Unescorted? I would like to call this out, and correct this as AK's were on scene and assisted in the best manner we possibly could. Flying P40E's last night was fairly difficult considering the circumstances. As pointed out by ImaDot fast buff vs slow planes escort was fairly challenging for both groups.
Id like to point out we had 7 AK's as the escorting squad. Considering the numbers we were facing we had no choice but to tangle with the 109's as best we could to at least try and distract them, there was little we could do vs the sheer numbers we had at A13. To say they were escorted is untrue
I didn't know the bombers were using manual calibration last night. In looking at the scores, I was really surprised by how few objects were destroyed at A13, as many bombers made it through. With regard to the bomb calibration,
I too think it should be MA standard calibration.
As far as the AK's escort job and the second attack on A13, you got a little unlucky as your bombers were spotted early in the frame by VF-17 scouts. We knew a second set of bombers were out there and guessed your ingress route correctly. We were resetting for that attack and calling in reinforcements just as the bombers arrived. So, some luck and decent strategic guesswork on our side came into play, and there was nothing you could do about that.
Escorting bombers in slow planes is a difficult task and requires a lot of timing and coordination. In cases where the bombers out-perform the fighters, the bomber leads play as big a role in the success of the escort mission as the fighter leads do. For what it's worth, the presence of the P40s was felt. I made a clear pass on the bombers and got one, but had a P40 about 1K behind me the whole time, who kept me from resetting for another pass. By then those fast A20s were turning for home and couldn't be caught. Had the P40s literally been there 30 seconds earlier, our results may have been quite different. It was that close of a thing.
As an additional tip of the cap to the AK's, one of our flight leads was commenting on how disciplined and coordinated several of you were in the fight that ensued at A13. When attacking one of your P40's, the lower one would drag back to the higher group, be cleared and then reset alt. In watching the film, I saw it was the AK's. One of the great things about FSO is knowing you will be up against squads who can handle themselves in a multi-con dogfight, and you guys definitely fit the bill.
A final salute to AKGreyga who must have nursed his half-wing P40 home. I thought you were going down when I got that wing piece! I had to pull off because Vudu was so enthusiastic about dogfighting and was pulling onto my six in his Boston! He ultimately sacrificed himself for ya, so you owe Vudu a cold one!
Vudu15 as well.
Hopefully, the upcoming frames will be equally fun but closer score-wise if MA standard calibration is re-instated.
Kingpin
