Kibayasu posted:

Well I did read that last update then completely forgot to comment so I may as well contribute to the next page.

That was a short but exciting burst of fighting. Attacking in broad daylight indeed. Does the game do night missions? And is MIA just a bit of flavour or can the guy maybe come back later?

Edit: Hurray!

From the War Diary of Boris Bolshevik - 62nd ShAP posted:

08:03
Lift-off after a morning of preparation. I'm a little anxious as I have two missions slotted for me today. I just need to bring myself, and my plane, back safely...




The crosswind will be annoying to work against.



08:14
Met up with the escorts. The cloud cover today made ingress easy, and pretty in it's own way.






~08:18
Our strikes knocked out a number of artillery pieces. Curiously, there seemed to be very little in the form of AA defenses. I don't think anyone complained, however.

https://i.imgur.com/y6xpve7.gifv








https://i.imgur.com/sQVFuB6.gifv



~08:21
The party couldn't last forever, and some 109s made a showing. I wanted to participate and throw the weight of my cannon shells into the fray, but the dogfight moved further and further behind enemy lines. I turned and made way for home.



08:24
History does not record the name of the pilot who crash-landed into the objective's zone at this time. The hectic pace of this day, and the war at large, prevented any search on my part until it was far too late. Another unknown soldier; what a terrible fate.

https://i.imgur.com/0ai2BSt.gifv

08:27
I have never mentioned this to anyone, especially my squadron. One moment I am looking at the ground, and I spot a shadow of a plane. I want to say that I could not recognize its shape; I swore that the sun was playing tricks on my eyes. As if to further taunt my sanity, I looked up, trying to find the source of the mysterious shadow and spotted... well, I do not know. Was it Flak? Was it some new type of enemy, or friendly, aircraft? One moment, it was there, and then gone the next. And if that was not enough, I started to receive ground fire! I thought I was in friendly skies by now, how could this happen? I never did find the source of the shadow, the mysterious black plane, or the ground fire.

https://i.imgur.com/bl99McW.gifv




[time not legible]
[...]ally b.ck home. I got a little water on the diary, but it should dry off. A nice Pe-2 is visible just off the runway









Another 8 kills are credited to my name. We cheer up Fedot, we know he didn't miss intentionally.

[Continued on reverse page]

Jobbo_Fett posted:

At least Boris will have a new coat of paint on his plane?

From the War Diary of Boris Bolshevik - 62nd ShAP posted:

Carth Dookie posted:

That'll buff out.

Jobbo_Fett posted:

The wing isn't the important part

CoffeeQaddaffi posted:

Do a hard landing, or was it the result of enemy fire? Find out in the next episode of...

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

Did you land right next to the enemy you just set on fire?

CoffeeQaddaffi posted:

Find out in the next episode of...

From the War Diary of Boris Bolshevik - 62nd ShAP posted:

A troop concentration, behind enemy lines, is deserving of some attention this afternoon.





12:30
While on my way to the hangar to check my plane, one of the techs approached me and told me they had a new plane that was shipped. The color scheme was slightly different from the others, and I quickly christened it by adding the number "42" to the tail. Int's a bit of a morbid joke, as I was attempting to predict the year of my demise.


Its not much, but given some time and imagination, the Germans will soon know fear in the skies.

15:46


The friendly MiG-3s are back, providing top cover once more.


Which is good, because although rumors are that modifications exist to give a defensive gunner to our sturdy Il-2's, we have yet to have a guaranteed means of fighting back against any... hazardous element in the sky.

15:49

With the enemy troops found, several of the 62nd ShAP opened up the tally with some rocket strikes.




This was soon followed by my own kills, although I was to learn after the mission that none of my rockets or bombs found



And then this happened...



A flak hit right in the fuselage sent shrapnel everywhere. My face was bloodied, to which I received medical attention after landing, both wing roots had numerous perforations, and I noticed the engine had a different tune to it. Oh, and there were some holes in the engine cover.

16:03
Fourteen minutes later, one failed landing attempt, and finally I'm on the ground. I thought my mission would be over. Just shut the engine off, greet the mechanics and the CO, debrief, and eat, but three quick blasts shattered that ideal ending to a busy day.

Immediately, I scanned the skies to look for the aggressors. Were they fighters? Were they bombers? What model of bomber should I be looking out for?

Thinking I could do no wrong, I kept the engine running, noticing the fuel gauge being rather low for how long I flew. The flak must have bitten into the fuel tank as well.




The defensive guns for the airfield lit up and started to harass the enemy planes.








That fresh coat of paint didn't last too long...



Three more kills credited to my name.


Four days after his arrival, we crossed the name of Rodion Gusev off the roster. I'm told he took a flak burst and spun in... thinking back on it, I was almost destined for the same fate.

From the War Diary of Boris Bolshevik - 62nd ShAP posted:

....:36
Waiting at dispersal, as the squadron takes flight to hit its morning objective. There's not much to do, so those of us left behind talk about various tactics and drop settings for the munitions we typically carry.






09:00
Even before the return of the squadron, now battered and bruised from what can only be described as a disastrous action, we knew something had gone wrong. The appearance of medical teams suggested that at least one pilot was in danger.

You never expect two dead, and half the unit's planes either destroyed, or out of action. Fedot Ryabov gave a good account of himself, even if it did cost him part of a finger and two squadmates...





14:15
The worst blow of this day is being told that I would not be able to let out my frustrations on the Germans today. To feel so powerless, this way, it takes the wind out of your sails. [P.S. I've tried to make sense of this choice over the years. Maybe I was deemed "too valuable to lose" on such an awful day?]








16:00
The afternoon flight suffers no loss or damage, which let us all breathe a sigh of relief. I am glad that Vitaliy Vorsin was able to exact some revenge.




Once again we are stuck hoping we'll get reinforcements and supplies.

Tythas posted:

this LP cause me to buy the game.... as well as battle of Moscow...... and the P-40E. It was totally worth it i am having a blast killing nazi's with freedom .50's

MohawkSatan posted:

The P-40 is one of the very few planes, possibly only plane, in BoS with a hosed flight model. IIRC the engine modeling specifically is way low on power, and cant be run at real lift power for more than a few minutes without blowing it.

That said, I love it. You can run out with a few bombs, 4 .50s, and extra ammo, take out a few ground targets, and then gently caress up ground attackers with your belts of FREEDOM. And if you've got a decent energy advantage is becomes a nightmare to fight because of the massive ammo reserves.

From the War Diary of Boris Bolshevik - 62nd ShAP posted:

Another day with two missions lined up for me. Hopefully, it'll be a different affair than yesterday's ordeal for the squadron...




I'm not altogether happy about another airfield attack mission. I know these are desperate times, but an attack on such a target during daylight hours seems ill-advised.




I expressed my concerns with Arsen, but his reply was simply "Focus on the first mission, then worry about the airfield if you're still alive." Guess I couldn't really argue with that.




08:08
The flight to the objective was uneventful, and the cloud cover made spotting our targets hard. Once we had a glimpse, it was time to dive through it.

https://i.imgur.com/8bMOVsj.gifv

My first attack hits a trio of trucks parked in a line. Apparently they were carrying something exciting.



The anti-air gunners didn't appreciate my actions, however.

https://i.imgur.com/lTWc2ya.gifv

Further strikes simply added to my list of kills



https://i.imgur.com/adKyG47.gifv



Barely a few minutes after the attacks were carried out, I was out of ammo and on my way back to base.


~08:26
Back at base, safely on the ground, and with nothing to worry about. It would have been more enjoyable if the fighters would stop talking incessantly over the comms, however.



I get a wonderful shot of one of my comrades coming in for a landing. The trail of fluids, or smoke, following him is concerning...



But not so much as the numerous black specks that have come to visit my airfield. Are they friendly? I sure hope so!


https://i.imgur.com/KtSn4N2.gifv




It turns out that some daring German pilot weaved his way into the pack, but he was sent to hell just like the rest!








Constantin Osipov was also scheduled for this afternoon, but now we will need to find another pilot to replace him.

[Continued on next page]

From the War Diary of Boris Bolshevik - 62nd ShAP[/quote posted:

15:25
In the seat of the cockpit again, and I'm dreading how it will turn out.





15:34
After take-off, forming up, and moving to Waypoint #2 on our map, it seems like the fighter escort isn't even in the skies. Well... hopefully there won't be any German planes in the sky.




15:40
Target spotted! Now for the dreadful moment where we wonder if the base's AA is awake and aware.





https://i.imgur.com/jX5Q3fH.gifv


15:43
After a successful attack, I head for home. AA is nothing to mess with, and I'd rather receive a scolding from the commander later than a bullet to the head now.





On my way home, I notice some explosions in a field near the frontline. An investigation reveals nothing of note, until a small dirt fortification catches my eye. The familiar thud of bullets on metal sounds off in my cockpit, and I make a second pass coming from the sun, hoping its light would blind the gunner.

[Author's Note] I would later find out I had killed an MG34 gunner. I still wonder why he was set up there, all by his lonesome.



15:56~
Upon return to base, I saw several dark figures in the sky and what looked like explosions on the landing strip. After a brief chase I discovered that I was following some I-16's. Embarrassed, I would forget to ask about the explosions later on.



Sadly, I would discover later that Iliya Gulyaev didn't make it back. A small marker was placed next to his wrecked plane by the Germans.

Tiger Crazy posted:

Boris a true hero of the People! May our elderly comrade live another 50 years.