Lt. James Cater

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

The Iron Beagle is a very tough plane to down, sorta like a post second world war IL2. Shooting one down takes either a bit of luck with the 9Bs or a close up burst of gunfire. If it is at really low level you can come in just off the trees and time the fire from the rear gunner. Just make sure you jink like crazy. If it's higher up you can come in low until you are virtually underneath them. Chop the throttle, pull the nose up and spray it as it passes through your gunsight. To be honest, the main effect of the 9Bs is to break up the IL8 formations. As they manuver to avoid the missles, sometimes they scatter and it's easier to take on a lone Beagle rather than a group of them. Another thing to remember on intercepts, CAPs and sweeps is to always bring at least two flights. Unless you are unusually proficient at downing IL28s, it's always better to have lots of backup since they will almost always be escorted by at least a flight of MIGs. Finally, don't sweat the cannons. The Canadair Sabres and their .50s work just fine against Beagles also. When you get one in your sights, seriously hose it down. Don't squirt fire, hose the bugger!

Ideally you want to make an approach from dead 6 or slightly below if you are at low level. The best range to fire at low level is from .8 to 1 mile. At higher altitudes the missle does seem a whole lot better. From 2 miles out it will track on a target and if the target aircraft is not moving fast enough to outrun it, it will have a very good chance of hitting from a dead six shot. IL28s(Iron Beagles)rarely go down with a single hit but you can down Migs for sure. If fired from too far it can be out turned, but at least it will give you time to get guns on a fleeing enemy. BTW-Flew a Mirage in DiD circa 1962 not too long ago. 24 kills total, a mere 2 scored with 9Bs. Draw your own conclusions.

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.

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.

The USAF Aim9 specs are pretty much spot on. In my current campaign (WOE Red Hammer NF4)the Sidewinder performance is very near to what i've read about. The AIM7s are even more realistically modeled. They are as atrocious as they were in real life.

A "We Need More Pilots" bump

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!

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.

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.