As to being out-numbered. Yeah, it is frequently a pain in the neck. However, there is usually no lack of enemy, so it's anything but boring. I believe that the Rooks need to organize better on a daily basis, not only for RJOs. If more pilots would volunteer to CAP the HQ, we would not find ourselves blind half of the time. Frankly, I'm getting tired of doing it. One or two fighters isn't enough to kill off 5 B-17s, and sometimes roving hordes of bombers make a pass over the HQ. Indeed, if the Rooks (Bish and Knits too) established an informal squad-based BARCAP, it would go a long way towards solving this problem. A different squad assumes the duty each night. This way, you would only get stuck with this duty a few times a month. Hey, why not?
I've watched some of those huge Tiffy missions fall apart in dramatic fashion. A few evenings back, a monster mission began launching from a Bish field on the west side of the map. A Buff driver called it in. I was about 20 miles away in my Yak, and along with 4 other pilots, headed over to harass the horde. Upon arriving over the huge gaggle of Tiffies, 110s and Mossies, we rolled in from their high 6. At least 9 of the enemy (estimated at 25-30 in number) went down. When I ran out of ammo, I made mock attacks until fuel became an issue. Meanwhile, the Rooks had an equally large reception waiting for the attackers, most well above the scattered horde. Within minutes, the attack was crushed. Not a single Bish made it to the target field.
This was a case of poor planning in my estimation. There were dozens of Rooks airborne between the takeoff and target fields. Furthermore, there was a fully operational Rook field just a few miles to the east. Those big raids can be devastating, as long as they are not met by equal numbers with the advantage of altitude. This raid was doomed from its inception. At the very least, the launch field was far to close to target field.
My regards,
Widewing
