May SEC - Daytime Operations

[Have]

The Sunday European Campaign (SEC) on May will be a the Daytime Operations series.

Here are the setups for the three frames.

Frame 1

 On 27th September 1941, the 'Circus' operation was directed against the railway marshalling yards at Amiens. The Kenley Spitfire wing provided the close cover, the Tangmere wing the medium cover, and the Northolt Polish wing the high cover. A series of air combats developed in which three British pilots were lost and the total victories claimed were seven. It was a routine affair except, for one thing. Several pilots reported the presence of 'radial-engined fighters' which took little part in the proceedings.

For once Air Force Intelligence was caught on the wrong foot. With a long record of accuracy to give the confidence they stated quite categorically that this must be a mistake, since the Luftwaffe had no radial-engined fighters. The fighter pilots in their turn insisted that no one could confuse the slim pointed lines of the familiar Me 109 with the stubby nose and square-cut wings of the newcomer. The argument was resolved on 13th October, when the escort of another 'Circus' was involved in a dogfight with the new fighters, and in the course of shooting at them (unsuccessfully) brought back camera-gun photographs for study on the ground. There was then no question but that the Focke Wulf Fw 190 was in service.
- Fighter Command a Study of Air Defense 1914-1960 by Peter Wykeham

http://ahevents.org/sunday-european-campaign-setups/daytime-operations-leaning-into-france.html





Frame 2

The Second raid on Schweinfurt (also called Mission 115) took place during on October 14th, 1943, when 291 B-17 Flying Fortresses of the USAAF Eighth Air Force attacked ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt Germany. The factories had previously been attacked on August 17, resulting in a disastrous loss of aircraft. The second mission turned out no different, and has become known as Black Thursday due to the heavy loss of men and aircraft. The USAAF lacked a long range fighter, and had only the P-47 Thunderbolt in service. The P-38 Lightning had the range, but had not yet been reintroduced, after an absence of a year from the European theatre.

“We were briefed to be met by about five hundred enemy fighters of various sorts. It turned out to be about seven hundred with fighters having come in from the Russian front. We saw every thing imaginable thrown at us. Fighters, usually twin-engine, lined up at beyond our gun range and began launching rockets that appeared to be like a telephone pole as they passed by us and exploded. Some enemy aircraft flew above us towing bombs on long cables hoping to entangle the cable on a Flying Fortress. We had never seen so many enemy fighters before or afterwards,” recalled John Piazza, a gunner in the 92nd Bomb Group stationed at Alconbury, which was attached to the First Air Division.

http://ahevents.org/sunday-european-campaign-setups/daytime-operations-the-schweinfurt-raid.html




Frame 3

By the end of February 1944 United States 8th Air Force had two new aces up in its sleeve. The H2X radar bombing device, which permitted the bombing of large targets through clouds and long‐range escort fighters in large numbers. The P‐51s, P‐38s, and P‐47s with drop tanks were finally in use and started employing new tactics developed by the Eighth's new commander, Lieut. Gen. James H. Doolittle, who required American fighters to attack German aircraft rather than passively protect bombers. Constant combat increased the attrition of German pilots to catastrophic levels.

Just as the Eighth started gaining air superiority over Germany, a dispute arose in London as to how strategic air could best aid the coming invasion of France. Lieutenant General Carl A. Spaatz wished to attack the German synthetic oil industry, while Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's air commanders favored an attritional attack on the French and Belgian rail systems. Eisenhower as the supreme commander chose the transportation bombing, but allowed two oil attacks in May 1944. The success of those attacks, confirmed by Allied code breakers, made oil the first priority air target in the month before the invasion. Both tactical and strategic air power mangled the French railways, but strategic air power's chief contribution to the Normandy landings was the elimination of the German day fighter force. From landing to breakout, the invasion never encountered significant air opposition.

http://ahevents.org/sunday-european-campaign-setups/daytime-operations-prelude-to-overlord.html



Schedule
Frame 1 - 9th May 3PM EST
Frame 2 - 16th May 3PM EST
Frame 3 - 23rd May 3PM EST

Arena
SEA2 (Special Events Arena)



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