I just wanted to drop by to say 'Thanks' for Sunday's session.
The night mission scared the pants off me. Despite owning Il-2 in all its incarnations since the day of release, I can't have flown more than two night missions over the last five years. Trying to stay in touch with the formation without accidentally slamming into one of you was a real test. In fact, I could have had an entire Japanese squadron tap dancing on my left wing and I probably wouldn't have noticed a thing.
I was kind of embarrassed at how profusely my palms were sweating.
I also distinctly remember dropping my bombs on the ships (OK - near the ships), pulling into a left-hand climbing turn and then suddenly feeling utterly disorientated and panicked. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out which way was 'up'.
Bringing my bird back and putting her safely on the ground in the pitch-blackness felt like a real achievement.
So, Mission #2...
Daytime! Beautiful daytime!
I felt a bit more in my element during that flight. However, that sense of control and fitting-in only survived until first contact with the enemy. I spent the first minute of the fight flying on someone's wing as he chased down a Zero. Suddenly, someone on comms mentioned that someone who was chasing a Zero was in turn being chased. Feeling a bit paranoid, I broke away and kept looking over my shoulders, but I couldn't see anyone.
A few moments later I found a lone Zero and began chasing him down. Unfortunately, I couldn't catch him, so I put my head down in the cockpit and started checking the manifold pressure, engine RPM and Supercharger settings. As soon as I looked back up, of course, he'd vanished.
For the next couple of minutes I was really paranoid, twisting a turning to try to reacquire him or, at the very least, shake him off my tail. Truthfully, though, I never saw him again and I was suddenly all alone in the skies.
Listening to Genosse getting beaten on by three Zeroes, I pushed south but had trouble regaining contact with anyone - friend or foe. Eventually I encountered a lone Ki and sent him down in flames before heading back to the airfield to make a truly appalling landing.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and just wanted to say 'Thanks'. I'm learning and I'm still finding my comfort zone. I'm painfully aware that I'm rather quiet at the moment and, worse still, there were a few times when I was directly addressed and, having answered, discovered that my mic was muted - making me look rather ignorant.
Anyhow, please bear with me and I will eventually get better - promise. In the interim, thanks again for putting up with me. Cheers
Pizzi
