Mission: 671214 Out of Fighters
Weather: Broken Cloud 7500 VIS 20Nm
TOT: 16:05 Hrs
Aircraft: (1) F-8C VF-111
Flight Time: 35 Minutes.
On December 14th, 1967, one of the most unusual dogfights of the Vietnam War took place; it pitted four MiG-17s against one F-8C piloted by Lt. Cdr. Richard W. Schaffert of VF-111. The Yankee Air Pirate team draw on Shaffert’s account and a great deal of knowledge and research to recreate the conditions and circumstances of this memorable air combat action.
After Action Report:The weather is clear this afternoon, we know by now how quickly the heavy rain and sudden tropical storms in this region can reduce visibility and have you flying through the soup. A fine afternoon then is no trivial matter for a pilot, and this one is pleasant enough.
Skyhawks from VA-164 are working Iron Hand before the VA-163 lay their mines in the Bamboo Canal. VF-162 Crusaders will be overhead flying Top-Cover for the strike and the VF-111 will be in there first with the SEAD team.
The armourers have a problem with one of my sidewinders, it will have to be removed. I do not have time to sort this out, having to rendezvous with the VA-164, so we decide to go now with the three.
The launch is fine and the sleek Crusader easily catches the Skyhawks. I ride along between the pair of them, keeping a sharp lookout on the radar for any airborne threats ahead. We arrive at the river estuary and the Skyhawks break formation, heading straight for the SAM sites. I see Dagger-11 launch a shrike and his wingman drops down to follow him in and back-up the attack.
I am riding high over the top, attracting a lot of flak. Long streams of tracer also reach up through the vicious airbursts and clouds of deadly shrapnel. The strike birds will have to drive through this at a much lower altitude, let’s hope the SEAD is effective.
I suddenly have something else to think about with the message in my headphones;
"Python Flight, Red Crown, Fighters 12 O’clock, coming in low, ten miles." I am flying the first fighter on the scene here, and must keep those MiGs off the inbound strike aircraft. The VF-162 are not here yet, or are busy elsewhere. I have a bearing, range and altitude estimate. Better yet the radar confirms the report.
As the Crusader eases further inland I position between the SEAD team and the incoming MiGs, they will have to fly through me first.
Apparently, the MiG pilots have exactly that intention, as I close on the first two, they are at very low altitude, the second MiG suddenly pulls up and heads straight for me, guns blazing.
This mission has been written and constructed by the fiendish team at Yankee Air Pirate. This means that the MiGs encountered are designed with the highest level of AI setting the simulator can provide. They fly very well, are extremely aggressive, and they work together to achieve their goals. At least one of them seems programmed to deliberately collide with the player if it can.
Right away we are into an aggressive furball, I manage to roll underneath the rapidly climbing MiG, invert and turn hard, easterly, into the first one passing underneath, meanwhile two more MiG-17s are closing fast from the west. Well, the initial engagement is a success, I have their full attention!
A short burst from the 20MM goes wide, the MiG is pulling around and while I rapidly use up my altitude and stored energy he begins to extend. I haul it around on the afterburner and send a sidewinder after the MiG, but it goes wide, I need a better aspect.
The MiG will turn tighter and also climb at a faster rate, the Crusader has the edge in level acceleration and dive-speed, I can stay with him and start to close. As he evades my missile the MiG breaks left across my nose, I have a split-second shot, the stream of 20MM tears it apart.
The third MiG, observing the kill, fires a heater as I climb out, it roars past the canopy on the right side about a hundred feet offset, the net is closing.
Meanwhile the first one, the guy who likes to play chicken, rolls in from above and makes another really close pass. He climbs back up as I bring it around early and manage to pass him halfway through the turn. I am the pursuer now and this time the Aim-9D is good, two down.
OK, Let’s take a snapshot: The time is now 16:15, we have been dogfighting for ten minutes and two MiGs are down, one is on my ass, another is circling further out. With real time communications we could get a full egress report, and we badly need some current SA right now. So, let’s hit 'Pause' and F6 through the current players:
We can see Tampa Flight VA-163, all Winchester, all outbound for the carrier. Kingfish Flight VA-162, the two Crusaders are following the strike aircraft home. Finally, Dagger-11 and Dagger-12, the SEAD birds are out of the zone and headed home. The entire strike package is out over the sea. We have successfully held off the MiG-17s and therefore the priority now is to escape and make it to the boat. Resume play...Nosing the Crusader over vertically, I level out over the canal, keeping over the water to minimize exposure to the flak and tracer which is still firing. With the fast dive I have accumulated enough speed to make the coast without giving either MiG a good shot at my retreating rear-end. Once over the sea they give up the chase, their own fuel considerations now a priority.
I gratefully throttle back and cruise in slowly for the Oriskany. By the time I turn the F-8 for finals the fuel gauge is reading very low fuel levels, reminding me to make the landing stick first time, I might not get to go around twice.
This great sim actually does A2A better than any other (except IL2, which is on a par). The sky-high framerates achieved even on average rigs and the excellent padlock/snap-view system provide for good SA and a silky smooth ride. Yankee Air Pirate have taken full advantage of its strengths and added immeasurably to the experience. This mission is truly brilliant.
