USMC were ordered to take off in P47's to sweep ahead of the Mossie attack to the south but avoid setting off radar over the coast. We didn't see anything for a long time, and eventually had to turn to the Northeast to avoid the radar along the coast at sector 9,6. We encountered some friendly P38's engaging some 109's between 15-20K. They indicated they had things in control, so we stayed high to cover them. As we waited, we got word that Dux and the mossies were Southeast of us and had 109's engaging them, so we made haste to try to help out. We never saw the 109's because we encountered a group of about ten 190's at about 22-25K. We had about 14 pilots and a bit more speed I think, so we quickly gained the energy advantage. If we were a few men shorter, I am afraid the outcome would have been a bit different. They were very good at keeping their speed up and supporting each other. They got a few of our guys not paying attention, and a few with very good snap shots. I think it was the JB squad. I lost an aileron to a good snapshot from a most troublesome 190 that managed to stay above us all. He would have gotten more than a few of us if I did not have about 5 other squadmates to help force him down to the deck. We finished off the last of the 190's and headed home to refuel. There were several of us that did not make it accross the channel due to dammage sustained.
We did a lot of flying around trying to find that one fight, but a good fight is always worth the wait in Squad Ops. We enjoyed the action, I hope the Axis had a good time too.
