My most memorable sortie was during the Longbow scenario in AW. I was a gunner in Spiff's B17 and while over Germany we had been attacked numerous times. We were on our way back to England, Spiff nursing the badly damaged and smoking B17 all the way, determined to make it back and land. As we flew, I was looking outside keeping an eye open for any LW planes chasing us. After a while, we were spotted by some patrolling Spitfires (dead pilots could have a second life in a patrol Spitfire as long as they didn't cross the channel/North Sea). They escorted us back to England, flying around us the whole way. I remember looking out at them and getting a very real feeling of 'being there'. A lump came to my throat and tears welled in my eyes as I looked out at the circling Spits, the immersion was so great! I really felt extremely relieved when we made it back and Spiff finally landed the B17 on British soil.
My uncle, who died early last year, was a rear gunner in a Wellington bomber and it is in his memory that I will continue to remember this brief moment in time in an online game....
