<SALUTE> Lusche and SAAB

[thndregg]

You guys had me doing my damnedest trying to survive your 30K onslaught against my bombers going for your AAA. Nice job you two! I've got film, and I'll try and get something posted in Films & Screenshots.

Just like old times, Lusche. Fun stuff!! 

[Lusche]

Late at night, on the NATOMA map:

A suspicious, slow moving darbar has been spotted. Could be heading for the AA

02:58 CET Taking off from A83 in a TA 152H-1. Loadout 75% fuel + drop tank
Darbar is moving kinda erratically through sectors 11-12, 11-13 and 12-13. First moving towards strat area over the ocean, then away from it. Using sector dar, flashing shore batteries and CV dars to narrow down search area and possible headings
03:16 CET I have guessed his vector correctly. Enemy contact spotted in sector 11-12-2. A box of bombers, well above my current altitude of 25,000 feet. Definitely a strat runner
03:19 CET Co-alt achieved at 32,000 feet. Strat runner is a set of B-17s. Beginning maneuvers to get into a favorable attack position.
03:21 CET SAAB, who apparently had the same suspicions about that darbar, shows up in his Spitfire 14 at 33,000 feet. It's becoming obvious that the bomber pilot is a veteran. He is maneuvering in a clever way to foil the setup
03:23 CET First shots are fired. Got some hits, but nothing decisive. Approach wasn't very good.
03:24 CET Second pass, overhead. Good hits on lead, but no apparent effect.
03:27 CET Third pass, frontal top attack, firing around D400. Again, good hits on lead. Parts fly away, fuel leaks.
A few seconds later, SAAB dives onto the bombers from 37,000 feet to commence a high-speed rollercoaster attack from abeam. His right wing disintegrates, either from defensive gunfire or collision. At the same time, he sets one bomber on fire, but I get the kill credit. Sucks for him. The identity of the bomber pilot is now known, it's a certain "Thunderegg". Never heard of that guy 
03:30 CET Fourth pass, top side attack. Again good hits on lead, parts fly off, but the defensive fire knocks out my oil cooler. 
03:33 CET Fifth pass. This time the lead blows up.
03:34 CET Tried to get into another attack position, but ran out of oil. Shut off the engine and start gliding home.
03:42 CET Landed at the base and had to take a break. Combat beyond 30k is exhausting for an old man.

The whole sortie took me 44 minutes, of which 18 minutes were spent in contact with the enemy, for one kill and a shared one. It was definitely the highlight of that night 


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Thunderegg, if you want to do something cinematic with your film, you might want to use my film as well: https://www.mediafire.com/file/qs52swqvldxq2ts/film205_vs_ThunderEgg_at_alt.ahf/file

Just like old times, Lusche. Fun stuff!!

In the old times, you would have had another dozen formation at your side, and most importantly: Escorts.

[thndregg]

In the old times, you would have had another dozen formation at your side, and most importantly: Escorts.

I am in a group that conducts weekly missions, and we do have escorts.   

Thanks, Lusche! Well written AAR, and you about made me spit out my coffee! LOVED IT!!

[thndregg]

I don't know if a couple of these screenshots are visible -- they're from our DHBG private Facebook Group..  I haven't taken the time to grab a lot of shots...

[Lusche]

They show up for me 

It's just a pity AH doesn't have any contrails like for example DCS has. Imagine having them instead of the flight paths showing in the film viewer:

[Eagler]

That's way more patience and time than I have ...

Eagler

[thndregg]

That's way more patience and time than I have ...

Eagler

Advantages I'm flat-out lucky to have. I work independently online at home through a US company teaching English with students in many countries, and am currently in the Philippines with occasional visits with family Stateside. So, I do get plenty of practice and flight time in on AH, definitely enjoy bombers, and have more time to put some effort into maintaining the bomb group.

An aspect that is sorely missed, as Lusche stated, is the massive, escorted high alt missions we put up back in the day.. sometimes met with equally massive opposition.

[Eagler]

It would be neat to see any mission in MA..

Appreciate your dedication to the game 

Eagler

[thndregg]

It would be neat to see any mission in MA..

Agreed. Have tried offering general heavy strategic missions on a much smaller scale due to lack of player base. I guess I could try and put them up again as an occasional change of pace from the default "conga line" stuff. No harm in that. I know there are still enemy interceptor pilots who would love this as well.

[The Fugitive]

Agreed. Have tried offering general heavy strategic missions on a much smaller scale due to lack of player base. I guess I could try and put them up again as an occasional change of pace from the default "conga line" stuff. No harm in that. I know there are still enemy interceptor pilots who would love this as well.

From a team aspect I never saw the help in hitting strats as a help. Sure they can add great times to the resupplies of different things, but to me they are best use as a distraction. While the team you hit runs resupply you can hit more of their bases. To me a dedicated group of bombers would be a better help to their team if they hit VHs or FHs at bases along the front where the attack is. Be it as defense, or offense to help the front advance.

Either way, as long as your having fun, its the best play.

[thndregg]

To me a dedicated group of bombers would be a better help to their team if they hit VHs or FHs at bases along the front where the attack is. Be it as defense, or offense to help the front advance.

Either way, as long as your having fun, its the best play.

In the 91st and general country missions, that's what we did back in the day, at times managing to shut at least two consecutive bases down. which works sometimes depending how quickly either direction the front advances or retreats while we're on the way there to make it happen proper-like. I remember vox comms of Bish trying for a capture saying "Oh sh**!!  Look up, guys!" 

I got out of the actual base capture ops years ago - just kind of burned out on it, but I still LOVE to use some precision and tactics for a group to overkill a base into a complete shutdown. These days, if I were to do this, I'd let the cards fall where they may, and leave the captures to the rest of the country's players who can time and use our progress.

Communication gets too lagged and overloaded in the combat area for me to tolerate anymore unlike when I was in my more vigorous 30's, so I keep my ops simple: Blow s***t up effectively and completely, get every bomber crew home, and spam the hell out of the text buffer. That's my role and goal.

[Eagler]

From a team aspect I never saw the help in hitting strats as a help. Sure they can add great times to the resupplies of different things, but to me they are best use as a distraction. While the team you hit runs resupply you can hit more of their bases. To me a dedicated group of bombers would be a better help to their team if they hit VHs or FHs at bases along the front where the attack is. Be it as defense, or offense to help the front advance.

Either way, as long as your having fun, its the best play.

Yes nerf the guns on the AI bomber streams and have them constantly upping with an AI fighter or two set at different skill levels as escorts..

Don't understand the resistance to the possibility of adding AI to MA as I think it would do nothing but improve gameplay..

Eagler

[The Fugitive]

Yes nerf the guns on the AI bomber streams and have them constantly upping with an AI fighter or two set at different skill levels as escorts..

Don't understand the resistance to the possibility of adding AI to MA as I think it would do nothing but improve gameplay..

Eagler

Because this game has always been about player vs player. I hate to say it, but if you want AI go try IL2

[Animl-AW]

Basically, wanting 2 countries and AI would change the entire core of what AH is.
I think its safe to assume HT would consider neither. Thats a whole different game that already exist, called IL-2.

The players who want those is barely a fraction of the base.

We can barely get small tweaks and its asked to do an overhaul with a crap load of coding. We’re still waiting on 2 maps to be approved.

The top people wanting AI do not even play the game for over 10 yrs. The same people claimed AH would be dead within a year, for over 10 yrs. Who now play expensive AF bag of bugs and happy. Judgement is highly questionable.

This is WAY off subject

[Shuffler]

I remember our missions... the group would get to the town and realize they were all carrying torpedoes. Such a hoot.