My Next Mission: McGuire 18Aug1943

[bbosen]

I've been researching interesting scenarios from history and I've found one I really like. It was the first P38 combat experience of Lt. Thomas B. McGuire (who would go on to become the second highest-scoring American ace of all time). McGuire was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery in this mission. He shot down 3 enemy aircraft, damaged a fourth, and lost "kill credit" for a fifth on a coin toss with another P38 pilot that had also inflicted damage. All of this took place over New Guinea, while the 431st Fighter Squadron, 475th Combat Group, was stationed at Port Moreseby in the allied "toehold" from whence they eventually drove the Japanese out of New Guinea.

I will begin coding this mission within the next few days. As soon as I have a "Preview" available, I'll post it on my web site.

McGuire led a flight of 3 P38s. I have learned the names of the other two pilots in his flight (all survived this battle). I got most of my information from the excellent book "The Last Great Ace" by Charles A. Martin.

If anybody has additional details of this fight (or the men involved) that they can forward on to me during the next 2 weeks or so, I will be grateful for the help. I want to make this as accurate as possible.
 

[bbosen]

Update as of 17May2012:

I've finished the logic of the mission. B25s are escorted by P38s, "warping in" on the LONG flight from Port Moresby to Wewak, New Guinea, where they find a juicy airfield to bomb at low level, loaded with Japanese fighters that are still on the runways, waiting to take off. Before they can get there, however, they must fight through waves and waves of Zeroes, Tonys, and Oscars (simulated by A6M2s). Fuel management is challenging. Due to the long flight, I've found it necessary to launch the P38s with full fuel and drop tanks. If I don't shed the drop tanks prior to tangling with the Japanese fighters, the combat is VERY difficult. On the other hand, if I shed those drop tanks, I've got time for only about 15 minutes of aggressive combat before I need to find the warp point for the trip home. It's fun, but very challenging. The B25s don't have such a serious fuel management problem, and they are generally good at hitting the target and destroying a lot of enemy planes still on the ground.

I'm now writing the radio banter dialog. I hope to publish some kind of a "preview" soon.

Stay tuned....
 

[HellFire]

Bravo & thank you, Peabody!   

 

[bbosen]

Update 22May2012:

It's coming along VERY nicely. Because I have a lot more information on McGuire than on most other pilots, I was able to make a richer storyline. Also, it just seems that the combat sequences have come together in a richer and more complex way. I think this may be my best mission yet. I've had a lot of fun getting it all debugged.

There's a preview available now on my web site here:

http://techvideoreview.com/FlightSimMovies/AcesHigh/Ah2Missions/McGuire18Aug1943/McGuire18Aug1943Page01Full.htm