Elevated View

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

Allied Soldiers:

Flight Sergeant Nathan Whyte Kiwi
Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk VIII - Fully functional

NPC Pilot Lewis Griffin Lime
Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk VIII - Fully Functional

Morale = High, but startled
Axis Soldiers:

Haptmann Rolf Jäger Richter
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R6 - Fully Functional

NPC Pilot Walter Kronberg Schakal
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R6 - Fully Functional

Morale = Confident

Actions:

- Birds! Hundreds...no...thousands of birds! OH GOD, OH GOD, the carnage!!!

- It is true that the 109 can make altitude it's slave easier than the Spitfire, even though the Spits had a head start, the 109s caught up mostly.

- Still no shooting though, you guys play too nice for my tastes, less ammo means less weight, less weight means better fuel economy...what? Let's get some killin done! It's so much easier in aircraft there is either plane damaged or plane dead, pilot ejected or pilot dead...see?

- Both sets of planes are now running almost exactly parallel with one another, the Spits are ahead of the 109s currently.

- At this heading the Allies will be in the Axis sights...about three minutes after we all run out of fuel. The Axis are slowly coming in behind the Allies but not at an alarming pace by any means

Next Post: Whyte

-JT

[Nathan Whyte]

With the Germans still following, it was clear that this dogfight was not going to be one of those blindingly fast battles from the Battle of Britain. This meant Kiwi had enough time to think as he watched over his shoulder, the Germans probably about a mile and a half away. With similar speeds, interception would take a long time. This meant that Kiwi could push his Spitfire in to doing what it did best – outmanoeuvring the ME109.

”Lime, starboard turn. Easy until we get the 109’s in, then as hard as we can. Keep it level.” Rolling his Spitfire so the wings were at a thirty degree angle to the ground, Kiwi pulled back on the control column, which forced his Spit in to a banking turn. Using the rudder pedals, the back end of the aircraft stayed stable, keeping altitude the same. That way, he wasn’t losing anything to the Germans – speed and altitude were both vital.

It was one of the simpler tricks in the Spitfire’s repertoire, but by no means ineffective. With the very sharp turning circle caused by the strong airframe they could turn inside the ME109’s, and eventually get behind them. And with the long banking circle, if the Germans attempted to fly above or below the Spitfire would quickly come behind them and put itself on the attack. With a very large initial radius, it would be easy enough to close the gap and get in a position for deflective firing. Kiwi was happy, he could play the German, the enemy pilot would need to work hard to get out once they were circling, and with fuel now becoming limited the German would have to try and do something really ‘out there’ to score a kill.

Settling in to his cockpit, Kiwi began routinely checking his aircraft. His propeller blades were at a medium pitch, good for this altitude and speed. None of the needles were showing any major anomalies – the carburettor over fuel injection was sometimes regrettable in dives, but the engine was less prone to overheating. He knew Lime was doing the same, but RATEL procedures meant that he didn’t need to ask. Idle chat cost lives and he wasn’t going to insult Lime’s intelligence by telling him to do this kind of thing. If anything was going wrong, Kiwi would be told about it.

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

Allied Soldiers:

Flight Sergeant Nathan Whyte Kiwi
Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk VIII - Fully functional

NPC Pilot Lewis Griffin Lime
Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk VIII - Fully Functional

Morale = High, but startled
Axis Soldiers:

Haptmann Rolf Jäger Richter
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R6 - Fully Functional

NPC Pilot Walter Kronberg Schakal
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R6 - Fully Functional

Morale = Confident

Actions:

- And the Allies have begun to turn.

- And the Axis have closed the gap a small bit.

- And there is nothing else.

Next Post: Jäger

-JT

[Rolf Jäger]

The hounds had caught the sent of their prey and the engines of the two German fighters growled hungrily as they charged after their targets, eager to bring them down and clear the skies of the enemy threat. Rolf knew that it would take them a considerable time to actually reach their marks, even with the speeds that the Me 109 could be pushed into, but for some reason he was all too certain that the Spitfires were not making a run for it and that they were only acquiring time and distance to put together their own maneuvers. The Hauptmann narrowed his eyes, knowing full well that the Spitfires could out-turn them and that they could also hold to that advantage if the pilots were being smart enough.

Still, considering their situation with the fuel and the rather nonexistent damage the Germans had inflicted upon their enemies, something decisive needed to be be done. They were the knights of Germany, the proud champions of the Fatherland, ever strong and steadfast, and while their enemy would attempt to flee and evade them, seeking solace in the clouds, the German raptors would not cease their hunt until their claws would close around the frail bodies of their enemies and curl around them to snap the bones. Rolf's lips twisted at these images and adrenaline rushed through his veins wildly, his steel-grey eyes adopting a distinct, almost violent glint. His gaze flitted briefly to regard the blonde locks of hair that had been tied together with a thin string, this curious amulet stashed between the edge of the control panel and the inside wall of the aircraft's frame, and the presence of this simple item caused a fervent fire to light in the man's eyes. With a low growl, Rolf returned his attention promptly at the Allied fighters and contacted his wingman through the radio once again.

"Schakal, Stellen Sie sicher dass Sie Ihre gegenwärtige Position zu behalten, weil wir einige Höhe gewinnen," Rolf warned his wingman as he pulled back on the joystick and brought the nose of the Messerschmitt up - not in a too abrupt manner but carefully enough to make sure that Kronberg was able to follow the movement. "Wir setzen unser Kurs zu den feindlichen Kampfflugzeug und dem Engagieren von ihnen. Freie Ziele. Nach dem Kontakt, brechen Sie zu verlassen mit mir," Rolf's raspy voice carried the instructions over to the other fighter and Kronberg acknowledged them with a simple "Jawohl!". Most of the pilots flying the Bf 109 preferred a rather short convergence point set for their guns and even if it required the pilot to get very close to the enemy before pulling the trigger, at such a close range the high velocity MG's would cause devastating damage on the Allied aircraft. This tactic held the added danger of debris hitting your own aircraft and Rolf was aware of the this threat, but their current fuel economy would not allow them to set up too many attack runs after this one. There was not sense in excessively saving their bullets with this little fuel and Rolf would fire upon the enemy the first chance he got. They needed to work perfectly to manage this, but the Hauptmann had all the faith in his skills and of those of his trusted wingman.

Both of the German pilots had made sure to gain enough altitude to match their enemy as they started cutting towards the Spitfires, the engines of the metallic raptors screaming an enticing song of death and violence. Rolf knew that the Spitfires were hoping to catch them in a turning fight, for this was what the Allied aircraft excelled in, but if their guns would catch them properly, the only way the Allied pilots would be heading was down. The Spitfires would prefer turning inside their circle, veering to their right side, but Rolf would anticipate this and adjust his vector of attack accordingly. It still provided them with only a brief frame to fire the machine guns, but that was why Kronberg was still flying slightly above and behind him, ready to catch the escaping aircraft with his own bullets. If the attack should prove useless, Rolf would tell his wingman to follow him to port, just as he had instructed him earlier, but also gain altitude sharply to break off from the botched attack, using the climb rate and speed of the Bf 109 to his advantage.

And as the two German aircraft pulled closer to the Spitfires, Rolf's finger settled over the trigger and his eyes burned with murder.


Translations:

"Schakal, Stellen Sie sicher dass Sie Ihre gegenwärtige Position zu behalten, weil wir einige Höhe gewinnen."
"Schakal, make sure to retain your current position as we gain some altitude."

"Wir setzen unser Kurs zu den feindlichen Kampfflugzeug und dem Engagieren von ihnen. Freie Ziele. Nach dem Kontakt, brechen Sie zu verlassen mit mir."
"We are setting our heading towards the enemy fighters and engaging them. Free targets. After the contact, break left with me."

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

Allied Soldiers:

Flight Sergeant Nathan Whyte Kiwi
Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk VIII - Mostly functional, the left wing is responding sluggishly

NPC Pilot Lewis Griffin Lime
Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk VIII - Heavily damaged, but still in the air, all actions will require constant attention and unreliable results

Morale = Adrenaline is through the roof, worried
Axis Soldiers:

Haptmann Rolf J�ger Richter
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R6 - Fully Functional

NPC Pilot Walter Kronberg Schakal Wounded/Moderate
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R6 - Mostly functional, canopy has been shattered, the plane is fine but things will be difficult for the pilot

Morale = Adrenaline is through the roof, worried

img153.imageshack.us/i/elevatedview8.png/

(The main colors for each side represent the member characters, the off colors represent the NPCs. Also added an arrow to distance to show the current direction of change, up being further away and down being closer together.)

Actions:

- The German pilots closed the gap rather quickly as the Allies were turning to meet them, but before they could catch their prey they were spotted.

- With a very quick command Kiwi shouted for Lime to pull harder into the turn as to reduce the time they would be in the German crosshairs, Lime responded as quickly as he could but did not fair as well as Kiwi.

- Both Richter and Schakal made quick corrections in their flight path to try and end this meeting while laying on the trigger, they would not fully catch the lead pilot but he caught a few rounds in his left wing.

- Lime was caught in a hail of fire from both planes, bullets ripping through a vast mojority of his craft. In it's current state the plane can make it back to base but any further strain on the aircraft will quite possibly render it unsalvageable.

- Lime did however let loose a few rounds on his own out of instinct. It was only a sweeping spray as he was cutting hard to try and avoid the encounter, he was unable to hit the lead pilot but got a decent strafe on the following pilot. It did very little damage to the craft itself but his rounds did puncture the planes canopy and strike Schakal in his right upper arm. These are big bullets. Within three posting rounds he will begin to fade in and out of consciousness if the mental strain of combat remains.

- The German pilots ended up passing the American pilots and are currently headed away from them, the American pilots are currently turning toward the German pilots, formations are still present, just shaken up.

Next Post: Whyte

-JT

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

!WARNING!

[/u][/center]

Per request of Dieter, I approve a time limit for your next post NAthan, you have until tuesday of next week to post or you will be skipped and the battle will continue.

-JT[/color]

[Nathan Whyte]

The Spitfire jerked slightly as the left wing took some rounds, but Kiwi compensated, with a slight twist of his control stick and pulled himself out of the line of fire, climbing up and tilting to his right slightly. Lime was a few seconds behind him, turning through and trying to assess the damage of his aircraft.

“General controls are messed up. I still have control, but I can’t do much. Over.” Kiwi growled slightly at the assessment, it was a major inconvenience. They carried on pulling through the turn, and as they came out, the Germans were only a few hundred metres in front of them. Lime was taking a wider circle in the turn, and it was a few seconds before he was on Kiwi’s wing again. “Lime, can you go full throttle?”

There was a brief pause whilst Lime thought about it. “I’ll try. I’ll tell you if I have problems.”

It was a satisfactory answer, and the two American pilots opened the throttles all the way in pursuit of the German aircrafts. Kiwi quickly began a brief over the radio. “They’re going to manoeuvre out; I’ll follow them and stay tight. I want you to vector a course back to base; it should be almost straight ahead. I’ll follow them; you get as far as possible.” It was the only real option Nathan could see – Lime probably couldn’t keep up with a dog fight, and ditching here would be pointless without first attempting to return to base.

Kiwi adjusted his grip on his controls, ready for the almost guaranteed turn from the German pilots. He had his eyes on the leader, the pilot with the undamaged plane. The Spitfire and the Messerschmitt each had their own strengths and weaknesses. At full throttle, he was slowly closing the gap between the two aircraft, and his thumb sat over the trigger, ready to squeeze down. He had eight .303 machine guns in his wings, each eager to pour a deadly payload in to the enemy aircraft. If he tried turning away in front of him, Kiwi would be able to hopefully sever the cables going to the empennage of the aircraft, or cause enough structural damage to significantly make it useless, causing the aircraft to go in to an uncontrolled spin or roll.

It was never fun, flying without a wingman, but Kiwi would need to take the risk to give his man the best chance of making it home. And hopefully, he would only need to be on his own for a few minutes, just long enough to cause some damage and let Lime get most of the way back to allied dominated airspace, or find somewhere space to ditch his aircraft.

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

Allied Soldiers:

Flight Sergeant Nathan Whyte Kiwi
Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk VIII - Mostly functional, the left wing is responding sluggishly

NPC Pilot Lewis Griffin Lime Retreated
Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk VIII - Heavily damaged, but still in the air, all actions will require constant attention and unreliable results

Morale = Adrenaline is through the roof, worried
Axis Soldiers:

Haptmann Rolf Jäger Richter
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R6 - Fully Functional

NPC Pilot Walter Kronberg Schakal Wounded/Moderate
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R6 - Mostly functional, canopy has been shattered, the plane is fine but things will be difficult for the pilot

Morale = Adrenaline is through the roof, worried

Actions:

- Giving quick orders, Kiwi bolstered the confidence of his wingman, Lime, who followed them as instructed, he continued his turn slightly before breaking off to head for safer airspace. Lime also dropped his altitude to gain speed and dipped below the clouds. Lime is no longer in this fight.

- Kiwi is slowly closing the gap to the Axis pilots who are already in range, just not in his crosshairs. Kiwi has set himself up to attack should they change direction. However they only planned to do so if their attack run was unsuccessful.

- No further combat has occured, but Schakal is having difficulty keeping formation with his commander, any further deviation on his part, given that he is the closer target, could result in hostile action by the stalking Allied pilot.

Next Post: Jäger

-JT

[Rolf Jäger]

Rolf witnessed the other Spitfire getting caught in the hail of merciless, deadly bullets and his steel-grey eyes narrowed at the sight, the man's insides tingling with the desire to witness the pilot bailing out of the damaged aircraft, yet he did not allow himself to get distracted by the emotion or to think that the foe had been beaten, and then he was already brought back to his senses when the line crackled with his wingman's next message.

"Richter, ich bin getroffen worden," the other pilot informed after the brief contact was over and even through the distorted sea of radio waves could Rolf easily recognize the pain and worry reflecting from his wingman's voice and his heart momentarily jumped to his throat at the words he had always dreaded hearing. Even though the initial realization took him nothing but fleeting fractions of short seconds to properly comprehend, during that time he could feel the icy grip of alarm clenching at his insides and the coldness spread further into his veins, his inhale momentarily paused in that one chilling moment. Still, the need for quick reacting and keeping a calm head wrote over the initial shock quickly enough and the instincts of a fighter pilot automatically steadied his hands while his voice was steady and low as he next answered to his wingman's somewhat alarmed announcement. "Bericht über den Schaden, Schakal."

His wingman's voice quivered when he took a few brief seconds to fully realize what had happened and Rolf's finger shifted upon the trigger as he anxiously awaited to hear Schakal's assessment of the damage. "Mein Flugzeug ist fein, das ist gerade.... Ich bin im Arm geschlagen worden. Es gibt ein Blut... Ich bin im Arm geschlagen worden, Herr Hauptmann. Der Kabinendach... Kabinendach wird zerschmettert," there was a sense of rising panic in the other pilot's voice, the man even forgetting to address his commanding officer by his call sign, and Rolf knew that it was up to him to make sure that Kronberg would not lose his nerve, not now when both of their lives depended on it. "Es wird schon schiefgehen, Schakal! Wenn Ihr Flugzeug nicht beschädigt wird, können Sie es noch zurück zur Hecke machen. Ich werde Sie bedecken. Aufpassen Sie Ihre sechs!" There was a distinct sharpness to the Hauptmann's usually hoarse voice and as harsh as his tone was, it worked effectively enough in snapping the injured pilot of his stupor. Schakal instinctively made sure the check the various gauges looming in front of him, adjusting the ailerons and steadying the aircraft to fly in a more acceptable formation with his leader. Adrenaline was running in his veins after receiving the injury and the pilot blinked, attempting to bring all of his senses back into the fight when he knew that he had been let out lucky. And then again, the battle was not over yet.

Jäger had already spotted the other Allied fighter turning tightly into following them while the other one was now making a getaway into the opposite direction and it was clear that with the higher throttle and added speed of the Allied aircraft diving after them, it would be reaching both of the German fighters soon enough. Various options ran through Rolf's mind and though most of them took to regard the assistance of his wingman, he could not know how much more time in the air Schakal could handle. No, he would have to make sure his injured wingman would make it safely back to their own airfield and any thoughts of adding a new painted line of a kill to the tail of his Messerschmitt would simply have to wait.

"Schakal, ich will, dass Sie vom Kampf abbrechen und Ihren Weg zur Hecke machen. An meinem Zeichen, brechen Sie scharf zum der Spitfire ab und lassen Sie ihn nicht nach einem klaren Sie schießen lassen. Ich werde sicherstellen, dass Sie sicher herauskommen. Verstanden, Schakal?" Rolf asked, his voice calm, yet not without a brisk militaristic sharpness. Schakal nodded in his aircraft, the sensation of warm blood running down his arm foreign and alarming, yet the words that found their way out from his dry throat were trusting and even, for he did not wish to fail his commanding officer by appearing a coward in a moment such as this. "Verstanden, Richter. Beispringender für das Ziel."

Rolf knew that attacking from a 15 degree angle from behind was the most effective way to bring a down, but that with a deviation to up to 44 degrees the attack run would be far less likely to cause any damage to the defender. He was expecting for the Spitfire to maneuver to the larger angle before alerting his wingman into action, for Schakal was the more convenient target for attack, flying behind and slightly apart from the leader of the Rotte as he was. Spotting the Spitfire moving closer in, the radio crackled with the Hauptmann's command to break off from the attack, and Schakal's aircraft suddenly veered directly into the path of the attacking aircraft.

It appeared like a reckless maneuver to make, but it gave the attacker very little time to react, drastically shortening the time in which to react, aim and fire, not to mention the fact that the attacker's greater air speed would cause him to overshoot. The Messerschmitt would have no chance in winning the Spitfire in a turning fight, but there were still two aircraft against one and Rolf was using this fact to his advantage, for the enemy pilot could not know that Schakal had been injured. As a standard continuation for that maneuver, Schakal would continue that turn for two thirds of the turn, before veering off into another direction in an attempt to loose the attacker.

All this while Rolf was keeping his eye on the single Spitfire, observing whether he would be following his wingman or rather taking aim at him. If the enemy was to follow Schakal, Rolf would simply turn around to follow him and attempt to position himself into a proper angle of attack behind the enemy, but if his own plane was to be chosen as the target, the pilot was ready to perform a similar sharp turn to break off from the attack, turning right in front of his enemy's path to give him as little frame for attack as possible and going into evasive maneuvers of his own to lead him away from his wingman. Whatever was to happen, he was determined to escort Schakal safely out of the fight, and even though he would have normally been loathe to seen a prey to slip away from his grasp, this new objective had become his priority, the man's sharp silver eyes narrowed in grim, predatory determination.


Translations:

"Richter, ich bin getroffen worden."
"Richter, I've been hit."

"Bericht über den Schaden, Schakal."
"Report on the damage, Schakal."

"Mein Flugzeug ist fein, das ist gerade..."
"My plane is fine, it is just... I've been hit in the arm. There is some blood... I've been hit in the arm, Herr Hauptmann. The canopy.. canopy is shattered."

"Es wird schon schiefgehen, Schakal..!"
"You'll be fine, Schakal! If your plane is not damaged, you can still make it back to the hedgerow. I'll cover you. Watch your six!"

"Schakal, ich will, dass Sie vom Kampf abbrechen und Ihren Weg zur Hecke machen..."
"Schakal, I want you to break off from the fight and make your way to the hedgerow. At my mark, break off sharply towards the Spitfire and don't let him get a clear shot at you. I will make sure you get out safely. Understood, Schakal?"

"Verstanden, Richter. Beispringender für das Ziel."
"Understood, Richter. Standing by for the mark."

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Moderation Post:

Allied Soldiers:

Flight Sergeant Nathan Whyte Kiwi
Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk VIII - Mostly functional, the left wing is responding sluggishly

NPC Pilot Lewis Griffin Lime Retreated
Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk VIII - Heavily damaged, but still in the air, all actions will require constant attention and unreliable results

Morale = Adrenaline is through the roof, worried
Axis Soldiers:

Haptmann Rolf Jäger Richter
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R6 - Fully Functional

NPC Pilot Walter Kronberg Schakal Wounded/Moderate
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R6 - Destroyed

Morale = Adrenaline is through the roof, worried

Actions:

- Schakal took comfort in his commanders words, he was in no condition to continue the fight, and living to fight another day was the best course of action.

- When Schakal broke formation the Allied pilot was ready to pounce, and did so with easy accuracy.

- A large burst of MG fire erupted from the Allied fighter as the pilot saw the opportune time, he layed on the trigger heavily and riddled the Axis fighter with bullets.

- As the Axis fighter started to lose altitude Whyte followed slightly to make sure the plane was out of the fight.

- The left wing erupted into flames, the low amount of fuel leaving plenty of room for the fumes, it only took a few rounds to set it ablaze. A moment later the wing tore from the fuselage and the plane started to spin.

- Given the lack of a canopy Schakal was able to eject without a hitch.

- Richter started his turn in time to hear the static filled grunt from Schakal as he reached for the ejection cable.

- As his adrenaline began to rise he pulled hard into his turn to try and ring himself into a position to fire on the Allied plane but was unable to do so with such a small space. He overshot the Allied pilot who did not notice the move.

- Given the situation the Allied pilot was fixated on his task, being outnumbered he had to even the odds, it was almost a releif when he did so and did not notice the Axis pilot that had flown over him, since Whyte's altitude had dropped in the persuit.

Next Post: Whyte

-JT