OPERATION GET IT TOGETHER, Wednesday, December 10th, 20:00 GMT

[ATAG_Marlow]

For many months now, Hitler has been wondering 'when will they come? Goering is past caring but he'd better leave Karinhall and his little model trains because......

We are coming.....!

OPERATION GET IT TOGETHER, WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 10th, 20:00 GMT
SERVER: AXIS v ALLIES

Notice is hereby given......the gauntlet (not to mention Marlow's Y Fronts) are well and truly thrown down....

On the above date, a large force of RAF Wellingtons will leave their airfield in Southern England for an unknown target in North West France. All will be crewed by men of the highest calibre.....nerves of steel....unbending spirit and limbs of iron. (Cough, cough)

Their target remains unknown to the dastardly Luftwaffe. It could be they intend to 'destroy Dunkirk'.....'ruin Rouen'.....or even 'castrate Calais?' Will the Blues and the Boys of the gallant OBT'S pick up the gauntlet and knock the arrogant Englanders out of the sky?
Rumour has it, too, that.....wait for it........Reinhardt 'Bondi' Bondiaria, last seen in a parachute over Manston, has escaped from the Scottish POW camp, where he has been learning the bagpipes and living off haggis for the last two years. Will that Ace of Aces, Bonditaria choose to fly escort in an RAF Hurricane or will he return to type and fly for the dreaded Luftwaffe?
Who knows? Who can guess the outcome of this 'battle of Giants' but all will be revealed in......

OPERATION GET IT TOGETHER, WEDNESDAY 10th at 20:00 hrs GMT

See you all there........! Salute

[Amarok]

Hello comrades, and yes, the Luftwaffe will take the “arrogant” English out of the sky.

Oh, Marlow, as always, a wonderful introduction!

[ATAG_Marlow]

......yes, the Luftwaffe will take the “arrogant” English out of the sky

Once we see the gallant and determined Amarok joining the fray we know the fight will be exhilerating ......but also long and hard!!!!!

Close up the formation, chaps.....tight as you can!

Thanks for your kind comment, Amarok......and thank you for your support! (I'll have it washed and returned first thing tomorrow morning!)

See you on the 10th! Salute!

[brunov]

Ho oui Présent !!!

I'm informing the OBT's.

[ATAG_Marlow]

Ho oui Présent !!!

I'm informing the OBT's.

Not the OBT'S!!!!!!!

Right, Chaps..... better pack a toothbrush! This is beginning to look like a one way trip!!!!

[ATAG_JackMaxx]

I'll be there Marlow, don't panic...yet. I'll practice, practice and save the day or end up in Carnegie Hall.

[GR_Val]

OPERATION GET IT TOGETHER, WEDNESDAY 10th at 20:00 hrs GMT

See you all there........! Salute

Unfortunately, there is no opportunity to participate, because I have a time zone +5

[ATAG_Marlow]

I'll be there Marlow, don't panic...yet

Lads! Do not despair......Jack's gonna be there!!!! Yey!

Jack.....can you mark, Amarok, out on the left wing? Good man!

Salute!

[ATAG_Marlow]

Unfortunately, there is no opportunity to participate........

Well! Thank goodness for that, Val! You're far too good for us!!!!

(Do not worry, Val. There will be many more opportunities to shoot us down!)

[OBT~Polak]

Bonsoir a tous,

Merci a toi Marlow pour cette initiative!!!

Malheureusement comme vous l'avez sans doute remarqué, depuis quelques mois je vol très peu et ne propose plus de missions...

Rien de très grave mais je n'ai plus de place pour installer mon cockpit. J'espère pouvoir régler cela le plus rapidement possible et vous proposer un nouvel épisode de la campagne German Rush To The West!

Néanmoins j'ai pu prendre quelques dispositions et je suis extrêmement heureux de dire que je serais présent et prêt au combat ce Mercredi soir avec mes camarades des ~OBT!!!

[AKA_Blasto]

S!~

'Twill talk with two aerial Knights of the Iron Cross mit Diamonds and request they join me and the Axis in the Allies destruction.
Just love the Holidays! Christmas 20mm's and Three Wise Pilots - giving gifts of frankincense and engine fires.... Follow that star!

Looking forward to this. What a nice opportunity to share the love. lol

AKA_Blasto

[Pernix2]

Report from Sergeant Pernix of BR20, 7-28-13, who flew in OPERATION GET IT TOGETHER last night.
The mission was to attack Rochester Airport, in AR 25-9.20201202224056_1.jpg
We departed Chièvres and entered the operational zone at Arras, at an altitude of 2,000 meters. The weather was good, with scattered clouds and no wind. The navigator gave me directions to the target, a heading of about 300° and an altitude of 4,000 meters. Flight time at about 240 km/h: 32 minutes. I promptly executed the command and activated the autopilot. Over the coast, when we were 105 km away and with an estimated time of 26 minutes, we encountered German air defense. A Bf 109 came to check on us, and for a moment the gunners went to their posts. But using SAFAT was of no use.20190210170957_1.jpg Having identified the ally, we continued our journey, alone as when we left. Hoping to elude the Albion Spitfires, I brought the aircraft to 5,000 m, a very high altitude, given our load of 1200 kg of high-explosive bombs, but... when you're dealing with the English, you can never be too high. The weather was good, and we were now 20 minutes away from the target; the British coast had long since been behind us. I changed course because I received word from the radio station that the British hadn't turned off the airport beacon, and the 330Kh signal corresponded precisely to Rochester, excellent. We began the bombing procedure, machine gunners at their battle stations, we calibrated the Jozza to the data needed for the 100kg bombs for a devastating salvo on the target, 5 minutes to release... damn... clouds!! Large banks at about 3000m, the target was covered... no fighters... from up here it didn't seem like there was any flak.
Release time 0+1 minute, target completely covered, I turn 40° parallel to the river, which flows into an inlet, in a gap in the clouds. I see some port facilities, we are almost at sea, I reverse course 230° and decide to descend below cloud level, hoping to see the airport. Now the flak is audible, and the lower we descend, the more it intensifies. There it is!! The front gunner shouts, from his position he can see the runways, the hangars, and a row of bombers lined up along the edge of the runway. They were obviously not expecting us, now the Flak is really intense, the "stork" is descending at full speed, I decide that I will drop the bombs with an "Instinctive" shot from 600 or 700m but... getting to that altitude!.... the plane makes very loud noises, the controls are increasingly hard, but they seem to still respond, every 400m I level the altitude by pulling, together with the co-pilot, the maneuvering wheel, to reduce the speed, and not compromise the structures of the plane, we are there from 1000m I begin the release dive 350, 400, 450 km/h with the engines at idle and reduced pitch... I see the runways and the bombers deployed from the front window... around us an enormous quantity of anti-aircraft fire and heavy machine gunners, even our machine gunners are shooting, but above all they hold on to their seats so many and so many are the vibrations, that they could make them fall... 600m I try to level out and… Bombs out “Savoia!!” the load comes off the BR20 in a deadly burst aimed at the parked bombers, Hit, I give full power to the engines, and I say to my second “Pull up…Pull up..” but the Cicogna…. Nothing, she doesn’t want to know 500m turning south…450m.. the right engine doesn’t seem to have suffered any damage, but the wing has a big hole right in the center… we continue to flare, we change the propeller pitch and also apply emergency power, it starts to react… 550m it finally climbs! Now we are out of the inhabited area… trim on the ailerons, to correct the bank to the right and the more we correct it the more the plane increases speed and altitude, 1000 autopilot towards home Course 150°, but now we are low, no injuries, but the plane doesn’t climb and we have to pass the coast which has an enormous amount of flak.. let’s hope we make it.. as soon as we get above the sea… battle station! A few minutes pass, but... false alarm, they haven't seen us! The coast of France is getting closer, but this time, there it is! A spit comes from above at 6 o'clock, makes a first pass, a second, and the tail breaks into pieces.20190122225442_1.jpg Our gunner reacts well, but the spit moves away while we... dive and take an unseasonal swim, but fortunately we are rescued by a German patrol boat that... refreshes us with cognac and eau de vie.20190222221920_1.jpgWho knows who was flying that Spit?
A truly heart-stopping evening!! (Tradotto con google dall Italiano)

[brunov]

Hello everyone,

excellent evening for Operation Get it together.

Given the uncertainty of the information and the vast number of possible attacks, the OBT squadron decided to split into 3 different search areas.

Leader OBT~Mikmak and No. 2 (OBT~Lionel) Boulogne-Calais sector
Nos. 3 and 4, OBT~Polak and Voss Boulogne-Abeville sector
Nos. 5, 6 and 7 Mordacq, Brunov and Sibiliev Abeville sector to Littlestone Point, with the intention of heading up to Dover, but fortunately the radar gave us indications and our patrol turned back in order to "intercept" a group of bombers and fighters indicated on 240 then 210.
Very judiciously, Mordacq directed us to head 180. This allowed us to find this group after 8 to 10 minutes of flight: 5 Wellingtons and 1 Siptfire.

We had some difficulty pinpointing the exact rendezvous point with patrols 1 and 2, but they were there off the coast of Boulogne and took over effectively. They too encountered hunters; perhaps they'll tell you about it?

Here are some pictures from the 3rd patrol.

Thanks to Marlow, the Atag team, and all the participants.

[brunov]

I'd like to add that you see me flying with my ventral fuel tank, trying to evade Spitfire attacks when it would have been logical to jettison it.

In fact, all the pilots in the OBT patrols thought that by activating the bomb release command, we would free ourselves from the fuel tanks. A grave mistake... which we corrected for future encounters.

@Pernix,
your story is captivating. Reading it, one could be your co-pilot or one of your gunners. You did the Italian Royal Wings proud. Ghere ghere ghez !

[ATAG_Marlow]

OPERATION GET IT TOGETHER - A Somewhat belated and 'damp' After Action report!

After thrashing around in the freezing water for at least fifteen minutes, Flight Lieutenant Marlow decided that he'd 'gone orf' the idea of 'Operation get it Together!'

'God! The water was cold! And where were those chaps of the ASR? No doubt sipping tea and looking at mucky pictures of 'Jane.' Bloody typical!'

And hadn't Snap promised to get TFS to 'mod' the water temperature 'up' a couple of degrees... only on the Red side of the Channel, of course? And in the next update, wasn't Buzzsaw going to arrange for that Luftwaffe Rescue Buoy, the one anchored outside Boulogne harbour, to be towed to our side of the Channel so we Reds could clamber aboard when shot down 'into the drink' and avail ourselves of the schnapps in the drinks cabinet....the superior tog Luftwaffe blankets and the huge four poster bed, complete with a scantily clad blonde Gun Hilda, draped across it.

Marlow licked his lips at the thought...... and grimaced as he tasted salt!

Of course, Gun Hilda would be of strictly Luftwaffe orientation, he mused, (and no doubt the OBT Boys would have taught her some filthy tricks (cough, cough)) but Marlow was never the less, convinced that once he clambered aboard - a perfect example of 'British beef' - he'd soon change her allegiance! (Cough, cough!) ha haaaaggghhhh!

But as he 'bobbed about in the briny,' he reflected on how he had ended up in his present 'spot of bother.' With a jolt, he recalled the utter dismay and shock, as, looking back, scanning his six, he had spotted that in coming yellow nose!

'God! They've found me.....and, of course...... low on ammo and fuel! The Blighters!'

To be caught by one OBT 109 is bad luck but to be CHASED BY THREE...... is downright terrifying....... and exhilarating........ all at the same time!

Sure enough, craning his neck around, Marlow recalled the terror of seeing those three yellow nosed shapes, banking and manoeuvring to get that fatal shot in! Again he pushed the stick forward as tracer arched over head! Flying almost on the deck....head twisted round... judging height by looking at the waves behind him, Marlow watched the three OBT's whirling behind him and closing for the kill!! Well, he'd make them work for it!

Who was it. Polak? Ha! And Polak who 'pretended' to be a friend! Not so friendly today Mr. Polak! Or was it Brunov? Sitting down in the balmy South of France and, no doubt, laughing at Marlow's frantic ducking and diving. Or could it be Sibilieve...that cool killer.....who regaled his brother pilots with numerous tales of 'daring do' over yet another beer in the bar.

And where the hell was Dazza when you needed him? Marlow pictured Dazza in deep thought' as he patrolled over French Point:

'Yeh.....that solo has got to be in EM! I'm sure of it! Jimmy wouldn't use anything else! If I start fret 17 ....down to fret 15.............Oh look! There's Marlow down there! What the hell's he doing? Prattling about as usual.........! Ho hum! Yes, Got to be Em...start at Fret 17 with a full bend, move to....... I'd better land and grab me Gibson!'

Meanwhile, far below.......unbeknownst to Dazza, a life or death struggle was enacting out!!!!!

'Well, the buggers haven't hit me yet,' chortled Marlow as he flung his Spitfire into yet another gut-wrenching turn! Tighter, tighter.......come on!'
'Damn! And I was so nearly at Folkstone! Another few minutes and I would be safe at Hawkinge..... swept up into the warmth and safety of Big Hilda's parachute section!!!! (Cough, cough)
'And she'd promised me and extra doughnut!' wailed Marlow, 'Damn!'.....as his engine began to shudder, splutter and die!

Still those OBT Blighter's were behind him! Quick! Better 'step out of the office' before the Bounders killed him in the cockpit!

And as he drifted serenely down in his 'chute, Marlow began to compose the stiffly worded PM he would send to those OBT Blighters, no doubt liberally sprinkled with ......'not cricket'.......'bad show'.....and..... 'that poor Marquis of Queensbury will be spinning in his grave!'

'Damn! And I bet Heggers will snaffle my last doughnut! AGAIN!'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big thanks to everyone who turned up to support our Event - even Dazza! It was great fun, great to catch up with everyone..... and REALLY exhilarating being chased by those OBT Boys! They who put up a very creditable and spirited defence all evening, hitting most of our gallant Bomber Boys before they could reach their allotted target - the airfields at St. Omer. Well done, Blues!

Thanks to Snap for organising the Server and to Polak for allowing us to use....and abuse...his fantastic mission again. All your hard work paid off yet again, Polak!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Pernix's thrilling account of his brave, bombing sortie. Sorry, Pernix but it was me who who blew your tail off! I hope it didn't hurt too much!

Now, I'm off to enjoy Brunov's post Op video! See you next time, Chaps and........ 'MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

[OBT~Lionel]

Marlow,

I must admit I was one of the three OBTs who sent you for a swim in the English Channel.

Of course, with three against one you didn't stand much of a chance.

[ATAG_Marlow]

OBT~Lionel?

Of course! No wonder I didn't stand a chance! Good flying, Sir! See you at the next Event! Salute!

[AKA_Blasto]

S!~

Good fun on Wednesday. Took off from St. Omer with Nuwen and Tepes - flying BF109E7N 's. Climbed out to the channel - spread out in separate areas of patrol.
Nuwen spotted and buzzed a BR20 - friendly bomber - and returned to CAP. Stretched out towards Dover - Kentish coast - thinking to myself that the bombers would attack either St. Omer or Arras area. Spotted a lone Spifire flying about 5KM altitude- rolled over - caught him in a tight turn with one burst. Tepes dove next - kaye129 went down- scratch a Spitfire.
Returned to CAP - edging closer S towards Cape Griz_Nez -aka French Point. Call out of contacts - intercepted them - 109's - looked like OBT. Nuwen picks up bombers S- like I thought they would - heading towards Boulogne / Berk . Tepes and Nuwen find them off Berk - I show up 1.5 min later . We engage three bombers - one looked like he was falling behind ( Snapper ) after getting hit. I make a run on a Wellington - two tight in front of Snapper. Hit the port side one good - break as there are now Spitfires diving through. Hard breaks- hard climb - double roll - back in to finish Snapper - whos not giving up the fight! Both Tepes and Nuwen get hits on both the bombers and Spitfires. Looking like the group is beat up - we climbed out N to regain alt and CAP - both ammo and fuel are sufficient to continue.
Very quickly - as we near Dover area - multiple engagements are taking place. Each one of us takes turns fighting and shooting multiple Allied fighters - never did see a Hurri' - and logged hits on Stocker - Marlow - and kayye129 was shot down 100% by Tepes this time. I got touched up lightly by Spitfire machine guns - taking out some ' battery - etc ' . I dive fast - he breaks off.
I land in France 3 min. later out of cannon - 920 machine gun remaining.
Took off again from St. Omer E7N - climbed out again to the channel - found both Tepes and Nuwen- and noted now there were no longer Allied pilots flying bombers - as they had switched to fighters. Good! The rear gunners were as bad as the fighters at one point. Again- multiple engagements from 7.5Km doem to almost the deck. Again - the three of us hit numerous Spitfires- and had pieces of each falling around us. Had a few friendly 109's get real close - almost to the point of collision - with no comms with other pilots -impossible to avoid. Togther we accounted for about 10 total kills- with the cumulative score being some 1.00- some others .04 . Great fun. The game ended abruptly - as it was now 2 hours in.
In my opinion - the Allies got stopped in their directive - and the Axis lost very few aircraft. Run it again this Sunday the 14th- and give it another go. Great flying by all- and to all a good night!

Sincerely thanks again for the fun- and all who showed up to fight. Great flying. Until next time ...." not if I see you first..."

PS: My BF109E_7N is marked JG26/ Staffel 6 / Red 04 - as always.

AKA_Blasto S!~

[ATAG_Marlow]

Excellent 'after action' report Blasto! Exhilarating, too!

Yes, you were right! the Wimpy squad was, indeed, heading for St.Omer but they were caught over Boulogne and I had a feeling at the time that they wouldn't get anywhere near St.Omer. The attacks by the 109's were very effective and there were only maybe two Spitfires to defend, at that point.

I was flying a Spitfire 1a (100) at the time because my internet connection had failed as I flew a Wimpy out near Beachy Head. Unable to catch up with Snap and the other Wellingtons, I elected to take a Spitfire from Wilmington and headed directly for Boulogne, intending to defend the formation. I was in RT connection with the bombers and spotted them just before they reached Boulogne. I could see that there were at least three 109's 'hanging around' looking for an opportunity to attack. This just about gave me time to catch up with the bombers and gain those extra crucial feet of height. Once battle was joined, I managed to pick out one 109 during an attack and I hit him pretty hard - both radiators were leaking coolant and he must have gone down. That might have been good old Brunov!

Later, out over the Channel, I remember chasing a 109 who was pretty nifty and suddenly turned upside down, dived down almost to the sea. That could have been you? I elected not to follow because I thought, 'He'll regain altitude in seconds whereas I will have to struggle up again.'
It was after this that I was chased almost back to Folkstone by three OBT 109's! It was frantic stuff - tight turns, where's he gone and where's the other two - head everywhere! I was laughing my head off!
They may have been playing with me because they took for ever to score hits. I wasn't aware of damage; the wings were still without holes but eventually my engine began to stutter.

Although, I eventually had to bail it was an exhilarating run and they had to work very hard to get that crucial hit!
My main aim in any of our events....... is to stay alive! Aircraft shot down is just a bonus. However, I ended up with a pretty reasonable score by the end of the evening (can't remember exactly) but the most important thing was - I had survived to fight again. Let's face it, that was pretty crucial back in 1940!

Together with Tepes and Nuwen, you three make a formidable force of 'experten!' We Reds know that we are 'up against it' when your names appear on the roster but we also know we are in for a very challenging and fun evening. Thanks for a great write up - and the reminder of a few 'hot...frantic' moments! Salute!

[ATAG_Heggers]

I really enjoyed this event - thanks for organising - definitely would be up for going again in December.

It was great to get the Wimpey Squad back in action! Snapper's tactics were sound and we formed up nicely. I think we knew if we were spotted it was game over. Damon did a great job as our solitary escort, and I think took down a 109 at one point.

At the first sign of trouble, I switched to mode 22 which caused me to drop about 1000ft. Luckily (for me) that meant that the main group drew most of the fire from the fighters. I switched to rear gunner and got a very solid burst on a 109. This is always fun because I think the 109 pilots are not expecting accurate fire from the AI gunners, so when it's a human they don't like it up em.

Using the radio navigation I was able to get within about 2km of target. I was now in bomb aimer position and not in gunner position, so sadly I was shot down just short of the target.

[brunov]

Once battle was joined, I managed to pick out one 109 during an attack and I hit him pretty hard - both radiators were leaking coolant and he must have gone down. That might have been good old Brunov!

Affirmatif

My main aim in any of our events....... is to stay alive! Aircraft shot down is just a bonus. However, I ended up with a pretty reasonable score by the end of the evening (can't remember exactly) but the most important thing was - I had survived to fight again. Let's face it, that was pretty crucial back in 1940!

I really like this spirit