ETO Battle of Britain campaign Mark II

[33lima]

Time to turn the TAC back on and allocate some fresh targets to those who are reporting that they're free and rejoining formation. I join up myself with a couple of Spitfires, who may either be after a Hun or trying to form up on me!

I soon break off and go after a Ju88 who doesn't seem to have any other Spitfires for company.

I get in a couple of good bursts and next thing I know, there's a sort of whooshing bang, the Hun's wings and tail fly off, and his burning fuselage goes down.

By some miracle, all four of the Hun crew get out in time, their parachutes neatly spaced out along the line of the plunging wreckage.

By this time, the action appears to have petered out and I call the squadron to order. What happened to those Messerschmitt 110s I have no idea - I didn't officially know what they were, so I'm none the wiser on that score.

I lead the boys north away from the flak; all present and correct. It was a shock to lose a Spitfire to ground fire the day before after the air fight was over, and I'm glad when we leave it behind without any losses this time.

Home, and tea! But my kite has taken some hits, and I'm dreading finding out what won't be working this time, for the landing!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

As you can see, I've collected slightly fewer holes than usual, but it's still a bit of a worry. It's fortunate that we are not molested on the way home.

With the bomber base at Wattisham in the distance, I order the formation to break up, chop my throttle, and begin to spiral down towards the much less well-appointed Westley.

This time, not only does my undercart come down normally, the flaps work, too. I just need to watch out for those telegraph poles and the wires between them.

I make what feels like quite a decent landing, raise the flaps and have no particular difficulty braking before I run off the airfield. I'm definitely getting better at this!

All is not right with my aircraft, though and it seems I know it. No sooner have I rolled to a halt, than I leap out and run off, spinning around when the Spitfire suddenly bursts into flames.

It's as well that production of single-seat fighters is apparently more than enough to make up for losses. Anyhow, the powers that be are pleased with me, since our interception has been judged a success. My own two Huns are credited as Destroyed. There was no CTD at the end of the mission this time, either. It's been a good morning's work...second time around.

 

[33lima]

609 Squadron, Eastleigh, morning, 15 July 1940

Yes, we've moved again, which may account for the fact we weren't called for a second sortie on the 14th. Eastleigh is what later became Southampton Airport and wasn't a Fighter Command airfield in the Battle of Britain. I suspect the only reason we're here is that the Germans now hold not one, but three separate bridgeheads - the original one in Essex-Suffolk, another one just to our west in Hampshire, and also most of Kent, including the ports of Dover and Ramsgate. Things are looking pretty grim, and we now have an even stronger incentive to hit the Huns hard.

Our eight Spitfires are scrambled to intercept a raid near the famous adjacent fighter bases of Westhampnett and Tangmere, which are just inside the enemy holdings in Hampshire. The sun is still low on the horizon as we take off. I

Looking around before starting up, it occurs to me that if they're going to commit those Tiger Moths next to the Erks with the starter trolley, we'll really be scraping the bottom of the barrel!

Fortunately, there's scant time for gloomy reflections. Off we go!

Here's our assigned vector and the mission briefing. These stock CFS3 briefings seem to have been written by someone trying to win a bet as to how many times he could repeat the same objective before getting fired. Sadly, it looks like he won the bet, or wasn't fired soon enough.

I edge slowly around onto a course towards the objective, while waiting for the squadron to form up on me.

The low sun is quite dazzling, but I'm not really expecting to meet Huns coming from that direction. Hopefully, it'll blind them, instead.

All aboard for the skylark! The pack has closed up - as close as they ever get, at any rate - and the climb for height begins.

...to be continued!

 

[mongoose]

Where's the briefing/mission map from?

 

[33lima]

Where's the briefing/mission map from?

It's ChiefWH's map mod for WotR. There's a thread with links here: https://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4520153/map-mod-5-8-20#Post4520153

For some reason, the colours of land and sea are swapped, when rendered in CFS3.

 

[33lima]

As we haven’t got far to go, I’m flying this one in real time. Up we go, passing Portsmouth on our right...

　
...then on up to about nineteen thousand. Orientation is easy, as we’re flying parallel to a distinctive coastline and I’ve flown in this virtual area many times, in several sims. A little further on, I recognise the large airfield at Thorney Island.
　

　

Time for an update from the TAC/Controller! This reveals that there are Bogies behind us - probably lower, as we'd have run into them by now, otherwise. The important news is that ‘our’ raid is now just 5 miles out and half right.

　
As I’m turning into them, the Huns come into view – on the TAC, anyway. This reportedly displays what the player can see, based on his experience-based spotting ability. These squares are white (‘Bogies’), not red (‘Bandits’), so while able to see them, I’m evidently unable to identify them visually. But their distance and bearing coincides with the vector to the Huns, a clear enough case of two plus two making four. I start picking them out and ordering pairs of Spitfires to attach each in turn.

After some slightly frenetic key-tapping, it’s time to padlock a target for myself. Playing with labels, text messages and of course the awful targeting cone toggled (or permanently turned) off, and lacking WotR’s ‘dot mode’, reacting to stuff I can only see on-screen would leave me seeing very little. So I feel justified in relying on the TAC when I need to, given it's not a 'God mode' and is instead a both reasonable substitute for an active Controller on the ground and compensation for the limitations of MonitorVision ™

The Huns in question turn out to be more Messerschmitt 110s. Strange, that I haven’t seen a 109 at any point in this campaign so far! These Huns are slipping underneath us and one of my usual tight, throttled-back downward spirals is needed. In the confusion, I find when I get down there that I’m chasing a pair of Spitfires!

　
No harm done! I order them to make themselves useful and they're soon swooping down after a nearby Hun.

　
Time I found one for myself!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

My next intended victim also turns out to be a Spitfire.

If I show you my view as seen through the tactical display, you can perhaps understand why I'm a bit confused.

Finally, I find an aircraft which is not a Spitfire.

These 110s are fast and possibly flying at empty weight, so they’re not easy to catch, especially as I tend to keep emergency power for…well, for emergencies. The technique I’ve developed is not to waste time trying to get really close, but rely on deflection shooting and weight of fire. I cut inside the 110, then pull up with my gunsight tracking his line of flight, until he briefly disappears under my nose - just enough to give slightly more deflection than I reckon is needed. Then I let rip with a burst of 1-2 seconds. The 110, emerging from under my nose, flies through my line of fire, is hit, and goes on fire. Just like this.

The burning 110 falls away and settles into a shallow dive. Just when I’m wondering if I need to make another attack, a Spitfire nips in, and finishes him off.

That’ll do – this is a team game and they all count. But this particular game's not finished yet.

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

Climbing back up, I tag onto another 110 who is behaving rather strangely, tuning this way and that and making the occasional half-roll. I decide to put a stop to all this and line him up. However, he evidently sees me coming, snaps out of it, and pulls up sharply. I end up following him through a series of turns, climbs, dives and various combinations thereof. The pilot throws his big aircraft around the sky with commendable skill.

Twisting after him like a hare, G-induced darkness begins to close in again. You can't cheat by going to the external view - see?

It gets even tighter, and even darker...

...before I'm looking through a very dark straw and have no option but to ease back on the stick. My vision returns before I do anything silly like flying into the ground. But in the meantime, two Spitfires have latched onto my 110. Mustn't complain - I'm sure they're only trying to be helpful.

They don't make a clean job of it and so it's my turn to nip in and claim a Hun.

Just as I'm recovering, another 110 makes the mistake of turning across my nose.

Let's see if I can get him, too!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

The 110 turns into me and I lash out with a burst as he passes behind me. No-one is more surprised than I am when he goes straight down. Both crewmembers manage to bail out; the second one just in time, by the look of it.

That last Hun hit me several times, and I’d already collected one or two before that. The good news is that we seem to have wiped the floor with those Huns; the boys are all done and there’s no more visible targets to send them after. But I've pushed my luck and now it’s time to pay the price. Within seconds, I can feel and hear the power draining out of my engine.

A few seconds more and the prop has spun to a stop.

A quick look around establishes that there are no airfields close enough for a dead-stick landing. I decide than I’m not yet ready to die trying to pancake a damaged Spitfire in a farmer’s field, and chicken or not, it’s time to apply for membership of the Caterpillar Club.

First, I need to get out, which I manage in suitably athletic style.

After a bit of fumbling for the ripcord, my ‘chute pops open. Well above me, a small formation of twin-engined aircraft sails past – Heinkels, by the look of it. It’s a pity I hadn’t noticed earlier; we might have got one or two of them with our remaining rounds.

I get a bit of a shock when I see and hear an aircraft flashing past right in front of me, but it’s a curious Spitfire, not an angry Messerschmitt. I wish people wouldn't do things like that, it's enough to give anyone the conniptions!

Soon, the ground comes up and I go for a little cross-country drag behind my parachute. I can't really grumble, since the thing just saved my virtual neck.

We’re credited with having smashed up the raid, so I’m not really bothered to find I’m only credited with one of the three Huns I attacked. Better still, the easternmost enemy bridgehead is visibly much smaller, and the other two have, at worst, got no bigger. Has the tide begun to turn?

 

[33lima]

Having to decided to have FRAPS running so I could get screenshots of the briefing screens, I thought I'd post this one which illustrates the front line on the evening of the 15th. In the east, the enemy have been driven out of Essex and hold only a smaller part of Suffolk; in the centre, they have lost northern Kent; and their bridgehead in Hampshire to the west is looking ripe to be cut off at its base by counterattack.

I don't remember getting any telegrams about medals, but it seems I've acquired a chestful, after a modest twelve confirmed victories.

What can I say, except - good show!

 

[33lima]

609 Squadron, Eastleigh, evening, 15 July 1940

We're scrambled against a raid operating near the western perimeter of the enemy's narrow bridgehead in Hampshire and Sussex.

The interception point is much the same as this morning - just west of the airfield at Westhampnett, the satellite for the Fighter Command Sector Station at Tangmere, just to the east.

The sky is an unbroken blue as we leave Westley behind.

I swing around to the right and settle onto the assigned Vector, level off and throttle back. Southampton provides an as-yet peaceful backdrop for my Spitfire as I wait for the others to catch up.

This being another short hop, I'm happy to fly in real time, and it's not long before I'm passing through fifteen thousand. Up ahead and right is the prominent headland of Selsey Bill.

Not far to go now! Time to get an update from the Controller!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

I gain a little more height and a little more distance, until I can see the airfield at Westhampnett...

...then I call up the TAC/Controller. This reveals some bogies are behind and probably below, but more importantly, that our target is ahead and slightly right, just seven miles off.

The boys are keeping up nicely. I can hear the distant rumble of artillery fire, so we're obviously close to the front line.

There they are! Just as predicted. They're in two groups this time, one slightly ahead of the other.

The nearest group is lower and I start ordering in the boys. Suddenly, a small group of aircraft flashes past me to the right, higher up. Single seaters - a fighter escort. The 109s have arrived at last!

I come up and around after them, in a rather clumsy half loop. Rolling out of it, I can see that an air battle has developed between 109s and Spits. The airwaves fill with the usual calls as I race to join the party.

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

My attention is immediately drawn to a 109 who's chasing a Spitfire. The latter rolls over and dives away, leaving me neatly positioned for a crack at his tormentor. In the heat of the moment, I don't notice the group of bombers over on the left; I have more pressing concerns.

I clobber the 109 good and proper. Down he goes, under control but obviously in difficulty.

I don't have time to make sure of him, though. Another Spitfire is calling for help. Through great good fortune, I'm once again well placed to roll in behind the offending Messerschmitt.

The 109 breaks hard right after my first burst, which takes him off my friend's case. My second burst produces decisive results - the Hun's complete tail section breaks off, just ahead of the fin. The Messerschmitt drops away while its detached tail feathers flutter momentarily in my sights, before tumbling after their former owner.

One 'Probably Destroyed' and one 'Destroyed', I make that. And two of our Spitfires saved from destruction. A good start!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

Turning around in search of further prey, yet again I find myself chasing down a 109 who's after a Spitfire, hidden by one of the canopy frames to the right in the pic below. My first burst is a hasty one and goes astray...

...but closing rapidly, I pull my sights up and across the Hun, before breaking right at the last moment. Fragments fly from the damaged Messerschmitt...

...whom I just about avoid running into!

However, the job's a good 'un, as the other Spitfire, although damaged, gets away.

This time, I'm able to chase down the damaged 109, who gets treated to another attack at short range.

That does the trick - down he goes!

Though I say so myself, my first action against the vaunted Me109s isn't going at all badly!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

I climb up again to clear my tail and take stock. A check with the TAC/Controller shows a ragged line of Bogies off to the left - probably our lot and what's left of the 109s. What's worrying is that our target raid is reported to be four miles to the right, possibly headed for the important naval base at Portsmouth. It looks like we've been held off by the escorts!

I bank right and race after the raid. Orders to the boys to attack them get no takers - everybody is already engaged. Looks like this one's up to Yours Truly.

The raid is a few thousand feet lower, and seems to consist of a straggling group of Heinkels. You can see two of them against the ground, in the picture below.

I'm soon down at their level and chasing after a pair of the bombers.

I attack the nearest Heinkel from astern and leave him with an engine blazing.

It's a good start, but having been pre-occupied until now with the 109s, we've got a lot of ground to make up, and probably not much ammo between us, to do it!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

The burning bomber disappears behind its own billowing smoke trail, leaving me a clearer view of the second Heinkel. I decide to switch targets.

I jink left and right as I close in on the Hun, in an effort to avoid the return fire - I can clearly see the white muzzle flash from his guns, when he fires. Meanwhile, th Ack Ack boys have joined in - ours or theirs, it's hard to tell.

Despite the target shifting about in my reflector sight, I manage to get a good burst into his port engine.

Got him! If it was the naval base down there that he was after, he won't be giving it any bother.

I quickly realise there's at least another couple of Heinkels up ahead, possibly heading for Southampton rather than Portsmouth. Again I try to get the others to attack them; again, they tell me in no uncertain terms that they've got their hands full. Here I go again!

It comes as no surprise when my Brownings fall silent after firing the last of their three hundred rounds per gun. I break downwards, collecting one or two hits on the way for my trouble.

Now what? I may be out of ammunition, but I'm still responsible for the squadron!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

I decide to hang around in the hope of being able to organise some attacks on the Heinkels, if and when some of the others are no longer otherwise engaged.

After a while, I get a response and a little later, another Spitfire starts harrying the bombers. By this time, the Huns are climbing hard and still heading for Portsmouth.

All I can do is watch the other Spitfire...

...which finally closes in and trades fire with one of the bombers, without much effect as far as I can see.

Anyone who's free and still answering, I order to attack the bombers. Having done all I can, I decide to head for home while my engine's still running normally.

It's not long before I'm spiralling down over Eaststleigh, just north of Southampton. The skies are clear of Ack Ack, so perhaps those Heinkels have gone another way.

Now, I just need to get down in one piece, and find out if the mission's been a success!

...to be continued!

 

[alcanallen]

BoB Campaign Mk II Aircraft

Now having installed the latest BoB Campaign and all upgrades i notice i only have that one choice of aircraft ie the Hurricane MkII,i`ve tried to add a Spitfire MkI without success,is there a way for additional types of that era to be added to the choice of aircraft available and different squadrons involved in the battle for some variation?

alcanallen

 

[33lima]

I think most CFS3 campaign players would prefer a free choice of aircraft and that more people might play campaigns if they got it. Even if you can just choose the aircraft and not between squadrons, that would be a big step forward.

I got the choice of Spitfire by editing the campaign's techtree so that it has an earlier start date ('Date Month') than the other fighters listed.

I haven't tried it yet, but how to get a choice between a given set of aircraft, without having to earn prestige points, is mentioned by Daiwllettii here: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforu...aign-Mark-II?p=1223407&viewfull=1#post1223407

I haven't yet tried what I described doing there, but if the facility to pick for an RAF fighter BoB campaign between Hurricane, Spit, Defiant and Blenheim fighter isn't incorporated in the work for the update for the BoB mod, I will make it then. Every CFS3 campaign should have something similar IMHO.

 

[33lima]

I've got a lot of height to lose and am tempted to spiral down - in a damaged aircraft, I'm usually reluctant to go far from the airfield, for fear of the engine packing in. But she's behaved herself on the way here so I take a chance, throttle back and begin a long descent to the west, intending to reverse my course back to Eastleigh when I've lost enough height.

This goes according to plan and I'm soon on a long straight approach. The boys have started to report joining up again, but I order them to break away so I can get on with it on my own.

The evening sun is making longer shadows on the ground as I come in, gradually losing height.

Time to line her up! I drop the radiator flap, then the undercart. Below, there's a factory which appears to make Beaufighters. How they'll get them to an airfield remains to be seen. In fact Eastleigh was used by Supermarine for Spitfires, their nearby works in Southampton being adjacent to the Solent which was fine for the company's flying boats, but less convenient for landplanes! I gather they transported the completed wings and fuselages separately by road to Eastleigh, for final assembly and flight testing, starting with the first Spit K5054. How it will work for those Beaufighters remains to be seen!

I don't know about prevailing westerlies, but I'm landing to the east, the same direction in which I took off.

I make it down without any little dramas. Now it remains to find out whether those 109s have spoiled our recent run of successful shows!

...to be continued!