[Rain Man]

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B-17 #13 – Throw Bomba from the Plane II – Cruise Control

Pilot ndbbm (2)
Copilot the Talking Can (7)
Bombardier kcnut (2)
Navigator Slayer Diablo (2)
Engineer Shakesthecat (7)
Radio Op. Simplex3 (7)
Tail Gunner mikey23545 (7)
Ball Turret Gunner theultimatekcchiefsfan (7)
Right Waist Gunner Bunnytrdr (7)
Left Waist Gunner Chickie44 (2)

Target: Abbeville
Mid-formation horizontally and vertically (low vulnerability)

Zone 1 Out: Britain

No enemy

Zone 2 Out: English Channel

No enemy

Zone 3 Out: France (Entering Target Zone)

Yep, those Germans are all over this mission.

2 Fw190s are driven off by fighters

4 Me109s attack – 1 is driven off by fighters

Kcnut fires, misses
Slayer Diablo fires, misses
Shakesthecat fires, kills Me109
Chickie44 fires, misses
Mikey23545 fires, damages Me109
Theultimatekcchiefsfan fires, misses

Damaged Me scores 1 hit, breaks off attack
-superficial damage to port wing

Me scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to nose
-superficial damage to radio room
-superficial damage to nose

Me circles, attacks again

Shakesthecat fires, misses
Kcnut fires, misses

Me misses, breaks off attack

1 Fw190, 1 Me110 attack

Shakesthecat fires, misses
Theultimatekcchiefsfan fires, hits Me110
Chickie44 fires, misses
Kcnut fires, misses

Me scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to radio room
-radio room – radio is destroyed. No mayday signals will be possible.

Fw scores 4 hits
-waist – chickie44 is seriously wounded by a hit to the right hip
-superficial damage to port wing
-port wing - #2 engine is hit – the oil tank bursts into flame!
-port wing - #2 engine is hit a second time in the oil tank, as the engine begins trailing black smoke

the talking can immediately activates the first of Engine #2’s two fire extinguishers. Fortunately, it works and the fire goes out quickly, but the engine is dead and smoking.

Me, Fw circle, attack again

Mikey23545 fires, kills the already hit Me110
Shakesthecat fires, misses
Simplex3 fires, misses
Slayer Diablo fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

The B-17 is struggling on 3 engines with its bomb load, and is dropping back in the formation. However, they are close enough to the target that ndbbm decides to push through with the bombing run anyway, despite the smoke that marks them as an easier target. Once the bombs are dropped, Throw Bomba from the Plane will be able to keep up with the formation.

Entering Bomb Zone
Good Weather
Heavy Flak – 2 hits
-starboard wing – direct shrapnel hit on the oil tank of the #3 engine, and it too bursts into flames. The talking can hits the first of the fire extinguishers, and the fire abates but doesn’t die. With his last chance, the talking can activates the second extinguisher and fire dies, but the B-17 has now lost both inboard engines. It is being passed left and right now and has to drop lower to avoid the possibility of a mid-air collision. This is not a good situation. Two non-working engines are now trailing smoke.
-nose – starboard cheek gun is destroyed in slayer diablo’s hands, though he escapes injury. He abandons that gun and goes with the nose gun.

Bomb run off target due to the chaos of the fire, the engine loss, and the heavy flak – 0% score

Zone 3 Out: France (Leaving Target Zone)

Throw Bomba from the Plane is struggling now, missing two engines. It can’t remain at altitude and drops down despite ndbbm’s best efforts. With no radio, simplex3 can’t even request fighter support, so the plane is all alone scarcely 7,000 feet above the French countryside.

Random flak guns fire at the target of opportunity, but miss.

Screaming in like hawks on a dove, 5 Fw190s attack, racing each other for an easy kill.

Kcnut fires, kills Fw190
Slayer Diablo fires, misses
Shakesthecat fires, misses
Theultimatekcchiefsfan fires, misses

2 Fws miss, but circle to attack again since the plane is out of formation

Fw banks in from the left and strafes 5 hits across the plane
-starboard wing – what is it with the oil tank hits? The #4 engine sprouts a stream of oil. There’s no fire, but the oil leak will eventually kill it. The talking can looks back and reports that it’s “not a big leak” so hopefully the engine will hold up for a while.
-starboard wing root damaged
-superficial damage to port wing
-port wing - #2 engine is hit yet again in the oil tank. Fortunately, there is no fire.
-radio room – simplex3 loses his heat, though that’s not an issue at this altitude.

Fw scores 3 hits
-starboard wing root is badly damaged.
-pilot compartment – the talking can takes a light wound to the right buttocks
-port wing – oooooh, bad news. The #1 engine takes a direct hit and the propeller blows off. Throw Bomba from the plane dips as the thrust cuts again. The only engine left is the #4, which is running well but leaking oil. There is loud cursing from inside the plane, and crew members scramble for parachutes “just in case.”

The 4 surviving Fw circle and attack again.

Kcnut fires, misses
Slayer Diablo fires, kills Fw190
Shakesthecat fires, misses
Theultimatekcchiefsfan fires, misses
Bunnytrdr fires, misses

1 Fw misses

Fw scores 2 hits
-starboard aileron is hit – no effect
-superficial damage to port wing

Fw scores 1 hit
-waist – the bullet grazes bunnytrdr in the mid upper back, giving him a light wound, and then strikes the already wounded chickie44 in the stomach. Chickie44 dies from blood loss within minutes.

The 3 surviving Fws circle and attack again

Shakesthecat fires, misses
Kcnut fires, misses
Theultimatekcchiefsfan fires, kills Fw190
Mikey23545 fires, kills the same Fw190, creating a massive fireball.
Simplex3 fires, misses

Enter the cavalry! 4 P-47 Thunderbolts drop from the sky. With unabated fury, they target the 2 surviving Fw190s and the B-17 gets to witness a dogfight extraordinaire. The Fws don’t want to abandon the crippled bomber, but the P-47 are relentless. In five long minutes, the Fws are driven away and the P-47s return. From his vantage point in the back, mikey23545 sees a fifth P-47, also trailing smoke, gaining ground. The P-47 were there to protect their own, but Throw Bomba from the Plane got a freebie in the process.

One engine can’t support the plane, though, and the call comes back from shakesthecat. “Lose weight, lose weight! Throw everything overboard that you don’t need!”

Slayer Diablo dumps the damaged cheek gun over France, leaving an open-air nose area for him and kcnut. Simplex3 hauls the dead radio back to the waist area, and dumps it out after he helps the injured bunnytrdr push out the unmanned left waist gun. Extra ammo goes out from every opening on the ship.

The talking can, simplex3, slayer, and bunnytrdr each pull out the oxygen and heating equipment in their areas, and toss them overboard. Mikey23545 helps from the back of the plane, throwing his equipment out the tail.

The B-17 is now at 6,000 feet.

Via hand signals, kcnut communicates to one of the P-47 pilots that there’s no radio aboard the ship. The B-17 crew watches as the flight stays together for a few minutes, and then the damaged P-47 moves on. Two of the healthy planes go with it, and two stay with the B-17.

2 Me110s attack, but are driven off by the P-47s. It is obvious that the P-47s are trying to keep the enemy as far as possible from the B-17, knowing the one hit can take it down.

The B-17 is now at 5,000 feet.

2 Me109s attack, but are driven off by the P-47s in a fierce exchange off in the distance.

The B-17 is now at 4,000 feet.

2 Me109s attack. One of the P-47s is lost in the ensuing struggle, but Throw Bomba remains in the air. The crew salutes the parachute as it kicks out of the canopy.

The B-17 is now at 3,000 feet.

The P-47 pulls alongside the B-17 and the pilot points at his guns and shrugs. He tucks in under the nose of the B-17 and matches the slow pace.

3 Me110s attack unabated.

Kcnut fires, misses

Shakesthecat fires, misses
Theultimatekcchiefsfan fires, misses
Slayer Diablo fires, kills Me110

Me misses.
Me scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to port wing
-radio room – the intercom is knocked out. The crew now can’t communicate with each other and coordinate fire. Simplex3 pulls the equipment rack out and runs it over to the open left waist position. He drops it onto France, then returns and does the same thing with the table that held the radio.

The 2 Mes circle and attack again.

Shakesthecat fires, misses
Kcnut fires, misses
Bunnytrdr fires, hits Me110

Hit Me misses

Me scores 4 hits
-superficial damage to starboard wing
-nose – kcnut takes a fatal hit to the left chest
-superficial damage to pilot compartment
-pilot compartment – the talking can goes in a brutal manner, decapitated by 2 hits to the neck and 1 hit to the head.

Both Mes circle, attack again

Shakesthecat fires, misses
Slayer Diablo fires, misses
Theultimatekcchiefsfan fires, misses

Both Mes miss. Perhaps they’re low on fuel, or they just realize that the B-17 is doomed, but they pull away.

Zone 2: English Channel

The English Channel appears now. The B-17 is at 2,500 feet.

Ndbbm has no choice. The oil pressure gauges are starting to flicker on the tortured Engine #4. With no intercom, he yells back to shakesthecat, “Do you want me to turn around so we can bail out over France?” Shakesthecat calls out to those he can reach – slayer in the nose, simplex3 in the radio room, and bunnytrdr in the waist. They all vote no. No one wants to be a POW, and if they ditch the P-47 can at least radio in their position. “Then throw out more stuff! Everything you’ve got!”

With trepidation, the guns start going overboard. Slayer tosses out the nose gun and the port cheek gun, along with their ammunition. Simplex tosses the radio room gun over the side. Theultimatekcchiefs fan comes up from the ball turret and the entire turret is released over the water. Don’t need that gun because nothing’s going to come from underneath any more. Bunnytrdr throws the right waist gun out the window. The crew opts to keep the top turret gun and the tail gun, with minimal ammo, as last ditch defenses. They can only hope that the Channel is quiet, as is often the case.

The B-17 is at 2,000 feet.

Ndbbm nurses beloved Engine #4. Slayer moves topside and gets in the copilot’s seat to help out ndbbm in any way possible. Simplex3 moves up and stands just behind shakesthecat to relay messages as needed. Theultimatekcchiefsfan stations himself at the open left waist position so he can help the lightly wounded bunnytrdr as necessary, and the two work as gun observers out their respective windows. Mikey23545 stays in place at the tail gun position.

3 Fw190s attack

Mikey23545 conserves his last bit of ammo.
Shakesthecat fires, misses

Fw scores 1 hit
-superficial damage to bomb bay

Fw scores 1 hit
-pilot compartment – rudder controls are destroyed.

Fw scores 1 hit
-port wing – aileron is destroyed.

The B-17 is at 1,000 feet.

The 3 Fws circle and attack again. One Fw lines up at six o’clock, so mikey23545 fires too.

Shakesthecat fires, misses
Mikey23545 fires, misses

Fw misses.

Fw scores 1 hit
-superficial damage to nose

Fw scores 1 hit
-rudder – the top half of the vertical tail is blown off.

The 3 Fws circles and attack again. There is no more ammunition left on the plane, so shakes and mikey move the guns as if they’re firing, hoping to bluff the enemy fighters. The friendly P-47 pops up next to the plane and guns it, climbing rapidly. One of the Fws takes off in pursuit.

Fw scores 1 hit
-pilot compartment – shells rain in on the top turret, destroying the gun and blowing off shakesthecat’s right leg at the hip.

Fw scores 2 hits
-radio room – With no intercom left to hit, the shells ricochet off of bare walls. Simplex is out of the area and so merely peers back, then runs over and picks up the spent and smashed shell as a souvenir.
-waist – bullets strafe the floor alongside where bunnytrdr is standing. With no ball turret, the structural integrity gives way, and a significant piece of the aircraft’s skin breaks away. There’s now a large gap in the floor where the ocean can be seen.

The B-17 is at 500 feet.

Slayer points ahead and cheers. Spitfires are on the scene! The Fw190s, clearly outnumbered, turn tail and flee, and Throw Bomba gets an escort of 8 fighters riding herd.

The B-17 is at 250 feet and is still 25 miles out.

Simplex3 tosses the top turret gun overboard. Mikey23545 tosses the tail gun overboard. Amazingly, Engine #4 is still running fine, despite a reading of no oil pressure at all.

The B-17 is at 150 feet 20 miles out.

There are seven surviving crew members at this point: ndbbm and slayer in the cockpit, simplex3 attempting to stop the bleeding of shakesthecat just aft, theultimatekcchiefsfan and the slightly injured bunnytrdr peering out the big hole in the waist, and mikey23545, who is stuck in the tail and can’t cross the gap. It’s obviously too late to bail out, and the plane is not going to make it to the coast. Ndbbm orders theultimatekcchiefsfan and slayer to get the life rafts ready, and he’s going to set the plane down in the water. Everyone except mikey23545 moves to the high ground in the pilot compartment.

Ten miles from the white cliffs of Dover, Throw Bomba from the Plane eases into the water. With a terrific jolt the plane hits at 70 miles per hour, skis to a stop, and rapidly starts sinking. Within two minutes the plane is gone.

Navigator Slayer Diablo (2) is out the copilot’s window in a jiffy with the rafts, and he inflates them quickly.
Pilot ndbbm (2) and Radio Op. Simplex3 (7) drag Engineer Shakesthecat (7) out the top turret and help him aboard a life raft.
Ball Turret Gunner theultimatekcchiefsfan (7) stays with Right Waist Gunner Bunnytrdr (7) as they clamber out the top turret and get aboard a raft.
Tail Gunner mikey23545 (7) is on his own as water pours into his compartment, but he holds his breath, dives out the tail escape hatch and surfaces near the back of the plane. He dog paddles over to the rafts and is pulled aboard.

Within 30 minutes, a fast-moving British skiff pulls alongside and the crew climbs aboard. Another day, another dollar.

Aftereffects

Throw Bomba from the Plane will fly again, as a majority of its crew survived.

Sadly, shakesthecat didn’t make it. He died in the hospital as a result of his wounds.

Two days later, en route back to base, the crew met the heroic P-47 pilot, who went by the pilot nickname “American Hero.” He reported that they were escorting their own pilot back and had been surprised to see a smoking, one-engined B-17 at low altitude. There was no debate about leaving it behind, but two P-47s had to move on to help the damaged P-47, so he and his wingman stayed behind. His wingman landed safely in France, evaded the Germans, and happily was on his way back to the base after hooking up with the French underground. American Hero trades addresses with the crew and they all promise to keep in touch after the war.

Eligible for next mission

Pilot ndbbm (2)
Copilot XXX
Bombardier Slayer Diablo (2), promoted
Navigator XXX
Engineer Simplex3 (7), promoted
Radio Op. mikey23545 (7), promoted
Tail Gunner theultimatekcchiefsfan (7), promoted
Ball Turret Gunner Bunnytrdr (7), promoted
Right Waist Gunner XXX
Left Waist Gunner XXX

Helluva mission. Helluva mission.