Vulching on the ATAG server.

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by pstyle

To be honest, I would really advise using the rear bases. I take off from Gravesend and/or Maidstone once in about every three sorties. You never have to contend with pesky 109s above.

In fact, even Manston is "hot" only about 30% of the time in my experience. In fact, last night there were 60+ on the server, and I used up ~30% fuel (what's that 25 minutes?), in a 5,000ft circuit above Manston/Ramsgate and only 1 single german turned up the whole time - and that was a twin engine, not even a 109.

Yep, it's the luck of the draw. If one field is being strafed, chances are that another one far enough away but also close enough to go after the strafers is free.

Originally Posted by gimpy117

yeah i know, i wasn't sure wich one. the one right next to lymphe hurricaines.

That'd be Hawkinge then. Hawkinge has to be the most intensely strafed aerodrome of the lot. In fact, spawn anywhere else then fly to Hawkinge and 8 times out of 10 you'll find 109s down low just asking to be blown to bits.

[Blackdog_kt]

Originally Posted by Stublerone

@theOden: Up to my knowledge, they had no time to circle an airfield. They had tasks to do and the flight time of a bf109 after reaching great britain was not very long to do such things. Perhaps on their way, they could take a snapshot under some circumstances, but depending on their tasks, it wouldn't be possible very often.

A bf109 in game has more flight time, than in real war, as far as I know (because the map is also smaller scaled).

The map is actually 1:1 scale. The reason 109s can loiter longer in the sim is that they don't have to burn half their fuel zig-zagging over some bombers that are forming up deep in France at 200 km/h: we don't have Goering threatening us with execution when we fly ( ) and since not many people fly bombers yet, there is nothing for 109 pilots to escort.

If anyone wants 109s to be constrained by something, one should go to the bugtracker and vote for fixing the Lofte bombsights and Ju88 gyrocompass. Then the bomber pilots will be asking for escort and the 109s will not be forced to bounce airfields to find action

Originally Posted by von Brühl

German guncam footage is rare as a rule, but that's not saying the LW didn't get to shoot during WWII. Most of the film was lost/destroyed. However, I believe you are on the right track, the 109s did not as a rule spend time strafing airfields, they were kept busy at height.

I recall reading somewhere that the bulk of Luftwaffe's celluloid containing gun camera footage was hidden at the basement of a church in Dresden. When the city was firebombed near the end of the war, the rise in atmospheric temperature got so much that the celluloid (which is flammable) combusted and blew the church up. The church has since been rebuilt, but the gun camera footage is gone.