VMF223 Campaign

Started by _AH_BBQhead, October 12, 2007, 01:17:15 PM

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_AH_Deviant

Quote from: _AH_Moggy on November 28, 2007, 05:42:38 AM
Good Lord, Dev.  You fly better with half your screen blocked out than I do with a ****ing 30" flat-panel. 

Moggy

Haha...actually, having a widescreen 21" HDTV probably saved me SO much last mission; if I didn't have the width, my entire screen would be blocked! Instead, I had just enough leeway to get my gunsight fully exposed, making that kill (and navigation) possible.

That said, in some ways I'm GLAD it glitched, because imagine trying to land this thing with that menus plastered on my screen... :sad-056:

But thanks for the compliments. :)

_AH_BBQhead

S~ All. Good run at em last night.. only a few japs managed to escape death and straggle home. Good plan, Rgaa.  and well flown by the rest of us.. although i feel my scouting wasn't too effective.. at any rate a lot of them got shot down and not many of us did..

Gonzo's lined up to lead the next one..

With only a few weeks left in the campaign, it's time to start ordering medals and ribbons and such..  If you have any award recommendations for actions  during the VMF-223 campaign, please submit them to Moggy via email or PM.
Recommendations made verbally are generally not taken seriously.. in some cases they are.. but the proper procedure is to submit award recommendations privately and in writing.
  For recommendations stemming from a particular campaign, the campaign builder/builders  have a significant role in approving award submissions, in addition to the HQ staff.. which is why the awards recommendations for the VMF should be sent to Moggy.     
       

At that awkward age where your brain has gone from " Probably shouldn't say that" to
"What the hell, let's see what happens"?  Me too.

_AH_Gonzo

QuoteTo tell the absolute truth, I wouldn't have believed it possible to score 12 kills in one mission -- even by DarkWolf!

After landing I was looking through the USER STAT and came across DW's stats for the mission. At first it looked like he only had about 200 rounds hit on enemy targets. A short time later I reaslised that he hadn't even fired off 1000 rounds yet! Even after the enemy (What few were left of them) had turned tail for home, he still had over 200 rounds remaining in his Wildcat! Great stuff DW!

Seeing Dev's screen shots, I know why he was flying sideways for most of the mission. Well done bud!


"I wish I was who I was when I wanted to be what I am today" - Jimi Hendrix

_AH_Mutley

An overall wicked good mission. Unfortunately I got popped while trying to clear somebody's six I think.....darrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

_AH_Moggy

From: Adjutant, M.A.G. 23
To: VMF-223
Subj: 28 September 1942 Mission Briefing

The mission brief is available for download.  Go to the "View Downloads" section.

All flight personnel are directed to download and review the brief!

Moggy

_AH_Moggy

~S~ all.

I've been compiling a list of award recommendations since we started, but would like to hear from any AH personnel as far as their own, in case I missed something (which is entirely possible).  Please PM or e-mail (MGenda@aol.com) them to me.  These can come from anyone, not just the four Flight Leaders.

Moggy

_AH_Gonzo

S! all. Here's the initial game plan for VMF-223 mission #23.

The enemy is approaching from various headings and also using different altitudes and ToT timings. In an effort to maintain parity with enemy forces, CAP areas will be closer to Cactus and Fighter One bases than on previous sorties.


MISSION OVER VIEW

Enemy aircraft on radar are not flying standard enemy tactics and are approaching at various flight levels and on converging headings to Henderson. Our forces will be divided into five (5) Flight groups of varying size each with a specific task and enemy target type.

A Flight - After departure climb and maintain 4,000m+ in the block area D-8. At least 8 enemy aircraft are proceeding towards this area. Once identified, immediately vector to engage as required.

Notes:
Flight may be reassigned at Mission Commanders discretion.
Fuel load at Flight CO's discretion but expect prolonged engagement time.
Conserve ammo!


B Flight - After departure climb and maintain 5,000m+ in the block area C-7. Use radar as required to vector towards enemy fighter aircraft as they approach the coast.

Notes:
Flight may be reassigned at Mission Commanders discretion.
Fuel load at Flight CO's discretion but expect prolonged engagement time.
Conserve ammo!


C Flight - After departure climb and maintain 6,000m+ in the block area of D-7. Use radar to vector towards enemy aircraft as they approach the coast. Your primary targets are bomber aircraft.

Notes:
Flight may be reassigned at Mission Commanders discretion.
Fuel load at Flight CO's discretion but expect prolonged engagement time.
Conserve ammo!


D Flight - After departure climb and maintain 6,000m+ in the block area of D-6. Use radar to vector towards enemy aircraft as they approach the coast. Your primary targets are bomber aircraft.

Notes:
Flight may be reassigned at Mission Commanders discretion.
Fuel load at Flight CO's discretion but expect prolonged engagement time.
Conserve ammo!


HQ Flight - After departure climb and maintain 6,000m+ in the block area of E-7. Use radar to vector towards enemy aircraft that may have slipped passed the other flights and are approaching Henderson. Your primary targets are bomber aircraft. You may be vectored to assist any flight overwhelmed by enemy fighter aircraft.

Notes:
Flight may be reassigned at Mission Commanders discretion.
Fuel load at Flight CMDR's discretion but expect prolonged engagement time.
Conserve ammo!



AIRCRAFT ASSIGNMENTS

As per Mission 23 Detail Brief.


MISSION DETAILS

All Flight CO's should expect changes to the above assignments. Due to the radical (Or maybe poor) tactics employed by enemy forces, it is still unclear as to which contacts are bomber and which are fighter aircraft.

Mission CO recommends 70-75% RPM, 70-80% throttle or less once flights are established in their respective hold (CAP) areas.


COMS PLAN

HQ Flight - Base Channel w/ Channel Commander

A Flight - A Flight Channel w/ Channel Commander

B Flight - C Flight Channel w/ Channel Commander

C Flight - C Flight Channel w/ Channel Commander

D Flight - D Flight Channel w/ Channel Commander


POINTS TO NOTE

When engaging enemy bombers:

Your mission goal is to make as many bombers release their load before reaching target. Once an aircraft you are attacking has released its load, move on to another target. Once enemy formation is out bound and no other bomber units are approaching Cactus, feel free to engage at will.

Lead bomber aircraft if damaged or no longer armed with bombs may lead remainder of their Flight away from the target. Simply put... If you can get the leader damaged enough, the remaining aircraft in that flight will cease to be a threat to our base until such time as the leader crashes or their next outbound way point is reached.

When engaging enemy fighters:

Our aircraft have a severe disadvantage at higher altitudes. If possible, maintain Flight integrity for as long as possible.

If in trouble...roll and dive. DO NOT attempt to turn in any direction except towards base and only once.

Maintain any height advantage for as long as possible using joint zoom and boom tactics.


BRIEF ENDS



GOOD LUCK!




"I wish I was who I was when I wanted to be what I am today" - Jimi Hendrix

_AH_Deviant

S! Man that was one brutal mission... :surprised-041:

_AH_Moggy

From: Adjutant, M.A.G. 23
To: VMF-223
Subj: 2 October 1942 Mission Briefing

The mission brief is available for download.  Go to the "View Downloads" section.

All flight personnel are directed to download and review the brief!

Moggy

_AH_DarkWolf

Plan for Mission #24

Ok chaps, this mission appears to be purely a fighter on fighter brawl. Should'nt be any bombers to worry about. The japs are out simply to draw us into a scrap. If the radar info is accurate they are trying to lure us down to 3000m and get us tied up with a small force so they can come in while we're occupied with a second much larger force with superior altitude and smack us over the head. We'll give them their brawl, but we'll do so more on our terms.

All a/c will loadout clean with 75% fuel. Some pilots will be assigned to mission surplus a/c so as to get as many birds into the air as we can. I will take the last a/c on Henderson, Red 28.

I will stay on the ground for a time working the radar and giving directions. All aircraft will take off and head east climbing at best speed, then make a wide 180 degree turn southward then begin heading roughly west-northwest toward the western coast of guadalcanal. The idea is to use radar heavily to side step the smaller jap force completely and then vector our gaggle so as to hook around and intercept the more numerous, higher altitude japs first. The following image shows roughly what I mean. The exact course will surely change on the fly, so everyone be prepared to receive frequent course changes (and possibly profanity) from the mission CO.



The hope is to pit our concentration of forces against the enemy's at roughly the same altitude, if not from a position of advantage if we can get there. If we're a couple thousand feet short, our numbers should help offset that disadvantage. Once that group has been ground down to the point where we have them contained, we will plot an intercept course for the lower group and aircraft not engaged will be vectored in that direction.

Dodging the first, lower japanese group is very important. Everyone needs to stay fairly close together and not wander to far in the direction of the japs. In the event that the first group spots us, let them come up to us. I'll vector the gaggle away from the larger group. Engage once they have climbed to within a couple thousand feet of the closest friendly.

Questions? Comments? Flaming criticism? Fire away!

DW


"In War: Resolution, In Defeat: Defiance, In Victory: Magnanimity, In Peace: Good Will" - Winston S. Churchill

_AH_BBQhead

S~..  Looks too straightforward to me.. or am i just too paranoid?.. i'm thinking that after the last mission, the japanese have started trying to evade and confuse our radar..and it was mentioned in the last brief that they started sending in fighters just to draw us up and away.. and then they would try to get the bombers in undetected and with no close escort.. so maybe the bombers will try to come in on the deck.. below. radar.. o wait.. in game radar goes all the way to the sea level... how handy.. never mind.

At that awkward age where your brain has gone from " Probably shouldn't say that" to
"What the hell, let's see what happens"?  Me too.

_AH_DarkWolf

If they have bombers we'll have the radar to be able to detect em, but all indications are this will be an all fighter action so thats the mindset we'll be going into the mission with.

Also, I did'nt mention HQ flight specifically. You'll be split up and attached to A/B/C/D flights based on who has fewest pilots present. One for D flight certainly since I'll be on the ground for awhile. You'll basically be reinforcing the other flights.

As for comms which I also forgot to mention, I recommend A/B/C/D and their attached pilots each use a different channel with flight leads as channel commanders. Due to the close proximity of all flights, it might be handy to have a talk to all button for emergency only.

DW




"In War: Resolution, In Defeat: Defiance, In Victory: Magnanimity, In Peace: Good Will" - Winston S. Churchill

_AH_Moggy

From: Adjutant, M.A.G. 23
To: VMF-223
Subj: 3 October 1942 Mission Briefing

The mission brief is available for download.  Go to the "View Downloads" section.

All flight personnel are directed to download and review the brief!

NOTE: There is actually only one mission remaining after # 25, so we have only two left to go.  I consolidated what were two missions (occurring historically 45 minutes apart) into a single, larger mission.

Moggy

_AH__SKATtrash

S! Guys

  Volunteered for next VMF mission at Sunday's meeting so don't have a lot of time to prepare.  Going to make this simple.
   
   We know that there are two flights of 20+ enemy aircraft coming in from the west (vectors 262* & 288*) and that one of them is probably a bomber faint to draw us off and split our forces.  So we will set up two flights as forward recon close enough to lend mutual support when the actual attack flight is spotted and the other flights slightly to the east as a reaction force.

ASSignments:

"A" flight will climb to 8000+m and patrol the B8/B9 lines off the island.

"B" flight will climb to 8000+m and patrol the B6 grid.

  When the enemy attack aircraft (most likely fighters) is spotted the involved flight leader should try to draw them toward the reaction force if possible.

"C" flight will climb to 8000m and CAP in C7.

"D" flight will climb to 8000m and CAP in B7.

  C and D are the reaction force and when the actual enemy attack vector is determined are to immediately head toward the appropriate grid.
  The Patrol flight that does not make contact with the enemy attack force is to vector eastward to back up the other flights. (ie. "A" flight vectors southeast or "B" flight vectors northeast) As the fight will most likely carry towards homebase.

"HQ" flight will either fill in or fly as a seperate unit in C7.

This should keep the main body of our available aircraft within 10 to 15km of each other and allow a quick response.

_AH_DarkWolf

Mmmmmm, aaaltituuuude....wheres my pic when I need it.....




Might I also suggest we change the name of C and D flights group to the Rapid Reaction Force? This would give us an appropriate cool sounding name crucial to maintaining high morale and ensuring fighting efficieny.

DW


"In War: Resolution, In Defeat: Defiance, In Victory: Magnanimity, In Peace: Good Will" - Winston S. Churchill