Excalibur Squadron OOC Thread

[Kelonna]

If we go to Holland, I want John to get shot down over Arnhem (his home)

[Nijholtpade]

666
Are we going to jeruzalem

[Kouralia]

Does the next op, by any chance involve disrupting a German invasion of some possibly massive country....oh, I don't know.... Just a little east of Poland?

Barbarossa? Nah, we're still months away from that.

Does it involve the Sabotaging of the Soviet Assistance to the German Military? Like, that secret military base that ended up doing fuck all?

[The balkens]

And that was our last hint too!

NOOOOO!

[The Tiger Kingdom]

...We still doing IC posts, people?

[The balkens]

Waiting on Edward to speak....
I could do another side story.

[The Tiger Kingdom]

Waiting on Edward to speak....
I could do another side story.

Might be a good idea.
I'm about to start work on Part 3 of Forging the Sword myself. I'm not going to go too far with it yet though; at least not while Cambyses is still going.

[The balkens]

i actually enjoy reading them, i will also expand on dietrich soon.

[Neu Engollon]

...We still doing IC posts, people?

I still kinda need a response from Kouralia (Smythe). I won't be able to do any of these side stories soon as I'm pretty busy, but I have one stewing in my head, so it should be pretty good when I get it down.

[The Two Jerseys]

...We still doing IC posts, people?

Talbot's a bit pissed off at some people over the whole grenade incident, so he's not going to be in a talkative mood for a while. Hell, he's not even in the mood to ride in the same truck as the rest of the squadron...

[The balkens]

dover hospital, october 27th, 1939.


michael was laying in the hospital bed. he was kept awake by a nightmare, it was about his now deceased mother.
damn it, why was i not fast enough?
but he put it out of his mind once alexis came in.
"good morning lieutanant." she smiled as she sat down in a chair beside his bed.
"good morning miss" michael tried not to show that he was tired.
"you look tired, is anything wrong?" she was concerned with the bags under his eyes.
fuck! "im fine alexis....really" he said with a innocent smile.
"i just got some questions for you, then youre free to go."
"go ahead"
"what was your previous occupation? Before coming here?" she had a pen ready to write on a clipboarded paper.
"well I joined the polish air force last year. before that nothing, really."
It took Alexis a moment to list it
"how did you escape?"
"it's all a blur, one moment I'm in Czechoslovakia and the next I'm one a boat bound for this place. You already know what happened next."
Alexis was curious about what he saw in Poland, she was intrigued by this foreign man.
"so what was it like?"
Michael was cunfused
"what?"
"the front lines?"
Michael then had a flash to Warsaw, how the Germans destroyed it.
"how do you think it's like? Seeing your homeland burn? Seeing your friends killed by some idiots ignorance!?"
He slammed the table next to him in anger and frustration. Alexis touched his hand.
"I'm sorry, I get a little on edge when I think about it." Michael was dreadfully sorry.
"it's alright, I have 3 brothers...I know your type."
Michael laughed quietly and relaxed.
"I'll just file your paper work and youre free."
Michael was releaved to hear the news
"great...so uh....do you wanna catch dinner sometime? I think I owe you something...."
"that sounds perfect!" Alexis failed to tone her excitement.
"I'm off at 7, there's a place by the docks" she smiled at him and he returned it.
"great"

done

[Calizorinstan]

Pat's still driving, but I'll post when I can..

[The balkens]

WAIT! I think I got it!
Didn't the Brits and what is now Iraq have a small conflict during the war?
If were going there....dear god

[The Tiger Kingdom]

WAIT! I think I got it!
Didn't the Brits and what is now Iraq have a small conflict during the war?
If were going there....dear god

Now what makes you think we're going to Iraq? I'm curious.

[The balkens]

The anglo-Iraqi war was fought when the germans and ities attempted to entrench an axis state in the middle east in may 1941.
I think the opposing forces was made up of irregular forces (militia really) and a few axis fighter planes. The kingdom of Iraq as it was known, was lead by a rebel government.

After a month of fighting the rebels were defeated and present day Iraq is reoccupied by British forces(Excalibur could've been involved somehow)

It's just a thought........I could be wrong...witch im sure I am.

[The Tiger Kingdom]

The anglo-Iraqi war was fought when the germans and ities attempted to entrench an axis state in the middle east in may 1941.
I think the opposing forces was made up of irregular forces (militia really) and a few axis fighter planes. The kingdom of Iraq as it was known, was lead by a rebel government.

After a month of fighting the rebels were defeated and present day Iraq is reoccupied by British forces(Excalibur could've been involved somehow)

It's just a thought........I could be wrong...witch im sure I am.

A fascinating idea. And Page does have experience in Iraq...

Anyway, I'll give you guys some more time to IC it up as I write Part 3 of Forging.

[The balkens]

I'll take that as one of the best complements I got in the muiltiverse..

[The Tiger Kingdom]

I'll take that as one of the best complements I got in the muiltiverse..

Oh, you're too kind.

(LINK)
Aeródromo de Rabassa
0447 Hours
February 8th, 1937

"Oi. Page. Wake up, you lazy bastard."

Page groaned and rolled over, opening his eyes just a crack.
"Mmph. Wuzzat...fuckin'...what?"

He could see Evans grinning over him.
"And a good morning tae you too, sleeping beauty. Captain wants everyone up ASAP. Our spotters confirm we got a squadron of Nationalists headed our way about a half-hour out, looks like bombers. Might be headed fer some troop concentrations, or they might be headed fer us in particular. We're intercepting them. Here's yer feckin' chance, hotshot."
Page practically fell out of his bunk. "But...are we using the-"

Evans cut him off. "Cap says you're good to go on the I-16s, yeah. Now hurry the feck up and get yer pants on, maybe before we're pummeled out of existence by the fascists? Unless you fly better in boxers."
Page grinned, and pulled himself up. "On it. And I'll not inquire why you're looking down there specifically. I'm flattered, truly, but you're barking up the wrong tree."
"Shut yer gob, Page."

As the rest of the squadron feverishly prepared and he hurriedly dressed, he was torn between giddy excitement and sheer terror. My first combat flight...How long would I have had to wait for this back in England?As he tried to strap on his flying goggles, he nearly dropped them, his hands were shaking so much. Finally, after a span of time that couldn't have been more than a few minutes but felt like an hour, he joined the squadron in rushing to their planes. With pride, he ran past the group of old Nieuport biplanes that most of the group used, and headed straight for his assigned plane, the #002 I-16, parked at the far end with the rest. He eagerly jumped in and started the engine, as the flight mechanics removed the chocks and started the propeller.

The radio crackled with Captain Wallace's voice, leading the group from the lead Nieuport. "All right boys, follow me up and get into formation as soon as possible. Those bombers are only a few minutes out. I want the I-16s to hit them first, and keep an eye out for any potential fighter escort. The rest of you, follow them in and savage those bombers. Understood?"
The channel lit up with confirmations from the pilots, Page included.
"All right. Commencing takeoff run now..."

In a matter of minutes, the squadron was flying at combat altitude in a wobbly formation, mostly due to the obvious discrepancies in speed and handling characteristics between the Nieuports and the I-16s. Page kept having to absolutely strangle the engine to get the plane to fly slow enough to stay in formation without stalling. As he did so, he scanned the skies, trying to see any sign of the supposed Nationalist bomber formation. Finally, after a tense few minutes more, he spotted a few...then more...then a whole group of dots in the distance, headed towards the squadron, a few miles out and a little below them.

Page didn't hesitate. "This is Cazador 10. Enemy formation spotted, estimate about 16 planes, unknown distribution of fighters and bombers. Bombers look to be Polikarpov R-Zs."
Wallace quickly responded. "Copy, 10. Cazadores 9-12, break formation and engage. Make a quick pass, then turn and try to drive them towards us. You be the hammer; we'll be the anvil."
Page grinned. Cazadores 9-12 were the I-16 pilots. "Understood. Tally-ho, lads, let's open up the taps!"
With that, the I-16s broke formation and accelerated to the absolute maximum their throttles could allow, leaving the rest of the group in their dust. They gradually used their rudders to spread out until they were roughly aligned on a perfect crash-course with the enemy formation.
Page grimaced. This would be tough - closing distance in the hundreds of mph - finger on the trigger - NOW!

With remarkable synchronization, the paired machine-guns on the four I-16s chattered in almost unison as they opened up in the first screaming pass by the bombers. It only took a second, but Page distinctly saw at least one of the planes in his kill-zone explode in flames. As he shot past as high speed, he couldn't help trying to crane his neck to see behind him. Was that my first kill?

He decelerated as quickly as he could, and flipped the plane over to port, trying to get his guns behind the enemy formation. Just as he came back around to the other side, the Nieuports were closing in. Page gritted his teeth as he tried to draw a bead on another plane, while also keeping out of the arcs of fire of his allies coming from the other side. He hung just below the bomber formation, and began to decelerate, hanging just off their sterns as he fired away...

Two more planes quickly went down that way. Aside from some sporadic machine-gun fire from the rear-gunner seats of the bombers that Page easily flicked the wings away from, there had been almost no resistance. This was suspiciously simple...

And then, as if on cue, a considerable sleeker and deadlier looking biplane shot down on Page from almost a vertical angle, plunging far beneath, its bullets barely missing him. As he dived to pursue, he flicked the radio back on with his off hand.
"Looks like we've got company, must've been a fighter group flying top cover. Looks like Fiats. I'm on them."
Page barely paid attention to the reply: "Copy 10, be careful. If it keeps up like this, we'll be home for breakfast."

Page quickly got the track of the Fiat that had nearly bagged him, and found, to his delight, that the I-16 kept pace with it easily. As the Fiat took a long, banking turn to try and evade him, Page discovered the I-16 could turn a little bit tighter. A quick burst of gunfire quickly brought him his fourth kill.

Quickly turning the plane around to head back up to the furball with the bombers, the Lieutenant was rudely surprised by a sudden burst of gunfire coming from directly behind him, nearly causing him to twitch the yoke hard enough to lose control. He caught a glimpse of his pursuer - another Fiat. Damn. He's in a killer position - close and behind. Maybe...

Page had only tried this once before in training for the I-16, and it had nearly been a disaster. A split-S maneuver was a tricky maneuver in the best of times, but in the middle of a dogfight, it was a whole different level. No time to hesitate. Page flipped the I-16 upside down (a remarkably easy feat - the I-16 was almost too maneuverable for its own good), and pulled up on the stick as hard as he could, as the eager enemy pilot behind him followed.

Several unpleasant realities soon became clear.

As Page hauled up back towards the ground, he realized he had misjudged his altitude quite badly. More precisely, he was far, far closer to the ground than he thought he was - too close to pull out? there was nothing else for it. Operating on instinct, he shoved the throttle all the way in and kept pulling the stick back for dear life as the plane slowly, torturously, avoided smashing into the ground by what seemed like no more than about 20 feet. As it swung above the horizon, Page opened up the throttle, barely preventing a stall that would have crashed him.

The Italian pilot behind him was not so lucky. His plane just didn't have the same agility, it seemed, and so, it plunged into the ground and exploded with aplomb and style.

Page couldn't help letting out a whoop of joy. Climbing back up once again to the real fight, he could see that the bomber formation had been utterly decimated by his cohorts. The radio crackled again with Wallace's voice.
"Looks like they're retreating now. You boys put the fear of God into them, if you don't mind my saying so. I'd wager we're all fairly low on ammo now; so let's head back to Rabassa. That's damn fine work for a first outing, Cazadores."

Page was still so high on adrenaline and sheer excitement that he could barely think straight. As they landed, his hands were shaking again, albeit for different reasons. Climbing out of the bird as they landed and checking his watch, he realized the whole thing, from waking up to landing, had only taken about half an hour.

Jumping down, he suddenly realized that the rest of the squadron was converging on him. Expecting a businesslike reception, Page saluted them - only to quickly be pulled into an impromptu celebration. Backslapping, handshakes, cuffs on the shoulder, a bear hug from a gigantic Canadian - all the isolation that Page had been feeling for the month had utterly gone. It seemed his flying hadn't gone unnoticed, to say the least. Page couldn't help but laugh and go along with it.

As someone cracked open a bottle of champagne, Page could see Wallace approaching the festivities.
"Lieutenant Page!"
The loud post-mission banter suddenly died down, and Page found he was standing face-to-face with the Captain.
"How many kills did you get out there today?"
Page pulled himself to his full height. "Five, sir. Three bombers by guns, one fighter by guns, and one fighter by acrobatics."
Evans pushed his way through the scrum, emerging behind Page. "It's true, Captain. I saw it. Feckin' brilliant. That fascist didn't know what was happening till he splattered the ground!"
Wallace nodded slightly. "I thought so."
He put a hand on Page's shoulder.

"Lieutenant, that was excellent, aggressive flying. I knew I wasnt making a mistake putting you in that Soviet crate, although I'm sure you would've done a great deal of damage to them in an actual crate with flying like that. Terrific work. Now, as I doubt they'll be coming back anytime soon, I'll leave you men to- *ahem* - unwind. Congratulations again on making ace. And good work all around from the rest of you as well."

As the party started back up again (and slowly began to move towards the canteen, Page could only smile and go with the tide. I could get used to this!

Little known fact: I actually used the "ridiculously low-altitude Split-S maneuver/fakeout", as described here, to beat an entire Secret Weapons Over Normandy level.

[The balkens]

That move saved me countless times in. IL-2 1946


More or less dietrich's second side story coming soon.

[Kelonna]

I still play Il-2 Sturmovik 1946!! Currently flying the USAF campaign in a P40

[The balkens]

I mainly do online, mostly use a BF-109(forgot what version)
I'm actually experimenting with the ME-262, in solo wing colors.

[The balkens]

"LT Zimmermann, care to tell me how 2 rookies were shot down earlier today?"
The base commander had called dietrich to his office to question him about his encounter that day.
"sir, my flight was patrolling as ordered, But then one aircraft showed up and....."
He was nervous about what to say next
"according to your wingman, a lone fighter attacked your group then shot down and killed 2 pilots. You gave them the order to engage."
"yes sir, I thought the enemy would be defeated easily..."
Dietrich was embarrassed. He dreaded what the colonel would say next.
"it's not you that's at fault, we should've known that the poles have some veteran pilots."
Veteran? That bastard moved like he wasn't human!
The colonel continued
"but those aircraft are antiques compared to ours."
"sir!"
Dietrich had to say something
"that thing was no antique, its like the pilot couldn't be human!"
The colonel was furious at dietrichs sudden outburst
"watch your tongue zimmermann. remember that you are in the presnce of a ranking officer."
great, first the nazis then this fat blimp "yes sir sorry sir"
after 20 more minutes of being bombarded by questions, dietrich was free to go.
as he made his way to the hanger where his craft was being repaired he thought
that pilot must be skilled, taking him head on will get me killed. i better request a transfer to the west.

done!
tiger do you think that michael and dietrich could have a char-amuro like rivalry?

[The Tiger Kingdom]

"LT Zimmermann, care to tell me how 2 rookies were shot down earlier today?"
The base commander had called dietrich to his office to question him about his encounter that day.
"sir, my flight was patrolling as ordered, But then one aircraft showed up and....."
He was nervous about what to say next
"according to your wingman, a lone fighter attacked your group then shot down and killed 2 pilots. You gave them the order to engage."
"yes sir, I thought the enemy would be defeated easily..."
Dietrich was embarrassed. He dreaded what the colonel would say next.
"it's not you that's at fault, we should've known that the poles have some veteran pilots."
Veteran? That bastard moved like he wasn't human!
The colonel continued
"but those aircraft are antiques compared to ours."
"sir!"
Dietrich had to say something
"that thing was no antique, its like the pilot couldn't be human!"
The colonel was furious at dietrichs sudden outburst
"watch your tongue zimmermann. remember that you are in the presnce of a ranking officer."
great, first the nazis then this fat blimp "yes sir sorry sir"
after 20 more minutes of being bombarded by questions, dietrich was free to go.
as he made his way to the hanger where his craft was being repaired he thought
that pilot must be skilled, taking him head on will get me killed. i better request a transfer to the west.

done!
tiger do you think that michael and dietrich could have a char-amuro like rivalry?

Not at all familiar with Gundam stuff (I'm a Star Wars man myself), but if you envision Dietrich being an actual character, you'll have to submit an app first.
Anyway, not too sure I can do an IC post or do Chapter 4 of Forging the Sword tonight, I have a paper to finish. Hopefully, it won't take too long.

[The balkens]

Already did...

[The balkens]

App for antagonist

Name: Dietrich zimmermann
Age: 23
Rank 2nd Lieutenant
Physical appearance: the actor Thomas Kretschmann
Country of origin: Germany
Combat experience: served in the polish campaign as well as in france. Forced down at Dunkirk.
Ground combat experience: none.
Specialties: air to air combat, air to ground combat.

Bio:

Born in 1915 to a poor family, his father was a pilot in the German imperial air force, mother worked as a school teacher. When the great depression hit Germany, his mother was forced to work 3 jobs to keep the family's head above water, his father however still served in the German army.
In the 1930s after hitler and the Nazis came to power, dietrich's father was killed in the night of the long knives, since then he had a secret hatred for the Nazis.
In 1938 he joined the Luftwaffe, he quickly made a name for himself as the second world war wore on, he scored 7 kills (4 in Poland, 3 in France).
At Dunkirk he was forced to bail out when a RAF fighter rammed him and sheered off his wing (the pilot of the fighter was later to be identified as LT Michael zilorski).
while the battle of britain was raging, he was forced to sit it out because he was recovering from his ordeal at dunkirk.
while in the hospital he was approached by a member of an elite unit, asking if he would join. wanting revenge for his defeat at dunkirk, he gladly accepted