CLASH OVER CASINO — DEATH, DESTRUCTION, AND ABSOLUTE CARNAGE IN THE SKIES!
Aces High Special Event — October 17, 2026
THE BOMBERS CAME TO DESTROY. THE FIGHTERS CAME TO KILL. BUT SOMEBODY FORGOT TO TELL THE BOMBER CREWS THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HELPLESS!
There are air battles, there are massacres, and then there are those rare occasions when the entire damn sky turns into a gigantic flying slaughterhouse.
Clash Over Casino was one of those occasions.
For three brutal hours, the skies erupted into a storm of screaming engines, exploding aircraft, burning wreckage, and machine-gun fire. B-24 Liberators lumbered toward their objectives while German and Italian fighters came tearing through the formations like wolves attacking wounded prey.
Except these wolves discovered something rather unpleasant.
THE PREY WAS SHOOTING BACK — AND IT WAS SHOOTING TO KILL!
The Allied forces launched their B-24 Liberators of the 460th Bomb Group, protected by P-38 Lightnings, P-47 Thunderbolts, and P-51 Mustangs. Waiting for them were some of the nastiest fighter pilots in the arena, flying Bf 109s, Fw 190s, and C.205s.
Their orders were simple: destroy the bombers before they could deliver their payloads.
What followed was an absolute aerial bloodbath.
## THE FIRST ATTACK — WELCOME TO HELL!
The battle erupted as the interceptors came charging into the bomber formations.
Wiley, Rider, Devil5O5, SNO, Kermit, SockTigs, and the rest of the Axis fighter force weren't interested in exchanging pleasantries.
They wanted bombers burning.
But at 18:48:38, TalonX delivered the first painful reminder that attacking a B-24 could be a very unhealthy career decision, blasting Rider's Fw 190A-5 out of the sky.
Less than two minutes later, Jayz shredded Seal56's Bf 109G-2.
Then the bomber crews really started getting angry.
PowrDuck sent Eagler's Bf 109G-2 crashing out of the fight. Ozone hammered Kermit's Bf 109G-6 into oblivion, and TheKenzr followed by destroying fuzeman's Bf 109G-6.
Five fighter kills credited to bomber crews during the opening assault!
These weren't defenseless flying targets.
These were heavily armed Liberators filled with pilots and gunners who had apparently decided that if the enemy wanted a fight, they were going to get one.
And the Axis pilots paid dearly for their enthusiasm.
But the attackers were equally vicious.
Luft's Liberator exploded under SNO's guns. TalonX was brought down by SockTigs. The formation was being battered, aircraft were disappearing, and the sky was rapidly filling with debris.
This wasn't escort duty anymore.
THIS WAS SURVIVAL OF THE MEANEST!
## THE BOMBERS DELIVER — CASINO GETS HAMMERED!
While the fighter pilots were busy trying to tear one another apart, the 460th Bomb Group was doing exactly what it had come to do.
Dropping bombs.
Lots of bombs.
And the destruction was impressive.
Manatee delivered a punishing strike against F108, recording 10 object destructions with his 500-pound bombs.
SKTurt followed with another devastating attack, destroying multiple installations.
Popsman absolutely hammered the town targets, recording an extraordinary 32 object destructions.
Johnson added 16 more.
But when it came to demolishing enemy property, one bomber pilot stood head and shoulders above the rest.
LICSTER — 44 OBJECTS DESTROYED!
Forty-four!
That wasn't a bombing mission. That was a complete demolition contract delivered at several thousand feet.
Licster wasn't just dropping bombs and hoping for the best. He was systematically turning the target area into a smoking collection of expensive mistakes.
The Allied bombing force recorded 154 ground-object destructions during the event.
And here's the important part.
The Axis fighters could shoot down bombers. They could scatter formations. They could rack up impressive kill totals.
BUT THEY COULDN'T UNDROP THE BOMBS!
The damage was done.
## TALONX — FIVE FIGHTER KILLS FROM A FLYING FORTRESS OF GUNFIRE!
If there was one bomber pilot who seemed determined to embarrass the entire Axis fighter force, it was TalonX.
Flying a B-24 Liberator, TalonX managed to collect five fighter kill awards.
His victims were Rider in an Fw 190A-5, Spikes in a C.205, Devil5O5 in a C.205, Wiley in an Fw 190A-5, and fuzeman in a Bf 109G-6.
Read those names again.
Rider. Spikes. Devil5O5. Wiley. fuzeman.
Those weren't inexperienced pilots wandering around looking for trouble.
Those were dangerous, aggressive interceptors who had been tearing into the Allied formations throughout the event.
And TalonX put them on the wrong end of the scoreboard.
Five fighter kills credited to a bomber pilot!
While other pilots were maneuvering their fighters into firing positions, TalonX was turning his Liberator into a flying meat grinder.
FIVE ENEMY FIGHTERS DESTROYED. ONE BOMBER PILOT WITH AN ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE ATTITUDE TOWARD INTERCEPTORS!
## LUFT — THREE FIGHTERS LEARN THE HARD WAY!
Luft may have lost a Liberator during the fighting, but he certainly wasn't going quietly.
Across the event, Luft recorded three fighter kills.
Eagler's Bf 109G-2 went down at 19:43:58. Stampf's Fw 190A-5 followed at 19:45:28, and four seconds later Seal56's Bf 109G-2 joined the wreckage.
Three fighters destroyed, including two within four seconds of one another.
That's an extraordinary burst of defensive firepower.
Luft's performance was a reminder that a bomber pilot didn't need to fly a sleek fighter to make life absolutely miserable for the enemy.
Sometimes all you needed was a B-24, a determined crew, and an enemy foolish enough to get within gun range.
## MANATEE — TEN GROUND TARGETS AND A FIGHTER FOR DESSERT!
Manatee deserves special recognition for delivering destruction in two completely different directions.
First, he hammered F108 with his bombing attack, recording 10 ground-object destructions.
Then, at 20:39:31, Manatee was credited with shooting down Ditto's Bf 109G-6.
And Ditto wasn't some harmless spectator.
He was one of the Axis fighter pilots who accumulated five kill awards during the event.
That made Manatee's victory particularly impressive.
Here was a bomber pilot who had already delivered a successful attack against the ground targets, and when an enemy fighter came calling, he added another victory to the scoreboard.
TEN OBJECTS DESTROYED. ONE BF 109G-6 SHOT DOWN.
Manatee wasn't simply along for the ride.
He was delivering bombs to the ground and sending enemy fighters down to join them.
Apparently, dropping explosives on the enemy wasn't quite enough entertainment for one evening.
## THE REST OF THE 460TH — AN ARMY OF VERY ANGRY BOMBER GUNNERS!
TalonX, Luft, and Manatee weren't the only bomber pilots giving the Axis fighter force a severe headache.
Jayz recorded two fighter kills, both against Seal56's Bf 109G-2, at 18:50:37 and 20:43:04. Seal56 apparently hadn't learned enough from the first encounter.
PowrDuck collected two victories, shooting down Eagler's Bf 109G-2 and later jaeger1's Bf 109G-2.
Ozone also scored twice, destroying Kermit's Bf 109G-6 and later fuzeman in another Bf 109G-6.
TheKenzr added two more, taking down fuzeman and jaeger1, both in Bf 109G-2 or G-6 variants.
Preesto collected two C.205 victories, shooting down Molsman and Finn.
SKu recorded two kills, knocking out Molsman and Snibbo in C.205 fighters.
Brooke claimed Rider's Fw 190A-5, adding another victory for the 460th.
And Popsman, already one of the standout bombing performers, added FlackYou's C.205 to his accomplishments.
That is an extraordinary collection of fighter kills for a bomber group.
## 460th Bomb Group — Fighter kill awards
| Bomber pilot | Fighter kills |
| ------------ | ------------- |
| TalonX | 5 |
| Luft | 3 |
| Jayz | 2 |
| PowrDuck | 2 |
| Ozone | 2 |
| TheKenzr | 2 |
| Preesto | 2 |
| SKu | 2 |
| Manatee | 1 |
| Brooke | 1 |
| Popsman | 1 |
| Total | 23 |
Individual kill awards recorded in the supplied event log; these are not necessarily 23 unique enemy aircraft.
TWENTY-THREE FIGHTER KILL AWARDS CREDITED TO B-24 BOMBER PILOTS!
The Axis fighter force might have been the hunters, but the 460th Bomb Group was making damn sure the hunting season went both ways.
## THE RED TAILS AND THE MUSTANGS — NO MERCY ABOVE THE BOMBERS!
The Allied fighter escorts weren't sitting around watching the Liberators do all the work.
FGBullet of the 332nd Fighter Group delivered one of the finest individual performances of the event, collecting seven kill awards.
His victims included Wiley, SNO twice, Ditto, Snibbo, Stampf, and Steely.
Seven kills against an aggressive Axis fighter force was a hell of an accomplishment.
AKPollok added four victories, while CAVALRY recorded three, including jaeger1, Wiley, and MrCrowly.
The 52nd Fighter Group was equally aggressive.
AKRocco claimed four victories against JoeZee, SNO, Stampf, and BangsBox. Sik1 added four more.
AKWarHwk contributed three kills while flying with the 82nd Fighter Group.
These escorts were operating in a nightmare of enemy fighters, attacking bombers, breaking formations, and constantly changing threats.
And while the Axis fighters were piling up kills, the Allied escorts were making them work for every single one.
