Mission 13: Are you superstitious? Triskadekatoraphobia! Triskadekatoraphobia!

[Rain Man]

If you make this one, you're over halfway home.

[Rain Man]

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B-17 #3 – Dreamsicle

Pilot Logical (12)
Copilot memyselfi (12)
Bombardier Hoover (12)
Navigator The Bad Guy (12)
Engineer BigChiefDave (12)
Radio Op. Ecto-I (12)
Tail Gunner cntrygal (12)
Ball Turret Gunner JennyGump (11)
Right Waist Gunner EBOLA (5)
Left Waist Gunner Warrior5

Target: La Rochelle, in southwest France
Mid-formation horizontally and vertically (low vulnerability)
Distance: 8 zones

Zone 1 Out: Britain

No enemy

Zone 2 Out: English Channel

2 Me109s are driven away by other B-17s

Zone 3 Out: Western Channel

2 Me109s attack

Hoover fires, misses
The Bad Guy fires, misses
BigChiefDave fires, misses
Cntrygal fires, misses

Me misses, breaks off attack

Me scores 3 hits
-nose – bomb controls are damaged. The bomb run will have to be aimed manually
-superficial damage to starboard wing
-tail – rudder slightly damaged

Me circles, attacks again

Jennygump fires, misses
The Bad Guy fires, damages Me109

Me scores 2 hits, breaks off attack

-superficial damage to waist
-superficial damage to tail

Zone 4 Out: France

4 Me109s attack – 2 are driven off by fighters

The Bad Guy fires, misses
BigChiefDave fires, misses
Ebola fires, misses
Hoover fires, misses

2 Mes miss, break off attack

Zone 5 Out: France – out of fighter range

No enemy

Zone 6 Out: France

No enemy

Zone 7 Out: France

3 Fw190s attack

BigChiefDave fires, kills Fw190
The Bad Guy fires, misses
Ecto-I fires, misses
Cntrygal fires, misses
Ebola fires, hits Fw190

2 Fws miss, break off attack

Zone 8 Out: France (Entering Target Zone)

2 Me110s attack

Jennygump fires, misses
Ebola fires, misses
Cntrygal fires, hits Me110
BigChiefDave fires, misses

Me misses, breaks off attack

Me scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to bomb bay
-PING! A shell hits a bomb, but it doesn’t explode
-port wing – outboard fuel tank begins leaking

Me circles, attacks again

Jennygump fires, hits Me110
Warrior5 fires, misses
BigChiefDave fires, misses

Me misses, breaks off attack

5 Me109s attack

Hoover fires, misses
The Bad Guy fires, misses
BigChiefDave fires, misses
Cntrygal fires, damages Me109
Ebola fires, misses
Warrior5 fires, hits Me109

4 Mes miss, break off attack

Me scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to starboard wing
-radio room – the radio is knocked out of commission
-bomb bay – PING! Another bomb is hit, but doesn’t explode

Me circles, attacks again

Cntrygal fires, misses
BigChiefDave fires, misses
Ebola fires, misses

Me misses, breaks off attack

Entering Bomb Zone
Poor Weather – Rain and mist
Light Flak – 3 hits
-superficial damage to tail
-tail – rudder is heavily damaged
-superficial damage to port wing aileron

Between the weather, the flak hit, and the damage to his controls, Hoover has no chance – 0% score

Zone 8: France (Leaving Target Zone)

1 Me110 is driven off by other B-17s

memyselfI is doing some calculations, and she’s worried about the fuel, with the port outboard tank now empty.

Zone 7: France

No enemy

MemyselfI is now really worried about the fuel level. She thinks that there’s not enough to get back to base, and there may not even be enough to reach England. She takes the yoke, and logical confirms her calculations.

Zone 6: France

5 Me109s attack

The Bad Guy fires, misses
BigChiefDave fires, misses
Ecto-I fires, misses
Cntrygal fires, kills Me109
Ebola fires, misses
Warrior5 fires, misses

2 Mes miss, break off attack

Me scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to nose
-nose – hoover takes a light wound to the stomach

Me scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to tail
-bomb bay – doors inoperable
-tail – port elevator is knocked out

2 Mes circle, attack again

Jennygump fires, misses
Hoover fires, misses
Cntrygal fires, misses
BigChiefDave fires, misses

Me misses, breaks off attack

Me scores 2 hits
-pilot compartment – unbeknownst to the logical and memyselfI, the landing gear mechanism is jammed
-nose – hoover takes a second light wound to the right foot

Me circles, attacks again

The Bad Guy fires, misses
BigChiefDave fires, misses
Cntrygal fires, misses

Me scores 2 hits
-radio room – control cables are damaged, but still operable
-waist – warrior5 takes a light wound to the forehead, dropping to the deck unconscious.

Me breaks off attack due to low fuel

Zone 5: France

No enemy

Logical and memyselfI have a problem. The fuel gauges are all reading near empty, and it’s still a long way home. They might be able to get some more range if they cut a couple of the engines, but that would just get them to the English Channel. If they crashed alone with no radio, they’d be doomed.

Their choices appear to be just that, or crash landing in France and taking their chances. They consider their odds, and decide to take their chances on the water. If they can stay in formation long enough, they’ve got a reasonable chance of running into fighter cover, and possibly signaling to a fighter to follow them down. Landing in France means that most or all of the crew will likely be captured. Logical sets the engines lean, and the crew begins tossing overboard anything that’s not absolutely necessary.

Zone 4: France – back in fighter range

Warrior5 awakens with a huge headache.

The crew is delighted to see a flight of P-47s waiting to escort the flight in. As logical begins to pull out of formation to attract the fighters’ attention, the #1 engine sputters and dies for lack of fuel.

5 Fw190s attack – 3 are driven off by fighters

BigChiefDave fires, misses
Ecto-I fires, misses
Cntrygal fires, misses
Ebola fires, misses
Jennygump fires, damages Fw190

Damaged Fw misses, breaks off attack

Fw scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to pilot compartment
-nose – hoover once again takes a hit, this time a serious wound to the right side of his head. He goes down in a heap, and dies of his wounds a few minutes later.

Fw circles, attacks again

The Bad Guy fires, misses
BigChiefDave fires, misses
Cntrygal fires, misses

Logical pulls out of formation, but stays at altitude. Two of the P-47s pull in close to see what’s happening, and back in the radio room, Ecto-I passes signals to the closest of them. He reports up that the pilot gave him a thumbs up.

The #2 engine sputters to a stop as Dreamsicle crosses over the coast. They’re still a long way from home. A water landing is inevitable now, and logical begins easing the plane down, realizing that a powered landing will be much safer than a gliding landing.

Zone 3 Out: Western Channel

The crew gets busy at this point, donning their parachutes if they didn’t already have one, and ebola ducks into the bomb bay to get the life rafts ready to go.

Unfortunately, the bomb bay doors won’t open. Cursing, ebola calls up to the crew, and jennygump, now wearing her parachute, moves up to help him drag them back to the waist. They won’t be able to inflate the rafts ahead of time since they won’t fit through the waist door. They’ll have to hope that the plane stays afloat long enough to get the rafts out and inflated.

The #4 engine sputters to a stop.

MemyselfI gives a thumbs up to the escorting P-47 pilots, and logical guides the ship toward the water. Inside the plane, everyone braces for a landing. The Bad Guy moves back from the vulnerable nose and hooks himself into warrior5’s harness. Jennygump, no longer in the vulnerable ball turret, does the same with ebola’s harness.

Dreamsicle cruises down toward the water, the #3 engine still purring. MemyselfI calls out the altitude so the crew will know what’s coming. “300 feet…200 feet…100 feet…50 feet…brace yourself!”

In an enormous cascade of water, Dreamsicle slams into the English Channel. A massive wave washes over the pilot compartment, and the plexiglass nose shatters, sending water cascading through the front of the plane.

Navigator The Bad Guy (12), Ball Turret Gunner JennyGump (11), Right Waist Gunner EBOLA (5), and Left Waist Gunner Warrior5 pile out the waist gunner hatches, dragging the bulky rafts with them and struggling to swim in their chutes. As a team, they paddle away behind the wings as the nose of Dreamsicle begins to sink, The Bad Guy hauling the bloodied and woozy warrior5 to the left, and ebola heading right with two of the rafts. Jennygump waits with the third raft as water sloshes up to her thighs, then ducks out the left side with the third raft as soon as The Bad Guy is clear.

Bombardier Hoover (12) lies KIA in the flooded nose, and will go down with the ship.

Pilot Logical (12), Copilot memyselfi (12), and Engineer BigChiefDave (12) scramble out the top of the plane. After a moment’s hesitation to find the waist gun crew, they all take off their parachutes, dive off the top of the plane, and begin dog paddling, the two pilots heading left and the engineer heading right.

Tail Gunner cntrygal (12) waits until the plane settles, then calmly opens her tail hatch and scouts the situation. Climbing out onto the rising tail of the plane, she sees ebola swimming away from the plane, and dives in to join him after doffing her parachute.

Radio Op. Ecto-I (12) was in a tougher position to escape, and gets slammed into his radio room by the wave of water. Slogging through instant waist deep water, he makes his way to the left waist gun hatch and makes his escape as the tail starts rising into the air. Weighed down by his parachute, he struggles to get clear as the waist of the plane submerges.

Jennygump and ebola are in good shape, and are able to take a moment to shed their parachutes. With a flourish, jennygump pulls the inflation cords on the small raft that she holds, and it inflate perfectly.

On the other side of the plane, ebola inflates the first raft, and then the second. BigChiefDave joins him, and they help each other aboard. A moment later, cntrygal arrives and she too is pulled aboard into ebola’s raft.

On the left side, The Bad Guy keeps warrior5 afloat and safe as jennygump climbs aboard the raft.
Logical and memyselfI approach, but realize that warrior5 needs it worse. They hang onto raft as jennygump maneuvers it, and The Bad Guy and warrior5 climb aboard. A coughing Ecto-I also reaches the raft at that time and hangs on as well.

Only the tail of the plane is visible now, and the rafts paddle away as their trusty steed sinks below the seas. Once it’s clear, BigChiefDave and the Ebola/cntrygal team steam over to the overloaded boat, and logical and memyselfI climb into BigChiefDave’s raft. Ecto-I is hauled aboard the Ebola/cntrygal raft, and at that point the nine crew members wave in relief to the two P-47s circling overhead.

Twelve long hours later, and after three shift changes of escort fighters, the trio of rafts sees lights on the horizon. The Bad Guy fires a flare, and the crew rides home in style in a Lend Lease destroyer.

Aftereffects

Despite the plane loss, nine of the ten crew members are coming back for more. Dreamsicle II is in the works.

Eligible for next mission

Pilot Logical (12)
Copilot memyselfi (12)
Bombardier The Bad Guy (12), promoted
Navigator BigChiefDave (12) , promoted
Engineer Ecto-I (12) , promoted
Radio Op. cntrygal (12) , promoted
Tail Gunner JennyGump (11) , promoted
Ball Turret Gunner EBOLA (5) , promoted
Right Waist Gunner Warrior5, promoted
Left Waist Gunner XXX

Water, water everywhere, and hoover’s in the drink.

[Cntrygal]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Me scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to bomb bay
-PING! A shell hits a bomb, but it doesn’t explode
-port wing – outboard fuel tank begins leaking

Me scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to starboard wing
-radio room – the radio is knocked out of commission
-bomb bay – PING! Another bomb is hit, but doesn’t explode


Entering Bomb Zone
Poor Weather – Rain and mist
Light Flak – 3 hits
-superficial damage to tail
-tail – rudder is heavily damaged
-superficial damage to port wing aileron

Between the weather, the flak hit, and the damage to his controls, Hoover has no chance – 0% score

memyselfI is doing some calculations, and she’s worried about the fuel, with the port outboard tank now empty.
MemyselfI is now really worried about the fuel level. She thinks that there’s not enough to get back to base, and there may not even be enough to reach England. She takes the yoke, and logical confirms her calculations.

Me scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to nose
-nose – hoover takes a light wound to the stomach

Me scores 3 hits
-superficial damage to tail
-bomb bay – doors inoperable
-tail – port elevator is knocked out

Me scores 2 hits
-pilot compartment – unbeknownst to the logical and memyselfI, the landing gear mechanism is jammed
-nose – hoover takes a second light wound to the right foot

Me scores 2 hits
-radio room – control cables are damaged, but still operable
-waist – warrior5 takes a light wound to the forehead, dropping to the deck unconscious.
Fw scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to pilot compartment
-nose – hoover once again takes a hit, this time a serious wound to the right side of his head. He goes down in a heap, and dies of his wounds a few minutes later.

Fw circles, attacks again
The #2 engine sputters to a stop as Dreamsicle crosses over the coast.

Unfortunately, the bomb bay doors won’t open. Cursing, ebola calls up to the crew, and jennygump, now wearing her parachute, moves up to help him drag them back to the waist. They won’t be able to inflate the rafts ahead of time since they won’t fit through the waist door. They’ll have to hope that the plane stays afloat long enough to get the rafts out and inflated.

The #4 engine sputters to a stop.

In an enormous cascade of water, Dreamsicle slams into the English Channel. A massive wave washes over the pilot compartment, and the plexiglass nose shatters, sending water cascading through the front of the plane.

Navigator The Bad Guy (12), Ball Turret Gunner JennyGump (11), Right Waist Gunner EBOLA (5), and Left Waist Gunner Warrior5 pile out the waist gunner hatches, dragging the bulky rafts with them and struggling to swim in their chutes. As a team, they paddle away behind the wings as the nose of Dreamsicle begins to sink, The Bad Guy hauling the bloodied and woozy warrior5 to the left, and ebola heading right with two of the rafts. Jennygump waits with the third raft as water sloshes up to her thighs, then ducks out the left side with the third raft as soon as The Bad Guy is clear.

Bombardier Hoover (12) lies KIA in the flooded nose, and will go down with the ship.

Pilot Logical (12), Copilot memyselfi (12), and Engineer BigChiefDave (12) scramble out the top of the plane. After a moment’s hesitation to find the waist gun crew, they all take off their parachutes, dive off the top of the plane, and begin dog paddling, the two pilots heading left and the engineer heading right.

Tail Gunner cntrygal (12) waits until the plane settles, then calmly opens her tail hatch and scouts the situation. Climbing out onto the rising tail of the plane, she sees ebola swimming away from the plane, and dives in to join him after doffing her parachute.

Radio Op. Ecto-I (12) was in a tougher position to escape, and gets slammed into his radio room by the wave of water. Slogging through instant waist deep water, he makes his way to the left waist gun hatch and makes his escape as the tail starts rising into the air. Weighed down by his parachute, he struggles to get clear as the waist of the plane submerges.

Jennygump and ebola are in good shape, and are able to take a moment to shed their parachutes. With a flourish, jennygump pulls the inflation cords on the small raft that she holds, and it inflate perfectly.

On the other side of the plane, ebola inflates the first raft, and then the second. BigChiefDave joins him, and they help each other aboard. A moment later, cntrygal arrives and she too is pulled aboard into ebola’s raft.

On the left side, The Bad Guy keeps warrior5 afloat and safe as jennygump climbs aboard the raft.
Logical and memyselfI approach, but realize that warrior5 needs it worse. They hang onto raft as jennygump maneuvers it, and The Bad Guy and warrior5 climb aboard. A coughing Ecto-I also reaches the raft at that time and hangs on as well.

Only the tail of the plane is visible now, and the rafts paddle away as their trusty steed sinks below the seas. Once it’s clear, BigChiefDave and the Ebola/cntrygal team steam over to the overloaded boat, and logical and memyselfI climb into BigChiefDave’s raft. Ecto-I is hauled aboard the Ebola/cntrygal raft, and at that point the nine crew members wave in relief to the two P-47s circling overhead.

Twelve long hours later, and after three shift changes of escort fighters, the trio of rafts sees lights on the horizon. The Bad Guy fires a flare, and the crew rides home in style in a Lend Lease destroyer.

Water, water everywhere, and hoover’s in the drink.

I stayed calm throughout that. Damn. RIP Hoover - maybe we can get ya back. Warrior.. WTH?? Do you have a target on you????

[Rain Man]

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B-17 #4 – Red, White, and Blew by You

Pilot Lattimer (12)
Copilot go bo (12)
Bombardier KCJohnny (12)
Navigator Redcoats58 (12)
Engineer voyager (12)
Radio Op. munkey (12)
Tail Gunner TheFly (12)
Ball Turret Gunner cdcox (12)
Right Waist Gunner tk13
Left Waist Gunner Nightfyre

Target: Lille
Mid-formation horizontally, high vertically (moderate vulnerability)
Distance: 3 zones

Zone 1 Out: Britain

No enemy

Zone 2 Out: English Channel

2 Fw190s attack

Redcoats58 fires, misses
Voyager fires, misses
Cdcox fires, misses
TheFly fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

Fw scores 1 hit
-superficial damage to radio room

Fw circles, attacks again

TheFly fires, hits Fw190
Redcoats58 fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

Zone 3 Out: France (Entering Target Zone)

1 Me109, 1 Me110 attack

Voyager fires, kills Me109
TheFly fires, kills Me110
Redcoats58 fires, misses

2 Me109s attack

Kcjohnny fires, hits Me109
Tk13 fires, damages Me109
Voyager fires, misses

2 Mes miss, break off attack

Entering Bomb Zone
Good Weather
Light Flak – misses
Bomb run off target for some inexplicable reason – 0% score

Zone 3 Out: France (Leaving Target Zone)

1 Fw190, 3 Me109s attack – 1 Fw190 is driven off by fighters

Kcjohnny fires, kills Me109
Redcoats58 fires, hits Me109
Voyager fires, damages Me109
TheFly fires, misses

2 Mes miss, break off attack

2 Me110s are driven off by fighters

Zone 2: English Channel

3 Me109s attack – 2 are driven away by fighters

Kcjohnny fires, misses
Tk13 fires, misses

Me misses, breaks off attack

Zone 1: England

Good weather
Good landing

Aftereffects

None

Eligible for next mission

Pilot Lattimer (12)
Copilot go bo (12)
Bombardier KCJohnny (12)
Navigator Redcoats58 (12)
Engineer voyager (12)
Radio Op. munkey (12)
Tail Gunner TheFly (12)
Ball Turret Gunner cdcox (12)
Right Waist Gunner tk13
Left Waist Gunner Nightfyre

Milk run. Too bad the bombing didn’t come off.

[Rain Man]

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B-17 #5 – El Duderino II - Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders

Pilot Lzen
Copilot Rain Man
Bombardier Talisman (12)
Navigator Joe Seahawk
Engineer Radar Chief (12)
Radio Op. Mr. Blond
Tail Gunner UMKC 1L
Ball Turret Gunner morphius
Right Waist Gunner kcfanintitanhell
Left Waist Gunner PastorMikH

Target: St. Omer, just across the Channel (The mostly rookie crew gets a break, except for their position within the formation.)
Lead Bomber in formation, high vertically (extreme vulnerability)
Distance: 2 zones

Zone 1 Out: Britain

No enemy

Zone 2 Out: English Channel/France (Entering Target Zone)

1 Fw190, 1 Me110 attack – 1 Me110 is driven off by fighters

Talisman fires, misses
Radar Chief fires, misses
UMKC1L fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

2 Fw190s are driven off by other B-17s

4 Me109s attack

Radar Chief fires, damages Me109
UMKC1L fires, misses
Talisman fires, misses
Joe Seahawk fires, misses
Pastormikh fires, misses

3 Mes miss, break off attack

Me scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to starboard wing
-#4 engine is hit, and a major oil leak spews liquid out

Me circles, attacks again

UMKC1L fires, misses
Morphius fires, kills Me109
Pastormikh fires, misses

Entering Bomb Zone
Good Weather
No Flak
It’s an easy run for Talisman – 40% score

Zone 2: English Channel (Leaving Target Zone)

1 Fw190 attacks

Talisman fires, misses
Radar Chief fires, misses
UMKC1L fires, misses

Fw misses, breaks off attack

Zone 1: England

Good weather

Engine #4 is overheating badly, so Rain Man turns it off, as well as the healthy Engine #1 to keep power symmetric. Lzen drops out of formation and El Duderino circles at the base until the other planes land. Even on two engines, it’s a good landing. No harm done.

Aftereffects

None

Eligible for next mission

Pilot Lzen
Copilot Rain Man
Bombardier Talisman (12)
Navigator Joe Seahawk
Engineer Radar Chief (12)
Radio Op. Mr. Blond
Tail Gunner UMKC 1L
Ball Turret Gunner morphius
Right Waist Gunner kcfanintitanhell
Left Waist Gunner PastorMikH

[PastorMikH]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Pastormikh fires, misses

That dice roll better be the exception instead of the norm!




I was hoping someone would get hit so I could move up a spot.

[Zebedee DuBois]

Wet tee shirt contest on the Dreamsickle!!

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Zebedee DuBois

Wet tee shirt contest on the Dreamsickle!!

My money would've been on Hoover if he hadn't died.

[Cntrygal]

Originally Posted by Zebedee DuBois

Wet tee shirt contest on the Dreamsickle!!

[Rain Man]

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B-17 #7 – Flyin’ Doublewide

Pilot htismaqe (12)
Copilot Bwana (12)
Bombardier 58Forever (12)
Navigator fbal4lif32 (12)
Engineer SDChiefsfan (12)
Radio Op. KC Dan (12)
Tail Gunner ExtremeChief (12)
Ball Turret Gunner tweak6 (5)
Right Waist Gunner joesomebody (5)
Left Waist Gunner BIG DADDY

Target: Vegesack, in northern Germany
Lead bomber in formation, high vertically (extreme vulnerability)
Distance: 7 zones

Zone 1 Out: Britain

No enemy

Zone 2 Out: English Channel

No enemy

Zone 3 Out: North Sea

No enemy

Zone 4 Out: North Sea

1 Me109, 2 Me110s attack – 1 Me110 is driven off by fighters

Tweak6 fires, kills Me110
58forever fires, misses
sdchiefsfan fires, misses
extremechief fires, misses
fbal4lif32 fires, misses

Me scores 2 hits
-nose – the bomb sight is destroyed. It’s going to be a blind bomb shot.
-nose – WHOOOOSH! Fbal4lif32’s oxygen system lights up in flames.

Fbal4lif32 rips off his mask with only very minor burns to his mouth. He sprints back to grab a fire extinguisher.

Me circles, attacks again

Big Daddy fires, misses
sdchiefsfan fires, hits Me109

Me misses, breaks off attack

Fbal4lif32 comes back with an extinguisher and sprays down his oxygen system. Fortunately, the fire goes out relatively easily. So does fbal4lif32, though, as he passes out from oxygen deprivation. 58forever reports the situation to htismaqe and bwana, who shake their heads.

With the bomb sight damaged and no oxygen for the navigator, this flight is doomed. Flyin’ Doublewide is dropping out of formation so fbal4lif32 can get oxygen, and so is moving out of the formation.

Reluctantly, htismaqe decides to abort. He lets the second plane know, and then turns the B-17 in a great sweeping circle. No point in continuing a mission under these circumstances.

Zone 4 Back: North Sea

No enemy

Zone 3 Out: North Sea

No enemy

Zone 2: English Channel

5 Me109s attack – 2 are driven away by fighters

58forever fires, misses
fbal4lif32 fires, hits Me109
sdchiefsfan fires, misses
extremechief fires, misses

2 Mes miss.

Me scores 2 hits
-pilot compartment – the top turret gun is knocked out.
-radio room – intercom is out, which means no communication between crew members

3 Mes circle to attack again

Big Daddy fires, damages Me109
extremechief fires, misses
58forever fires, misses

2 Mes miss.

Me scores 1 hit
-#1 engine is destroyed, but doesn’t cause more harm by racing.

The damaged Me goes home, but the other two circle for another attack

extremechief fires, misses
joesomebody fires, misses
Tweak6 fires, misses

2 Mes miss, break off attack

Zone 1: England

Good weather
Good landing

Aftereffects

None

Eligible for next mission

Pilot htismaqe (12)
Copilot Bwana (12)
Bombardier 58Forever (12)
Navigator fbal4lif32 (12)
Engineer SDChiefsfan (12)
Radio Op. KC Dan (12)
Tail Gunner ExtremeChief (12)
Ball Turret Gunner tweak6 (5)
Right Waist Gunner joesomebody (5)
Left Waist Gunner BIG DADDY

Oh, well. Living to fight another day.

[morphius]

I made it through one mission, and have tied my number consecutive missions lived through on a single ship!


Sweet.

[Rain Man]

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B17 #10 – Gunther’s Thunder III – Rise of the Machine

Pilot JOhn (6)
Copilot KC Jones (12)
Bombardier Taliswoman (7)
Navigator Dartgod (6)
Engineer Mohillbilly (6)
Radio Op. roger (6)
Tail Gunner Bug (6)
Ball Turret Gunner 4th and Long (6)
Right Waist Gunner Dave Lane (5)
Left Waist Gunner bowser (1)

Target: Antwerp
Mid-formation horizontally, low vertically (high vulnerability)
Distance: 4 zones

Zone 1 Out: Britain

No enemy

Zone 2 Out: English Channel

No enemy

Zone 3 Out: Belgium

No enemy

Zone 4 Out: Belgium (Entering Target Zone)

2 Me110s attack

Bowser fires, misses
4th and long fires, hits Me110
bug fires, hits Me110

Me misses, breaks off attack

Me scores 2 hits
-superficial damage to tail
-tail – bug takes a serious wound to the left chest

Me circles, attacks again

4th and long fires, misses
mohillbilly fires, kills Me110

1 Fw190 attacks

Bowser fires, misses
mohillbilly fires, damages Fw190
roger fires, kills the same Fw190
KC Jones orders Dave Lane to switch positions with the wounded Bug to ensure that the plane’s 6 o’clock is protected. Dave Lane leaves his position to make the switch.

Entering Bomb Zone
Good Weather
Heavy Flak – 1 hit
-superficial damage to starboard flap
Taliswoman has a talent for this – 40% score

Zone 4 Out: Belgium (Leaving Target Zone)

Dave Lane is now ensconced in the tail gun pod, while bug is strapped into Dave Lane’s old position.

2 Fw190s are driven off by other B-17s

Zone 3 Out: Belgium

No enemy

Zone 2: English Channel

No enemy

Zone 1: England

Bad weather – major fog
Despite the weather, John brings GT in for a good landing

Aftereffects

Bug is sent home on a nice slow cruise on the Queen Elizabeth, with a tube in his sucking thorax wound. The war is over for him.

Eligible for next mission

Pilot JOhn (6)
Copilot KC Jones (12)
Bombardier Taliswoman (7)
Navigator Dartgod (6)
Engineer Mohillbilly (6)
Radio Op. roger (6)
Tail Gunner 4th and Long (6), promoted
Ball Turret Gunner Dave Lane (5), promoted
Right Waist Gunner bowser (1), promoted
Left Waist Gunner XXX

It was a textbook mission except for that hit on Bug.

[4th and Long]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

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B17 #10 – Gunther’s Thunder III – Rise of the Machine

By the looks of the mission, the rest of the planes had the Krauts busy. We really didn't see much resistance. That's not a complaint mind you.

Poor bug. I'm going to miss that guy.

Thankfully I know where he hides his alcohol stash.

I better get to it before Countrygirl boards our plane and makes off with the goods.

[Cntrygal]

Originally Posted by 4th and Long

Thankfully I know where he hides his alcohol stash.

I better get to it before Countrygirl boards our plane and makes off with the goods.

Strolling out towards the flightline, Cntrygal finally finds 4th and Long.

"4th! How are ya doing? Tough luck about Bug. Anyway, we're having our 'post mission Tailgunners meeting' tonight at the hooch. Since you've been promoted, you're officially invited. Everyone brings a bottle to put up on the bar. See ya after chow. "

[4th and Long]

Originally Posted by Billzzzlovr

Strolling out towards the flightline, Cntrygal finally finds 4th and Long.

"4th! How are ya doing? Tough luck about Bug. Anyway, we're having our 'post mission Tailgunners meeting' tonight at the hooch. Since you've been promoted, you're officially invited. Everyone brings a bottle to put up on the bar. See ya after chow. "

-after procuring Bug's stash and stowing it safely away in his pack, 4th and Long disembarks the plane, only to see Cntrygal headed his way-

"Hi'ya Cntry! Tailgunners meeting obvious sexual reference you say? Tonight? At the hooch? Bring a bottle to put up on the bar? -wondering what she'd do with that, especially since she was winking when she said it- Uhh yeah, I'll give that some serious thought. I'm off to the rack. Enjoy chow."