept

 

3 Il-28 Beagle, 2 MiG-21F Fishbed-C, 1 MiG-21PF Fishbed-D, 1 MiG-19S Farmer-C

 

Mamba 11 : 2Lt Henry Golfaurla

 

Mamba 12 : 2Lt Michel Robin

 

Mamba 13 : Capt François Mathy

 

Mamba 14 : 1Lt Bruno Werbrouck

 

Report :

 

I was very nervous for my first mission with the No.350 Squadron.

 

On the one hand it was my baptism of fire and on the other hand two rookies had been killed last week, on their first mission too. The first one crashed when he took off and the second made a tail strike when touching the runway as he was landing, the engine caught fire and the jet exploded before the poor guy eject or evacuate. So the officers seriously warned me to respect carefully the procedures. The fact is I barely made a short flight with a U.S. TF-104G and the instructor told me “Good, there’s gonna be no problem for you”. So I wasn’t definitely familiar with the procedures, I am a rookie and I was shaking hard when I put the throttle to the panel for today’s scramble.

 

But the Zipper took off, and I reach our Angel, 19600 ft. I didn’t push too hard because I wanted my wingmen to form up before things get tough. As I was beginning to panic because there were too many bandits in the DZ, Red Crown gave me the proper vector to intercept our target “12 o’clock, 25 miles”. As a matter of fact, they were just under my nose, flying low, I locked the radar on one of them and radioed the engagement order.

 

They were Il-28 Beagles and it was going to be a serious task to complete because of their speed and their tail guns. I tried to intercept them from the side but I just managed to get their 6, just where I didn’t wanted to be. Mamba 2 took him out before I reached shooting range. And then it became a big mess. I lost my wingmen and I tried to get another target to attack. I finally saw another Il-28 and, after I fired my four AIM-9 (1 hit him but he kept on flying, same speed, same altitude) I decided to get him from under. Not a bad idea but when I climbed to catch him I didn’t succeed to hit him and overtook him. Lousy attack… I made a 360° turn and I did the same mistake on my second attempt, and the tail gunner seemed to be more precise than me! The third assault was the good one and I shot his left engine and wing. I thought that it was time to get back to the base but a fighter was marauding in front of me. After a long hesitation, I decided to engage him and “we’ll see”. It was a MiG-21 and he was fast! I broke the barrier of sound several times before I caught him and it was far more difficult to aim at him, not to overtake him and not to crash to the ground, because he was low. To be honest, I don’t think the guy saw me because it wasn’t really a dogfight but more a pursuit. I tried to shoot him from distance but I finally caught him and he begun to try evasive maneuvers. I had to be a bit more violent with my Zipper to follow him and I finally shot him.

 

It was too much for me and I set a course to RTB and gained altitude. I saw two Beagles passing in front of me and I tried to engage the second one. He was turning and when I realize that I will have to shoot him from his 6, I gave up. I was exhausted after the hunt for the Fishbed and I found this last attack was more risky and stupid than really necessary. Others pilots would have go after that Beagle but I was just not able to do that.

 

My wingmen formed up but Capt Mathy didn’t answer my calls.

 

We returned safely to Wittmundhafen AB and as I was clear to land I began to concentrate. All went Ok until I touched down. I had too much speed and the Zipper bounced. The nose went up and the tail stroke the runway. The master caution alarm lit and I cut off the engine to avoid it to catch fire. I went on the brakes and stopped my plane on the right side of the runway, in order to let the others Mambas land after me.

 

There wasn’t so much damage and I wasn’t harmed so I wasn’t blamed for that.

 

Capt Mathy was rescued and hospitalized, his life isn’t threatened.

 

I survived my first show and won two victories, but I really have to learn how to make a good landing with that damn rocket-plane. Nevertheless I think that its powerful engine and its speed capacity were the key for my survival today.

 

 

2^nd mission

 

2Lt Henry Golfaurla

 

No. 350 Squadron, Wittmundhafen – F-104G Starfighter

 

08/22/68

 

Take off 09.01

 

Target : Hannover, CAP

 

Report :

 

My second mission and my first crash.

 

When I pulled the stick to take off I stroke the tail and the engine caught fire. There was the city just ahead of me and time was short before crash. I started a slight turn starboard and ejected. I saw the plane crashed in a field and felt relieved for it didn’t harmed anyone on the ground.

 

I was hospitalized and came back to the base the day after. No one said anything, good or bad. I was just another rookie that will kill himself because that type of aircraft doesn’t forgive pilot errors.

 

 

 

 

3^rd mission

 

2Lt Henry Golfaurla

 

No. 350 Squadron, Wittmundhafen – F-104G Starfighter

 

08/24/68

 

Take off 07.22 – Landing : 09.16

 

Target : Bitburg, Intercept

 

1 Il-28 Beagle

 

Tuna 11 : 2Lt Henry Golfaurla

 

Tuna 12 : 2Lt Michel Robin

 

Tuna 13 : Capt Hans d'Aische

 

Tuna 14 : 1Lt Filip de Grunne

 

Report :

 

Scramble alert, there were bandits to intercept near Bitburg.

 

I took off very carefully and as the plane was climbing and everything was Ok, I thought I made it. That plane scares me.

 

We climbed till Angel 11 and set a course to the south. We were on time to intercept the target, a bunch of Il-28. Things went wrong, I didn’t managed to get them from the side and Tuna 2 and 4 were shot down by the Beagles tail gunners. They were low (1000ft) and it was difficult to place the plane in a good position. I fired my 4 AIM-9 without result. And I did the same thing than I did on my first sortie : catch the Beagle, firing at him and break before the gunner aimed. But this time the Beagle pilot was a good one. He flew his bomber low and made tight turns. It seemed difficult for me to do my job, it was almost a dogfight. I started to lose my concentration and made unbelievable mistakes like doing a 360° aileron roll instead of a 180°, in order to fly inverted and not losing sight. But that brilliant bomber pilot seemed to calm down. We were close to the ground and I thought he made errors himself. And he begun to fly steady. I grabbed my chance and hit him with the Vulcan. The gun camera revealed that I shot him three times before he started to slow down and lose altitude. I overtook him and Tuna 3 told me he was down. We buggered off and climbed at 11400 ft to return to Wittmundhafen.

 

On approach, I realized that I was going to do the same error than the first time. Too much incidence, the tail was going to hit the runway. So I lowered the nose before I touched down. It was a hard landing but the plane was Ok.

 

We didn’t prevent the enemy’s strike force to drop their bombs and lost two planes. Both 1Lt de Grunne and 2Lt Robin are alive and hospitalized.

Edited January 17, 2010 by Cliff11

[UnknownPilot 33]

Cliff, I've not flown the G, but I love the C.

 

What I would suggest is, use full afterburner on take-off, and do not pull up on the stick to take off. Just let it take off on it's own. (In fact, I used to hold the nose down a bit to prevent a tail strike, but it won't get off that way, and when left alone it does just fine) As soon as you're up, pull gear, then flaps, gently nose down a bit if you can (that is, if there's no mountains in your way) to build up some speed, then climb out.

 

For landing, keep your speed higher, and don't do more than a gentle flair. I don't have exact figures for you as I do it more by feel, but I would say around 200/220 kts for landing, a very gentle flair, then when your rears touch, hit the wheel brakes and speed brakes, and start easing the nose down to get the front wheel braking and reign in that speed.

 

For combat, keep your speed up. If you start to hear buffeting while not blacking out, and see your speed drop below 300, roll out, hit full burner, and pick up speed. In time you will start to develop a sense for when you will run out of speed or a target will turn too hard too long for you to catch him, and in that case you can pull up into a steep, high yo-yo, cutting off his turn, shortening your turn, and trading air speed for altitude, which you will then cash in as you dive back down on him. And don't hit the brakes to avoid an overshoot - blow past him if you need to, just pull up and to the side with full throttle to prevent his shot, but keep your speed and alt advantage.

 

Finally, for me personally, I never take Sidewinders. As you see, they are dead weight. I take fuel tanks whenever possible, 4 of them even (as long as reserve quantities allow). This way I can use more throttle for longer, which comes in VERY handy in the 104. (oh, and super short bursts from the gun, this way you can avoid risk of jamming [if that one can jam, I'm not sure] but also so that you don't waste ammo. Takes very little to down an enemy plane)

 

 

[Fubar512 1,350]

Does anybody know how to fly the F-104G?

 

Cliff,

 

The 104 is terrible in TnB, it's ace-in-the-hole is Boom and Zoom. In the parlance of Top Gun, fly "the egg" (your flight path during a fight should resemble an egg standing on end). Manage your energy, stay above 350-400 KIAS, and make slashing gun passes with high-deflection shots. It amazes me how often I find myself pulling lead on MiG-17s while executing this maneuver...they almost appear to hang there momentarily, like deer caught in the headlights.

[Lt. James Cater 62]

One trick VS IL28s is to get as low as possible and close in until you are virtually underneath them. Then chop throttle, pull up hard and spray them from nose to tail with your gun. As you pass over them go full burner and set up for the next pass.

 

Alternately, you can "porpoise" from their 6 and time the rear gunner. If it works out right you can get for a 0 degree shot from near point blank range.

[+Cliff7600 1,148]

@ UnknownPilot, Fubar512 and Lt. : You guys rule!

 

Thank you very much!

I will study your advices and I hope the F-104 will not scare my DiD pilot anymore ;)

 

I like that plane even if I barely control it. A new challenge in the DiD challenge...

 

Thx again! Have good flights!

 

Cliff

Edited January 18, 2010 by Cliff11

[TempestII 262]

I'm afraid my second DiD pilot has bitten the dust (death by SA-13 again:this:)

 

 

 

I had so many fired at me, I ran out of flares & had to resort to flying at about 150ft trying to avoid them. My flight didn't really help either as they were quite far behind & only had 1 HARM between them.

 

So Flying Officer Ethan Cambell's final tally was 20 A2A kills & 12 A2G in 8 combat missions.

 

I'll go for the 1986 NF4+ again for my next campaign but I'm not sure who with yet.

 

@ Cliff, isn't DiD a challenge enough without flying the widow-maker?

I don't think I'll try it anytime soon but good luck with it.

[UnknownPilot 33]

My losses are mounting.

 

When I was looking at this thread, I decided to take it that extra step (often in IL2, I would re-start a campaign, but never create new pilots, they were all nameless, or just my online name and I was flying all manner of campaign, but this felt different somehow - partly I think because the ranks and medals and scores are all based on the pilot itself here, whereas in IL2 they are linked with the campaigns only).

 

So my first pilot - LtJg Anon "UnknownPilot" Ymous, which used the tinted visor+02 mask for a pic, which was perfect for that whole name idea. lol He was a Navy F4 pilot. Things were going well until one day, chasing a MiG, flak got him and the fire warning light went on and then I saw the flames in my mirrors. I throttled back and tried to keep up speed to get to shore, but no good, the fire spread and detonated the plane. Ejecting would have been just as much a death sentence I think, so he was toast either way.

 

 

My second pilot, D. "Metal" Wolf, was a USAF Starfighter pilot. Cocky, but not arrogant, and fun-loving, he loved the thrill of the chase and the challenge of the fight, but most of all loved riding that missile. Wingmen didn't always listen or help, but there is only so much a flight leader can do in that regard. They should have listened though, as 16 kills were racked up in a mere 7 missions. The worst expereince was when one of the more dundering squadron members landed ahead of Metal and hit the brakes and just stopped in the runway for no apparent reason. By the time the nose wheel of Metal's plane touched the runway, the windscreen was quickly filling up with parked Starfighter exhaust nozzle. A full boot of rudder and brakes didn't help, and the razor-like wing sliced through the parked 104. Embarassingly, this was credited as a kill, which made his actual finally tally 17. Sadly, on his 7th mission, despite taking off and landing on a runway about 3,000 ft up in the mountains, bookended by a mountain on either side and always blanketed in fog so think you couldn't see one end of the runway from the other (always a freaky experience to land - trying to find the base in that pea-soup and not hit a mountain, which ran up to 9,000 ft and into the solid overcast that always seemed to be hanging aroung), he was flying low to avoid the SAMs, seeing plumes all around. Red Crown made a Bandit call, and he got a RADAR lock. While flying to intercept, straining to get visual ID, suddenly... he blew up without warning. A SAM got him at less than 10,000 ft.

 

 

My third pilot, James "Daredevil" O'Dunabhra, was a Naval Aviator flying A-4 Skyhawks with the VA-155 Silverfoxes, that got his name while doing some crazy (and very frowned upon) stuff during his carrier qualifications. Over time, his adrenaline rush craving and gung-ho nature seemed to bear out his callsign. His first 4 missions were rather successful. Always going in in a group of four, sending 3 and 4 off to deal with flak while he took 2 in for backup on the target. Not only were targets getting hit, but some bonus hits were being made as well. And then it happened.... SEAD. 2 planes were tasked with taking out a few air defense targets deep in enemy territory. About the worst possible set up for a mission like that. And as one would expect, Daredevil met his end at the hands of some flak.

 

 

So, on to #4 - this is bad, I'm really running out of names here. Aidan "Extreme" Quinlan. Started off with the Marauders attack squadron flying A-7 Corsairs, but that campaign ended up bieng 1 mission long. So I reset the character (delete and recreate) and went with the Gladiators Flying A-4E(67)s. Took a while to get a callsign for this one. I was trying to see if some habit would manifest itself and be a good callsign. Since he was very much a fan of the "one pass, haul ass" school of thought, and because accuracy was less than perfect, he would load up with WAY more ordnance than was, strictly speaking, necessary for destruction of the target. Once the target was killed, anything else in the immediate area was always attacked as well. Once when coming back from a successful warehouse bombing, Ensign Quinlan happened to spot a bi-plane off to his 1 o clock, about a mile out. Was an An-2 Colt. So he went into a large barrell roll, came in underneath it, switched to guns, and filled that kite full of 20mm. Knocked off the lower wing entirely (both sides) and perforated the cabin, and it went down like a rock. Upon his return, this feat, plus the habit of carrying so much explosive on every mission, he was dubbed Extreme. Sadly, Just 2 missions later, on his 5th, Extreme was sent on one of those god-forsaken stupidly set up SEAD missions. And while trying to accomplish the objective, and coordinate with his (only) wingman, a flak burst caug the bottom of the nose of the Skyhawk. Extreme was KIA instantly.

 

 

And finally.... now my 5th pilot. ::: sigh :::

 

I had been changing plane and mission types from campaign to campaign, but I've been having fun with Heinemanns Hotrod, and partly because of that and partly out of stubborn spite, I've been keeping at the Navy Attack campaigns. And so it is that I've gone back yet again.

 

I picked up some bad landing habits in IL2 (barrell rolls and hard scissors to bleed off speed to get down ASAP, landing somewhat steeply so I can see the runway, etc.), and they carry with me here. This time I've been less concerned about that than I have been. So because of that (from an "in game" perspective) and because of the fact that I'm actually hungry for AAA blood, I went with the callsign Nutters for Ensign Dusty Jacobs.

 

Flying the A-4E(65) with the Warhorses, Ens Jacobs worried and amused instructor and cadet alike during his carrier qualification, and has taken that flying style with him to Asia. He is also rather gung-ho to get out into the thick of it, and is usually found telling jokes with a decidedly silly bent. On his very first mission, sent to take out a storage shed, Nutters coordinated with his wing, sending 3 and 4 after AAA, missed the objective but got 2 other buildings in the complex, sent #2 after the objective, who got it, and then he dropped a cluster bomb on a AAA radar at the target site. After that everyone was reeled in. 3 and 4 were sent home, 2 was told to rejoin. But then the call went out "You got one right behind you!", realizing it was not possible to run, Ens. Jacobs rolled 450* and broke hard left and got a visual. It was a black smoke trail, heading away, but was the only thing there. Following it, he discovered a sleeping commie at the stick of his MiG-17. Edgeing into gun range, the 20mm cannons barked briefly and the tail of the MiG was clipped, and it tumbled over into a plummet. Rolling back hard, suddenly once again very much aware of the flak around him, Dusty nosed it down and headed for home with all speed, releasing #2 to help ensure his safety as well. The flight home ran directly over a 12.7mm gun emplacement, unfortuantely the cannon rounds just couldn't find their mark, but fortunately, neither did those green tracers. Back aboard, he was the toast of the VAs and everyone decided his callsign was perfect for him.

 

 

 

Here's hoping that he lasts more than 4 missions.

[Lt. James Cater 62]

17NOV66?

 

Got a call for yet another strike at Vihn and so we got set.

 

Took 1LT Wiggins on the now routine route. North to Da Nang, then to Yankee station, and swing towards Vihn. The flight out was nothing really special except for the bothersome cloud that had us socked in from about 6000 to 13,000ft.

 

Well, we had such a good climb to altitude and cruise that we circled on two occasions to make sure that we weren't first in the target area. Granted, i do feel that the second time was somewhat of a mistake.

 

Getting ready for our attack, we found out that the target(a truck park) had already been hit and so we quickly had to find the secondary targets.

 

So towards the waterfront we went and much to my disapointment and dismay, damn near everything of value that could be easily soptted was already destroyed so i basically aimed in a direction where i knew something had to be, let fly the bombs, and took off back out to sea with AAA chasing me.

 

As i turned i spotted some PT boats at their dock so i ordered Wiggins to get them.

 

That he did and home we went.

 

Turns out my bombs took out a pair of cranes, a container ship and Russkie freighter which everyone knows were already damaged. After all how else can ships go down without a direct hit. Gee, you might have thought they were carrying ammunition or something!

 

 

Unknown Pilot-Keep at it. This was going to be my last A1 pilot since my prior ones got nailed so quickly. It really took a while to get used to the Skyraider and to the new particulars of the enemy defenses in this sim due the the WOV Gold mod.

[Slartibartfast 153]

Well another 2 rounds with the Reds today and I brought everyone back as well...

 

Round 1

 

4 Tornado's Intercept

4 Skyflash

4 Winders

Gun

 

No Tanks...

 

This was an out shoot and back jaunt nice and easy... Had to Intercept a flight of 8 Mig-27's and similar Mig-23's. Battle of the Swing-wingers or should that be swingers... anyway up we go and streaking to the target which turned into a right bunfight bagged 2 Mig-23's before the merge and 3 & 4 bagged a Mig-27 each my wingie was doing his usual hanging onto my coat-tails as I blasted through the area pitched back in locked up the next victim only for him to bank hard right giving me a plan view of an F-4. Re-aquire and picked out a Mig-27 fired and well to say he went to pieces is an understatement... one minute there the next gone!!! Now it turned into a fight for survival as we duked it out my 3 & 4 bagging 3 more 27's while it looked like the F-4's bagged the remained as a flight of mean 21's came screaming through shooting at everything and anything GDR jets after bagging one with a Skyflash I hit another with a winder only to damage it so closed in for a gun kill... no missiles left. That Mig-21 was a long time dying but I nailed him finally as we head home my No2 bagged a Mig-23 everyone got home nice and safe.

 

My Kills 5

 

Sortie 2

Escorting Austin fliught of 4 Tornado's from our sister Squardon IX.

 

4 F-3's

Standard loadout

 

Cruised in nice and easy as you do after a very uneventful opening and then the Commies turned up no milk run this one. There was more blue air there than anything I have seen F-16's F-4's F-15's even a flight of Mirage's running Flak Suppression oh and about 80 Mig's. The sort settled down and we started shooting my first shot at 18miles was bang on Mig-23 on the nose. Follewed by a Mig-21 then I was ordered off to go shoot down a plane over 80 miles away so I went a hunting wingie in trail 3 & 4 Covered the strike which flattened what it was supposed to but they lost a guy on the way out to a SAM-6 nothing I can do about those. Anyway turns out my Target was an AN-12 popped a Skyflash at 15 miles and take him down turned back for home and a Mig-23 pops up shooting so I replied by feeding him a Winder while Chaff and Flares are all over the sky... After this it was rejoin and home for Tea and biscuits...

 

4 Kills

[Lt. James Cater 62]

Nov66

 

Another successful mission!

 

Dave Titus and i made the trip up North. For the sake of experimentation, we each hauled a single 3,000lb. The object of the heavy ordnance was to see what kind of blast effect it would have around the target area. Dave would go after the primary and i would drop on the PT docks.

 

Everything was routine until we began our attacks. I let Titus go in first and followed him down through the overcast.

 

Well, things went wrong as usual.

 

Dave didn't even come close with his bomb and my target was already rubble(gotta love Intell's guesses) so i switched to the primary and missed also! The triple A was non existent so i went down and took out the target with my guns. As it turns out, I also got a PT boat with a number of rounds and blew it away too!

 

Got to love kentucky windage sometimes!

 

Since there was no AAA i decided to go after some structures that looked like barracks or storage facilities and lo and behold, the other PT boats on the river opened fire with a withering blast of fire.

 

So i rounded up Dave, turned for home, and called it a day.

[Lt. James Cater 62]

19NOV66

 

Sometimes things just end up exactly as they should.

 

Off we were to hit a NVA base up in Laos. Lt Hill and I were loaded with high drag 750 pounders considering the combination weather and terrain we were going to face.

 

Takeoff and cruise were uneventful, the only real interesting moments involved various throttle changes so as not to arrive too early. You see, the Navy had a strike going into the area and our own guys were supplying a pair of F-4s for flak suppresion. In addition to the Navy guys, Hill and i figured that any AAA should be reduced somewhat before we begin our attack.

 

And that is exactly what happened. Except that the zoomies only made a single pass and took off (BOO!BOO!BOO!HISSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!). They didn't even bother with CBUs, they just fired some rockets and thats it.

 

The Navy guys on the other hand, did a hell of a job and totally shut down the ground fire.

I got to make sure to get a bottle of some good stuff out to those two guys. Me and Bruce had a perfect approach with not a single shot fired at us. It was just like being on a range back home.

 

You can bet we took advantage.

 

[UnknownPilot 33]

Ensign Dusty "Nutters" Jacobs has been KIA.

 

Only 3 missions. Racked up 2 aerial kills, and a handful of ground targets. Was known for doing crazy high-speed runs at the targets, attacking enemy aircraft, and crazy landing practices.

 

Worst of all, it wasn't even enemy fire that got him, but pilot error. Charged with a SEAD mission, he and his wingman had successfully shut down the flak at the target sight, but there was one gun remaining (just not shooting), the target plus lack of return fire, was too great a target to resist. And in attempting to strafe with his (what I later found out was only a 7.92mm gatling IIRC) gun pod, the ground reached up and grabbed him.

 

After that, the wind was rather gone from my sails. Had to figure out what name to use and what type of campaign to do next.

 

Have been enjoying the absolute hell out of the Skyhawk, and in bring death and destruction from above, but after several short-lived attempts, I think it's time for a short break and a change.

 

Last night I finally decided to start up another F-4 VF campaign. And only 2 missions in, I wound up escorting Skyhawks... and really missed it. lol

 

More to follow....

[Lt. James Cater 62]

22NOV66

 

Yet another trip up North!

 

Lt Wiggins and i had some good feelings about this one. I don't know, it just felt like it was going to be a milk run.

 

And thats more or less what it turned out to be. Took off, climbed above the clouds to 10,500ft, cruised over Hue on way to Yankees station, then turned towards the Garden.

 

Due to low clouds and crappy visibility, we decided on using high drag MK117s since they worked just fine on our last mission.

 

Nearing the Garden we went down until were under the clouds. Once the IP was reached, we were in business. I pulled ahead of Wiggins and maintained a steady height of 1,000ft at full throttle. The area had been so worked over in the past few months that we really didn't anticipate any serious AA fire and thats how it worked out.

 

To my embarassment, i missed the target! Not a single shot fired at me, straight and level and i missed!

 

Thankfully, Wiggins came up next and took out the target. Wiggins also didn't get fired at during his attack, but the post target turn and withdrawal did get some attention from the enemy.

 

No big deal though, so back to the Garden we flew and up to altitude and the trip home.

 

Judging from the radio traffic, there seems to be a single spot south of Vihn that is pretty hairy, everything else has been pretty much neutralized.

[UnknownPilot 33]

Ensign Jesse Sinclair

 

March 1966....

 

This F-4B Phantom is a beast. Great engines, and great gear, but that seems to be about it. I'm not really convinced that these new missiles are all they are cracked up to be. They say the Sidewinder can't maneuver that hard but has a very short range. The Sparrow isn't much better, except for the range, at least that increases hit probability, but what good is that if we can't tell who we are shooting out way beyond visual range? And if we wait, then that comes back to the Sidewinder.

 

The more I think about it, the more I think maybe I should have tried to get into the F-8.

 

Ah well. It is what it is. At least we have the power to get away if the time calls for it. And I've heard stories about gun pods. Might add excess weight and drag, but at least it's a gun. I think I'll be carrying one of those whenever I can - if I can.

 

It flies well enough, if you are just flying it around. Landing is a bit hairy compared to the trainers though. I missed the wires on my first real attempt. That was a real pucker inducing event, both for the thought of damaging the plane, but more fear of not qualifying.

 

Fortunately the secong shot was successful. Maybe a little heavy, but just fine. After that I had it dialed in and completing qualification wasn't all that bad.

 

They wasted no time shipping me out to Yankee Station. Duke and I got assigned to VF-84, The Jolly Rogers. I wasn't so sure about that. I was hoping for a squadron with a little less infamy, and perhaps more prestige, like the Tophatters, or a cooler name, like the Ghost Riders. But in the end, we both are a little flamboyant, and while have the look to pull (women), it's decidedly NOT formal or dressy, so I guess we fit right in. Does make you wonder though, if we were partial to suits and fancy clothes, would they have put us in the Tophatters? ('tis a joke)

 

The hazing has been harsh, but fun to an extent at the same time. Still, I wouldn't complain if it were to stop.

 

First mission was an escort. Supposedly this "rolling thunder" concept hasn't been going on long, and is supposed to be a gradual build up. If that is true, then judging by what we're laying down out there, the finale must be another couple of nukes!

 

I was able to swap out our center tank for 2 wing tanks and a gun. I'm not sure I'll ever know how I pulled that off, but I'm not gonna ask either! And it was a damned good thing too. 3 of the 5 missiled I fired missed or went dud. 2 did strike though, but the sky was so thick with NVPAF that you'd have thought it was WWIII or something. So our day was not finished. I got another 2 kills with that gun pod before we finally called it a day and headed back to the barn.

 

 

(heading home from first trial by combat with 4 kills - nearly an ace!)

 

 

 

First approach on deployment