A Recent Mission in my Formosa Straights Installation got me thinkin - what is your most disasterious mission that you actually managed to survive? We toppled the most glorious ones in previous threads but, do you remember them?
In my case, the mission was a Escort Mission. I was flying the F-11F Tiger, leader of eleven other Aircraft. We was going to escort eight of Super Sabres on their Strike Mission while a pair of A-1Hs provided SEAD.
Then the Chinese Appeared.
Three Squadrons of MiG-17s tore straight into the formation, destroying two Huns, marking the mission as a failure as the F-100Ds broke formation and engaged the fighters. There was none left to actually bomb the target. Two MiGs swept right past my wing, destroying no-3 before my Tigers even had dropped tanks and breaked formation. I make a lousy squadron commander, but I honestly did not see them coming. After this, it all became a Furball with the majority of the Fighters beeing MiGs. A Few Fox-Twos over the radio seems to imply there might have been some casulties on their side apart from the one I shot down with guns.
After a prolonged gunfight and noticing that all F-100Ds had been destroyed, I gave a return home order by section - with one of the sections not even complying to my orders. I hit the deck, flying low and fast and got home with about 1/3 fuel. I never actually saw any other following me, but mission debrief said I lost 9 F-11Fs.
The mission ended with the SEAD Element beeing wiped out (as far as I could determine, by the AA they was supposed to knock out), All but three (including me) F-11Fs and none F-100D manage to return home. Mission failure.
So, let me hear your glorious disasters :)