ETO Battle of Britain campaign Mark II

[33lima]

Curving back towards the airfield after knocking down the 109, there's plenty of activity. I can't see what the Ack Ack's firing at, but closer in, there's three aircraft more of less in line astern, with another one turning in towards them.

Joining the party, I roll left after a 109 who is swooping on a Spitfire who's wheeling around just above the deck.

I quickly turn the tables and the hunter is now the hunted.

The 109 goes down in a gentle dive leaving a pale smoke trail. I break hard right to clear my tail before going for him again.

The 109 seems to be still under control. Is he going to need attacked again, or not? I wish he'd make up his mind!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

It looks like the answer is yes, the Hun will need attacked again. I give him another burst and he dips away, lower still...

...but again, he levels out and flies on. I swerve back and forth above him, fearing that he will spring back into life and play some dastardly Hunnish trick upon me.

I take care to stay above and behind him as I watch, just in case, and not wanting to give any of his friends too easy a target.

All remaining doubts evaporate when the 109 hits the ground and blows up. That's settled, then.

The only aircraft now in my vicinity is also flying away at low level. I open up the throttle again and race after him. You can't see him in the pic below, but he's there.

On the way, I get a surprise when someone goes drifting past and down, on the end of a parachute. Where did he come from? How long has he been doing that? I have no idea.

I fly on - I have a Hun to catch. At least, I think it's a Hun...


...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

The aircraft I'm chasing down turns out to be a Spitfire in distress. Serious distress.

It's not long before he too hits the deck and blows up. The good news is that the pilot gets out, Justin time by the look of how low his 'chute opens.

By this time, the fighting seems to have petered out and the Act Ack fire, died down. I gain some height and call the boys bacy. I get only two answers.

Sure enough, only two Spitfires form up on me.

I'm not totally sure now whether we really had the usual eight to begin with - I only saw six. As for the enemy, if I recall right, I got credited with three 109s. Even so, it's been a bad end to the day - heavy losses in the squadron and the ones we inflicted on the enemy, were not on the raid we were supposed to intercept. We got mugged at base by the 109s, again. At least we didn't also get grabbed by the memory buffers - or whatever it was caused the lock-up last time!

 

[Led Zeppelin]

I like the light of the last pic.

 

[FlyingsCool]

What a great story... Any chance you might compile the mission reports into a book when you're done?

I'm on the edge of my seat over the invasion of Britain... Wish there was something I could do to help...

 

[33lima]

Thanks for the comments! I hadn't thought of compiling the posts but I might do that, when I'm done...something new and it would mean I have a copy all in one place, available to anyone else who wants one. It would still be the same text, written as a player who's into the subject and wants to convey the experience and the fun he's having - which I hope comes across. More creative, novelesque-type stuff I can do, but it's more demanding and just not my preferred style.

The one thing I would say is that any cliff-hanger element is down to the CFS3 campaign engine. I disliked it stock, as it had just plain daft stuff like German shipping freely plying the channel in daylight, but designed better, it has its advantages over a more fixed, historical storyline.

And yes the lighting in the ETO can be quite beautiful in early mornings or later in the evenings.

 

[FlyingsCool]

Thanks for the comments! I hadn't thought of compiling the posts but I might do that, when I'm done...something new and it would mean I have a copy all in one place, available to anyone else who wants one. It would still be the same text, written as a player who's into the subject and wants to convey the experience and the fun he's having - which I hope comes across. More creative, novelesque-type stuff I can do, but it's more demanding and just not my preferred style.

The one thing I would say is that any cliff-hanger element is down to the CFS3 campaign engine. I disliked it stock, as it had just plain daft stuff like German shipping freely plying the channel in daylight, but designed better, it has its advantages over a more fixed, historical storyline.

And yes the lighting in the ETO can be quite beautiful in early mornings or later in the evenings.

That'd be great! I will say I am enthralled. And, yes, I like the fact that it started from a historical point, and continues to use historical squadrons, etc., but that the story can go anywhere from there. Really great job.

 

[33lima]

609 Squadron, Hinton-in-the-Hedges, morning, 20 July 1940

The Controller has been paying attention to the numbers associated with the front-line squares and decides to have us intercept a priority (3-star) raid in sector N18, where those numbers show that compared to the Axis, we the Allies have more than double the...whatever it is, in that square. Personally, I think he's mis-reading the numbers and hasn't read the manual. Overall...I might be wrong, but it looks like we've at least stabilised the front, if not begun to push back the Huns in the Southampton sector..

As I'm already wearing my 'chute and flying helmet, I have time to check my map before I jump off my crates and rush over to my waiting aircraft.

I can see that the weather has taken a turn for the worse, as I lead my flight of four off to meet the others, who are already orbiting the airfield.

A quick check reveals another small group of aircraft is also nearby. Looking up, I can just about see three tiny specks flitting across the sky. They're showing no signs of hostility; in fact they, too, are Spitfires. As I can't officially identify them, I judge from their inaction that they're not a threat - and they're certainly not our target...

...so on we fly, swinging around to the south-east and passing our base on the left as we go.

How many of us will return remains to be seen, but at least this time, there are no 109s jumping us, in our own back yard!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

I warp about half-way to the target area and as usual, come out just above twenty thousand. We're above the clouds but there's a lot of them around. A quick check with the Controller/TAC establishes that we are on our own, although I don't think that precludes Huns lurking unseen in or behind those clouds. In real life of course, inland we're relying on sightings plotted by the ground posts of the Observer Corps, RDF/radar looking only out to sea. By now possibly we have mobile units inland, replacing the ones lost to the invasion.

I try to resume warping, but can't. I know that legs in scripted mission routes can be set to non-warpable, but this is a campaign. Is the enemy near? If they are, I can't see them, only our own Spitfires.

Soon enough I find I'm able to warp again and do so, coming out about a few miles short. There are now some Bogies to our right rear, but I'm more interested in the purple arrowhead-shaped confirmation that our target is six miles ahead, slightly left.

I bank right and take a look down at the Bogies. I can't make them out against the ground but they're well below and don't seem to be showing any interest in us.

It seems only second later that 'our' raid comes into sight and I immediately order in the boys. I see no escorts so twist down after them myself, partially blacking out as I go. I can still make out what looks like Dorniers crossing from left to right and Spitfires dropping onto them like birds of prey.

Yes, they're Dorniers all right, maybe half-a-dozen, rather spread out and being harried by the boys.

Time to get stuck in myself!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

As I come around, the squadron claims its first victory of the day!

My first pass is a rather clumsy one. I roll out a bit too close to the left rear Dornier, and am able to give him only a quick squirt, taking some hits from return fire...

...before switching targets to the one ahead.

Got him! No doubt at all about that one!

This seems to be going quite well for us! Time to see who else's day I can spoil.

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

For my next trick, I decide to attack a vic of Dorniers that is already receiving attention from another Spitfire. While all this is happening, as usual I'm ordering anyone who reports they are rejoining back into the fray. There's plenty to do, as a fighter leader in CFS3.

The Huns have unwisely spread out so I'm able to make an attack on a bomber on his own.

My firing pass leaves him doing down with his wings full of holes and a large chunk missing from his port elevator.

At his point, a fighter turns into me aggressively. It's a 109! I throw a shower of .303s into his path and as he flies through it, I notices he's a 109C, a refugee from the Spanish Civil War! That'll be another aircraft I need to set not to spawn, or perhaps set its service end date to the end of that earlier war, in April 1939.

I let the 109 go and take the opportunity to attack another bomber. It's these fellows we were sent here to get and we do need to do them as much damage as possible to guarantee a successful mission, which in turn will contribute to pushing back the enemy on the ground. I hope!

Before I can set up for another pass, that Spanish 109 appears again. He obviously doesn't appreciate that Franco remained neutral during World War 2!

The 109 looks to be streaming glycol from our earlier encounter. Time to finish the job!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

My Merlin has several hundred HP more than the 109's Junkers Jumo and I don't have much difficulty getting onto his tail and letting him have it.

There he goes! And he doesn't pull out.

Suddenly, rounds tear into me from behind. While I've been watching the Hun go down, one of his friends has caught me dead to rights!

I think, no worries, I'll just use my Spit's superior power and agility to get out of his line of fire. But my wings are full of holes and his next burst settles the matter.

Time to get out! But I can't, and am carried down to destruction in my blazing Spitfire!

About this time, the mission, but not the sim, appeared to crash. Strange. The debriefing appeared as usual, crediting us with a success, and myself with surviving my own crash.

I think the latter is down to a mistake in my briefing mod, which treats a crash as just a crash, as distinct from the 'you have been killed' result. Something else I need to look at.

At any rate, my pilot is credited with two Dorniers and that 109C shot down. Ominously, however, it gets my fate right!

I'll check out later whether, contrary to appearances, the apparent mission crash saved my pilot from certain death and I'm able to resume the campaign without 'resurrecting' him with a previous save - watch this space!

 

[MajorMagee]

What the Armada failed to do, the Spanish Nationalists finally accomplished?

 

[33lima]

Looks like it The Air Ministry will have to send a real stinker of a telegram to Madrid.

 

[33lima]

609 Squadron, Hinton-in-the-Hedges, morning, 21 July 1940
　
My demise on the last show seems not to have prevented the campaign being autosaved with a live pilot, so I decide to take advantage. The time has moved on about an hour - I didn't realise this will happen while staring at the briefing map if you don't use the 'Pause' control. While doing so, I notice that the enemy now has a foothold in East Anglia.

　
Anyhow, to balance out my resurrection a little, I quit the proffered mission and allow the campaign time to advance, which it does, to the morning of the 21st. I decide to repeat our previous mission to map sector N18 - and to be a little more careful, this time. I have already edited the .xdp file for the Spanish 109C to there won't be any more international incidents.

The map tells me that the enemy has enlarged his bridgehead to the west of Southampton, but otherwise little has changed on the ground.

I get airborne without incident into rather clearer skies than yesterday's. As you can see, I've got the canopy open. This was specified practice for both take-off and landing. You can't really do it properly in this Spitfire, since the little cockpit door on the port side opens fully, immediately after the hood. In real life, this door was supposed to be set in the 'partly open' position for take-off and landing, open just enough to block the canopy rail, so that the hood would not slide shut 'in the event of a mishap' as the Pilot's Notes delicately put it.

By the time I've closed the canopy (and the door) I've also realised that our four other Spitfires aren't the only aircraft already in the circuit.

　
I turn tightly to the right and look back. A bunch of Me110s, shrouded by Ack Ack bursts, is charging us down!

Mugged on take-off - here we go again!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

The mission has now become a matter of survival. I order the boys in and complete my own turn, to find myself nearly head-to-head with a 110 - not a great position in which to put oneself.

So I quickly side-step the oncoming Hun and after a short chase, set him on fire with an attack from behind.

The air defence people are still banging away into the skies around our base. Nevertheless, I chage back in and go for another Messerschmitt...

...only to pull up sharply when another Spitfire takes him on.

I quickly switch targets and manage to send another Hun down in flames.

Clearing my tail and looking behind, I'm just in time to see another aircraft hit the deck near a hedgerow. One of ours had just reported being in difficulties, so I fear the worst.

This is dangerous work!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

The boys seem to have run out of targets so leaving them behind, I concentrate on chasing down a 110 that's trying to get away at full speed. I drop down slightly to get him against the sky and keep out of sight of his rear gunner.

He drops down too, just as I start shooting.

After two or three more bursts, his starboard wing goes on fire between the engine and fuselage; burning fuel I expect.

No point wasting any more rounds on that one! Up and away I go.

We seem to have swept the floor with these Huns. Which serves them right, for mounting a sneak attack on chaps who were just getting off the ground. But now what?

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

I turn back towards base, noting the Ack Ack fire has died away. Below and right, the first Spitfire is coming in to re-join. How many did we lose? Two, I think.

I throttle back to let them catch up. Below is the airfield at Upper Heyford, another bomber base if I recall right.

I've only taken one or two hits and everything seems to be working fine. I reckon I've got maybe half my ammo left, so I decide we'll have a go at the original target, forty-odd miles to the south-east. I start to turn in that direction, waiting to count the Spitfires who are straggling back into formation behind me.

Suddenly, someone announces he's attacking, over the R/T. The Huns aren't all gone, after all!

It looks like we can forget about intercepting that raid now!

...to be continued!

 

[33lima]

I circle above the developing fight between a solitary 110 and the first Spitfire to arrive. I contemplate using up the rest of my own rounds to bag another kill, but decide to stay up and let one of the boys improve his own score, instead.

The 110 is gyrating pretty crazily at such low level. The first Spit can't seem to get his sights onto him although it looks like the Messerschmitt will crash of his own accord if he keeps this up.

Without the slightest warning, I'm suddenly hit from astern. My Spitfire feels as if she's been swatted like a fly. All control seems to have gone and the nose goes down, steeper and steeper, towards and then past the vertical.

Efforts to get out are futile; the canopy might as well be glued shut.

This time, the debriefing is a bit more unequivocal.

Could the squadron have helped turn back the tide of the invasion? I'll never know, now...although I will keep the saved campaigns for now, just in case I ever get really curious!

 

[FlyingsCool]

I circle above the developing fight between a solitary 110 and the first Spitfire to arrive. I contemplate using up the rest of my own rounds to bag another kill, but decide to stay up and let one of the boys improve his own score, instead.

The 110 is gyrating pretty crazily at such low level. The first Spit can't seem to get his sights onto him although it looks like the Messerschmitt will crash of his own accord if he keeps this up.

Without the slightest warning, I'm suddenly hit from astern. My Spitfire feels as if she's been swatted like a fly. All control seems to have gone and the nose goes down, steeper and steeper, towards and then past the vertical.

Efforts to get out are futile; the canopy might as well be glued shut.

This time, the debriefing is a bit more unequivocal.

Could the squadron have helped turn back the tide of the invasion? I'll never know, now...although I will keep the saved campaigns for now, just in case I ever get really curious!