Looking around, you realize you'll get your chance soon enough. This is the first big daylight raid of the new campaign. The bombers are almost exclusively B-17s, with 8th Air Force's commanders feeling that the fortresses' already renowned ability to take damage and come home more than offsets their smaller payloads, especially for this run. Hundreds of the big aircraft fill the sky, their contrails streaming back towards your last turn. Somewhere back there, in the center of the pack, rides the 'motherships' for the Witches- old bombers with refit bays. It can't be fun launching from one, and recovery, to hear Ilyena or Camille tell it, is nearly impossible- they ride on the outside of one of birds on the way home, usually somewhere unobtrusive. You shrugged, figuring they knew more about their job than you did. Still, it must get cold- you caught Ilyena and the twins eyeing your leather bomber jacket more than once with undisguised envy. Camille, already a veteran, already has her own- though she's been quiet as to where she got it from.

You're out front and to the left, tucked in among the lightnings of your base mates, the 479th fighter group. You've elected to stay slightly back and above them, putting you in an excellent position to react to threats behind you, while still being able to engage bogies out front. With the raw power of the bat you figure you can react to just about any threat without any trouble- and the witches will be launching at the first sign of it, so you're not worried about that. As it is, they're probably already in their strikers and waiting to deploy from their motherships.

Truth be told, though, you're a little anxious about taking the bat into a dogfight. She's got the power to be a big energy fighter- boom and zoom tactics- but she's entirely capable of handling herself in a turning fight- about even with the lightning, maybe a hair better. It's her cannon armament that has you worried.

2/3

To be fair to the weapons, the 37mm M4 cannon does hit like a sack full of doorknobs- when it hits. Too bad, you think, that the ballistics on it are about the same as throwing a grapefruit- they stink, to put it bluntly. Coupled with the fact that all of them only carry thirty rounds apiece, and have a fairly low cyclic rate- only three rounds a second, you're not too sure about them as fighter armament. For killing bombers, you're sure, they'd be outstanding, but against smaller, more nimble targets, you're leery of them.

You turn your heads in time to catch a lightning up in front of you rocking his wings- a signal he's seen something. A rudder kick a second later directs your attention to your two o'clock position- sure enough, there's several small black dots in the distance, closing. Radio silence is still in effect, so you mirror the signals back, where somebody in the bomber formation will relay them to the witches.

You can't get a solid count right now- they're still too far out for that- but it's going to be a big furball, you can already tell. Your count is at least twenty, and you're sure that's on the low side. The lead lightning squadron is shifting to intercept, and some of the top forward and flanking squadrons are adjusting themselves, putting them in position to join in if they need to, without sacrificing their ability to react to new threats- you've all trained on this for a few weeks now.

With the lead squadron moving forward, you've got to decide- do you want to engage with them, or wait, and let the situation develop? Engaging now would probably mean that this group wouldn't get through to the bombers, but if there's any other threats, you'd be too busy to deal with them.

[] Engage the threats we can see- the other squadrons here can handle any other incoming martians.
[] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.

>>28381526
>[x] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.
Back to fighting the fuckin Aliums again, fun times. Best night of the week!
>>28381509
>rides the 'motherships' for the Witches- old bombers with refit bays
How many witches can we fit in a B-17?in a B-52?

>>28381526
>[x] Engage the threats we can see- the other squadrons here can handle any other incoming martians.

The Witches can deal with any other threats.

captcha: zeworke frank
Guess Captcha misses '89.

>>28381526
>[x] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.

ghost please to be putting 'quest' in thread subject
cannot find thread in catalog and twitter is slow piece of shit

>>28381526
[x] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.

[] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.

>delayed start
You are an hour early by my count

>>28381920

I'd wanted to start at 1600 local.

>>28381906

Crap, knew I forgot something, sorry.

>>28381526
>[x] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.

>>28381526
[x] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.
Squids are weird and alien, but not stupid.

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>>28381526
[X] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.

>>28381526
>[] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.

>>28382265
don't tempt me to start a Heidi dump.

>>28382399
Heidi a worst. Please don't

>>28381526
>[] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.

>>28381526
>[] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.
We have the power to get into the thick of things right quick if they go bad

>>28382948
>Heidi a worst
check yourself before you wreck yourself

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[x] Let the situation develop- this can't be everything they've sent up.

You watch the lightnings go, their drop tanks falling away from their wings as they accelerate forward and start a slight climb. The martian fighters are too far away still to ID, but they're either pricks or firebees- you can't see the distinctive white trail of steamsleds among them- but you're reasonably sure that either they don't see the fighters, or they can't make them out against the backdrop of the bomber formation.

While you'd like to join them, your experience tells you not to, not yet. Martians are strange and unpredictable, but they're not foolish- twenty plus little fighters can't be all they've sent up. Normally, you'd be shifting to one side or the other- human tactics are predictable like that, you think. Hell, you and Quint helped write the book on air combat tactics anyway, so it ought to be.

With martians though, you're thinking below. You noticed back in December of '41 that the little bastards have an amazing rate of climb, and that's been reinforced by the stories of your combat veteran subordinates back at Hazelhurst field. Martians can climb like bats out of hell and they're hard to beat in a turning fight, but their dive characteristics are weaker than most human fighters, and hard to beat doesn't mean downright unbeatable- you've heard that the japs are giving them hell in their zeros, the nimble little fighters able to almost go turn for turn with the martians.

1/2

You roll lazily, scanning below you as you do- sure enough, you spot steamsleds below and behind the bombers. They're not setting up an attack run yet, it looks like, which means either they're waiting for something or someone- or they're yet another diversionary force. You're not sure how many there are- maybe twenty- but they're heavy enough that if they do get in among the bombers, they'll cause no small amount of carnage.

You finish your roll, looking back and noting that the two trailing escort squadrons- miles back, just barely black dots in the distance- are diving on the steamsleds. Out front, the dogfight is heating up, with additional martian fighters joining the fray. In response, the rest of the fighter group out front has accelerated, and will be joining in- making the numbers about even out there.

The bomber box ploughs on, seemingly oblivious to the dogfights erupting around it. You have to hand it to the bomber guys- they've either got nerves of steel or they're totally insane. Or both.

[] Jump in that dogfight out front, help finish it.
[] Engage those steamsleds, before they get a chance to do any damage!
[] This still isn't anywhere near a big enough interceptor force. There's more coming.

>>28383191
>[] This still isn't anywhere near a big enough interceptor force. There's more coming.
There's people on the sleds, but keep an eye on them

>>28383191
>[x] Engage those steamsleds, before they get a chance to do any damage!

>>28383191
[x] Engage those steamsleds, before they get a chance to do any damage!
But be stingy with the ammo, yeah? Nice and close, short bursts.

[] This still isn't anywhere near a big enough interceptor force. There's more coming.

In the end they just want to keep us indecisive and meanwhile violate everything else ^^

>>28383191
>[x] This still isn't anywhere near a big enough interceptor force. There's more coming.
Keep an eye on the sleds but if they aren't making their move yet...

>>28383191
>[] This still isn't anywhere near a big enough interceptor force. There's more coming.

>>28383191
>[] Engage those steamsleds, before they get a chance to do any damage!
Steamsleds sound like a perfect target for our cannon. Also, imagining what one of those heat rays did to the unprotected fuel tanks of japanese fighters and bombers made me cringe

>>28383191
>[] Engage those steamsleds, before they get a chance to do any damage!

>>28383191

>[X] This still isn't anywhere near a big enough interceptor force. There's more coming.

Keep an eye on the dog fight and steamsleds, though, in case we need to finish it or pounce on 'em.

>>28383191
>[X] This still isn't anywhere near a big enough interceptor force. There's more coming.

>>28383191

>[] This still isn't anywhere near a big enough interceptor force. There's more coming.

Looks like the squadrons know what they're doing. Hold out.

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[x] This still isn't anywhere near a big enough interceptor force. There's more coming.

Your position in the formation would be excellent for directing fighters, you think- though, with strict radio silence enforced, it's kind of hard to direct anyone not looking at you.

The dogfight out front is tapering off- the lightnings have done well, though you've seen at least one shot down, they've claimed a good six or more of the martian fighters. The remaining pricks- no one seems to know who coined the name, but it's caught on among the European theater pilots, at least- are breaking off- climbing away from the fighting and heading east.

You nod, satisfied that the immediate front of the bomber stream is secure- and, looking behind you, two squadrons of lightnings have pounced on the steamsleds. The big sleds have fared rather more poorly, with the cannon armed lightnings able to down them in one or two passes- early war, their armor was a problem for most pilots, and their low speed and great maneuverability made them hard to dogfight with. Most pilots have long since switched to boom and zoom tactics, making sweeping passes at the big craft with cannon and rockets. While they're not helpless against it, it has greatly limited their defensive options- though lightning drivers, in particular, have to be mindful of their divespeed, compressibility being the bitch it is.

You resume your scanning, almost wishing for a second set of eyes in the aircraft with you- though navigators and radio operators hardly have a place in a fighter. You know some of the British aircraft were equipped with a powered turret- designed to get up underneath a bomber and hammer them from a blind spot, but they got chewed up during the blitz, being woefully slow and sluggish against other fighters.

1/2

You look to your left to catch someone rocking their wings- searching a little farther, you see a massive swarm of martian fighters above and ahead of you, approaching from your rough 10 o'clock position. There's no steamsleds, but that many pricks can still do a lot of damage, possibly enough to scrub the mission. The pair of squadrons on that side peel off, shifting to intercept- while they'll be badly outnumbered, you also notice a pair of the squadrons from the fight out front shifting to engage as well- moving the numbers to a more manageable level. You're about to engage when you look out to your right, and see the contrails of a much larger pack of steamsleds- sixty or more. That's probably their main interceptor force.

You spare a glance back into the bomber pack long enough to watch two bombers, in the middle of the formation, drop four small objects- the witches. The glint of light of the twin's highly polished Mustang strikers and their sudden, unnatural acceleration makes you shake your head- what you'd give to be able to dogfight like that!

They form up with you briefly, Ilyena communicating with quick hand signals- one's shes still learning, apparently- that she wants you to engage the steam sleds while she and the witches engage the inbound pricks.

[] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.
[] Nah, the lightnings can handle the Steamsleds, numbers aren't so skewed against them. If we go into the pricks, we can make that a roughly even fight too.

>>28384481
>[] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.

>>28384481
>[] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.
60 sleds? Jesus christ

>>28384481
>[X] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.

>>28384481
>[] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.

>>28384481
>[] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.

Yeah, our low-velocity cannons are totally unsuited for engaging light fighters.

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>>28384481
>[x] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.
Time to dance.
>much larger pack of steamsleds- sixty or more

>>28384481
[x] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.

>>28384481
[x] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.

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>>28384567

>>28384481
>[] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.

[] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.

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>>28384481
>[x] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.

did 4chan freeze up again, or did we just lose GhostDiva?

>>28385663

emergency activation by 5th SF

>>28385663
Holy shit its been little over an hour and his post have been about 80 minutes apart!

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[x] It's a good plan- these 37s are wasted on light fighters like those.

You nod, and give her a thumbs up with one gloved hand before dropping it back down to the throttles and sliding them forward from cruise up to about the eighty percent mark- well short of their max, and your fighter still accelerates forward smoothly but quick enough to press you back in your seat a bit. You nod appreciatively to yourself, wishing you'd had time to really cut these wrights loose in your test flights of the bat.

You join in with a squadron of Lightnings- one of the ones that hasn't engaged yet today. While you can't- and won't- jump in their formation, you slot yourself in above and behind them, looking around enough to note that you'll be the first outfit to contact this group of steamsleds.

You hit your arming switches, noting the audible thunk of the shells slamming home into the breeches of your cannon- even over the sound of your props and the radio, which is starting to heat up. Radio silence never lasts in a furball, you think. It never has.

The lead of this lightning outfit is good- He leads his squadron up above the steamsleds, then back down into them, cannon and machine gun fire tearing two of the big martian craft from the sky. The martian formation breaks up, giving you an opening you exploit viciously.

It only takes you a second to latch onto one sled, it's pilot apparently distracted by the lightnings. You line up quickly, the bat proving itself surprisingly maneuverable. Sliding the gunsight across the 'sled, you let it pull a bit forward, compensating for the 37mm's horrific drop off at range and relatively low muzzle velocity, then pull your trigger.

1/4

You're familiar with all kinds of aero weapons- the chatter of the thirty cals on your nieuport, the harsher snarl of fifty cal guns, the business like bark of twenty mil cannon. The thirty sevens, though, have a hammering thud, one that shakes your whole aircraft when you fire them and certainly makes you sit up and take notice.

The burst- it can't be more than a dozen shells, two or three from each gun, tops, lands hits, the shells slamming home with satisfying explosions that walk across the martian craft from nose to tail, sending debris splintering off and wrecking it's right side. As you watch, it seems to slip from the air, entering an irrecoverable spin and beginning to fragment as it comes apart under the pull.

You nod, noting that you do need to compensate a hair more- the ballistics on this cannon really, really stink. Though you can't really devote a lot of thought to that right now, rolling away from a steam sled that was trying to line up on you and sending a short burst towards another, cursing when only one shell hits- causing the 'sled to wobble, but leaving him in the fight.

Undeterred, you quickly latch onto a pair of sleds trying, vainly, to give chase to a lightning driver. You take the wingman first, sending shells into the rear of his craft- and being rewarded with a brilliant, multi-hued explosion as the sled's power core goes up. Climbing over the fireball, you quickly drop back into place behind the other sled, who's now breaking off and attempting to get away from the murderous black human fighter and his big cannons.

2/4

It's not going to work, you think, rolling the bat back around and noting that she is just a touch faster with roll than the lightning- more so if you adjust your props a hair to get more torque out of the side you're rolling towards. Old pilot tricks are the best pilot tricks- and you've been flying two engine birds for a long, long time. Let them think old dogs can't learn new tricks- you're not learning shit. You're on the cutting edge still, making this shit up as you go along, you think with a grin, snorting as the sled driver dips just below your gunsight.

You yaw your nose down just a hair, dragging your guns across the third sled- and watching as the shells punch through the more weakly-armored sections, causing the thing to tumble from the sky all at once, like someone cut the lines holding it up.

The sleds are starting to thin out, with their numbers down by a good third- the addition of a pair of additional lightning squadrons has started to make it's weight felt, And while their fifties aren't worth much, their twenty mil cannons still do plenty of damage, especially when they tackle the sleds in packs, two or three lightnings going after each sled in turn.

But for every two or three lightnings it takes, it just takes one of you- you can't imagine, after flying it like this, why the army air forces wouldn't be buying these bats wholesale- this bird is flat amazing. Another pair of sleds goes down in as many seconds- one damaged, that you'll share credit for with a lightning, but the other is all yours.

3/4

And just like that, it's over. The remaining steam sleds frantically break off, screaming for the cover of their ground based guns- while they haven't picked up flak worth a damn, their masers are murderous below a certain point. At your altitude, they just don't have the reach from the ground to do anything, but below fifteen thousand feet or so, they'll rip formations up.

Out to the east, it looks like the witches have really proven themselves- though it also looks like the lightnings did markedly worse, with fewer returning than went out. You'd comment, but you're stopped as the bombers release their payloads- tons of bombs headed for their targets down below. You'd almost feel bad for the poor squiddies below you, but you don't.

You rejoin the formation, now turning for home. While you won't use the same track back as you did in, you're still paranoid enough to use up a lot of fuel, circling above the formation- rocking your wings when one of the twins- you can't make out which one- waves to you from her perch on the leading edge of a B-17's wing, right near the root.

As you near England, the formation begins to splinter apart, the bomb groups returning to their respective bases, your fighters headed home. The witches are forced to abandon their rides, joining up on your wing.

4/5 (oops)

You let the lightnings land first, though by the time they're done, you're almost worried about your fuel level. Your bat does get strange while landing, wanting to crab and climb and do all sorts of things you don't tell it- it's like it doesn't want to be on the ground at all. Still, you manage to get the wheels on the pavement and chop the throttles back to idle, taking your time and taxiing into your fighter stand before cutting the power completely and leaning back for a second, listening to the contented ticking of the heated metal before popping open your canopy.

Quint stands on the ground below, A cigar in his hand and a smile on his face. “So, John, what do you think of the bird now?”

[] “You're not going to ask me how it went?”
[] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”
[] “Why are we not buying these wholesale? I could marry this thing!”

>>28386001
>[] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”

>>28386001
[x] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”

>>28386001

>[] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”

>>28386001
>[x] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”

reminds me of the yak's in warthunder...can't hit shit with them

>>28386001
>[X] “Why are we not buying these wholesale? I could marry this thing!”

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>>28386001
>[x] “Why are we not buying these wholesale? I could marry this thing!”

>>28386001
>[] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”

Couldn't this bird easily be fitted with MK 103s?
Their rate of fire is thrice as high, muzzle velocity 50% higher, which should do away with the grapefruit slugging.
The shells are about 100g lighter, too.
They are about as long, if significantly heavier than the M4.
Also tungsten carbide rounds go a long way to eat through armor where needed.

>>28386001
>[x] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”
...Obviously

>>28386001
[x] “Why are we not buying these wholesale? I could marry this thing!”
All the other similar caliber guns made by everyone else would have worse drop off than these ones.

>>28386001
>[] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”

>>28386001
[] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”
need more drakka

>>28386001
[x] “Why are we not buying these wholesale? I could marry this thing!”

>>28386001
Btw that was a pretty cool battle. I love big multi plane battles.

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>>28386001
[X] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”

>>28386001
>Canonz

Mk103/8s plz

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>>28387011
Or we go for the 50mm cannon. They don't explode consistently yet.

>>28386001
>[] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”
I like having the punch of some of the 37s, but we gotta get something with better ballistics than a trebuchet

>>28386001
>[] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”
I wonder if the Hispano 23mm was fully developed in this timeline?

>>28387979
They weren't. The russians are letting us build their shit on license though

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[x] “This thing is amazing Quint, but these cannons have to go. What are my options here?”

“This thing is amazing, Quint, but these cannons have got to go. What are my options here?” You say, pulling off your gloves and helmet. Jerking a thumb back at the bird. “I'd have had two or three others, but those damn thirty-sevens.”

He laughs. “Sounds familiar. Didn't you say that about the three-oh-threes on our nieuports?”

You shrug. “Maybe. Those were terrible too. So what can we do here?”

He waves a folder before hands it to you. “Well, Scotty thinks he and his crew can tear out the thirty sevens and get a few things in there. Personally, I'd go for the fifties and the twentys, but that's me.”

You nod, “Yeah, but your taste in guns is crap too.” You state. “I'll sort this out back at our building, and tell you or Scotty what I'm going to carry.”

He nods, handing you the cigar as he wanders off to talk to his other pilots- two of the other squadrons up there were from the composite group.

You're the first back in the house- the girls, while they gear down, tend to stay in the hangar and chat with their ground crews more. You prefer to talk to them before the mission, rather than after it, but you're glad they're not neglecting their crews at all- they're a critical part of the team too, afterall.

Scotty's ideas are pretty straightforward- and all of them revolve around removing the 37mm cannons.

1/3

Their first plan, the one Quint seemed to like, would replace them with 6 fifties and 4 twenties- you'd be marginally heavier, but you wouldn't lose any throw weight, and you'd gain a lot of ammo. That said, it would put your fighter down for a while while they did the necessary work, which would mean at least one more mission as a solo element while you flew the other bat.

The second would mean a lot more work- but would equip you with a pair of high velocity 40mm guns- actually, British made QF 2lb guns- though they'd have to be mounted in a pair of fabricated housings that would blister out from your fuselage. They'd be backed up by six fifties- though the 40mm guns would barely have any ammunition, just 15 shells apeice, and no one's real sure how the bat would fly with them. Plus, there's a time issue there- They think they could do it slightly quicker, but you'd still probably end up flying alone at least one more mission.

The third just switches out the 37mm cannons for 20mm ones with greatly increased ammunition- as well as superior ballistics, though You've heard the 20mm in production have a bad habit of jamming. However, it's a simple swap, and they could do it almost overnight- almost no downtime. While you'd lose the punch of the 37mm cannons, you'd also gain nearly three times the ammunition, better ballistic performance, and a much better cyclic rate- in the end, you'd be putting almost as much lead downrange as you would be with the 37mm cannons.

2/4 (oops)

Lastly, Quint's penned in the margin that he's pretty sure he can get his hands on some 37mm M10 cannons- they'd increase your ammunition markedly and have a better rate of fire, and be relatively easy to swap in, but you'd still have to compensate for their lousy ballistic performance. He's also noted that with the space available, he's pretty sure Scotty and his boys could get some obscene number of fifties in the aircraft- like, twelve plus.

Quint's typewritten note says to keep in mind that, while you're tasked to close escort now, his private guess is that that won't hold as the bombing campaign's effects begin to show. The RAF and Luftwaffe plan to continue the missions during the night- the round the clock hammering should start to degrade the martian air force in the area before too long- no one thinks they can maintain their supplies forever, mass driver or no. He says to keep in mind, also, that before the bombing campaign restarted, the 8th airforce's fighters were assigned to the 9th- and may be assigned there again, performing tactical roles.

You're interrupted by the twins- one of whom plants herself on your desk.

“Ilyena said she wanted to talk to you.” She says grinning impishly. “And your gun camera footage is being developed.”

You about to respond when her sister pipes up. “And we're going to the pond.”

You quirk your eyebrow at that. “Aren't you a little young to be drinking?” You ask. “You're what, twelve?”

“Thirteen!” They both chorus, hurt. “Besides, they don't let us drink. But they give us pop.”

You shrug. “Fair enough. Any idea what she wanted?”

“Not a clue.” May- the one on your desk- responds in a cheerful singsong. She slides off it and on to the floor. “Anyway, we just came to tell you that, bye!”

[] “Woah, whoa, hold up there, springtime. Any idea what she wanted?”
[] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”

>>28388392

>[x] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”

>>28388392
>[] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”

>>28388392
>"Tell her I'll be along shortly."

The other option is just repeating ourselves.

>>28388392
>[X] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”

>>28388392
>[] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”
Best not to be a party pooper.

I wish we could get some Kraut 20s. Just a pair of 151/20s and fill the rest of the space with ammo and 50s and we would be set.

>>28388477
The .50s are CLEARLY the only acceptable option.

So if Merlin wears glasses, what does she need them for? Does she still wear them in the air?

It's been nagging at me for ages, I've just never got around to asking.

>>28388477
Wish we could get some of the faster German 30mm's but the tooling probably got wrecked by the Martians

also
[x] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”

>>28388392
[x] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”

Voting for the M10s. 37mm should allow us to murder everything.

>>28388477
MK 103s or MK 108s would be glorious.

In absence if those, my vote goes to a fuckton of 20's.

>>28388524
Well, they are pretty much required as we are American, but they are pretty damn heavy for what they do. I mean shit, they are about half the weight of much more potent autocannon.
>>28388540
I wonder if the T17 project is going yet. American 151/20 knockoffs would be acceptable too.

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>>28388392
>[x] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”
>>28388359
>high velocity 40mm guns- actually, British made QF 2lb guns
While I kinda of want, I shouldn't want. The .50/20mm mix sounds good but the lone 20mms... wish we could get Krautshit.

>>28388298
really now? In the SW vanilla timeline, I think they were developed (or some other Hispano gun)

>>28388536

She's nearsighted, and wears them in the air. She's gotten really good at making sure they don't fall off, too.

>>28388392
>40mm
>Littlejohn Adapters
>Canister Rounds
BEHOLD THE FLYING SHOTGUN

>>28388561
I would only be down for 20s if we could get individual charging solenoids, as those fucking HS 20s jam like a motherfucker. Would blow ditching a bunch of rounds trying to keep them fed.

>>28388392
>[] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”
also
>pop
damn midwesterners
>>28388632
I shouldn't want this nearly as much as I do

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>>28388632
>LJs and cannister

>>28388630
Merlin is ADORABLE

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>>28388708
duh

>>28388632
That wouldn't work out as well as you think it would.

>>28388632
Do you know what a LittleJohn does, anon?

>>28388853
Did it sound like he does?

>>28388392
[x] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”
I'm also for the 37mm. They can tear apart anything in the air, providing the heavy-hitting firepower that perfectly complements the Witches and the other Lightning squadrons.

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>>28388738

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>>28388392
[X] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”
More 20mm would be better.

>>28388738
Not for lewd

>>28388987
Make that a picture of Slider, Katya, and Ice. then I'll give you all my mone

>>28388921
did some one go to /woo/ and loot that vince gif thread?

>>28389066
Merlin is NeverLewd except for that one fapfic which made me very confused in my pants

>>28389087
Hrmmmm.

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>>28389436
>Frank gets in the Wyvern one day shortly before or after xmas for a routine CAP flight
>picture of Slider, Ice, and Katya posed like that in skimpy xmas clothes

>>28389436
Getting ideas there?


I was actually a Merlinfag at the beginning, in a "when you're older" kinda way. But then we went down over Alaska and she went full PTSD, so I don't really think Fronk or Merlin could ever feel that way about each other anymore.

I still miss her calling us Boss. And the stutter will never go away now, will it? Poor girl.

>>28389531
>in return, gives each of them a picture of himself in the same outfit and pose

>>28389573
>she went full PTSD, so I don't really think Fronk or Merlin could ever feel that way about each other anymore
Perhaps, but they're mutually protective of each other to a fault. Woe betide the first kid to break Merlin's heart, because he's going to have a very very angry war hero fighter pilot out for him

>>28389614
Well we've gone full big bro over her now, really.

Any of the 'big three' girls would be much better for Fronk at this point.

>>28389573
just don't dwell on it, I certainly don't. "Here's awesome girl.... but she's too young"- Fucking Ghost.


>>28389739
Hard to say how the dynamic is as Katya seems to be losing steam and Ice and Slider are still at that stalemate. That and actually meeting Stallina might have given her legitmate fuel.

>>28389837
Oh yeah, there's something up with Katya, isn't there?

There was a whole to do list I came up with mentally ages ago, regarding finding out what the hell is up with everyone, but then we never get the chance to because one event after a fucking other.

>>28389837
Tomcat's still the girl that's closest to his heart.

>>28389946
Doesn't help that Ghost seems fond of tossing stuff at us. For all the building of waifuing he's done, he's sure is slow to resolve it.

>>28389966
That wasn't really funny in SWQ when such a gag started and it isn't funny now.

>>28389966
Stalinka wants to put herself there though. After getting tomcat out.

Alright, here's that list, in order of which I remember first and which I feel is most important

Ask Merlin about why she has pain when plane has pain
Ask Maverick about getting zapped by the plane and find out Ice's theory on that
See if we can find out what's eating Katya
Call Jess/Brothers/Family and see how they're doing
Get an update on how the war's going in general
Talk to Rosalie and Goose
Next time we get on the Sara, see if Merlin's big sis is still around
Meet Merlin's boyfriend
Find out about the gnome within us
Talk to people about getting augmented and stuff
Find out about Martians

That's all I can think of right now

>>28390378

Find out exactly what slider cut that piece of lace from.

I'm better some sexy lingerie

>>28390378
I'm going to tentatively add that we get this girl business sorted out as well. Don't want to cause any sort of conflict within the squadron that could get someone hurt.

If us readers can't get our shit worked out, see if we can convince the girls to wait until after the war or something, I dunno.

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[x] “Tell her I'll be along shortly.”

You nod. “Tell her I'll be along shortly.” You say, nodding and closing the folder. You've got some ideas of your own- namely, you've heard good things about German cannons, if you can get hold of them.

You take a second to grab your garrison cover before you head down to the pond- it's within walking distance, and the day is nice enough, so you don't mind.

The pond is busy enough- mostly pilots who, by the looks of it, barely took the time to get out of their helmets before coming here. Debreif, you think, should be informal, but this kind of stretches it. The witches are tucked back in a corner by themselves. Ilyena motions for you to join them, and passes you a beer when you sit down.

“So, Major, what did you think?” She asks.

You shrug. “Bomber losses were light- practically nil, it looked like.” You say, taking a drink. “But it looks like the lightnings took some losses.”

“Twelve, so far.” Camille says. “May be lower yet, some of the worst damaged ones broke off to the east, so they probably went for the alternates in Germany.”

1/2

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>>28390695
I wonder if we got a variant of that made in africa would it be a chocolate elf bomber?

I'll be in my bunk.

You look at her sideways. “What happened to your accent?”

She smiles, sweetly. “Oi yew bloody rotter, don't yew be tryina say I ain't got me accent wot?”

You laugh. “Ah, ok then.”

“And we did good!” April adds, loudly. “I get to paint more kill markers on my strikers!”

“I still got more!” May says, Pushing her sister.

“Girls.” Ilyena says, quietly. “Not now.”

“Sorry.” They reply in unison, though April still sticks her tongue out at her sister.

“How about you, Major?” May says.

You shrug. “Got four and a half.”

“Four and a half?” May asks.

You nod. “Partial credit. Someone else had gotten a piece of him, I just finished him off.”

“That's not a lot,” May says, with a frown. “Even April got like, twelve.”

“It's a lot for a pilot, May.” Ilyena says. “You have to remember, they don't have many of the advantages we do.”

“We tend to get by on equipment and good looks.” You add with a grin. May tilts her head at that, first one way, then the other.

“Then how to you get by? You're old!” She asks.

Damn kids.

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>>28389993

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>>28389993
burn in hell

and that's it for tonight!

Ya know, I am kinda liking these- having fun with the much smaller player base and the slower pace with the bigger updates. Not that I'm going to switch to them for '89- I'm still working on improving my posting speed there.

anyway, guys, only two or three of these left- three, maybe. Hope you're enjoying them.

I'll stick around a bit to chat if you guys want. otherwise, as usual, hope you had a good time, and I'll see you next week!

oh, before I forget, I am thinking of starting at 1600 EST as our usual time, does that sound ok to everyone?

>>28390917

No problem.

>>28390917
Will be tough for me. At work, so if you run until later, I might be able to participate.

>>28390917
I actually really like these. They're relaxing and a good read. Also like that we're getting some good discussion going in-between your posts.

Time doesn't matter for me because I'm an ausfag.

>>28390862
>>28390880
Art Thou mad?

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>>28391066

VERILY, MOST AGGRIEVED

>>28390378
Ghost wouldn't have input on list, would he?

I mean, probably not, because the QM must keep his plots and plans a secret, but you never know unless you ask...

>>28390917
Thanks for running Ghost, these are nice to multitask with.

>>28390917
These are pretty fun to read, Ghost. It's nice to have a change of pace.

>>28391244
I feel the same way

>>28391138

I don't have input at all, nope.

I'm honestly planning to give you guys a lot more freedom, early on, in this next season.

>>28391920
Does Katya have a callsign?

>>28390917
It's already been said by others but these have enjoyable, they're a nice change of pace.

>>28388392
Aww. no 37mm M9 option? The navy stole stuff from us, we should totally have the option of stealing back.

Mk 103s would work fine too, Tasty tasty HEI (M)

For now, go with M10s, 12 .50s is enough to kill the light fighters, the 37 is good enough for heavy fighters and we could always wait for the 37mm M9 cannon.

I know this is off topic, but I gotta say it anyway. To whoever mentioned Nana to Kaoru last thread, I don't know whether to thank or curse you. It's both super adorable and extremely frustrating in its slowness.

>>28395688
>It's both super adorable and extremely frustrating in its slowness.
welcome to quite a few anime and manga, enjoy your stay!

>>28390917
Also, Ghost, I doubt you'll see this, but I'm still at work at 1600 EST. I can certainly catch up, but most people working 0900-1700 EST would miss the first post or two

>>28395914
Oh, I'm familiar with how slow most manga is, but it seemed to actually move at a decent pace for the first two or so volumes. Most manga I've read that goes THIS slow does it from start to finish. This "go fast then slow WAY down" thing frustrates me...

>>28395526
I don't think the 12 .50's come with the M10s, the way it was worded led me to believe they were separate, replace the M4s with M10s or repalce the M4s with 12 .50's

>>28396006
yea, the 12 .50s option was the "let's see how many .50s we can jam in here and nothing else" option

>>28396016
Then why don't we just swap out two of the M4s for 4 HS.404s? They're lighter than 6 .50s