October 2014 - Snapshots

[Mystic2]

October Snapshot Schedule

All Events begin at 9:30pm Eastern time in SEA II every Wednesday night.
All are welcome to attend. No registration, sign up or squad affiliation needed. Simply show up, read the Arena Message, choose a side and plane then get ready to fight!


Oct 01 14   68Jr   The Legend Of Y29
"The airfield at Asch Belgium (Y-29) was an advanced landing ground used as the Allies pushed across Europe following the landings of D-Day. The airfield opened on 20th Nov 1944 and was in use until June 1945. It was home to 352th FG, 406th FG and 391th BG.
On January 1st 1945 the Lufftwaffe launched Operation Bodenplatte, an all out attack on the Allied front line airfields. The FW190's and BF109's of JG-11 arrived at Asch just as the 487th FS of the 352nd FG were rolling down the runway; the ensuing battle came to be known as the Legend of Y-29. The pilots of the 487th Fighter Squadron who took off under fire and in the face of overwhelming odds scored 23 kills while suffering only 2 damaged aircraft in the face of 3:1 odds. For their performance the 487th received the only Distinguished Unit Citation given to a fighter squadron in the European theater." -The Wartime Memories Project


Oct 08 14   Mojo   Down & Dirty
The biggest and heaviest fighter produced by America during the war was the P-47 Thunderbolt. This airplane was so well built that all of her leading aces survived the war. While the heavy bombers of the 8th Air Force busied themselves with high altitude precision bombing of Hitler's industrial cities, it was the medium and light bombers of the 9th Air Force that worked to destroy bridges, barges, RR yards and ground combat forces. Both the 8th and the 9th Air Force used P-38's, P-47's, and P-51's to protect their bombers, but over time their rolls changed to fighter-bombers.


Oct 15 14   68Raptor   The Mitchell Sneak
It's October 1943, and the battle of Guadalcanal has raged on for little more then a month. With Henderson Field now completed, the Allies can finally bring in medium bombers like the B25 to start pounding Japanese Airstrips.
In order to avoid detection by the Japanese, the Allies have devised a surprise Attack technique know as "Skip Bombing". This method of aerial bombing entails releasing a bomb from such a low altitude, that it slides or glances along the surface till it strikes the target.


Oct 22 14   68Jr   A Milk Run
Summer 1943, the United States Eighth Army Air Force is gaining confidence. Its complement is now up to 13 Heavy Bomber Groups and 3 Fighter Groups. Its commander, General Ira Eaker, is beginning to weld it into a fighting force capable of wresting control of the airspace over occupied Europe. Today, the assigned target is a factory in Northern France at Lille, making aircraft parts for Messerschmidts. An easy mission...But the pilots of the Jagdflieger are equally determined to send these upstart Yankees home with their tails between their legs...


Oct 29 14   68Raptor   Komets over Leipzig
In early August 1944 the US daylight offensive on Germany's oil industry was at its peak. Several Me163 intercepts had been made on the formations before July ended. It wasn't until early August (the exact date unknown) when Leutnant Hartmut Ryll claimed the Me163's first combat kill. A B-17 downed during a midday sortie. The next day, Feldwebel Siegfried Schubert got the second by removing the entire tail of a B-17 with only three rounds from his 30mm Mk 108. But it was on the same day that Ryll was lost to P-51 escort fighters. Fuel Shortages for the Komet put operational sorties few and far between. Until, Amazingly on October 7 the I. /JG400 put up 20 Komets. Fortunately for the Americans, only a few 163 have made it close to the bombers, and none achieved a kill. Schubert was killed on this sortie when his 163 detonated on takeoff.