Black Thursday

 

On October 14, 1943, 291 B-17 Flying Fortresses escorted by several squadrons of P-47's took off into a murky British sky to go hit ball-bearing factories in Schweinfurt, Germany.  Only 33 B-17's returned to base undamaged, and 77 B-17's did not return at all.  It was the highest loss to the USAAF on any mission yet and caused a pause in America's strategic raids deep into Germany.  It went down in history as "Black Thursday."

 

 

Welcome to This Day in WWII: Black Thursday!
All are welcome to play.
Runs on October 14 in Special Events II Arena at two times:

-- 3 pm Eastern

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Objective: Kill enemies and bomb targets.

 

Event duration: 2 hours, but play as much or as little as you want of that.

 

Unlimited lives.

 

At the first hour mark, everyone will land or be grounded, and we will restart the battle (so that another escort/intercept situation can be set up).

 

There will be large, variable, and changing crosswinds at 26k and above.  This means that bombing accuracy for bombers flying at 26k and above is small or zero -- so if you want to hit anything, you should fly the bomber below 26k.

 

Allies (Bishops):
-- Air bases a96 (south air launch) and a97 (north air launch).

-- a96 S is closest to the action.
-- B-17G, P-47D-11 (no bombs).
-- No radar.

 

Axis (Knights):
-- Air bases a44 (south air launch) and a48 (south air launch).
-- a48 S is closest to the action.

-- Bf 109G-2, Bf 109G-6, FW 190A-5, all without bombs.
-- Sector counters.

 

Fighter hangars, fuel, and ammo bunkers will have a down time of 1 minute.

 

Points:
-- 1 point per kill.
-- Allies get also 0.1 points per object destroyed.

 

Side split 50/50.

 

Arena Settings:
Terrain = germanyw

Country order = 2,1,3
ArenaFlags = 13358

ChangeCountryTime = 0

ColorFog[Day] = 153/164/187
ColorSky[Day] = 135/160/196
ExitWhileMoving = 508
FlightModeFlags = 5248
RadarMode[Bishops] = 48
RadarMode[Knights] = 0
RadarMode[Rooks] = 48

ResetAirFieldCnt = 1

ResetTotalFieldCnt = 1
StratFlags = 1

 

Object Settings:

Fighter Hangars, Down Time = 1

Bunk Fuel, Down Time = 1

Bunk Ammo, Down Time = 1

Wind, at 26k and above, varying with goal of making it nearly impossible to hit targets if bombers are at 26k or above.

 

Weapons Disabled:

No bombs on P-47D-11, Bf 109G-2, Bf 109G-6, or FW 190A-5.

 

Map of the battle area: