DoW Coop

[Whiplash]

For a while now DoW has been flying combat coops with each other and a select few who happen to wonder to the server while we are there. I thought it might be a good idea to start this thread in case there are others actively seeking to participate in combat coops.

 

With that said I would like to encourage anyone interested in joining us for a trial run of a scheduled community combat coop this Sunday. Eventually we will add player opposing aircraft but for this first one we will all fly as one team. Also note this mission will include objectives that only the new TF-51D can achieve. We hope this will bring in people who may not have the P-51D but want to see what it's like. You might also be interested d0o0ms After Action Review of this mission when we flew it earlier here. If this turns out to be successful we hope to expand on it. I think the ultimate goal might be to set up an event on Saturday or Sunday that everyone regardless of experience or affiliation can look forward to participating in.

 

The scenario will look like this:

 

OPERATION PRYING EYE By d0o0m

 

Date: 5/25 22:00 Zulu

Where: DoW Sever

Teamspeak: 96.225.37.174 (Password: DoW)

 

BACKGROUND

It is September 1st, 1943. We believe the General Steinhoff and his staff have occupied our ally Stalin's dacha on the shores of Lake Ritsa. We need a recon photo of the area returned to HQ staff at Sukhumi. Destroy any convoys observed to leave the village to make a run for the train station in Byzb'.

 

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

1. RECON PHOTO LAKE RITSA: MAP GRID FJ21

2. RECON PHOTO SOCHI SHIPS: MAP GRID EJ52

3. DESTROY ANY RITSA CONVOYS BEFORE THEY REACH BYZB.

 

MISSION NOTES

PHOTORECON PILOT:

Lift Sukhumi - Babushara in TF-51 reconnaisance platform.

Sukhumi tower: 129 MHz AM Channel "A"

 

* USE F10 MENU TO TAKE PHOTO OR RESET CAMERA IF NEEDED

* YOU WILL RECEIVE AN ALERT WHEN YOUR PLANE IS WITHIN RANGE TO MAKE A SUCCESSFUL PHOTO

* WINGS MUST BE LEVEL TO TAKE RECON PHOTO. WAIT FOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PHOTO SUCCESS

* RECON PHOTOS MUST BE RETURNED TO STAFF OFFICE SAFELY TO COUNT TOWARDS SUCCESS. SEE BRIEFING PICTURE

 

FIGHTER ESCORT:

Lift Sukhumi - Babushara in P51D CAP Platform.

Sukhumi tower: 129 MHz AM Channel "A"

 

 

OPERATION MAP

 

INTELLIGENCE

Expect heavy ground fire and flak near the target area. We hope to catch the enemy off guard but there is always the possibility that we may encounter air to air opposition in the form of FW-190's from the nearby airdrome. This possibility only increase the longer we remain on target.

 

FORMATION

Depending on turnout we will assign a flight lead for each element flight. Each flight will be given a corresponding color followed by the planes position in the flight. The formation will be as follows:

 

 

Blue 2 is Blue Leader’s wingman, Blue 3 is an element leader, and Blue 4 is his wingman; similarly, Blue 5 is an element leader and Blue 6 is his wingman.

 

This formation is subject to change based on turnout. Anyone who does not have a P-51D license is encourage to fly one of the TF-51's to assist in the photo reconnaissance.

 

Members of DoW are available to answer any questions you may have. It is our goal to get the community involved so please free to comment. If you are just getting started with the P-51 and need some help, grab one of us and we will be happy to get you checked out to make sure you can communicate with us on Teamspeak and you have all your keys mapped accordingly to ensure you have the most enjoyable experience. Post here and let us know if you are interested in joining us for this event.

 

PARTICIPANT SIGNUP

 

Blue Flight:

Blue 1 - Flight Leader: [DoW] Lead

Blue 2 - Wingman: TooTall

Blue 3 - TF-51 Recon: Open

Blue 4 - Wingman: Open

Blue 5 - Element Lead: Open

Blue 6 - Wingman: Hattrick

 

Red Flight:

Red 1 - Flight Leader: Open

Red 2 - Wingman: Open

Red 3 - TF-51 Recon: Open

Red 4 - Wingman: Open

Red 5 - Element Lead: Open

Red 6 - Wingman: Open

 

Special thanks to d0o0m for creating this coop. We would also like to thank Speed, Grimes, Sithspawn and Stonehouse for the MIST and flak scripts used in the mission.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Whiplash

[hattrick]

Awesome mission guys! Can't wait to fly with everyone. I'd like to request Blue 2 or Blue 6 please and thank you :).

 

I highly recommend everyone even remotely interested in the Mustang and DCS WWII 1944 join in!! The more people show the better the experience!

 

Hattrick

[Grim_Smiles]

Sounds like a fun mission, and I saw yours and David's post and it is good to hear you guys are a patient crowd! I'd like to try to make it for this but I can't confirm anything at the moment. If I am able to make it, I've no experience with formation flying so I might have to find a position where I can't do much damage if I can't stay in my slot. Maybe hanging with the recon birds as escort or doing a ground attack role on the convoy. Will have to see how this weekend goes for me.

[Whiplash]

Awesome mission guys! Can't wait to fly with everyone. I'd like to request Blue 2 or Blue 6 please and thank you :).

 

I highly recommend everyone even remotely interested in the Mustang and DCS WWII 1944 join in!! The more people show the better the experience!

 

Hattrick

 

Awesome thank you!

 

Sounds like a fun mission, and I saw yours and David's post and it is good to hear you guys are a patient crowd! I'd like to try to make it for this but I can't confirm anything at the moment. If I am able to make it, I've no experience with formation flying so I might have to find a position where I can't do much damage if I can't stay in my slot. Maybe hanging with the recon birds as escort or doing a ground attack role on the convoy. Will have to see how this weekend goes for me.

 

No Problem. I think I'll put Hattrick in Blue #6 pos. and you in Blue #2. Don't be intimidated about the formation stuff it's just a guideline that gives us something to work toward. Really we just want to have a good time and you can't do that if your not trying. If you know for sure you can't make it let us know, but at the end of the day I think most of us have a pretty good understanding that real life takes precedence so don't sweat it if you can't make it last minute. Like I mentioned this is just going to be a trial run, we want to start doing something like this on a weekly or bi-weekly bases. We really just want your feedback so we can expand on the things that worked as well as make changes to the things that didn't go so well.

[Whiplash]

Also I just wanted to add that there is not a lot of difference between an element lead and wingman, so don't feel like you have to have any special qualifications to fly any position. pretty much get your bird up and make an effort to join up in your group (for your own benefit you know safety in numbers kind of thing). The f10 map will be available should anyone feel they need a little assistance finding there way.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Whiplash

[Grim_Smiles]

It looks like I'm not going to make it back in town in time for this:cry: Sorry guys. I do hope that doing these missions turns into a regular thing though, this one looks great and hopefully it'll come back up into mission rotation down the road.

[Whiplash]

It looks like I'm not going to make it back in town in time for this:cry: Sorry guys. I do hope that doing these missions turns into a regular thing though, this one looks great and hopefully it'll come back up into mission rotation down the road.

 

Ah sorry man. You will get a chance to fly this mission or some variant of it I'm sure. Thanks for trying though.

[Stonehouse]

That sounds like a great mission, shame timezones get in the way of applying for a slot.

 

@Whiplash or Dooom - Just curious on some things though, with 12 humans and the AI and statics would you say you've added a lot of flak using the scripts and if so how do you find the impact to frames on the client side- particularly if there are a large number of planes in the AAA trigger zone ie lots of flak bursts?

 

Also I'm trying to organise larger missions here and wondered what sort of server (spec wise) and internet connection you are using for hosting for a mission this size?

 

Cheers,

Stonehouse

[Whiplash]

I know some of us experienced some performance issues but I myself didn't notice it much. I believe most of the issues were do to the overcast clouds. I think I only saw flak track one or two planes at a time so I would say this mission was not a real good stress test for the flak script. Hopefully we'll get more participants next time. You'll have to ask Merlin about the specific server specs. I know he recently moved and his network provider is quite a bit better than it use to be.

[Whiplash]

DoW After Action Review

 

Mission: Prying Eye v1.5

 

Date: 5/25/14

 

Participants:

Chief; d0o0m; DavidRed; Hattrick; Balto; Polaris

 

Victories:

Chief(2)-2; DavidRed(2)-2; Polaris(1)- 1

 

Ground Units Destroyed:

d0o0m(1)-5; Chief(2)-2

 

Casualties:

Balto(1); DavidRed(1); Chief(1); Polaris(1)

 

Summary:

Red flight consisted of Balto (Recon Red1), Polaris (Red2), Hattrick (Red3)

Blue flight consisted of Chief (Blue1), DavidRed (Blue2)

 

Red flight was tasked with achieving the primary object. Blue flight was given freedom to pursue any opposition the group encountered. Upon arriving at the target, DavidRed(1) took a direct hit from flak, no chute was reported to have been seen before his plane hit the ground. FW-190’s were sighted as the group approached the target area. Balto(1) managed to get a picture of the objective, however, Red flight was immediately ambushed by four or more FW-190’s. Hattrick(1) spotted the first one and broke hard in pursuit. Polaris stayed close to Balto trying to put his plane between his lead and the attacking 190’s as they tried to egress back to base. The 190’s were determined not to let Red flight escape. Their efforts were not in vain as both Balto(1) and Polaris(1) never made it back to base. Blue1 never returned to base as well. Hatttick continued to chase a 190 south to the coast when he was forced to break pursuit after he was jumped by two more 190’s. Low on Ammo and fuel, he tactfully drew the 190’s to the cost. d0o0m(1) and chief(2) scrambled to Hattrick(1)’s aid. They intercepted the perusing 190’s and got them to break off Hattrick(1) who manage to land back at base. Chief witness two of the 190’s take a direct hit from flak. Each hit more spectacular than the other. Balto(2) joined up with d0o0m(1) to fly back to the target and take a second run at achieving primary objective. Meanwhile the remaining members of the group continued to engage the enemy in a dog eat dog battle for supremacy. Hattick(1) thought he had rearmed his aircraft but to his dismay he discovered the full extent of his misfortune when he got in perfect firing position behind a 190 only to hear nothing as he squeezed the trigger. After a second photo was taken of the objective Balto(2) cut loose from d0o0m(1) so he could complete the second objective. Chief(2) joined d0o0m(1) and together they were able to destroy the convoy and complete the second objective. Balto(2) made it back base with the photos thus completing the primary objective.

 

Screenshots

Flak by target

 

Delivering the photos

Edited May 26, 2014 by Whiplash

[Merlin-27]

Good times! Nice write-up, Balto. That Flak was crazy accurate. It made me a little nervous getting close to the bandits. I really wish I had video watching those two 190s explode while in my gunsite.

 

I had a nice view of this kill by DavidRed also...

[Whiplash]

Nice one, the shots of the flak I took don't really do it justice, it was pretty amazing just watching it track the group. I really enjoy having it in these missions.

[POLARIS1]

Now that was a mission to remember mates!

Well Done !!!

[Bounder]

Sounds like you chaps had a lot of fun, really nice write up and photos, hope to make one of the DoW events in the future... if the gf will let me stay up late enough that is!

[hattrick]

That reminds me... I really need to have a talk with my crew chief... I mean he straight up lied straight to my face about being rearmed! I think someone's gonna be drinking some laxative in his coffee tomorrow morning.

[Yob]

Unfortunately i was working..... :(

 

So i missed it... :(

[9.JG27 DavidRed]

Sounds like you chaps had a lot of fun, really nice write up and photos, hope to make one of the DoW events in the future... if the gf will let me stay up late enough that is!

 

yes great event!lots of fun with good people:pilotfly: & :drunk:

next time, we will make it earlier, so that european also have the chance to take part...for me it was midnight, and for Polaris it was 2am,....so thx for the commitment Polaris :thumbup:

[POLARIS1]

My pleasure mate!

I never say no to the combination of a good match, a good beer and fine chaps !

[Whiplash]

With all this talk about recon flights I figure I would share a clipping from Robin Olds memoir about his experience as a recon Pilots. Its a bit long so only read if you are interested I guess.

 

I was out preflighting before takeoff, doing the usual walk-around to make sure both wings were on and the tail section was where it was supposed to be, the most important part of the ritual being the usual leak in the grass at the rear of the aircraft, when, just before climbing up on the wing, I noticed something had been done to my Mustang. “Glen, what the hell is this window?” I asked, pointing to a small glass-covered opening on the left side of the fuselage just above the coolant radiator. “It’s a camera, sir. Some guys came into the hangar when I had the bird in for inspection and installed it.” “A camera? What the hell for?” “They didn’t say , but come here.” Glen became all business and his voice was serious. “Take a look. See the lens? And over here; climb up on the left wing . See the two red lines painted on the left side of the canopy? Now look out at the wingtip. See the single red line painted out there? The guys told me that if you line up those marks, it’s where the camera points. Then, all you have to do is turn the power on and hit this switch next to it over here on the right side of the cockpit, and you’ll take pictures until you turn the switch off. The thing is automatic, they tell me. It’ll keep on shooting all by itself till you tell it to stop.” I just shrugged. Take pictures of what? I thought. What’s this about? I had a mission to fly, so I hopped in and promptly forgot all about the camera. Two days later Don Horton and Tommy Thomas, our two squadron intel officers, took me aside before the early-morning group briefing. They had some glossy eight-by-tens lined up on a table and led me over there. “See these? Recognize what they are?” “Sure,” I replied. “What’s the deal? That’s a marshaling yard, a big one. Where is it?” I was beginning to get suspicious.“Stuttgart,” Don answered as he and Tommy exchanged nervous glances. I was more than a little suspicious now. “Come on. Out with it. Is this today’s target? Why all the personal attention? What’s it got to do with me?” All of a sudden, I connected. The camera. Holy s**t! What was going on? Don became all business. “Robin, this is highly classified. Really secret stuff; 8th Air Force headquarters at Wycombe wants the pilot of L2-W— that’s you— to take a sequence of photos of today’s target before, during, and after. Down low, real, real low—” I interrupted. “What the hell do you mean ‘during’ and ‘down low’? That’s crazy! You ever count the guns around that marshaling yard? You want me to zip across that place three times? Down low? During? During the bomb drop? AFTER? You’ve got to be s****ting me!” Don put on his sternest official look and assured me he was not. I didn’t like it one damned bit, but knowing I would do it anyway (what choice did I have?), my mind was already racing with half-baked ideas and a lot of questions. Most important, I sure wanted someone to know I thought the idea was totally stupid. Orders were orders, but I needed a plan to accomplish the task, so I hustled Don and Tommy over into a corner. “OK, let’s get busy ,” I barked. “What’s the TOT? Will the lead bomber drop the usual smoke bombs? How long does it take for a load of 500-pounders to fall from, what is it, 28,000 feet? Am I going in alone or do I drop out of our escort and get up ahead in time to do this thing? Hell, let me see those pictures again. What’s the weather forecast in the target? Will I be able to see the bomber stream from low altitude? How about the flak? Where are the guns relative to the target? You got any area blowups so I can pick a low-level run-in checkpoint? Jesus, Horton, whose ****ing idea was this?” Twenty minutes later I had it figured out. I had to forge ahead of everyone to set up for the photo runs. The configuration of that sighting procedure meant going in at about 300 feet and passing down the right side of the target, three times! The normal bomber force procedure was for the lead aircraft to drop some smoke markers. The rest of the bombardiers dropped on that smoke , or so we had been briefed. I would be able to see the smoke down on the deck where I intended to circle. OK , I had it: bomb drop time, first pass not too soon BEFORE (those three passes were now capitalized in my mind), then circle into position to see the bomber stream on their run-in, be so many seconds out so that I could pass down the right side of the target DURING the impacts, haul ass around to get the AFTER shot . Then head for home low , fast, alone, and hopefully alive. The second pass might be the real bitch, particularly if the bombers were ragged in their formation or didn’t have the winds doped right . No telling where bombs might scatter while I was next to the target. I didn’t pay much attention to the regular briefing. Everything was normal, if you could call a huge bomber raid on a major German city normal. Weather was good. Flak anticipated as heavy, intense, and accurate over the target. Standard drill. Takeoff, rendezvous point, bomber tail markings, routes, altitudes, timing for everything, radio calls, winds aloft, safe course home, location of other fighter forces, latest intelligence info on the new German jets, emergency procedures, home-plate weather forecast, call sign and locations for the air-sea rescue people, our own aircraft assignments, taxi sequence, and so on. Highway Lead gave his pitch about radio discipline and formation positions, issued a few cautions to the assembled group, and then said, “Newcross Blue Lead will be leaving formation prior to the initial point. Any questions?” Questions? Hell yes! I thought. Is this necessary? Goddamned bomber people ought to take their own damned pictures . Grumble, grumble. I was in a snit.

 

Olds, Robin; Olds, Christina; Rasimus, Ed (2010-04-07). Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds (p. 108). St. Martin's Press. Kindle Edition.

 

 

I’ll paraphrase the rest… He goes on to completes the mission but only makes one pass. When he got back to HQ he told Tommy that he only made one pass which put him up in arms (probably spewing colorful language). Then Olds went on to tell them that the other passes would have looked the same as the first pass because the bombers completely missed their target… :doh: Such is life! This whole book was a kick in the pants.

 

Here is a picture of the camera port on a Recon Mustang:

 

 

and a preview of a new skin we hope to use on future recon missions.

 

 

Anyways, no coop officially planned for this weekend but that doesn't mean we aren't flying. We are currently in the process of brainstorming some ideas for the next mission, so if you have anything you would like to suggest let us know. I thought last week was a success for DoW but it would be awesome to get a few others outside of our group involved.

[Merlin-27]

Good story, Whip. Been meaning to read that one. Sounds like the making of a pretty exciting mission.

[Grim_Smiles]

Man looks like you guys had fun, sorry I missed it. So this flak script, I take it that with DavidRed getting shot down by it, it isn't just a cool effect but something that can actually destroy an aircraft?

[9.JG27 DavidRed]

yes, that flak is deadly! :)

dont worry, it wont be the last time we are doing that!and you are always welcome to join the server even if we havent announced a special event