Originally Posted by old_geezer

So I've been promoted to navigator now, eh? Great........from now on our missions will mysteriously end up dropping all bombs on France. You shouda never put a war vet behind the wheel.

PBJ PBJ PBJ

Originally Posted by Rain Man

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/attac...chmentid=21529

B-17 #14 – Lucy Quipment II – Lucy Reloaded

Pilot Bob_Damned_Dole (6)
Copilot Clint in Wichita (6)
Bombardier 2bikemike (6)
Navigator Loki (1)
Engineer chief52 (6)
Radio Op. old_geezer (6)
Tail Gunner chiefsfan58 (6)
Ball Turret Gunner RINGLEADER (6)
Right Waist Gunner Patteeu (6)
Left Waist Gunner FloridaChief (1)

Target: Rouen
Mid-formation horizontally, high vertically (moderate vulnerability)

Zone 1 Out: Britain

No enemy

Zone 2 Out: English Channel

1 Me110 driven off by fighters

Zone 3 Out: Western Channel

3 Fw190s attack

chiefsfan58 fires, misses
patteeu fires, misses
chief52 fires, misses
ringleader fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

Fw scores 3 hits
-tailplane is slightly damaged
-superficial damage to nose
-superficial damage to starboard wing

Fw scores 3 hits
-pilot compartment – windscreen is shattered, exposing Bob_Damned_Dole and Clint in Wichita to the elements. The pilot and copilot confer, and elect to follow through with the bombing run before they drop out of formation.
-superficial damage to starboard wing
-port wing – inboard fuel tank is hit and leaking. It appears that it won’t be a problem given the moderate length of the mission.

2 Fws circle, attack again

patteeu fires, misses
chief52 fires, damages Fw190
2bikemike fires, damages Fw190
old geezer fires, misses

Damage Fw misses, breaks off attack

Damaged Fw scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to radio room
-superficial damage to starboard wing
-superficial damage to tail

Damaged Fw breaks off attack

Zone 4 Out: France (Entering Target Zone)

5 Me109s attack – 1 is driven away by fighters

2bikemike fires, misses
loki fires, kills Me109
chiefsfan58 fires, misses
patteeu fires, kills Me109
chief52 fires, misses
ringleader fires, misses

Me misses, breaks off attack

Me scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to starboard wing
-port wing – landing gear is knocked out of commission
-pilot compartment – A nasty shot kills Bob_Damned_Dole with a hit to the lower back, and ClintinWichita sustains a light wound to the right thigh. Despite his wound, ClintinWichita takes over the flight.

Me circles, attacks again

chiefsfan58 fires, kills Me109
patteeu fires, misses
chief52 fires, misses

Entering Bomb Zone
Good Weather
Heavy Flak – 2 hits
-pilot compartment – heat is knocked out of commission
-starboard tailplane root is damaged

2bikemike will not be denied, despite the flak – 20% score

Zone 4: France (Leaving Target Zone)

2 Me109s driven off by fighters

Zone 3 Back: Western Channel

Having held out as long as possible, ClintinWichita descends out of formation so he can avoid frostbite. Old_geezer cuts a deal with two other badly damaged B-17s that need to descend as well, and the three planes drop down in formation. Six fighters that have found their way into the formation also agree to descend and watch out for the crippled planes. The downside for Lucy Quipment is that the lower altitude will make the fuel burn faster. Loki does some quick calculations, and determines that the plane can make it back to base, but it’ll be close.

Zone 2: English Channel
Lucy Quipment II’s little friends stay busy over the Channel.

2 Me110s are driven off by the fighters

3 Fw109s are driven off by the fighters

1 Me109 is driven off by the fighters

No enemy

Zone 1: England

Bad weather – visibility is low and it’s raining

The weather is a problem, because Lucy Quipment is burning fuel even faster now. ClintinWichita bids adieu to his little squadron, banks left, and heads to the coast. The fuel sensors are going off now, as he crosses over the coast and small fishing villages. The weather is making it tough to find an airfield, and the crew sits nervously as old_geezer works the phones, relaying messages up to ClintinWichita via chief52. The plane descends lower, lower down to only a few hundred feet as the plane searches for a place to land.

At last, an airfield appears. Clint lines up for a tough landing – bad weather, strange airfield, dead pilot, low fuel, wounded copilot, landing gear inoperable, and the windscreen gone. He takes a deep breath, sets the glide slope, and coasts in for a perfect belly landing, the rain smoothing the skid and not even kicking up sparks. Give it a few days repair, fly it back to base, and this plane will fly again.

Aftereffects

The crew gets a bit of a respite as the parts are trucked in to repair the plane. A nice three-day leave in western England, tasting Devonshire cream and quaffing meads is enough to make them adjust to the loss of their second pilot.

Eligible for next mission

Pilot Clint in Wichita (6) , promoted
Copilot 2bikemike (6) , promoted
Bombardier Loki (1) , promoted
Navigator chief52 (6) , promoted
Engineer old_geezer (6) , promoted
Radio Op. chiefsfan58 (6) , promoted
Tail Gunner RINGLEADER (6) , promoted
Ball Turret Gunner Patteeu (6) , promoted
Right Waist Gunner FloridaChief (1) , promoted
Left Waist Gunner XXX

That was a much harder flight than it looked like at first.

Originally Posted by 2bikemike

Damn I have been promoted again. I don't know if that is a good thing or not. It does not appear that pilots and co-pilots have a very high survival rate.