The Double D's

[Lt. James Cater 62]

I do agree with you Lt, DiD flying mode is better than anything.

 

Now I'm trying to improve my skill because I just can't survive. We'll see...

 

Welcome Cocas!

Fuel and ammos set on hard.

Landing and FM normal or hard, that's my advice.

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the info. I've been doing this hard for so long, it's natural by now.

[+KnightWolf45 1,147]

thanks guys i will 1 november just need choose a campaing

[macelena 1,070]

Well, I tried it again, but i think i have a problem with the system compensating the number of aircraft in each side

 

1979. An Spanish Mirage IIIEE unit in Germany. CAP over Bitburg, IIRC. Two planes sent.

 

Then we are vectored against a flight of...eight! Polish MiG-23s. I fly along my wingman to a rear, firing position to engage with the Matra R-530s. I order me number 2 to fire at one, while i adquire another one. When he fires, i know we are in range and i loose my missile. Both hit their targets, but apparently, another 8 MiGs, Czech 21s. Everything is messed up, the sky turns into chaos,

 

I tell my wingman to break and we start te maneuver as nuts, trying to use any ocassions moving up and down, turning and looking everywhere, bandits on my tail, checking for any help call of my number 2 ( i don´t really care about him, migs chasing a friendly make easy targets) I end up scoring with both AIM-9Js (2x Fishbeds) i was carrying and another kill by the cannon (Flogger) while my wingie burned up another Flogger. Mission Accomplished, said Red Crown. My wingman calls for help again, but is instantly hit by a missile from a MiG-23. I try to evade, but a MiG-21 gets on my tail. And literally, he crashed on my starboard wing while turning hard. We both go down and get killed. End of story, i have to get better into campaigns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lt. James Cater 62]

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16702-clipboard-d2jpg/

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16703-clipboard-d1jpg/

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16704-clipboard-d3jpg/

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16705-img00681jpg/

21/23AUG68

 

Back again in a familiar place. Only the planes and people are different.

 

The year also.

 

Just about 6 years after the last conflict we are at it again. Between the US being bogged down in Vietnam and the inaction of the West against what the Warsaw Pact did to Czechoslovakia, this was bound to come around sooner or later.

 

Bounced around for a while. Even went to Thailand and South Vietnam for brief periods but never flew a combat mission. Had a nice time as an exchange pilot with a Luftwaffe Gina squadron. Nice little aircraft even if it is a bit of a dog. In some ways every plane has it's problems. Got back to Bitburg to take over the 22nd just in time for the kickoff.

 

First up was an old job. Seems the Army guys needed some Tacair against some Red tanks at the Fulda gap and we were chosen for the honors.

 

Takeoff and assembly went rather smooth. the lineup was myself, 2LT Barton Fleenor,CAPT Walter Olmstead,and 2LT Bruce Huenke

 

All of us were hauling 11 CBUs each as it was decided that getting the tanks was the primary mission. If bounced by enemy fighters we would run for it.

 

It didn't quite turn out that way.

 

There were Russian planes out there all right. But they were ground attack types doing the same job we were. Anyways, down we went. My first pass was a bit of a wake up call. Switches were not set correctly and so it was a wasted effort as no bombs came off. The second was even worse. I had seen tracers from ground fire the first time around but ignored it and carried on in the usual manner. It almost got me and Tommy DeComp(Backseater) shot down as the tracers were all around us and you could hear the hits on us clear as day.

 

Pull out,check for damage,carry on!

 

We did a good enough job and since the MIGs weren't around and their attack guys were going home, we engaged them. nothing much to it other than questions about our missles. Missed with an AIM-7 and scratched an SU-7 with an Aim-9 and finally finished him off with a second. Even then it took him some time to go down. Talk about an eye opener!

 

So home we went.

 

The next day was total confusion.

 

We were tasked with a CAP over Fulda and since Ivan was making a major push you could bet there would be a lot of bogies around. So it was a maximum effort for the 22nd.

 

From the moment of takeoff it felt like something was going to happen and it did. But not in the way we intended.

 

Up A flight went, assembled, and headed out at a economical speed so everyone else could join up easily enough. What we didn't count on was sizable enemy attack coming in our direction. Getting the radar setup was something else. Tommy DeComp was getting all kinds of contacts as far as 100 miles away and all were heading west!

 

It was about 25 miles to the Rhine that everything began to happen. A Soviet strike was inbound on a near reciprocal course at 9 low and we attracted a bunch of MIG21s who decided to climb up after A flight. Seeing the perfect setup, B flight who was about 10 miles behind us, went into action. They closed the range, locked the MIGs and cut loose.

 

1LT Robert Lafferty and 2LT Stephen Day, the lead and element leaders, fired off eight AIM7s at some prime targets and missed with every one of them!

 

Well, at least they got the MIGs' attention and so the fight was on! C flight soon joined in as well as a horde of Soviet and American fighters that were either in the area or scrambled to intercept an awe inspiring attack. Soon, the radio was filled with calls from a massive brawl that spread over a 25 by 50 mile section of airspace from ground level to 25,000ft! We still had to make it to Fulda, so it was A flight with everyone else in the thick of the action.

 

However, it was not to be.

 

At least one of the Migs had folowed us as we crossed the river and soon began to stalk us. About 40 miles from Fulda he fired a missle at Huenke and so we all broke and engaged him. I thought of Fleenor and me going on ahead as we knew a big strike was heading towards the gap but 2 versus at least 20 enemy fighters was just plain suicide.

 

By the time the area around us was clear, more of our guys had come around and so we headed on towards Fulda once again hoping to get at least of bit of the enemy.

 

No joy.

 

Only Major Sammy Null got to within missle range and even then, it took him a lot of effort to get the last SU-7 of the outbound Ivans.

 

Back towards Bitburg hoping to get some of those over there who were headed home. We did just that a little east of the river. A swift fight against some MIG 21s got me a guns kill as i missed with several missles.

 

So back to base we went. There was a little activity to the south, but we were low on fuel and ammo by now and decided that discretion was needed.

 

In all we got eight kills vs three F-4s lost. D flight lost all three. Two were shot down by IL-28 gunners and one crashed. At least they all got out alive.

 

After comparing notes, the shocking fact that stood out was that we fired 47 missles and only got five kills! Guns got three. 29 AIM7s produced three kills and 18 AIM9s got two.

 

Once we start going in deep we are in for a lot of problems.

 

On the 23rd we had a frustrating success(Forgot to get a screen of the debrief).

 

Scrambled for a interception nearby and it turned into a nice short fight. We bagged a pair of IL28s and three MIG21s but lost Fleenor and Laferty KIA to crashes. One of the Beagles and a Mig were mine. AIM9 and gun.

 

At this rate the enemy won't have to worry about shooting us down seeing as we'll probaly destroy ourselves in no time flat. If it wasn't so serious a time, i would take the squadron off of status and make them go through one hell of a check out.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[Lt. James Cater 62]

Well, I tried it again, but i think i have a problem with the system compensating the number of aircraft in each side

 

1979. An Spanish Mirage IIIEE unit in Germany. CAP over Bitburg, IIRC. Two planes sent.

 

Then we are vectored against a flight of...eight! Polish MiG-23s. I fly along my wingman to a rear, firing position to engage with the Matra R-530s. I order me number 2 to fire at one, while i adquire another one. When he fires, i know we are in range and i loose my missile. Both hit their targets, but apparently, another 8 MiGs, Czech 21s. Everything is messed up, the sky turns into chaos,

 

I tell my wingman to break and we start te maneuver as nuts, trying to use any ocassions moving up and down, turning and looking everywhere, bandits on my tail, checking for any help call of my number 2 ( i don´t really care about him, migs chasing a friendly make easy targets) I end up scoring with both AIM-9Js (2x Fishbeds) i was carrying and another kill by the cannon (Flogger) while my wingie burned up another Flogger. Mission Accomplished, said Red Crown. My wingman calls for help again, but is instantly hit by a missile from a MiG-23. I try to evade, but a MiG-21 gets on my tail. And literally, he crashed on my starboard wing while turning hard. We both go down and get killed. End of story, i have to get better into campaigns.

 

NEVER take just an element for CAPs. Always a flight at the very minimum, two Flights to have a fighting chance at getting out alive.

[Lt. James Cater 62]

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16706-clipboard-d5jpg/

24AUG68

 

Now this is more like it!

 

Another CAP so we decided to keep things a bit simpler. The lineup was changed around a bit to adjust for recent losses.

 

A Flight...

 

Major Edwin Flowers

 

2LT Lance Couch

 

Capt Walter Olmstead

 

2LT Bruce Hueneke

 

B Flight...

 

Major Sammy Null

 

2LT Lyle Osbourne

 

2LT Stephen Day

 

1LT Merlyn Squier

 

Takeoff was followed by a swift climbing turn up to 20,000ft. Once there, Tommy set up the radar and away we went.

 

As we headed towards the Rhine, we picked up a lot of activity heading west to the south of us. It would have been nice to swoop down on them but we had our orders.

 

As we flew on, Dodge flight, who were to the southeast of us heading in the same general direction were engaged by MIG21s but kept on at high speed. That led us to hope they were on an intercept and that's how it turned out. Both Dodge and the MIGs chasing them actually crossed ahead of us at low level about 25 miles ahead just before we began to go down ourselves. It may have been unintended but Dodge's course set us up nicely.

 

It was soon apparent that a number of MIG21s were covering some MIG17s bombing our troops. When Dodge had someone shot down they began to flee to the northeast and the 21s went in hot pursuit.

 

It was right at that time that we showed up in a swift dive from the southwest and went to work. To say the MIGs were at a disadvantage was an understatement. The 21s had fighters coming fast from their 6 and when they turned to face the attack, Dodge flight reversed and also had them. In the meantime, the MIG17s were attempting to flee the area but no way could one try without being a straight and level target.

 

At one point in the fight it was possible to look in any direction and see burning Migs earthbound.

 

Our final score was 5 MIG21s and 3 MIG17s.

 

Flowers-2 MIG17s, MIG21

 

Couch-MIG17

 

Olstead-MIG21

 

Null-2 MIG21s

 

Day-MIG21

 

Still having problems with the AIM7s. Null and Day had success for single kills but that was it. The AIM9s were a bit better and 3 kills were via gun. Couch took a few hits from a 17 but he ended up shooting it down

 

Great news is that Major Sammy Null and his backseater Ian Maschin are now Aces! Even better is that my man Tommy DeComp is now an Ace also!

Edited November 2, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[+Cliff7600 1,148]

You cannot imagine how difficult it was to achieve the first mission.

 

Red Thunder 1962, Jedrek Wisniewski is flying with the "bad guys", a Polish MiG-19P Farmer B. It's easier than the Spad but I don't think it will last long.

 

1^st mission

 

1 Esk. 39 PML, Kluczewo AB – MiG-19P

 

10/26/62 Take off : 11.39 – Landing : 12.46

 

Target : Bad Hersfeld, Sweep

 

8 Aircrafts, 1^st flight : 2Lt Jedrek Wisniewski, 2^nd flight : Cap Boleslaw Wojciechowski

 

We reached Bad Hersfeld and the ground control operator told us to keep the course to jump on an enemy flight. There were low and apparently were not trying to escape. I caught one of them and it was quite fast, it was a F-105. While I was trying to get close, he straffed our ground troups so I decided to quickly get rid of him. I shot a burst from distance and he started to smoke and dive to the ground. We joined up gaining some altitude then we saw another lonely F-105. He didn’t saw us and I shot him down.

 

Cap Wojciechowski and 2Lt Surma had a victory against the two others F-105.

Edited November 1, 2010 by Cliff11

[Lt. James Cater 62]

Cliff,

 

nice to see you back in action.

 

In my opinion, the MIG19 is the deadliest thing in the skies in 1962. Nothing else has the combination of speed, manuverability and firepower.

 

I do believe you can make it provided you don't get too carried away and make some mistakes due to things like overconfidence or not bringing enough squadron mates.

 

You did it just right, two flights minimum for maximum results.

Edited November 2, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[Lt. James Cater 62]

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16711-clipboard-d6jpg/

25AUG68

 

From the heights to the depths.

 

Was tasked for some Tacair work so we put together a scratch lineup for the mission consisting of myself, 2LT Steve Cobb, 2LT Paul Swendner, and 1LT Merlyn Moore.

 

It was a dog of a mission.

 

We were fine as we headed to the IP west of the front where we were needed. When we turned east is when it all went bad. by the time we turned east, heavy Russian air activities led to a number of friendlies that were intended to be over the front lines being caught up in fights, so alone we went.

 

About 20 miles out is when we had our first problems. A flight of MIG 21s mad a head on pass at us and hit my aircraft with a burst of gunfire. Luckily, nothing crucial was damaged so down we went. They were very agressive and chased us even as some more MIGs came into the area from the northeast.

 

Things promptly broke down and everyone had to go defensive.

 

In the ensuing action, Moore was shot down by MIG gunfire while fleeing west. the rest of us did what we could and with the arrival of a squadron of Brit Lightnings, we were able to keep alive.

 

To add to the frustration, the missles were as usual unreliable and to be honest, i was pratically amazed that a 2 mile dead six shot got a MIG21 with an AIM7.

 

We have plenty of gripes but this is not the time or place for them. Fortunately, Moore and his backseater were able to punch out. They'll be gone for a while due to their injuries.

Edited November 4, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[Lt. James Cater 62]

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16721-clipboard-d7jpg/

26Aug68

 

Things went from bad to worse.

 

Another intercept. Should be fairly routine by now except the weather is starting to get worse and we now have full knowledge of the failings of our missles.

 

Another strike of Beagles escorted by MIG21s. There were calls and missles flying everywhere but only a rare cry of success. I myself fired all missles and only hit an IL28 with an AIM9. Good thing i had a gunpod as that is the only thing one can rely on in this war. C flight was hit hard as they were engaged by MIG 19s that came out of nowhere. Crab flight, a pair of Luftwafee 104s were also involved in that fight and we at least got a bit of revenge by almost wiping out the MIG 19 flight.

 

One more mission like this and we are in deep trouble.

 

2LT Lance Couch was shot down and killed by IL28 gunners and 1LT Edwin Shields was shot down and killed by a MIG19. 2LT Steve Cobb was also downed by a MIG19 but managed to punch out.

 

Flowers-2 MIG19s

 

Olmstead-IL28, MIG21

 

Null-IL28

 

Squire-MIG21

 

Swendner-MIG19

 

Two more Aces in our unit but we'll wait before the celebrations.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[Stingray72 6]

Hi all! I've been away form DiD for some months, and recently downloaded the ODS campaign from JSF_Aggie and decided to run some of the campaigns form there since I had thought that the NF series was so great. One of my pilots had some rough luck last night.

 

2nd LT Jake Barnes was on a strike mission flying the A-6E (TRAM) with VMFA-224 on his third mission. He did very well for himself, striking 2 SAM radars with missiles, then went in on his bomb run to destroy the runway with three 1000lb bombs. While getting ready to release bombs, he was hit hard and the plane rolled to the left.

 

"I tried to drop the bombs as I was able to temporarily right the plane, but they wouldn't leave the MIR's, so I opted to eject all of my external ordinance. They bombs and MER's were successfully ejected and I noticed that I was having a hell of a time trying to keep her level. I tried to turn to the left and the plane flipped over on her back, and as I righted her I began to look around to see what had been hit. If you look at the pics, my master caution was on, so I looked right, everything was normal, then I looked over my left shoulder and saw the bullet holes ending in a stump!!!! I called 'Mayday Mayday Mayda' on the radio and made for the nearest airfield. That's right, she would fly, although not well. She constantly rolled, and then she would always over correct. I made it all the way down through the approach and touchdow, where she bounced once then exploded...."

 

Dear Sir or Ma'am,

The Defense Department regrets to inform you that you son was killed in action.......

Edited November 4, 2010 by Stingray72

[Slartibartfast 153]

oooo thats gonna leave a scar...

[Lt. James Cater 62]

Nice try Stingray, but you should have punched out once in friendly territory. Was one hell of an effort though.

 

Be advised, ODS is THE hardest campaign i've ever experienced to get past the few 5 missions or so. Abundant low level AAA, SAMs everywhere, and lots of really agressive enemy fighters.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[Lt. James Cater 62]

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16868-clipboard-d8jpg/

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16870-clipboard-d9jpg/

27/28AUG68

 

We had a sublime moment and then tragedy again.

 

On the 27th we scrambled to cover the defenders of Koblenz. By now the enemy has pushed so far that if we have to provide air strikes we don't even need to carry drop tanks as the front is mere minutes away.

 

The Koblenz sortie is how things should always be. We downed four Su7s and four MIG 21s with no losses.

 

Flowers-2 SU7s

 

Cobb-2 SU7s, MIG21

 

Huenke-MiG21

 

Osbourne-MIG21

 

Day-MIG21

 

Unfortunatly, the good times didn't last.

 

We scrambled everyone on another intercept and ran into problems early. There was an entire squadron of IL28s protected by two flights of MIG21s. Olmstead was the first to go down, hit by Beagle tailguns. Cobb crashed soon after attacking another.

 

Thankfully, we had help from Luftwaffe 104s or the situation would have gotten even worse. After we settled down a bit we were able to score a few kills and break up the attack on Hahn. We were regrouping and ready to go home when we saw a few IL28 stragglers and the boys went on into the attack.

 

After taking a good look, i didn't like how low and slow the Beagles were flying and yet hesitated in calling the boys off. Swendner shot one down with an AIM9 but Null's aicraft was blown apart by a tailgunner. Right as that happened Swender fired another AIM9 and hit, with the IL28 beginning to go down. However, he was dangerously low on airspeed over a hilly area and when the nose dropped he went full burners trying to make it but the aircraft sank steadily until it slammed into the trees.

 

Thankfully, Olmstead and Null got out ok. Cobb was seriously injured. 2LT Paul Swendner and his backseater 2LT Del Peasee were killed in action.

 

 

Flowers-IL28

 

Huenke-MIG21

 

Osbourne-SU7

 

Day-IL28

 

Squire-MIG21

 

Swendner-2 IL28s

Edited November 5, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[+Cliff7600 1,148]

Hi Rob, you were talking about the A-6 roll rate ;)

 

 

2^nd mission

 

1 Esk. 39 PML, Kluczewo AB – MiG-19P

 

10/27/62 Take off : 12.39 – Landing : 13.21

 

Target : Braunschweig, Sweep

 

4 Aircrafts

 

Bad luck today.

 

We flew to Braunschweig and we intercepted 4 Canberra bombers over the battle field, they were attacking our troops with rocket pods. Maciej Surma shot down two of them but Capt Wojciechowski collided with his one. I tried to shot down mine using the little ORO rocket pods but I finally took him out with a very sharp burst of 30mm.

 

We RTBed and while I was on finale I suddenly lost lift. I tried to push the throttle to the max but the plane was falling, it was too late. I hit the ground and I think I broke the left gear, the plane bounced and I saw in the rear mirrors that I was on fire. I ejected and lost the plane. K….!

 

There was no cross wind and the crew chief told me that he thought the rocket pods drag made the plane stall sooner than I expected. I should have extend the flaps sooner.

 

We destroyed 4 enemy bombers but Capt Wojciechowski is reported MIA and I lost my plane.

[Lt. James Cater 62]

Damn Cliff,

 

that really is bad luck. Just have to hope those kind of incidents don't cause too many casualties.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[Slartibartfast 153]

Hi Cliff,

 

I take it the Red Mod you are running is a personal one ? I heard someone was modding NF4 so you could fly Red but heard nothing much more about it...

[+Cliff7600 1,148]

Yes Lt it's bad luck but now I'll be more cautious when performing a landing approach. It was such a simple mistake that costed one of the twelve planes of the squadron!

 

Slarti you're right, it's a personal mod and it doesn't work perfect with the radio messages "Red Crown, Olds lead passing WP3 / Asp lead, Red Crown copy".

When that bug is repeated I can't help starting to laugh xD

The cool stuff is that I added more aircrafts I like (Canberras Mk2/Mk8, F-105F, MiG-17PFU, Lim-6R, MiG-19PM Czek, Polish and East German, specific skins...)

I used the NF4 campaign.

During a previous attempt I had Günther Rall on my six!

 

 

3^rd mission

 

1 Esk. 39 PML, Kluczewo AB – MiG-19P

 

10/28/62 Take off : 13.23 – Landing : 14.27

 

Target : Wunstorf, Escort Il-28 bombers

 

4 Aircrafts

 

With Capt Krol as #3 we went to Wersdorf to protect friendly flights bombing Wunstorf AB. We were on time 5 nm ahead of the strike flight. Closing to enemy fighters we dived from 5700m to the deck to gain speed and started wide turns to engage them without taking too much risks. It worked. Capt Krol shot down an F-100 Super Sabre and after a low level-foggy weather-high speed dogfight I win on another F-100. I don’t know what my opponent was trying to do but he was too low to gain speed and while he was avoiding ground obstacles I shot at him and took him out. The pilot ejected.

 

There were big explosions from the bombs striking the ground targets and I was able to see the big yellow flames through the fog. There were also some F-102 Delta Dagger and I thought I was less in danger close to them than far because of their missiles weaponry. The F-102 is not an agile adversary and I quickly get a 6 position on one of them. The problem was I could see clearly somebody behind me and I wonder if the guy before me wasn’t just tricking me to give an opportunity shot to his wingman. I’ll never know, I shot him down and did a tight break. I went to the deck and realize I was flying over the enemy base. I decided to pass above some smoking bomb craters thinking that there won’t be any AAA right there and I was wrong! But they didn’t hit me.

 

I called for the others to join up and turned to the east, gaining some altitude. I saw a lonely plane above me, heading to the west. I wondered if it was friendly, and when I saw it was a delta wing shape I knew that it wasn’t. I did a split-S and tried to catch him. I realized later that I forgot to turn on the radar to chase him. It took few minutes to catch him up and I saw it wasn’t an US Delta Dagger, but a Mirage. The guy was flying steady and the Mirage exploded like a bomb when I opened fire, no chance to survive…

 

We finally got back home and I was pretty relieved to land without problem because the weather was quite bad and I saw the runway reaching only 100m high (~300ft).

 

2Lt Surma got his plane hit by ground fire and Capt Krol damaged an F-102 after his victory on the F-100. It’s the first time I shoot down an enemy fighter during a dogfight, to me the victory against the F-100 today means more than the others.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Cliff11

[Lt. James Cater 62]

What is the name of the pilot?

 

In a MIG19 he should do very well. About the only thing you really have as a serious threat is to be at altitude and having an unseen F-102 engage you with missles.

 

It really took me a long time to cure myself of the stupidest things. For example, see how many times my pilots flying F-105s were lost? I now look at screenshots of their flightpaths and laugh. Instead of using the planes natural advantages, i stupidly had them at the worst combination of altitude, route, and speed right as the most enemy fighters would be around.

 

When things were finally done to the strength of the aircraft it was vitually impossible to intercept unless done on the inbound leg to the IP.

 

I've never flown a MIG19 but have fought against them countless times. It is much superior to the F-100 in manuverability and acceleration, particularly at low levels. Get one defensive and once his airspeed bleeds down, get in close (200m or so) and give him a short burst. 3x30mm guarantees a kill at that range every time.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[+Cliff7600 1,148]

Precisely Lt.!

It's something I never managed to do with the F-104, barely did with the F-4 and began to use with the F-106.

What you describe is exactly what happened. Unless I only have 2 X 30mm cannons, it's a P variant. So far I think it's quite efficient.

DiD experience makes you learn, that's something cool about the idea.

 

the pilot is Jedrek Wisniewski, 3 missions 6 kills, I'm proud of him ;)

 

And the MiG-19 is really great to fly, my favourite from the Red side.

 

 

[Lt. James Cater 62]

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16911-clipboard-d10jpg/

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16913-img00702jpg/

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16912-clipboard-d11jpg/

 

29/30

 

The CAP mission was bittersweet.

 

We didn't bother with anything fancy, just went full burner to 20,000ft and set up the radar. Heading out towards Siegen, we had a lot of contacts and by now we knew which one was the primary threat. That knowledge allowed us to intecept them well before their target area.

 

Three flights of Beagles escorted by MIG19s as well as some MIG21s flying high cover. Missing with the first two AIM7s, i figured we were going to be in big trouble but it really didn't turn out that way. What developed was a sprawling battle that also involved a number of friendlies, both American and Luftwaffe as well as more MIG21s.

 

The Beagles scattered in all directions and the couple that made attacks did so in a rather half hearted manner. In the meantime, aircraft were engaged in a fight that was was slowly moving southeast and from ground level to 20,000ft.

 

Frustrated at not being able to successfully engage an IL28, me and DeComp decided to go help some of our guys in the fight. soon after, Huenke called that he was hit and we happend to be heading in the right direction. We found them at about 15,000ft, an F-4 with a pair of MIG21s on his six with 2 more F-4s trying to line the MIGs up.

 

We didn't waste any time, coming in from the lead MIG's 6 low and shooting him at point blank range. He burst into flame and went down. The next was a nice piece of work.

 

After getting the lead MIG we went into a steep climb and rolled inverted in order to see were the wingman was at. As it turns out he was about 1500ft right below us so went after him. Experience told us of what he would do against a close in attack so we prepared for it. Sure enough, he did the ol' slow roll trick to induce an overshoot but we were good and ready for it. He was saddled nicely and as soon as he came back level his starboard wing was blown apart by a short burst.

 

By now the fight was moving northeast as the enemy was heading home. I didn't realize how far until it was time to go after the Beagles again. That's where we lost Olmstead. No one actually saw what happened but apparently he finished off the close escort and was lost due to defensive fire northwest of Fulda. I got in at the rear of one and got it with a ripple of a pair of AIM9s.

 

The IL28 went down 50 miles from the front and B flight was still in the hunt about 20 miles further on. So to home we went.

 

Flowers-2 MIG21s, IL28

 

Abbott-2 MIG21s

 

Olmstead-2 MIG19s

 

Null-MIG19

 

 

Our next mission was Tacair and we were going to do everything possible for a quick in and out. So just me and Abbott loaded with Rockeyes supporting the 8th Infantry at Koblenz again.

 

You know things are in hot water when the front is just a mere 40 miles away.

 

We went straight in knowing that there were bogies coming into the area also. The plan was two fast passes and run for it. And that's pretty much what we did, but not exactly when we had in mind. After our first pass, there were Russians around us but none were MIGs, just SU7s hitting our tanks. Another another bomb run and since there was still no MIG in sight, we went after the SUs. I swear, if we only had a gun with us we could have bagged the whole lot. I myself was setting one up when DeComp reminded me that we had carried a tank on centerline. Whoops, sorry about that!

 

It was too short a time as some MIG19s finally showed up but by that time i got two of the SUs. One of them with an AIM7 that seemed to take forever and miss so i fired another just as the first hit.

 

Time to run!

 

To say these MIGs were agressive is quite an understatement. Even though we were at 3,000ft and full burner, they were right on us. About 20 miles into the chase i decided to give them the roller coaster. Needless to say, this wasn't a THUD and the MIG stayed behind me.

 

So inspiration hit.

 

Abbott and i had seperated a bit over the front and he had a MIG chasing him as well. But but he was coming in behind my MIG so i gave him the heads up. Abbot got a good lock and as he fired, i chopped throttle and pulled up to lessen the heat signature from the engines. The guy behind me didn't stand a chance. He got hit with an AIM9 and turned back towards the Rhine in flames.

 

His wingman was still on us so we decided to make him burn as much fuel as possible. Full burner, pull back on stick and didn't stop until 25,000 ft. Damned if this guy was STILL coming up after us and we were already near our base! So up we went to 30,000 at full throttle. He tried but couldn't quite pull it off.

 

He turned for home and i went after him. Much to my disgust, i missed with 2 AIM7s and two AIM9s despite perfect conditions.

 

To hell with it.

 

Flowers-2 SU7s

 

Abbott-MIG19

Edited November 5, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[Lt. James Cater 62]

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16914-clipboard-d12jpg/

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16915-clipboard-d13jpg/

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16916-clipboard-d22jpg/

30AUG68

 

Short but sharp!

 

A fast climbing turn after takeoff to 20,000ft in the direction of the front. We now they are coming and the weather is absolutly perfect. From the time the radar is set we are tracking the enemy. As soon as A flight is all up to altitude, we go to full burner towards the contacts.

 

As we close in we can see one heck of a setup. We have bogies coming in from 11 low and 1 level. Concentrate on one and the other gets you while your attention is distracted. Against a gunfighter it would work like a charm. We turn towards the high contact, locked it and fired an AIM7 at about 8 miles. We were head on and the missle came off and guided like a champ, finally culminating in a large fireball. Seconds after that, a MIG19 came up from 9 low and the fight was on.

 

Tuna flight was also in the area and and promptly nailed a MIG17 near a chute so that provided identity of the kill as well as taking care of the threat as we engaged the MIG19s.

 

Got to give those guys credit, despite being in a defensive position one of them turned the tables nicely and CAPT Abbott had a big problem. I quickly went to help and starting from 14,000ft two F-4s and a MIG19 spiraled down to just over the trees.

 

A few times he rolled hard and only use of the brakes prevented an overshoot where he would have had a clay pigeon to shoot at. All things eventually have to go back up and as Abbott pulled high and right the MIG was right behind him firing and i was about 150 yards back having the best gun setup i've ever done. A slight lead, a short burst and the MIG was done for. DeComp told me that our altitude was 750 ft!

 

There was some activity going about 15 miles to the north so we climbed fast to check it out as we finished what we came to do. an aircraft flew by and i saw it was a MIG17, then another. Forget about it we're getting out of here, so everyone went full throttle and pointed to the earth. Damned if we didn't have some persistent buggers again. They were chasing us even as were were full burner at 5,000ft so we climbed the mountain, zooming up and holding full throttle until 30,000ft.

 

It worked a lot quicker than the last time. The MIG drivers knew they couldn't get us once up there so they soon turned away.

 

Dive and back to base.

 

Flowers- MIG17,MIG19

 

Null-MIG17

 

Day-MIG19

 

 

And that's how it ends.

 

The dreaded WOE campaign bug prevents further missions.

 

Since the Reds had already run out of steam it's probaly better for everyone this way.

 

The 22nd Tactical fighter Squadron suffered exactly 50% casualties. In doing so they produced 6 Aces

 

LT COL Edwin Flowers-20

 

MAJ Sammy Null-8

 

CAPT Richard Abbott-8

 

CAPT Walter Olmstead-7

 

2LT Stephen Davis-7

 

2LT Paul Swendner-7

 

 

Everyone in the squadron did their part in the fighting. If not for the disapointing performance of the equipment, many more would have gotten the coveted ACE status. Steadfast wingmen such as 1LT Merlyn Squire and 2LT Lyle Osbourne. Many, many thanks to all our great backseaters, especially my man CAPT Tommy DeComp.

 

RIP 1LT Robert Lafferty

 

RIP 1LT Edwin Shields

 

RIP 1LT Merlyn Moore

 

RIP 2LT Barton Fleenor

 

RIP 2LT Paul Swendner

 

RIP 2LT Lance Couch

 

Godspeed to CAPT Olmstead, who is listed as MIA. Godspeed also to 1LT Merlyn Moore and 2LT Alfred Ritchie, who were wounded in action and had to be evacuated.

 

So let's see what happens next. To quote something i read a while ago "If war is too important to be left to the generals, peace is too important to be left to the politicians)

Edited November 6, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[+Cliff7600 1,148]

Even with the WOE bug, the pilot is still alive and ready for new campaigns. Well done Lt!

 

 

4^th mission

 

1 Esk. 39 PML, Kluczewo AB – MiG-19P

 

10/29/62 Take off : 14.23 – Landing : 15.25

 

Target : Hof, Sweep

 

8 Aircrafts, 1^st flight : 2Lt Jedrek Wisniewski, 2^nd flight : Maj Marek Wiza

 

Near Hof we engaged a 4 ships enemy bombers formation. They were B-57s. Maj Wiza shot down two of them and Lt Olszewski and 2Lt Pawlikowski one each. We were leaving the area when some enemy fighters appeared, close to friendly bombers. So we engaged them and after a low level dogfight I shot down an F-100 Super Sabre. Something went wrong during the second egress because Lt Olszewski was alone and chased by the F-100s. They shot him down over Gera before we could help him. He was rescued and is safe.

 

 

 

5^th mission

 

1 Esk. 39 PML, Kluczewo AB – MiG-19P

 

10/30/62 Take off : 15.23 – Landing : 16.15

 

Target : Altes Lager, CAP

 

4 Aircrafts (no drop tanks, we’re trying to save them)

 

We performed a patrol over friendly territory. Ground controllers told us to engage the formation as will so we went to the east of Altes Lager and we find two Super Sabres. In fact, I was alone, the others didn’t follow me when I broke up and dived. I was behind the US fighters and they were flying steady, they didn’t saw me yet. I got close and shot the leader down with a long burst of 30mm. The wingman broke up and Pawlikowski and I tried to take him out. He was a good pilot and we never managed to get a fire solution. Something was wrong and I decided to let my wingmen deal with the F-100 and tried to intercept the other reported enemy formation. I never was able to catch them up and we finally went home, not without problem from the lonely F-100 but we did the egress much better this time. Everybody RTBed and I was quite low on fuel.

 

I didn’t choose the right enemies to engage, four F-105 fighter-bombers did their strike without being intercepted. But we learned that the USAF lost an Ace today and as I am the only pilot who claims a victory it seems that I am that Ace-killer.

 

Our troops are in Bremen and Capt Wojciechowski has been rescued and he’s back to duty! That means that we didn’t lost anybody and that will strengthen up our fighting spirit!

 

 

[Lt. James Cater 62]

Nice work Cliff,

 

Whenever you find B-57s you have hit the jackpot. They really remind me of the Fairy Battle, as they are hacked down with ease. I did an escort mission in WOV a long time ago and saw 10 of 12 get shot down by SAMs and AAA.

 

If you are on an intercept and B-57s are the primary target, have your wingman go after them while you occupy the escorts. A variation is to come in fast from 6 high and get a kill, give your wingman a target, then go after the escorts.

 

The only time you have to worry about escorts if is they are Sabres. Don't let anyone get low and slow with them. Get the primaries and run for home. Dogfighting with Sabres is a losing proposition as they might not be fast, but can outturn anything in the air and have enough ammunition to keep firing for a long time compared to a MIG.

 

Intercepting the F-105 will be your biggest difficulty as they have a very high cruise speed. If you don't find them promptly, a tail chase costs you a lot of fuel since they are after all, designed for low level high speed and the MIG19 is not. I flew them using an 18,000-20,000 approach and from the IP past the target was a straight line sometimes 60 miles long. 20 miles out, nose down. From 10 miles the actual attack is begun. Escape was full burner at 1000 to 5,000ft at Mach 1.2

 

From nose down to egress it was impossible for anything other than a MIG21 to intercept unless they had the luck of the gods.

 

The adventures of Edwin Flowers countinue. He is back in action and already has two missions completed.

Edited November 6, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[+KnightWolf45 1,147]

a little report

started NF4+ 62 campaing i whit the Super Mystere

i was assined to Cap near Hof we were 4 ship flight moment after we got to target area we got word from Red Crown about some Beagles we went after then thet the primarys but AAA took then all out so i call it a day mission sucess.

on the way back numbre 4 got jump by MiG-19 and went down i roll around and went right in to the Mig in high speed chase only o get jump by the Mig wingman who shoot down.

dint even get a chance to bail out the plane blow in air before i knew ares the screeny

 

 

tomorow i will try again we aonther pilot this rookie die whit no kills

RIP 2lt François Leduc