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Author
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Topic: B-17 Fun
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Whirlwind
Pilot
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posted 08-01- 01:06 PM
   
After I have spend a while away from SDOE, I've recently reloaded and regained interest in it. After polling through the packaged 'bomber' missions, I tossed on my updated DM and began doing 1 or 2 of my own missions. So here is a report of the first on I tossed up (5 incoming B-17's and 38's starting over the southern english coast with 5 minutes until the first group of inbound 109's). I should have known better than to have the 17's form up in the wedge formation using the middle ground crew settings. Within the first few minutes, the jockying for position began with the rookies swinging back and forth like a pendulum while the hard headed veterans refusing to move. After watching in fear as a few mid air collisions were barely avoided the formation turned into something resembling a sideways 'f'. Terrible for defences, even worse for setting up a bombing run. Nothing like a bad start to a tough mission.
Our intel indicated that there should be light fighter activity and even lighter flak response on our way to bomb the Ly Damn, just inside occupied France. Boy, were we in for a surprise. Within 5 minutes of crossing the coast, Gerry was there to meet us, in the form of four 109's attacking from about 21,000 feet below our position. The 38's, itching for action, zoomed in in an attempt to distract a few of the incoming from the bombers. They were partially succesful as three made it past strafing away at the #3 bomber. Lucky for us, these were rookies and only slightly damaged the #2 engine and killed a lot of paint. Even more lucky were we when Gerry appeared not to have a clue as how to get high enough to get on our 6's. The belly gunners and what tail gunners could get a bead on them, sprayed them with lead until one by one, they spiraled into the channel.
Little did we know it until we had crossed the French coastline that one of the 38's had brushed up against one of his wingmen, damaging a prop and and engine in all the hubbub. Being a trooper, the 38 marshalled on without a word of complain, only a tale tail stream of oil smoke and a fluttering prop to let us know anything was wrong.
Our attentions were abruptly pulled elsewhere as the AAA started laying down a carpet of black smoke in greeting of our odd formation. It wasn't a very nice greeting nor accurate for that matter, only minimal damage was sustained in the first 10 minutes inbound.
Then I noticed something odd, one of the 17's had dropped to about 20,000 feet with an inboard aflame, but still kept up. I couldn't help but wonder if he had volunteered to draw fighters from the nearby base to keep them away from us or something. It at least forced the flak to spread their defences too thin, confusing the target by firing at the lone bomber and the high formation. If the flak wasn't on before, it definitely wasn't going to be on now.
The formation at this point began degrading into a long string of pairs of bombers, some at altitued, and some below. An odd site, but at least each pair could line up on target on it's own, just like the bomber down at 19,000.
Despite all the breaks and luck, only the bomber down at 19,000 managed to damage the target. The rest of the bombers either didn't drop, or wasn't close at all. At least we were headed home.
The trip outbound was just like the trip inbound, the flak kept zipping up to greet us, the bombers followed the lead bomber in a ugly formation, and the 38's...
During the run, I hadn't noticed the 38's had peeled off to go after an undetected group of 4 190's and had done a good job dragging them down to the deck, giving the bombers time to almost get awat. Almost since three of the 190's lost interest in the 38's and managed to swarm the bomber down low, now at an estimated 17,000 feet. Between the 38's and the 17, the 190's fell out of the sky.
The return trip tragic since one of the 38's was blown out of the sky by the flak but with only one other bomber getting an inboard damaged.
The best part of the mission was watching the bombers all form up in a nice string and follow the 38's into the strip for perfect landings.. perfect except for the rookie who flew too close to a hillside with gear dropped, and slid off a cliff into a nearby river. So close, yet so far away. Ruined a perfectly good mission, with all the planes clearing off the runway to allow other planes to land.IP: Logged |
JG3_Jetlag
Cadet
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posted 08-01- 06:39 PM
What I want to know is, who is this Gerry guy?  ------------------
III Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 3 IP: Logged |
Poniat
Pilot
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posted 08-02- 02:43 AM
Gerry?
Oh, Gerry, that's Gerry McGuire!He always looked rather harmless to me... Poniat IP: Logged |
Whirlwind
Pilot
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posted 08-02- 08:56 AM
Gerry is the name of that icky black smear on the ground as a result of a tango with a B-17.IP: Logged | |
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