guess this would be a AAR type post

[Hard Sarge]

Kurt Tank jr is assigned to Stab JG/301,flying in the number 2 slot (wonder why my plane is labeled number 5 ?)

I get cussed and chewed out for taking a break in the breakroom (well, thought that was what it was for ?) get going, large raid coming in

WOW, large numbers of B-17's coming in at 24 K, 47's and 51's roaming the area at will, my Ta-152 H1 seems a little sluggish and don't want to climb to combat alt, luckly them 47's that flew pass, never even seen us

finally get to alt, but am still too slow for a good run, but the Bombers are all over and I right in the middle of them, so may as well fire !

I pick out a nice jucy slow bomber, that seems to be flying just a little slower then I am, guess the gunners are all busy watching the show, as I close in, they wake up just as I get in range and we both open fire at the same time, my 30mm Cannon rips the bomber in half before the gunners can find the range

a sicken sight is seen as I fly past and the ball gunner sail by, still stuck inside of his ball, with out a plane attached to it

pick out a 2nd bomber, close in, but the slipstream is making it very HARD to aim, let alone hit anything, see some strikes across the tail, but time to break off, last second snap shot, puts a 30mm shell right behind the number 3 engine and I am gone, it may not be done, but it should not make it home

below and in front of me, I see 2 P-51's making a turn into one of my mates, push the nose over and try to be a hero, make a high speed pass on the wingman, see strike across the wing and he is starting to leak fuel, but my mate is screaming for help, so can't hang around, make my overshoot, and start to bring my sights to bear when it looks like his wingman warns him, and he begins a Split S, I try to follow, but bleed off all my speed, the leader is good but his wingman is hurt and out of the fight, he rolls out of his Split and starts to climb, my beast is just not able to follow, I fire off a burst and he counter rolls, just enough for me to get off a clean burst, 1 30mm hits his wing, but 1 30mm is enough, his wing snaps in half

pull up and start a slow turn back into his wing man, he starts a sissor, but I am able to put some more rounds into his wing, but the 30mm is now quiet

start another counter roll, to bring the damaged 51 into my sights, when over the RT is heard the words no pilot wishes to hear, BREAK, BREAK, Mustangs diving on you, finish the counter roll and keep it going into a Split S, and away I go, with at least 2 Stangs on my tail, call out over the RT the old classic line, STOP yelling and clear my tail

I lead them onto a merry little chase, but try to half loop back into them, but as I close into the 2nd Stang, the first has closed the range, and I start to feel the strike of 50 cal rounds hitting my wing, no speed, no alt and no help, I say goodbye to my sluggish old beast and bail out

as I slowing float to the earth, I see that it was indeed a mighty battle, chutes and smoke fill the sky everywhere you look

a passing VW scout car picks me up and drops me off at the base, the ground crew is happy to see that if not the plane, at least the pilot has return to the nest, shakeing hands with Otto, he tells me that the CO has confirmed 3 kills for me, 2 of the bombers and 1 of the dreaded Stangs, Helmut is busy making up a stencil so he can start painting my kills onto my tail, but I tell him he can wait, I need a new plane before he can do any painting !

HQ has called and passed on a well done to the JG, togther with JG/300 we knocked down 17 planes today and only lost 2, CO tells me if I lose another plane that still has all of it's parts again, I will be doing my flying from the Russian front, with a rifle !, but then smiles as he hands me my Iron Cross 2nd class

my family will be proud, if they ever get to see it

Kurt Tank jr

HARD_Sarge

[tankeriv]

Awsome report Hard_Sarge!!

[Hard Sarge]

III/JG11 Feb 1945 Berlin

Last mission

it seems no matter how many planes we knock down, the next day, there are more of the Jabos raiding the area

my Group carries Mk108 gunpods, while I have the 2nd group armed with with 20 mm gunpods, we are the hunters, so the extra weight is worth the chance if we have to fight, the trick is, don't fight

Ground control is sleeping, the enemy is high, so much for the don't fight idea, call break and start my roll to chase anyone foolish enough to try and engage one of my men, my heart is in my throat as I watch 4 Jabos fly past my cockpit, my luck holds as they are targeting some one else

Stangs dive in, and try to protect there Jabos, the Jabos keep on going, so fight is on

see a blue nosed 47 trying a climbing turn, would be an easy kill, but also see 2 Checkertail Stangs chasing one of my men, give up the easy kill to save a mate

[Hard Sarge]

30 mm are murder if they hit, get in close and they do more times then not

Dreiern, my hotshot rookie gets the 2nd Checker tail, but I spend too much time following the dieing Stang, so am taking out of the battle, come back around and the sky is clear

Control, what is the vector ?

we got Jabos hitting the base, head north, 015 degrees, of course, to make it easy, JUST FOLLOW THE SMOKE, the base is blazeing

yea yea

engage, target the Jabos, I yell into the mike

more bluenoses, targets to the left of me, targets to the right of me, ah crud, the sky is full of them

crys of help fill the airwaves, White 5 is in trouble, white 7 needs help, coming 7, hold on

fire, strikes all across the wings and tail of that Jabo, the plane seems to all but stop in midair, see that pilot looking in his mirror, what a scary sight I must be to him, start my pull up to over shoot the stricken plane when I glace into my own mirror

ah crudwell, where did he come from

[Hard Sarge]

Fly with my eye glued to the mirror, can I out run him, or do I have to be fancy, got to be fancy, he is closing in, Barrel roll, heavy on the rudder to make the plane rotate around it's path of flight, and not just roll in plane

Clear One, reports Dreiern, he is going down, good kill on yours, I seen him hit the dirt, roger Three, Thanks

Help, got one on my tail reports Two

Two, where the heck did he get off to, he suppost to be on my wing ?, ahh rookies, there he is, hang on kid, daddy is coming

Crud, low and slow and trying to turn into a chase is not a good idea, Hang on, One check your 5, Jabos coming in

I seen him, Clear 2 yells Dreiern, turn into my foe, not enough, hit flaps, still not going to be enough, tighting the turn, he almost in range, hear the slats banging on the wings, tighten it more, oops, too much, the plane falls away into a stall, just in time, the Jabo opened fired and the shells sail over the wing and he can't follow the stall

he tries to follow, then breaks off, let my beast fall, while I release the flaps, roll upright and see that the Jabo knows he screwed up and is starting a sissor, I don't have the speed, to stay in a sissor long, he will win this fight

the Jabo panics, and breaks off the sissor and pull his nose up, I roll in behind him and try a fleeing shot, as my speed drops

He's down, yells Dreiern, dang, this kid is getting good !

look around and the sky is clear once more, wish I could say the same about our base, looks like all the fuel and extra planes are gone, know that at least half of my planes are damaged, this may be the end of the Gruppen

orders from HQ, stand the Gruppen down, stand by for orders to move

the Allies move faster then HQ does, the war is over

III/JG11 did well under my command, we knocked down 152 Allied planes, while losing 26, I lost 7 pilots in my Gruppen

I ended the war with 53 kills, Dreiern, a rookie who showed great promise, ended with 32, 5 in the last mission

Dreiern's mount

[Hard Sarge]

Ah Just in case

from my pics, I run Aces IL-2 Mat Manager, which changes the markings and adds weathering and what not to the planes, you may notice on my plane, I normally use the Tech officer markings

HARD_Sarge

[tankeriv]

Looks cool I am looking forward reading some more of your AAR's.