Gentlemen,
First thank you for adopting to the plan with short notice. Not many "hiccups" at the beginning other then rebasing of the DR's to closer field.
Ground strikes on the convoy and armored units went very well on the first strike, the 4th, the one step of 352nd, and 127 wing with the 8th did a bang up job.
Losses to AAA include three of the 127 Wing, but little enemy aircraft were observed in the area. At least 90 % of the targets were destroyed during this sortie.
The second sortie however found the bulk of the LW hovering over the area, a fierce fight involving all saw losses mount.
Third and Fourth sorties were not as opposed, but with smaller numbers of strike left they did a great job of killing M3s and Halftracks. The last sortie in found no vehicles in the 3.2.9 area and a few in the 3.2.6 area which were dispatched. Special mention to jlord and saspin (I think) and deak and yukone from 127 wing for completing the task at hand.
DR's attack on S 22 was outstanding, though the Wellington was not as fast as the B 25s, and with the great escort provided by the 2 steps from 352nd, they were able to close 22 with little or no opposition till half way home. Thank you Darryl for flying that aircraft. I think only two wellingtons (AI) were lost, but not sure if this was to enemy action or on landing. 352nd was able to mix it up with the 109s of LF6 and AEs on the return trip home, as well as intercepting JU 88s which were attacking our shipping. (Lost 4 freighters, @ 4 pts per). Most of the LW was tied up in the south, which meant they had to transit a lot of area before intercept.
However, the 20 mile DAR in the north really did not provide enough warning for us, the attack on our shipping for the most part went unnoticed until it was to late.
In the south no dar was present. In the last half of the frame the NS were able to fly unabated into fields 8 and 9 and close them. (telephone and telegraph lines from these two fields must have been cut also as no warning was received until the closed notice in the buffer). The loss of those may inhibit future frame attacks against the GV's.
The LW also attacked and closed M 24 and f48. Quick strike with no available units to respond.
My apologies on assuming the rules allowed strike aircraft to have two lives. Misinterpataion of the rules on my part.
Thanks to 352nd for allowing me to split the group up. Having that one extra step of strike in the south really helped the cause. I know no one likes to be split up but your cooperation was appreciated.
In closing not sure how this will play out points wise but should be close. There was no way to put a squad or a step of a squad on convoy protection. those 16 points will be hard to overcome. This may be something a future CO may want to consider as well as a possible strike on there shipping.
Hope everyone enjoys the turkey day break, enjoy the time with family, friends and others.
<S> ALL
Swede- S/L 416 RCAF- 127 Wing
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