S3 Series

American Eagles fielded 14 pilots for the final frame in SOF: Besea, Crommm, Darken, Docgxx, Foss-j, Heaven, Hookem, Mikenz, Okdoc, Ozzone, Pppepp, Rock--, Swanee, and Waggaa.

Sortie 1:

We launched to protect our Buffs raiding Europe in the North Sector. Things were different this time around. The Axis numbers were up due to reinforcements and, for the first time, they conducted Jabo raids on several bases throughout the frame. Most of these appeared to be low number attacks on multiple targets which forced the Allied side to allocate fighters to defence. As a result, the protective cover for our Buffs was significantly reduced. We knew we'd be in it as soon as we appeared on enemy radar.

As we approached the target, our buffs seemed to break into two groups but still relatively close together. The enemy started arriving, just a few, and a portion of our cover engaged those fighters close to the bombers. Rock-- got a kill but collided with debris and bailed. From that point he gave us GCI. Our Buffs made their drop but were not happy with the result and elected to make a 2nd pass. This proved to be disastrous for the fighters. The bombers became scattered forcing us to commit another 1/3 of our fighters to close support. Shortly after this commitment, our GCI warned us of a large group approaching from the east. Our remaining high cover headed east to engage and delay hoping that our bombers would be able to egress safely. A very costly battle ensued.
Eventually, the bombers egressed. I have no idea how many got out but American Eagles were decimated protecting our charges. We lost 11 planes for only 1 kill in the first sortie. Only 3 survived.

Sortie 2:

For the 2nd sortie, Ozzone and Darken launched to join a hodgepodge of fighters doing their best to protect the buffs. By the end of frame, we had lost Darken. Only Ozzone survived.

Final Tally:

Kills: 1
Losses: 12

S! to all the side CO's and Jabo and his gang for putting on another great S3 season. We can't do it without you and your efforts are appreciated!

S!
Crommm
American Eagles

Great work guys, always a pleasure to fly with you