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--= AAR =--
The 4th Jagdgeschwader launched with half numbers due to a large part of the pilots and staff being knocked out by an African flu, which seemed to be a problem for the whole Luftwaffe in this battle. We were still being briefed about our mission when at T+10 enemy P-38's were reported to close in on F86-Aman in a surprise strike. The 4th JG quickly launched in Fw 190's but arrived after F86-Aman had been heavily hit. A ferocious fight ensued south of the field where the Axis were getting outnumbered. Several Allied fighters were downed but at heavy losses for our side.
After rearming the 4th JG had half the geschwader protect F86-Aman in the south while 4+ pilots kept CAP over the north-western front. A formation of B-24 Liberators were destroyed over F82-Medjerda at the loss of a couple Fw 190's. Our geschwader kept fighting at F86 at low altitude while the other element kept defending F81-Medierda and F82-Medjerda at high altitude. We succesfully engaged enemy fighters 3-4 times our numbers above 6000 m (20k ft) and came out on top in kill/loss ratio. In the low altitude fighting at the southern front though our losses were staggering.
A few 4th JG Bf 109's later engaged a large swarm of enemy fighters at high altitude over enemy territory in an aggressive air sweep. We only lost one pilot while being able to harass the enemy for quite some time. Again our Bf 109's proved to have superior speed over the Allied Spitfire V's at high altitude.
During the later part of the battle the 4th JG's remaining few pilots defended F86 and F20, and also escorted Ju-52's with fallschirmjägers to capture F94-Djemma south-east of F86. We managed to destroy more enemy fighters than we lost during these engagements. At the very end of the battle three 4th JG pilots were engaged by two aces from the Allied 352nd squadron and our pilots managed to shoot them both down.
During all fights we were supported by pilots from other Jagdgeschwaders. The Luftwaffe was outnumbered approximately 1:2 during the whole night.
--= END AAR =--
Lessons learned
* We really need more pilots to show up or we won't stand a chance at 1:2 odds. The Axis fought valiantly last night but were to heavily outnumbered.
* We need to launch on point at T+0 or the enemy P-38's can inflict heavy losses on our fields before we can intercept them.
* We should do everything in our power to keep the fight above 5000 m (17000 ft) with our Messerchmitt Bf 109's. If possible draw the enemy up above 9000 m (30k ft). Below 5000 m (17k ft) it's an even fight, but above this altitude our fighters have far superior speed. For 10 minutes I single handedly engaged 10 Spitfires at 8000 m (26k ft) in boom n zoom tactics and they could not touch me. Our squad had good success while keeping a disciplined hard deck of 5000 m (17k ft), even against far greater numbers.
* The P-38's are great at high altitude though, but the mid-war Spits, Hurris and P-40F's are not.
* The Fw 190 is best for low altitude fights where it holds a distinct speed advantage over all Allied fighters. The Bf 110G-2's are great for shredding enemy bombers to pieces and have good high altitude performance.
Top Scorers 4th JG
Robert: 6 kills, 1 Ai, 1 loss
Nookyb: 3 kills, 1 Ai, no losses
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/Robert
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Robert
