Lt. James Cater

16April66 Just back from an nice mission We got Loc Chau as a target area and to be honest, i wasn't exactly thrilled. You see, the river the target is on just happens to be the southern edge of the Vihn flak zone. If things went wrong we would be the subject of a whole lot of hostile fire. So we took off, Art Eskew and i to hit a warehouse. The weather was just like the last mission, and it's turning out to be a favorite of mine. High overcast with dense scattered clouds down below to hide us from AAA. The flight out was routine anxiety filled moments until 8,500ft was reached and then a slow lazy climb to altitude. Nothing was out of the ordinary until we reached the coast south of Hue. For some strange reason, i could have sworn i heard the engine running rough for a while. It sure didn't sound right. It took some adjusting of the throttles to make things better and to be honest, i feel that it was just a case of nerves. Perhaps nerves were due to amongst other things, Gopher flight running late. It really did seem like it. Every call sign was on the radio except Gopher. Leave it to some jarhead to screw up an important task. Why did the fates assign them flak supression today? So we flew along. It wasn't until we were close to our rally point over the Navy carriers that Gopher checked in. Damned if they didn't make me feel uneasy. It just didn't feel right so we circled a few times and pulled back on the throttle a bit to allow the jarheads some time to make their way north. When we set off towards the target, we went at slow a speed as possible. Knowing what's in the area, going in early would be suicidal. So on we putt. At 20 miles i can take no more so we circle once again. Things are really breaking down and Gopher has really screwed the pooch today. When i heard other flights calling in their status, i decided to bite the bullet and go in without Gopher. With a glance at Eskew, course was set towards the target. It seems like it was the weather helped the most. I don't know of any radar fire control on the southside of Vihn but just in case, we tried to come in behind other strikes heading further north of our target. Finally the moment of truth once again. Closer and closer we went towards what felt like the proper moment to roll in. At last i gave Art the order so down we went and as usual i was wrong. I don't know why the hell i do it, but always the order is given at a distance that will guarantee the wrong angle for a proper weapons release. Perhaps it's from spending so much time concentrating on CAS techniques and not enough dive bombing. Whatever the reason, the angle was shallow and wrong. Despite the error, it didn't seem to affect Eskew. The guy is a true professional and so adjusted perfectly to my error. I was at his 4 o'clock about 3/4 of a mile behind him and saw his attack. The way the bombs walked was a thing of beauty and so i quickly switched targets. The riverside docks were inviting and so i decided to drop on them even as Eskew's bombs were going off. By this time the gunners below were onto us and they opened up with a vengeance. However, it was too late on their part. I had what i considered an almost perfect SWAG at my target and let loose. The second i made sure that the ordnance was on it's way i slammed the throttle all the way and pulled hard towards the escape route. Forget about seeing the results, i knew it was going to be good. From previous flights in the area it became obvious that "The Garden" had no AAA in the area and so that's we were heading. We also got lucky as Gopher finally showed up as well as another flight that was hitting something in the vicinity. The one sticking point is that Art turned north afer his attack and so put himself between a rock and a hard place. I don't know how he got out alive The rest is mere details. Once at the Garden i climbed and waited for Art. The flight home was strictly routine. Excepting two things, The first was hearing Gopher call on final approach while we still have God knows how far before home. The SOBs don't do a damn thing and they'll be sipping a beer before we are even halfway home! The second is that Art went seriously Tard a few times. Something about "the Arrowhead" seems to attract him. Back home we got great news. Art took out the main target as well as a few other warehouses and things while my bombs tore a swath through the dock area. We did a onslaught of tornadoes worth of damage! Got this as well.

Went back North again. After settings things right after my last debacle, i figured that things can go nice and smooth if i stick to a standard procedure depending on the circumstance. Well, we got fragged to go to Quon Lang and man did, we luck out. Usually having lousy weather in a pain in the $#% but this time it would work in our favor. So away we went. Seeing as we didn't want to be on the target too early, i figured a slow climb to altitude was in order. After a long takeoff roll we were gear up, flaps up, turned onto course and heading for the skies. Any climb in bad weather is a by the books instrument situation but it's smoother than one thinks. About the only things you have to worry about are rock laden clouds and Charlie opening up on you. Now, i know what minumum altitude needs to be taken to avoid the rocks and with all the clouds Charlie won't be able to see us. And as usual, i was wrong Out of nowhere, AAA fire explodes all around us. My reaction is sudden and panicky. AAAAAAHHH!!!!! GOD#@%^%$ #&^%ERS GOT US NOW!!!!!!!!!!! They couldn't have asked for a better target than what we provided them. A pair of slow, heavily burdened prop jobs that just happened to appear right over a clear spot in the clouds. After first trying to climb out of the fire i realized that i was losing airspeed and becomming a sure shooting gallery clay pigeon for the gunners down there. So i did the next best thing. Threw the plane aound like a maniac and prayed that i didn't hit a mountain while i was blindedly stumbling through the clouds. It worked to an extent, i managed to lose them for about 5 seconds or so. When i went wings level they opened up again. The second firestorm was just as bad and i flew just as bad also. Forget about "evasion manuvers" and the such. I had NO single idea of what the hell i was doing as far as handling the aircraft. I quite simply forgot about everything else in the world, including my wingman, in order to escape the grooundfire that surely had my name. But they didn't get us. Amazingly we actually managed to gain 1500 ft over our altitude when the fire first came up and wee just about 15 degrees off course. Even more amazing was checking up on my wingman and finding him only about a quarter mile behind me. Now that is some great flying on his part! If Charlie gets any closer to Pleiku, They'll be able to hit us with pea shooters as we take off and land. Sooner or later we'll have to deal with those guns. After that things got rather anti-climatic. We countinued our cimb and finally level off at the acceptable altitude of 14,500ft. The flight to the initial point was a time for thought. Arthur Eskew is my wingman and this is his very first combat mission. If he can drop bombs like he flys he should work out well. I've been hoping for someone really solid since Doug Ryan went down last year. Ol' Doug. I miss him. As we drone on, calls begin coming in from other flights doing their thing. I'm most anticipating Kingfish and Python to check in. Those are our flak suppresion guys and there is no way that we are going in on the target until they soften things up a bit. Even if the defenses are not as tough as Vihn, it is still plenty enough to nail us. After what seems like a prolonged delay, Kingfish comes up on the channel. I was wondering if we'd been forgotten and was beginning to worry about dealing with the target unassisted. A big strike is heading for Ben Thuy and they seem to be getting all the support in the world. I'd love just a tiny piece of the elemnts heading there. The closer we get, the more the tension rises. Python checked in and we are all set. Some B-57s are also headed to Quon Lang. I forgot completely about them. That really makes my day. Some more people to distract the flak! About 10 miles from the initial point i made the decision to circle a bit and wait for Kingfish and Python. Despite attempts not to be in early, that's exactly what we have done. So we wait. It's not very long, just about 3-4 minutes then back to the IP heading. Once we hit the IP it's all business. Kingfish and Python do a good job. Sometimes i wish i was in a fast mover. A Hun would be really nice for getting out of trouble fast. Likewise the A-4s that Python are flying. It's almost a textbook approach. We are just about to the roll in point and not a shot fired at us. This is nice! then the moment of truth. I give Art the order and down he goes, punching his drop tank as he begins his dive. I wait a few seconds more, roll the plane on it's back and begin my attack also. Sometimes, you can have moments of perfect clarity while you are on a bomb run. This is one of those times. Everything is perfect on our part with no AAA to deal with. Even the clouds below are perfect. We plunge through them and once below, see the target as if we were on a bombing range back home. Still not a shot fired. Art called "bombs away" while i was in the clouds and seconds after i broke though, his bombs walked across the warehouse, destroying it. I saw what looked like some other storage facilities adjacent to Art's bomb blasts si i quickly adjusted aim and let fly. We got them by surprise but they reacted rapidly. As we pulled out of our dives and turned west towards the mountains, the AAA finally found us. It was intense but rather inaccurate. Make on wonder if this area isn't equipped with fire control radars or perhaps it was just or day. Art took more fire than i did, seeing as he went lower and lost speed trying to climb at too steep an angle to rejoin with me. Despite this, he managed to get away, his plane taking only minor damage. Once at altitude and over the mountains, we set a course for home. If it wasn't for Python lead getting shot down, it would have been perfect beyond demand. Oh well, thems the breaks of being in a war. Well, looks like Arthur Eskew is my new wingman! During debrief i found that even with getting my bombs in a direct line with Art's, i didn't hit a thing!

Hit Vihn and got out alive! It seems the key to survival on strikes up North is to get the best possible timing and come in high for the steepest angle on a dive bomb approach. We did good this time. The flak didn't pay attention to us until we were well into our dives and we managed to escape the reach of intense AAA on the way out. Good thing they don't slot us into strikes further north. Things are tough enough as it is dealing with the Vihn area. Feels nice to be promoted after all the hassles. Things are really looking up.

I'm not sure we ever made anything firm about loadouts. I'm more or less fine with my given loadouts. It's the wingmen that i change sometimes so they can perform decently at best.

I wonder if we are all jinxed! Got an easy one for my return and it went nice despite serious light AAA and crappy weather.. The hassle came when i screwed up the landing. Chopped the throttle too soon as i was high off the optimum slope and just escaped oblivion by pulling up as hard as possible on the nose. Back to the rear once again!

This was a screwy mission. Was ordered to provide support to the Marines up by the DMZ so we decided to go in force and sent 12 planes. The mission went well except for the fact that everyone went Tard and crashed with NOT A ONE ever expending any ordnance before going in. Have to do something about the AI. As to the time spent away from combat? Got hit in early April and now i'm back in October. Talk about a lot off time off! Well, looks like i'm off on another mission! Vicar, nice job from the other side of the fence. Mike, i figure we can go all the way provided we survive the first 5 sorties.

Good luck on your campaign! Just finished up a mission where the whole squadron dummied up and crashed. Will post details later.

Ok, so i finally got lucky enough to finish a mission without a comp crash. They wanted to send us to Vihn again but i said "nothing doing" and so we were slotted into a strike on a VC base that was only about 30 miles away. "Good Enough" i figure and away we went. We had two flights armed for bear with max loads of 750 pound bombs and CBUs in anticipation of a juicy target area. Of course we were wrong. Just a bunch of tents and a few 12.7mm machine guns. Well, we got the primary target (a lousy tent) and three guns as well as a few other tents, but i got shot up while on the initial dive. The aircraft held up well seeings as nothing vital got hit. Sorta gives you something to think about when some rice farmer that's never even seen a course on triple A fire can put six shots into the cockpit area of a plane that's in a dive. Guess i'll have to adjust tactics when i got out of the hospital.

I really don't know if it's available for SF2:V since i'm limited by my hardware to version one and so i never look at what's availabe for the newer version.

Go to the Downloads section and you'll see it in user made Campaigns. It comes in three parts and is really worth it. It is a different sim after you get through applying the mods!

My approach would be to unplug the comp, walk out into the desert with it, set it down and blast it with my shotgun and pistol.

I'm so sick and tired of having to do with inferior gear. I really got an urge to empty my bank account and pick up one of those state of the art gaming rigs you see in places like CPU magazine. There are other things i'd like to do with the comp but if it can't even handle the newer TW sims, how can it possibly run something like a top of the line Pro Tools program. I truely hate having second rate equipment. Even my monitor is a loser. Just can't ever seem to win.

I AM BEYOND #$&*@#% UPSET AT THE MOMENT. WENT THROUGH AN INTENSE AND DAMN HEROIC MISSON TO VIHN AND THE GAME CRASHES JUST A SHORT WAY FROM HOME!!!!!!!!!!! I FEEL LIKE BASHING MY PIECE OF %@#$ COMP INTO BITS! ONE MORE CRASH AND IT IS HISTORY!

Welcome to WOV! Like everyone else said, don't try turning tight with MIGs. Either LAG pursuit or go vertical if you have to mix it up. When you get comfortable with the sim start here...http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=10281 for a whole new experience and a whole new sim!

Ahhhhhhh the horrors! Long flight to Vihn, target already hit, chose alternate targets, dropped amid heavy AAA, lost wingman, long flight home, game crashes when i'm less than 25 miles from home. Had enough for today, will try again tommorrow.

Got through the first mission alright even if i didn't hit a thing. Luckily i figured out what loadout would work with my guys and so they didn't go Tard on me. Well, i'm off on a strike up North now, wish me luck fellows!

My last attempt in a SPAD. Pilots name is Jonathan Sykes. All other info is the same as above

I've had some pretty good times in a Hun. The first thing to know is that you should NEVER turn with a MIG. Go vertical always and dissipate their energy every possible way you can. If you do insist on turning, go to the outside and lag pursuit until either the MIG bleeds off enough speed or reverses it's turn and allows you a chance of a snap shot. When in doubt, unload, seperate, and re-engage. If the situation is really bad, call it a day and head home.

The triple A is now beyond incredible for a sim! All my thoughts now are on avoiding it as much as possible.

Just a little something i think will help. http://forum.combatace.com/topic/32471-surviving-wov/page__p__198549__hl__surviving__fromsearch__1entry198549

I was looking at my WO* screenshot collection and thought about other games that i seriously got into. My introduction to online play was Mechwarrior4 Mercenaries. I was completely obsessed by it and spent a lot of time in combat. My screen name was first used there and i'm still a member at MEKTEK, even if i have been inactive for a long time. Solitare mech. 25 ton Assault/Heavy mech killer. Cross tech with a vengeance and all set to ruin someone's day! My favorite mech and all time personal high points scoring ride. Rome Total War, especially the Barbarian Invasion expansion also made for long hours involvement. As of this moment i still have a campaign saved that i think about every few days. Perhaps soon i'll spendt the time to take it to it's conclusion. So let's hear yours!

I'm going to give it one more try at flying SPADs before i go with my initial intention to fly F-105s. When it comes to CAS and Armed Recce, the A-1 is unbeatable. However, taking it into highly defended areas is pretty much futile. There is my wingman just after he dropped his bombs. He did manage to strafe and destroy a Firecan, but was shot down soon after as he was heading for safety. You can see Tucker going down in the rear of the pic. Was about 5 seconds from the actual attack run when the plane took a direct hit. If it's this bad around Vihn, i can imagine what it's like around Hanoi.

Gotta love Willy Pete! Flyin' Home!

Incredible pic!