It was a clear, warm day over the Allied base. The pilots were outside their planes, relishing the heat from the sun; a heat they knew would not exist for them in a few hours...
Kevin "Nifty" Haynes, after a thorough preflight, fired up the four massive engines of the B-17 Flying Fortress. The Silver Dagger coughed, then sprang to life amidst a cloud of oily, black smoke. The big beast lumbered down the runway after the other forts, and they slipped up into the air with grace and ease. The Mustangs took up station around and ahead of the forts, keeping a close eye on their charges.
Faint sounds came over the radio. Excited voices could barely be made out, but the meaning was clear. The forward Ponies had sighted and engaged the enemy! The Fortress crews began to pull their planes close together. The flight of 6 led by Col. MarkAT, began to scan the skies, looking for enemy fighters. The close Pony 'scort circled above the forts, reminding Nifty of a school of sharks (thinking of that poor boy here that was attacked... he supposedly is breathing on his own now. If you haven't heard about it, go to
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com and read the SHARK! stories, or go to cnn or usatoday. Please keep the young boy in your prayers...)
"Cons 12 oc low!!"
"They're too low to be a threat to us..."
The ponies were dropping back a bit, wary of a flanking manuever from the Jerries...
"Cons 12 oc CO-ALT!!!" "They're going east of us!"
"Sunking watch 3oc high and beyond!!"
Nifty looked out the right window and saw the 190's pass beyond his field of view. The young pilot put faith in his gunner crew. The Ponies were too far away to be an immediate help. It was up to Sunking and the other Fort gunners now...
A scream came over the radio!!! Fester was hit and going down! Another B17 was hit and began to fall back. The victories were not free for the 190's, however. Several became twisting, fiery coffins for their pilots.
"I got one!!!" cried Sunking!! He removed a wing from a 190 as it passed beneath us!
In front of the Silver Dagger, Nifty saw tracers lance through Col. MarkAT's fort. The beautiful beast began to belch white and black smoke, spiraling out of control. Only 3 fortresses remained...
Screeching sounds of metal came roaring through the cockpit as a 190's rounds found their mark on the Silver Dagger! "Sunking! Get 'im! we can't take much more of this!!!" The massive fortress lurched as a control surface took a direct hit! "Left aileron is out!" "We're losing oil pressure on #4, fuel too!" cried the co-pilot. Just then, a scream came over the plane's internal comm... "Scratch two!" yelled Sunking!
The Ponies had dispatched the remaining 190's. The forts were clear for the drop on their target.
"We've lost the left aileron, right flap, #4 engine oil, #4 fuel, and the chin turret isn't functioning," Nifty informed the rest of the flight.
"stay with us best you can," replied Odessa, the new flight lead. "Hit the Eastern Bomber hangar."
"Roger"
The bombadier had control of the plane now. He lined up the target in the Norden. The drop would be 3000lbs. The release had to be true...
"Bombs away! Drop looks good!"
"Bomber hangar destroyed, sir!" "Good drop, guys! We'll hit smaller targets this time..."
"I missed my target!" cried one of the remaining Forts.
"Get it on the next pass," ordered Odessa.
Moments later, a cry was heard over the comm... Catbert was hit and going down! A stray 190 had pounced on him! Nifty had other things on his mind, he knew the ponies and his crew would deal with the Luftwaffe scum.
The Silver Dagger turned for another run. The bombadier called out two drops this time... "I've got secondary explosions!! Good drop!!!"
The 190 was nowhere to be seen. "We're all clear, Odessa. Recommend we both drop on the remaining hangar that Catbert missed." "Roger, drop remaining ordnance on the hangar."
"Engine 4 dying, sir!" "Cutting #1, we'll just go on two here on out... Bombadier, the plane is yours, nail that hangar!"
"Bombs away, sir!!"
"Good hits!!! Hangar severely damaged!" "We're headed back to base, Odessa!"
"Roger, I've completed my drop, the hangar is down. Proceed to A27"
The Silver Dagger began to pick up speed as she dropped altitude... The plane was barely holding together, and fighting Nifty and the co-pilot the whole way down. "We are going to try this without flaps, since the right wing flaps are jammed up" "We're too hot!!! Abort!!!" The Silver Dagger throttled up and raised her gear... She pulled up and got some distance before making a slow, wide turn to try again to set down. "Bringing up #1 again, we need more power to make this turn, we'll fight the yaw with rudder..." The Silver Dagger lined up on the runway, and began her descent once more... "We're not losing speed, lowering the left flaps, we'll have to fight this too..." The plane tried her best to deviate from the direction the pilots wanted her to go. "We're drifting left... watch the tower!!!!!" The plane set down on the ground, amazingly one of the smoothest landings she's ever had!!! The pilots applied the brakes, and turned the tail wheel slightly... The left wing barely avoided raking the tower! The Silver Dagger came to a stop on the runway. Only two forts made it home, and The Silver Dagger wouldn't be ready to fly again for some time... It was unknown if the mission would be a success due to the heavy losses to the Forts and Ponies. The Luftwaffe had suffered losses, and the target was severely damaged. Nifty sighed heavily, trying not to think about the lost lives on both sides. He prayed that the war would end soon...
It was a really fun event!! It was great to actually have escort for a bomber mission! The last B-17 event I flew was the Belle mission, and it was just us vs those jerries! Always fun to have the Ponies up with us!
See you guys later!
Airman Kevin "Nifty" Haynes, 332nd Flying Mongrels
ps - that damaged Fort made the last 20 minutes of the scenario VERY interesting!!!
