Sunday 4 March 2012
Kabalite Warriors
Here are the finished Kabalite Warriors. I've finally got my first unit of Dark Eldar painted!
Amber Gambler: Mission 7
Today's mission was to bomb the railyards at Rouen. The Gambler took off and joined her formation in the middle of the squadron and headed for France.
The trip to the target was uneventful with just a single Me109 spotted in the distance tangling with a pair of Mustangs. The weather over the target was perfect and there was no flak at all, but the Gambler's bombs still missed their target! That's five total misses out of seven missions, not good!
With the bombs gone the Gambler turned for home and ran into a schwarm of enemy fighters. Dan Clifton bagged a Fw190 for his second kill and the others were driven off, though not before a canon shell hit engine number 2 and put it out of action. Pilot Chris Hopkins feathered the prop and the Gambler continued on her way home quite happily on three engines, maintaining formation all the way home.
The Gambler completed her seventh mission and by far the easiest one yet. Let's hope they stay like that!
The trip to the target was uneventful with just a single Me109 spotted in the distance tangling with a pair of Mustangs. The weather over the target was perfect and there was no flak at all, but the Gambler's bombs still missed their target! That's five total misses out of seven missions, not good!
With the bombs gone the Gambler turned for home and ran into a schwarm of enemy fighters. Dan Clifton bagged a Fw190 for his second kill and the others were driven off, though not before a canon shell hit engine number 2 and put it out of action. Pilot Chris Hopkins feathered the prop and the Gambler continued on her way home quite happily on three engines, maintaining formation all the way home.
The Gambler completed her seventh mission and by far the easiest one yet. Let's hope they stay like that!
Monday 27 February 2012
Amber Gambler: Mission 6
For their sixth mission, the crew of the Gambler welcomed some reinforcements to replace the casualties suffered in their last mission. The new crew members are Bombardier Martin Thorpe and Waist Gunners Steve Johnson and Christian Maude.
The B-17 crews were given some bad news during the mission briefing, there would no longer be dedicated fighter escort for the missions, the crews would have to just rely on whatever fighters were around. To compensate for this the bombers would be travelling in much greater numbers to the targets.
The target for this mission was the industrial area around Lille. The Gambler took to the skies over Northamptonshire and formed up in the middle of their formation which was in the low squadron of the bomber wave and headed for France.
Over the channel they were met by three FW190's but managed to damage two of them and carried on towards the target.
As the bombers flew over France they were met by Me109's but fortunately there were also plenty of friendly Mustangs around which drove the Nazi fighters away. Arriving over the target things started to get a little dicey. The weather had turned quite poor which would make the bomb run difficult and hordes of Luftwaffe fighters waited to greet the American bombers. Flying through the gauntlet of fire from the enemy fighters the Gambler was repeatedly hit by enemy fire which turned the nose of the plane into swiss cheese. One canon shell exploded in the nose compartment wounding both Bombardier Martin Thorpe and Navigator Adam Wright, though neither was overly serious. Another shell destroyed the bomb release mechanism which meant the bombs would have to be dropped manually. This was not an easy process and as a result all the bombs missed the target.
With the bombs gone the Gambler turned round and headed for home. Still the Nazi fighters swarmed round the bombers and Martin Thorpe managed to blow one out of the sky. The Gambler continued her flight home through the hail of enemy shells receiving countless hits, though none that caused any real damage except for a wound to Port Waist Gunner Steve Johnson, again though it wasn't too serious.
Reaching the English Channel the bombers met with some RAF Spitfires that drove away the remaining enemy fighters and they were able to proceed the rest of the way back unmolested.
This is the sixth mission completed for the Gambler and there were three more Purple Hearts awarded to the crew members that got wounded on the flight.
The B-17 crews were given some bad news during the mission briefing, there would no longer be dedicated fighter escort for the missions, the crews would have to just rely on whatever fighters were around. To compensate for this the bombers would be travelling in much greater numbers to the targets.
The target for this mission was the industrial area around Lille. The Gambler took to the skies over Northamptonshire and formed up in the middle of their formation which was in the low squadron of the bomber wave and headed for France.
Over the channel they were met by three FW190's but managed to damage two of them and carried on towards the target.
As the bombers flew over France they were met by Me109's but fortunately there were also plenty of friendly Mustangs around which drove the Nazi fighters away. Arriving over the target things started to get a little dicey. The weather had turned quite poor which would make the bomb run difficult and hordes of Luftwaffe fighters waited to greet the American bombers. Flying through the gauntlet of fire from the enemy fighters the Gambler was repeatedly hit by enemy fire which turned the nose of the plane into swiss cheese. One canon shell exploded in the nose compartment wounding both Bombardier Martin Thorpe and Navigator Adam Wright, though neither was overly serious. Another shell destroyed the bomb release mechanism which meant the bombs would have to be dropped manually. This was not an easy process and as a result all the bombs missed the target.
With the bombs gone the Gambler turned round and headed for home. Still the Nazi fighters swarmed round the bombers and Martin Thorpe managed to blow one out of the sky. The Gambler continued her flight home through the hail of enemy shells receiving countless hits, though none that caused any real damage except for a wound to Port Waist Gunner Steve Johnson, again though it wasn't too serious.
Reaching the English Channel the bombers met with some RAF Spitfires that drove away the remaining enemy fighters and they were able to proceed the rest of the way back unmolested.
This is the sixth mission completed for the Gambler and there were three more Purple Hearts awarded to the crew members that got wounded on the flight.
Friday 24 February 2012
Dark Eldar Kabalite Warriors
Figured it was time that I finally started my Dark Eldar army. I've only had them sitting around for about a year! I have just finished building my first squad and am now preparing to paint them. The first unit from the Kabal of the Gun and the Rose will soon be finished :-)
Sunday 19 February 2012
Amber Gambler: Mission 5
Today's mission saw the Gambler return to Abbeville Airfield in an attempt to cause some damage this time.
The mission started off fine with the Gambler joining the rest of the squadron high above England and proceeding with their fighter escort towards the target. They had an uneventful flight to the French coast where the weather turned poor. Out of the gloom it seemed like the entire Luftwaffe rose to meet them. The USAAF fighters were swamped and couldn't keep the Hun fighters at bay.
The first wave to hit the Gambler consisted of three Me109's and the lead started flying. The 109's were eventually driven off but not before they sprayed the Gambler with canon shells causing a serious wound to Bombardier Peter Hanna and blasting several holes in the aircraft.
There was no respite for the Gambler as another wave of three 109's followed the first. One of them was brought down by the guns in the top turret maned by Engineer Dan Clifton. The other two again blasted the Gambler with shells, damaging the tail wheel and the front windscreen, knocking the heat out in the pilots compatment and knocking the ball turret guns out of action.
Bravely plodding on the Gambler endured a third wave of fighters, this time three FW190's which fortunately did little damage.
Reaching the target Navigator Adam Wright took over the bomb aiming duties but missed the target. With the bombs gone the Gambler turned round and headed back through the maelstrom of enemy fighters. All around them other B-17's were falling out of the sky and the Gambler found themselves in the tail end Charlie spot.
Another wave of enemy fighters bore down on the Gambler, this time consisting of a Me109, three FW190's and a Me410. The pasting that the Gambler took was relentless as their abilty to fire back was severely drained. More and more shells poured into the Gambler causing the tail guns to become inoperable. The Nazi fighters circled the Gambler like a bunch of sharks and as more shells ripped into her both waist gunners, Jason Taylor and Lee Owen were killed. The Gambler then took more hits to the cockpit causing a light wound on the pilot Chris Hopkins and a serious wound to the Co-Pilot Simon Hanna.
Still flying, the Gambler was forced to drop out of formation as the cold at 20,000 feet would have probably killed the wounded crew in the pilots compartment otherwise. Dropping below 10,000 feet over the channel a welcome sight of Mustangs awaited them and they were escorted home where the injured pilot managed to get the battered Gambler back down on the ground.
A nightmare mission was finally over, though too late for Jason Taylor and Lee Owen. The wounds suffered by Chris Hopkins and Simon Hanna were reasonably minor and both will be fit for duty in a couple of days with nice shiny Purple Hearts. Peter Hanna suffered more serious wounds, though he is expected to recover, but his flying days are over and he will be sent back to America with the Purple Heart.
The mission started off fine with the Gambler joining the rest of the squadron high above England and proceeding with their fighter escort towards the target. They had an uneventful flight to the French coast where the weather turned poor. Out of the gloom it seemed like the entire Luftwaffe rose to meet them. The USAAF fighters were swamped and couldn't keep the Hun fighters at bay.
The first wave to hit the Gambler consisted of three Me109's and the lead started flying. The 109's were eventually driven off but not before they sprayed the Gambler with canon shells causing a serious wound to Bombardier Peter Hanna and blasting several holes in the aircraft.
There was no respite for the Gambler as another wave of three 109's followed the first. One of them was brought down by the guns in the top turret maned by Engineer Dan Clifton. The other two again blasted the Gambler with shells, damaging the tail wheel and the front windscreen, knocking the heat out in the pilots compatment and knocking the ball turret guns out of action.
Bravely plodding on the Gambler endured a third wave of fighters, this time three FW190's which fortunately did little damage.
Reaching the target Navigator Adam Wright took over the bomb aiming duties but missed the target. With the bombs gone the Gambler turned round and headed back through the maelstrom of enemy fighters. All around them other B-17's were falling out of the sky and the Gambler found themselves in the tail end Charlie spot.
Another wave of enemy fighters bore down on the Gambler, this time consisting of a Me109, three FW190's and a Me410. The pasting that the Gambler took was relentless as their abilty to fire back was severely drained. More and more shells poured into the Gambler causing the tail guns to become inoperable. The Nazi fighters circled the Gambler like a bunch of sharks and as more shells ripped into her both waist gunners, Jason Taylor and Lee Owen were killed. The Gambler then took more hits to the cockpit causing a light wound on the pilot Chris Hopkins and a serious wound to the Co-Pilot Simon Hanna.
Still flying, the Gambler was forced to drop out of formation as the cold at 20,000 feet would have probably killed the wounded crew in the pilots compartment otherwise. Dropping below 10,000 feet over the channel a welcome sight of Mustangs awaited them and they were escorted home where the injured pilot managed to get the battered Gambler back down on the ground.
A nightmare mission was finally over, though too late for Jason Taylor and Lee Owen. The wounds suffered by Chris Hopkins and Simon Hanna were reasonably minor and both will be fit for duty in a couple of days with nice shiny Purple Hearts. Peter Hanna suffered more serious wounds, though he is expected to recover, but his flying days are over and he will be sent back to America with the Purple Heart.
Friday 17 February 2012
Amber Gambler: Mission 4
Today's mission was to bomb the airfield at St. Omer. Again there would be close fighter support from the USAAF.
The Gambler took to the skies above Poddington and formed up with the rest of her formation, slotting nicely into the middle once more. The flight to the French coast was uneventful and soon the bombers reached the French mainland.
The weather over the target was poor and again the flak was medium though this time fortunately for the Gambler they passed through unscathed. As they approached the airfield the Luftwaffe came up in strength to meet them. The first wave of fighters battled against the USAAF Mustangs and a Me410 got through to attack the Gambler. Making the mistake of attacking high above the Gambler tail the Me410 was peppered with shells from Adi Clark on the tail gun and Jason Coombes from the top turret. The 410 broke away and headed groundwards trailing black smoke.
The Gambler pressed on unmolested and began its bomb run. This time Pete Hanna managed to get his bombs reasonably on target scoring a 20% hit rate. Turning back towards home the Gambler ran the gauntlet of Luftwaffe fighters beginning with a wave of five Fw190's. Three of these were kept at bay by the American fighters but two made it through to ruffle the Gamblers feathers. Attached from front and back the Gamblers gunners filled the skies with lead and Adi Clark on tail guns again damaged one of the 190's though this time the Nazi fighter slammed his shells into the rear of the B-17 before he broke from combat. There was minor damage to both wings and a chunk blown out of the rudder but no significant damage. At the front the Gamblers gunners did enough to put the other 190 off without it scoring any hits and it flew off to find easier prey. The second wave of enemy fighters then arrived. These Me109's fought with the Mustangs and one passed close by but failed to hit.
Having survived fighting against the most enemy planes yet encountered the Gambler headed back to the saftey of British skies and landed with the rest of the squadron back at base completing their fourth mission.
The Gambler took to the skies above Poddington and formed up with the rest of her formation, slotting nicely into the middle once more. The flight to the French coast was uneventful and soon the bombers reached the French mainland.
The weather over the target was poor and again the flak was medium though this time fortunately for the Gambler they passed through unscathed. As they approached the airfield the Luftwaffe came up in strength to meet them. The first wave of fighters battled against the USAAF Mustangs and a Me410 got through to attack the Gambler. Making the mistake of attacking high above the Gambler tail the Me410 was peppered with shells from Adi Clark on the tail gun and Jason Coombes from the top turret. The 410 broke away and headed groundwards trailing black smoke.
The Gambler pressed on unmolested and began its bomb run. This time Pete Hanna managed to get his bombs reasonably on target scoring a 20% hit rate. Turning back towards home the Gambler ran the gauntlet of Luftwaffe fighters beginning with a wave of five Fw190's. Three of these were kept at bay by the American fighters but two made it through to ruffle the Gamblers feathers. Attached from front and back the Gamblers gunners filled the skies with lead and Adi Clark on tail guns again damaged one of the 190's though this time the Nazi fighter slammed his shells into the rear of the B-17 before he broke from combat. There was minor damage to both wings and a chunk blown out of the rudder but no significant damage. At the front the Gamblers gunners did enough to put the other 190 off without it scoring any hits and it flew off to find easier prey. The second wave of enemy fighters then arrived. These Me109's fought with the Mustangs and one passed close by but failed to hit.
Having survived fighting against the most enemy planes yet encountered the Gambler headed back to the saftey of British skies and landed with the rest of the squadron back at base completing their fourth mission.
Wednesday 15 February 2012
Amber Gambler: Mission 3
The crew of the Amber Gambler took off on their third mission. This time the target was Cherbourg Airfield and they would be supported by Mustangs of the USAAF. These Mustangs together with some lovely formation flying by the B-17's deterred the Luftwaffe from attacking the bombers on their way to the target.
The weather was superb and as the B-17's flew over the French coast they could see their target ahead and they started their bomb run. As they flew towards the target they encountered the heaviest flak they had yet seen and the Gambler was peppered with shrapnel and took two major hits, one knocking out the brakes and the other destroying engine number 2. Pilot Chris Hopkins managed to get the propeller feathered and the Gambler flew on with three engines.
The bumpy ride took it's toll on the bomb run though with all the Gamblers bombs missing their target. With the bombs gone, the Gambler started it's homeward journey. With the USAAF Mustangs keeping the enemy fighters at bay the Gambler made its way back to Poddington and made a safe landing despite having no brakes.
Another mission done and it was the toughest yet but the crew have made it back safe and sound, ready to fight another day.
The weather was superb and as the B-17's flew over the French coast they could see their target ahead and they started their bomb run. As they flew towards the target they encountered the heaviest flak they had yet seen and the Gambler was peppered with shrapnel and took two major hits, one knocking out the brakes and the other destroying engine number 2. Pilot Chris Hopkins managed to get the propeller feathered and the Gambler flew on with three engines.
The bumpy ride took it's toll on the bomb run though with all the Gamblers bombs missing their target. With the bombs gone, the Gambler started it's homeward journey. With the USAAF Mustangs keeping the enemy fighters at bay the Gambler made its way back to Poddington and made a safe landing despite having no brakes.
Another mission done and it was the toughest yet but the crew have made it back safe and sound, ready to fight another day.
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| Amber Gambler, 3 missions done and 1 fighter destroyed. |
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