P1 MS460, (Zaremba-Flt. Lead, Regular, K. Eyes) (w/ radio)
P2 MS460, (Gabryel-Wingman, Recruit) (w/out radio)
P3 MS460, (Kabat-Wingman, Regular) (w/out radio)
B1, Do17Z-2, (Unnamed, Squadron Lead, Veteran)
B2, Do17Z-2, (Unnamed, Wingman, Regular)
B3, Do17Z-2, (Unnamed, Wingman, Green)
B4, Do17Z-2, (Unnamed, Flight Lead, Regular, Keen Eyes, Hero)
B5, Do17Z-2, (Unnamed, Wingman, Regular)
B6, Do17Z-2, (Unnamed, Wingman, Regular)
B7, Do17Z-2, (Unnamed, Flight Lead, Veteran)
B8, Do17Z-2, (Unnamed, Wingman, Regular, Hero)
B9, Do17Z-2, (Unnamed, Wingman, Regular, Green)
(Note: Pilot quality and characteristics generated using
Training Standard Excellent)
Weather – Roll = 6 + 1(Spring) = 7 -> Broken Cloud Cover
Affected Bands = 7+1(Broken Clouds) = 8 -> VL & ML
Contrails: Lowest, Roll = 29.0, Highest = 29 + (2+8) = 39
Deck 1: (Start Alt = 0.0, D5 Roll = 5) -> 0.0 to 5.0
Layer 1: (Start Altitude = 12 + D5 = 17, D10 Roll = 7) -> 17 to 24
Special Rules:
1.0 The bombers are returning from a mission and are unloaded.
Endurance is 65% of full level, or 91min.
2.0 The German formation is flying at 10.0 + D5 = 15.
The Germans are flying above the clouds.
3.0 Poles formation altitude:
Polish Roll = 5 -> 2.5
German Roll = 2 -> 1
Polish Altitude = 15+(2.5-1) = 16.5
The Poles are flying above the clouds.
4.0 Poles win First Sight
5.0 TMG Setup: Band = 2+1 (Keen Eyes) – 1 (Broken Clouds) = 2
Arc = 4 -> Left front side arc
Sun = 6:00L
Time of Day: 1400
6.0 Combat scale weather (clouds) are in effect.
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After arrival in France in November of 1939, the three pilots,
Zaremba, Gabryel, and Kabat, along with thousands of other Polish
evacuees, were processed through the new Receiving Point set up by
the reconstituted Polish Air Force, in Marseilles. From there they
were shuffled through one of the Assembly Points at Paris-Le Bourget,
and then to a newly established Aviation Training Center (Centrum
Wyszkolenia Lotnictwa or CWL) at Lyon France. Their hopes were high
that they would finally be able to fight again as pilots, but with
fighter aircraft that could stand toe to toe with the Luftwaffe.
But negotiations with the French were proceeding slowly, and the
three men were growing increasingly frustrated at the inactivity.
No planes to fly. Some efforts were made to keep them occupied,
but they increasingly vented their pent up anger at their French
allies – for seemingly sitting still while their country was
destroyed – and their new officers – for alleged incompetence in
the air war in Poland. They regarded any activity as busy work,
and their moral started to flag as it became apparent that the
French were dragging their feet at allowing a new Polish Air
orce Wing to be built.
The officers grew concerned at the declining moral of the airmen.
They sent several representatives to open honest discussions with
the young pilots, and realized that much of this was due to a lack
of action. They put pressure on the French to start training at
least some of the pilots in modern French fighter aircraft.
Finally, the French agreed to let one squadron of pilots train
on their MS-460’s at the French Aviation Training Center in
Montpellier. General Pawlikowski, called upon the new wing
commanders to select which fighter pilots would join this group.
It was decided that the pilots from the former Polish Army
squadrons (Poznan and Krakow) groups would be chosen. Zaremba,
Gabryel, and Kabat were surprised and relieved to be selected.
First came theoretical training, then flight training on MS 230
high-wing monoplane trainers, and finally training on the MS460
fighter. The Poles surprised the French, and satisfactorily
finished the course by mid February. They were then sent back
to Lyon as the “Montpellier Squadron” of the Polish Air Force.
To keep their moral, they were sent for a skiing trip while the
Polish commanders continued to negotiate with the French in how
to get them into combat.
The French Armee de l’Air refused to allow all 18 pilots of the
Montpellier squadron to fly as a unified squadron. They wanted
to use the Poles as replacement flights embedded within their
own squadrons. Finally, after much back and forth, the Polish
Air Force aquiesced to splitting up the Montpellier squadron into
flights of three aircraft each, and embedding them into French units
temporarily for two months to learn French tactical command system.
Zeremba, Gabryel, and Kabat joined the GC II/7 unit, based in
Luxeuil, close to the Swiss border behind the Maginot Line. On
28April, while the flight was patrolling over the Basancon region,
they spied a formation Dornier bombers in one of the first contacts
the Poles made in France against their old enemy.
[Andrew McKenzie]
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On 28April40, the Polish flight attached to French squadron GCII/7 was
running a routine patrol mission, in part to familiarize themselves with
their new aircraft – the Mouraine Saulnier 406. This flight comprised
the pilots who had been shot down over Poland in the early days of the
war, and were not able to find available aircraft to continue the fight.
So they were thirsting for action, perhaps being somewhat annoyed at
feeling like second rate members of the team.
Weather was somewhat cloudy, with broken clouds in the ground altitudes
and up higher, but they were flying in a band sandwiched between the two.
At 1400, they spotted a formation of Dorniers flying a few hundred feet
below them. What the Dorniers were doing this far into France was a
mystery – perhaps scouting or probing the French aerial defenses.
Whatever the case, this gave Zaremba the redemption he was looking for
from his first and only combat in Poland where he rammed an enemy aircraft
in his over eagerness for a first kill – taking to his parachute and losing
his command. In his approach, he spied some raggedness in the formation,
with on vic of bombers lagging behind the rest of the formation. Swinging
his planes around to the tails of that vic, he dived down on their tail to
make them pay for their sloppy fighting.
The Germans attempted to retain a disciplined flying formation and rely on
their defensive guns, rather than attempting to evade the fighters. They
immediately tried tightening up the formation with the French on their tail.
All three of the French pilots concentrated their fire on the biggest outlier
in the formation, pumping fire into it and causing major damage. But Zaremba,
perhaps being too used to the old PZL P11’s he was flying, turned too sharply
and promptly turn stalled, causing him to temporarily drop out of the fight.
At that point, he must have been red with frustration and embarrassment as he
tried to maneuver his aircraft back into the fight. In the meantime, Kabat
rolled off of this plane and onto another one in the same vic, and with one
burst of fire watched the plane detonate in an explosion. Gabryel, the most
inexperienced of the pilots, continued to fire into the original plane. The
thing, even though limping, still absorbed damage like a sponge. Out of canon
ammo, Gabryel fired off his last round of MG fire and watched the plane break up.
Satisfied, he banked away from the fight and disengaged.
The remaining bomber of the lagging vic tried flying underneath another vic to
gain some protection from its defensive fire. The bombers were finding the gap
in coverage off their tail was a real weakness in their defenses, along with
having one rear gunner try to run both the left, right, and dorsal guns. In
one of the bomber the rear gunner lay dead, and in another the dorsal gun jammed.
As a result the defensive fire was ineffective – the Poles only received light
damage.
Kabat, not satisfied with one kill, latched onto the original bomber that had
tried to find shelter under the other vic. Wisely conserving precious canon ammo,
he used half bursts until he was out of ammo, then finished off the Dornier with
MG fire, watching it break up.
Zaremba finally gained control of his aircraft, suppressed his frustration,
despite of an inadvertent shot miles away from his target, then methodically
climbed to get on the tail of one of the bombers of the new vic. After five
rounds of firing he finally managed to break the thing apart. Finally, although
probably still smarting over the stumbles he had in the fight, he obtained his
first kill, and he felt his luck finally turning in this war.
Advancement:
Gabryel’s kill advances him to a green pilot, with a total of 2 engagements and
1 kill under his belt.
Kabat racks up 4 engagements and 2 kills under his belt. No advancement yet.
Zaremba racks up 2 engagement and 1 kill under his belt. No advancement yet.
[AAR by Andrew McKenzie]
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