The Fortunes (and misfortunes) Of War

Bernie · Post by **Bernie** » Mon Apr 15, 2002 1:03 am

I just finished a generated river crossing battle where two P-51D's, one after another each wiped out a friendly "Easy 8" (crossing to the Allied side of the river to do it) and then went back across the river and were each shot down by German infantry squads!

I swear, in my next battle my aircrews are getting Breathalyzer tests before they get in the cockpits!

And I'm strip searching those German infantry squads for AA guns in their lederhosen!

troopie · Post by **troopie** » Mon Apr 15, 2002 9:05 am

Infantry firing at strike aircraft, and hitting them, dates from the Great War. But its an extremely rare thing, and takes place more often in the SPseries than it ever did in reality. I remember seing an SU-25 shot down by an SMG is SP2, and yelling "Impossible!" at the screen. (Actually I yelled something else, and it was obscene.)

These things happen in SP.

troopie

panda124c · Post by **panda124c** » Mon Apr 15, 2002 10:12 pm

Originally posted by troopie
Infantry firing at strike aircraft, and hitting them, dates from the Great War. But its an extremely rare thing, and takes place more often in the SPseries than it ever did in reality. I remember seing an SU-25 shot down by an SMG is SP2, and yelling "Impossible!" at the screen. (Actually I yelled something else, and it was obscene.)

These things happen in SP.

troopie

In the book 'God Is My Copilot' there is a description of the Japanese using squares of infantry firing rifles for AA and what happens when 6-.50 cal MGs connect.

Bernie · Post by **Bernie** » Tue Apr 16, 2002 12:52 am

I figured this thread could be used to share with the rest of us those amazing, grit your teeth or chortle with glee, things that happen in a game, which you know you'll never see again if you replay the turn a thousand times.

Goblin · Post by **Goblin** » Tue Apr 16, 2002 1:29 am

I know this is driven into the ground, but I had a platoon of Tigers on a road, in column, as a ready reserve. I had plotted enemy T34's for air strikes, but could no longer see them when my aircraft arrived. Rather than bomb the Soviet infantry units that I could see, the planes killed three of the four Tigers, and the fourth crew bailed on the next turn. AAAAARRRG! That sooooo needs to be fixed in CL.

Goblin

WhiteRook · Post by **WhiteRook** » Tue Apr 16, 2002 1:58 am

Yeah I hear you guys! But sometimes the quirks can work in your favor. I once had a US campaign going and was doing everything I could to hold a hill that was over looking a road junction. When the Tiger tanks came up the road I knew it was curtians. Then my btty. of 4.2' mortars nailed (2) of them and broke up the attack!

troopie · Post by **troopie** » Tue Apr 16, 2002 4:29 am

I have been on the fortunate end of that as well. In the Calabar scenario in SP2, when the Nigerian Mig-19s hit their own tanks, and my Biafrans were able to retreat and regroup. Recently in SPWAW, when three Japanese Claudes flew over my trembling infantry, to hit the advancing Jap tanks. And too many other times to mention.

troopie

chief · Post by **chief** » Tue Apr 16, 2002 8:54 am

My favorite action took place not in SPWAW but in Silent Hunter.
I came to periscope depth for a quick peak and found myself in the midst of a Japanese Hunter Killer team of 5 DDs. I quickly lowered my scope but was spotted anyways and they started a run on me. Set torps for running depth of 5 feet, heard engine noise at 1000 yds, waited for 20 secs....up scope, 1st target was inside 650 yds, fired 2 torps, saw second was also in range so I let 2 more forward tubes go, checked my 6 and two others were closing so I gave them 2 each, pulled down scope and headed to port rapidly. Sound man reported 1st target destroyed, a split second later he reported 2nd target destroyed, 3rd and 4th same same. Waited patiently with two remaining bow tubes loaded for the remaining DD, I didn't have to wait long he was coming down on me with a full head of steam. I repeated my 20 second wait and when the scope came up he was 750yds, too far for a safe shot, he saw me and began a turn but by that time he had closed to 625 yds, last 2 torps running. Crash Dive ordered, long pause and sound man reported dud torpedo then he reported a hit. I came to periscope depth and by that time I had no torps ready. The DD had damage and was aft of my position. ordered surface to 39 feet (con and deck gun out of water) and relied on smoke from his fire to shield me from his lookouts, broke surface and manned deck gun 2 shots and a crippled DD joined his ancestors.
Total real time ~20 minutes. Never did it again, but I cherished that moment. I wish I had a SPWAW story for this spot but........

Bernie · Post by **Bernie** » Tue Apr 16, 2002 11:12 am

Originally posted by chief
My favorite action took place not in SPWAW but in Silent Hunter.
I came to periscope depth for a quick peak and found myself in the midst of a Japanese Hunter Killer team of 5 DDs. I quickly lowered my scope but was spotted anyways and they started a run on me. Set torps for running depth of 5 feet, heard engine noise at 1000 yds, waited for 20 secs....up scope, 1st target was inside 650 yds, fired 2 torps, saw second was also in range so I let 2 more forward tubes go, checked my 6 and two others were closing so I gave them 2 each, pulled down scope and headed to port rapidly. Sound man reported 1st target destroyed, a split second later he reported 2nd target destroyed, 3rd and 4th same same. Waited patiently with two remaining bow tubes loaded for the remaining DD, I didn't have to wait long he was coming down on me with a full head of steam. I repeated my 20 second wait and when the scope came up he was 750yds, too far for a safe shot, he saw me and began a turn but by that time he had closed to 625 yds, last 2 torps running. Crash Dive ordered, long pause and sound man reported dud torpedo then he reported a hit. I came to periscope depth and by that time I had no torps ready. The DD had damage and was aft of my position. ordered surface to 39 feet (con and deck gun out of water) and relied on smoke from his fire to shield me from his lookouts, broke surface and manned deck gun 2 shots and a crippled DD joined his ancestors.
Total real time ~20 minutes. Never did it again, but I cherished that moment. I wish I had a SPWAW story for this spot but........

Ah yes... Silent Hunter... We should compare records one of these days chief... One patrol I had (IIRC) 20 torps and came home with 26 kills, one for each torp, 5 with the deck gun, and an aircraft with the .50 cal... Talk about "pucker factor"! I was dead on the surface with damage from the plane. When my AA crew took him down I think my neighbors 4 houses away heard my yells.

chief · Post by **chief** » Tue Apr 16, 2002 7:17 pm

Bernie:
Never got an aircraft though I tried....

White Phosphorus · Post by **White Phosphorus** » Thu Apr 18, 2002 6:33 am

All of you people whining about your aircraft shooting up your armror, need to play IL-2 sturmovik with all realism settings on. When you are flying in an airplane, you can barely see your target, much less identify it.

WhiteRook · Post by **WhiteRook** » Thu Apr 18, 2002 6:46 am

Originally posted by White Phosphorus
All of you people whining about your aircraft shooting up your armror, need to play IL-2 sturmovik with all realism settings on. When you are flying in an airplane, you can barely see your target, much less identify it.

Oh-Oh, methinks we have ruffeld a flyboys feathers! :p

Bernie · Post by **Bernie** » Thu Apr 18, 2002 10:09 am

Originally posted by White Phosphorus
All of you people whining about your aircraft shooting up your armror, need to play IL-2 sturmovik with all realism settings on. When you are flying in an airplane, you can barely see your target, much less identify it.

Well Willy, if ya can't ID it, and you know friendlies are in the area, you shouldn't be shooting at it. IMHO that is...

Not you personally...the flyboys in the game.

Goblin · Post by **Goblin** » Thu Apr 18, 2002 10:20 pm

Originally posted by Bernie

Well Willy, if ya can't ID it, and you know friendlies are in the area, you shouldn't be shooting at it. IMHO that is...

Not you personally...the flyboys in the game.

Especially if those friendlies are well behind your lines, and have been there since the battle began, never moving once! Like my poor Tigers....

Goblin

mogami · Post by **mogami** » Thu Apr 18, 2002 11:08 pm

Hi, Too bad we don't have different colors of smoke:...

"Ok wingwiper drop your load on the purple smoke, don't bomb the green smoke"

of course once your boys pop the green smoke every bad guy with a green smoke grenade pops his.

"no wait wing wiper were popping red, go ahead and bomb the green smoke"

flyboy "huh screw it" drops bombs on empty hex and flys back to O-Club:eek:

Bernie · Post by **Bernie** » Fri Apr 19, 2002 1:15 am

I'd thought I'd seen this happen once before in a game, but shrugged it off as my eyes playing tricks on me. Then it happened again last night and I almost fell off my chair laughing.

Had a 50mm mortar that I could not seem to kill, or even scratch. I surrounded it with SdKfz-234/4's and blasted it from all sides, one hex away and hardly suppresed it. Then, from behind a smoke wall I brought up a late model Tiger to do an overrun. Well, when those guys saw that Tiger coming at them it was like watching a cartoon! They actually picked up the entrenchment ring and took it with them for a hex while they ran! Then it snapped back to the right position and they just kept on running.

It was hilarious! You could almost see the arms coming over the ring to lift it up, and the feet spinning like wheels underneath...like watching the Flintstones.

:)

JVRyk5 · Post by **JVRyk5** » Fri Apr 19, 2002 1:59 am

Playing IL 2 really DOES give you new insight to 'friendly fire'. It also gives you huge respect for those SPWaW pilots who kill two heavy tanks at one pass. Hitting eaven one in IL 2 requires timing and accuracy of banana fly mating mid air.

Greg McCarty · Post by **Greg McCarty** » Sat Apr 20, 2002 3:54 am

Just as an attempt to put this in perspective, the German
Army had an infantry anit-aircraft doctrinal proceedure that involved the mass firing of rifle units at low flying targets.
It was employed when the ground units had sufficient time to do so. I have read corroborating documents describing it. I have no
data on how effective it was, but it seems to me that a plattoon
or two firing volleys at a strafing aircraft sufficiently low could
have a telling effect. Beyond that, this particular example described is just outrageous luck.

The Fortunes (and misfortunes) Of War

The Fortunes (and misfortunes) Of War

blind wing wipers

LOL, am I seeing things?