Spit dweebery
Didn't fly for some weeks. Logged in, grabbed a P51-B with 50% fuel and DT's, climbed a bit and pounced on a furball from above, some fight above a CV-group. Misjudged relative speed a bit when attacking a Spit, nearly collided but got a good shot in from close range. He dove into the ack and as there were no other NME fighters around I wisely flew on. Ages later I got the kill. Wasn't much to do, when I finally met a co-alt Spit I had to rtb because my fuel was low. A long flight without much satisfaction.
Then, trying to decide what to do next, I saw a guy land 10 kills with a Seafire. Never flew Spits much, too easy and didn't want to be called a dweeb. But I promised myself to try a few rides I'm not used to this tour and thought 'what the hell'. Took off with 100% fuel from a carrier near an NME field where a nice fight was developing. Even had to adjust the views, that had been a loooong time ago! Dragged a few people into the ack and had three kills quickly without firing a shot. Dweebish but fun. Then we could put some pressure on the NME and after some great minutes of intense air to air I realized I had 50% fuel left, 102 hispano rounds left and no less than 7 kills! I just used all the things I learned while flying more difficult planes, energy management, reversals, SA etc. and balanced on the thin line between diving for the ack and being able to hit the enemy without risk. Would have done the same in an F4U-1 or FM2. But what a great plane the Seafire is for this! Lead turning La-7's near blackout and simply swat the bastards without any trouble. Unbelievable energy retention in hard turns. Great acceleration from near stall to decent maneuvering speed. My improved gunnery also helped to save the Spit's small ammo load. When I had spent my cannon ammo on mauling a Ju-88 formation (sadly only one was killed) I decided I had to turn for home. Near the carrier I caught a lone TBM and shot that one down with my last bit of .303 ammo. 9 kills! But then my relative inexperience with the Seafire revealed itself. I plunked it down just a bit too hard on the carrier deck. 'You have crashed'. Some swearing was called for… 9 kills without a scratch and then not been able to land the damn thing! But a fun fight nonetheless. Would I have achieved the same in my beloved and very familiar FM-2? The landing would have gone much better, but 9kills? No.