Provisional Flight Leader

[Limy]

~S~ Sir,
I was not impressed by my attempt to cover the job of flight leader last Sunday. Plenty of excuses:- too busy to do my 'homework ', did not expect to be I/C the entire defending fighter force ( thought is was to be just a couple of fighters from Ripe) etc., but the fact remains, I 'lost the plot'.

I failed to give a decent,clear briefing and, although I led the fighters to the convoy, I lost it when chasing a 'baddy' and Smilo wacked the carrier.
Loss of 'situational awareness' I think it's called.
Later, Hubba got shot up in a B17 attacking Axis bases as we were too slow to cover him.

Still, good fun, and I hope another candidate will make a better job of it. Anyone chosen will have my full support.

I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant.

AAC 2nd Lt. Limy

[smilo]

~S~Limy,
I hope the CO won't mind if I respond to your "knock on his door".
It is very good to see you get your feet wet. I truly hope you enjoyed your self.
As I recall, in the first phase of the mission, the Axis came in from three directions at different times and altitudes.
No small task to defend against.
Hopefully, in a few weeks, we will have the AAC Armada released. With this new addition, it will be clear whether the target has been destroyed, damaged or missed. To be honest, I can not confirm that I hit the target or not, but MrGit1 and I did come close.
Then, I believe the Allies made us pay the price. I know that I was shot up and limping home when Cobra caught me and put me in the drink. Brrrr.
In Phase 2, it appeared that several Allied Fighters attempted a diversion and then tried to draw us away from the Bomber which had a minimal escort.
MinuteMan made first Bomber contact and directed MrGit1 and myself to the location where we were able to damage the Bomber before it made the coast. Again, we both damaged and crashed attempting to get home.
After the 5 minute penalty, I came back at Calais and took off just as Hubba was approaching the runway for a low level bomb run. We met, head to head and each got some hits on the other. I am not sure, but I think I may have distracted the usually steady handed Hubba, because he missed the Refuel Zone with 2 or 3 bombs. I was able to make a quick 180* turn and caught Hubba as he was attempting the same. Unfortunately for him, his turn offered a premium target and I was able to put him down.
My only regret is that I did not have my gun camera activated. It would have made a great movie.
A couple of tips for future reference, the optimum location for Bomber Escorts is 1000 feet above and 1000 feet behind the "formation". Also, remember what you constantly hear in Single Missions where you are an Escort, "Protect the Bombers". Don't allow yourself or your Flight to be drawn away from the assigned task.
The AAC Staff tries to put the pilots in Leadership situations as often as possible. It gives pilots an opportunity to get an idea of what it takes to Lead the Group and hopefully, enhances the Game for everyone.
As I said, I hope you enjoyed yourself and I look forward to your next endeavour. Next time, hop in a Wolfe and have some real fun!!
BTW, I think MinuteMan got a taste of what a B**** the 190 can be, especially at high altitude. Right, MM?
One more thing I almost forgot, Limy, Nicely Done as your First Mission Lead. I hope to see many more.

[AAC_Maj. Hubbabubba]

Don't sell yourself short Limy.

You did your duty in both phases of the game.

Remember our Charter; For us, a good mission is a mission in which we did our best to achieve our objectives, even in failure.

And you didn't failed.

First objective was to offer protection to the fleet, which you did. The objective was not to get the fleet through unscathed! History tell us that it is an impossible task anyway! Remember Coral Sea, Midway; both fleet were under a fighter umbrella, both fleet got whacked!

Second objective was to bomb one of the three runways of the Pas de Calais region. We bombed all three!

What smilo doesn't know is that Calais (prime objective) had already been put out of commission by fighter-bomber actions. This is why I only spent half of my load on the stock runway, in the hope of laying my last five eggs on the "add-on" runway.

I wish all commanders failed that way!

Is there place for improvement?; sure!

But you should receive "passing grades" for these two!

Good show! Limy...

[Minuteman]

~S~ Limy....don't be too critical of yourself! As you have learned, it is no easy task to be a Flightlead...you have to be aware of the mission objectives and the individual positions of your flight team...all this while doing your own flying and fighting! You did very well for your first time out. This was essentially a test...in which, as Hubba put it, you earned passing grades! Part of what we do is to teach...and you have learned valuable lessons which will come in handy in your future exploits! A "Well Done" to you Sir! You are rapidly achieving your next skill level....~S~....MM