The shootout, and then this particular Ruhr frame has got to be one of them for me, the whole sortie and atmosphere was just brilliant.
Heres the AAR i posted afterwards on sqd bbs
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My Ruhr AAR
So.. AAR..
It started off badly. I went into MA to see if anyone was online to come fly with us in Ruhr - mission failed! and when i came back into the SEA i was late taking off and was out of visual range of my fighter group. So i climb on wep and go to a heading of 160 or so to catch the fighter groups up when they turn 090 to target. Mission failed - they keep on flying south.
I cross the french coast alone with just my jug for company and notice 2 dots high above me, back to the WEP to get above them.. 35k and they are just below me, i put in a dogleg to the right so they will fly past my left wing and i can come in and bounce them.. the perfect crime!
Heart pounding i start my shallow descent to the attack and turn to creep up for my favourite attack, get below their wing and creep up behind them outta view. The dots get bigger, and bigger, until finally....
the green icon appears, they are friendly ^%&*%$*!!
So, i go back to chasing to catch up with the fighter group.. and before long i see an angry swarm of hornets up ahead.
I close into icon range on the stragglers when above to my left i see a big group of dots.. 109's!!! a couple tentatively try the attack on me, a few dives and turns puts them off giving up their alt to fight - they must be rooks. I find myself within range of the bombers now and i see they are having trouble, 190's! the 109's must be trying to occupy the escort while the 190's do the dirty work! I dive hell bent on the buff formation and quickly see a 190 sneaking up behind them, i turn in behind him and blast him from under 100 yards with my 8 brownings, his wing comes off and he falls to mother earth in flames.. steeeerike 1!
Ahead of me i see another 190 sneaking up on the bombers, i try desperately to catch up with him as he makes his attack, i fire a few 800+ yard shots from long range to try and deter him but he is fixated on the bomber. He pulls up underneath and despite my warnings to the bomber the 190 pulls up, and smokes his engine and then rapidly dives away. He dives way low and i give him a few hits in his tail as a souvenir. I'm not willing to follow that low and decide to break off at about 16k.
I climb back towards the buff formation but i am now below and some way off. On the climb i see 109's fighting p-47's! I fire up the wep and speed towards them, a 109 is pulling up after making a pass on one of the little friends and i am determined to send him to hell. I slide in behind him and let him have it from 150 yards. sterikee 2!
I now find myself alone , a 109 is trying to creep up behind me and i am not really concerned as i know i can outrun him - and he is still some way out. I ask the fighter group if anyone is near, and if they want to take out this fixated enemy, or i will turn to engage (i did not want a drawn out fight and lose even more alt) no one is.
With my extra speed i pull up, and turn around in the stall to engage, he also pulls up and loops over hoping to get on my 6, i have anticipated this move and have dumped a notch of flaps and lost speed, turned under him and loop round to make him overshoot. He goes vertical and then dives away well below me. I keep my alt.
I keep my eye on him as he tries to regain his alt- possibly to attack me again. And as he does i dive on him to try and catch him unawares, he see's me coming and breaks hard right and down. I get a few high angle shots on his wing as he does. I use my speed advantage to extend away a little as i see another angry dot pass overhead, and regain my alt once more 10 seconds later as i am confident he hasnt seen me. The 109 has followed me and is now 2k behind me again.. ding ding round 2.
I do another high loop to get my alt. The 109 realises he cant follow due to my speed or does not want to risk a HO merge, and i come down on him from above. He pulls a high g climbing turn to evade me. Again i anticipate the reversal attempt by him and i have chopped the throttle and a notch of flap, as he breaks left to make me overshoot i am right behind him. He enters rolling scissors and instead of trying to follow him i pull up, roll the opposite way and pull down onto him as he fly's below me. I am coming down as he pulls up vertical again and i miss my snapshot on him.
But now i am in a favourable position and 300 yards behind him as he pulls up and down, i hit him square on the nose and black smoke pours out of the 109. He goes vert again to try one last time to lose me, but i am waiting for him as he comes down and i take his wing off from no more than 160 yards. Was a great fight and i am very much impressed with his skill. strike 3!
I now find myself utterly alone in the angry skies of south Germany. Do i fly home? or search for my squadron? The killer instict in me tells me to stay. I find out it is just me and swoop left out of our original squadron, and i try desperately to catch up with him and the bomber formation. I see lots of dots high in the sky and realise none of them can be friendly, my prospects do not look good.
I am now at 5k, I then to my suprise; see a low dot to my 5 o clock... should i risk the bounce in this hostile sky? of course i should! I climb so i stay out of icon range and turn so he is at my 3 o clock - so he will fly below me. He doesn't see the trap and as i am right above him i half loop, down below him and under his tail. He doesnt see me as i creep up right behind him and turn his plane into a flamed mess from 200 yards. Strike 4!
Again i thank lady luck and carry on climbing!
I reach 22,000 feet and notice a large formation of dots low my 12. They are gaining altitude rapidly. I must have found the luftwaffe on climbout after takeoff! I weigh up the risks of attacking the formation and getting killed, or leaving them so they can attack the bombers unmolested. I choose to attack.
My plan of action is: go in a shallow dive as fast as possible, picking off the tail end charlie and blow through the formation as quickly as possible and pick off as many as possible.. easy as that!
I zoom into the rear of the formation at well over 500mph and blow the end fighters wing off before he has seen me! strike 5!
But he has warned his wingmen and they split off in all directions! and to make it worse there is another formation of 190's above me! I am unable to get a shot off at any of them, and dive away.. I reach 580mph.. the plane shudders and locks up - i have no control, i throttle back and manage to trim it out of the dive. I look back and unbelieveably 2 190's; desperate to avenge their wingman are closing very slightly behind me!
Bullets whizz past me, i am right on the deck.. they keep up the chase.
Slowly but surely i start to widen the gap between us, they spray wildly frustrated at not being able to catch me. Finally they break off dejected and i breathe a huge sigh of relief as i am now on my own again heading towards belgium and home.
I look down at the fuel gauge and realise i better get to cruise as quick as possible.
Belgium passes below me without incident and i cross the channel into england. One last thing remains, as we have done every frame - buzz the tower!!
Our fighter group has had a tough time, and its just me that is alive; albeit by the skin of my teeth. So i buzz the tower, not in the vic of 3 like the other frames - but alone, its not the same without your wingmen, i do a high G turn, dump the flaps and land.
