host posted on August 17, 2008 19:03
Phase 4: No Rest for the Wicked
After the successes of our first day of operations in the campaign, with the enemy advances halted and their air activity suppressed, we thought we were going to have a quiet night. It was not to be so. Through the hours of darkness, the DPRK engineers were labouring mightily. Our satellites indicated that the airbases at Seosan and Kunsan were being rapidly repaired, and meanwhile the more northern bases were preparing to deliver vengance.
Mission 1: Revisiting Seosan
| Target: |
Runways and facilities at Seosan airbase |
| Duration: |
2230-2340 |
| Aircraft: |
4xF-16C-52 Kimhae (Michael, Dave, Todd, Adam) |
| Result: |
Runways destroyed |
| Kills: |
0 |
| Losses: |
1 |
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Description:
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A low-level ingress was selected, to delay detection by enemy radar. Although care was taken to use ground radar to detect and avoid enemy troop concentrations, we were surprised by one unit stationary in a town. Several SAMs were launched as we passed over, and although none hit, the darkness resulted in Michael striking terrain while performing evasive manouvers.
The remaining three pressed on to target, and successfully delivered their bombs, destroying the runways again. AAA fire was heavy, as usual, and two returned with some damage.
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Mission 2: Revisiting Kunsan
| Target: |
Runways and facilities at Kunsan airbase |
| Duration: |
day 2, 0000-0030 |
| Aircraft: |
4xF-16C-52 Kimhae (Michael, Dave, Todd, Adam) |
| Result: |
Failed to reach target |
| Kills: |
2 |
| Losses: |
3 (1 rescued, 1 KIA, 1MIA) |
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Description:
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This mission was planned to proceed much as mission 1, but with a high-level ingress - it was deemed better to risk enemy interceptors, rather than ground fire. In the end, that turned out to be no better choice!
About ten minutes into the mission, a flight of MiG-21s was detected, and we turned to engage. However, these were not your Vietnam war vintage MiGs; these were state-of-the-art MiG-21-93 models, packing R77 missiles equal to our own AIM-120s.
Michael was the first to go down, caught out by an equipment failure and unready for the level of challenge. In return, Adam downed a MiG, but was in turn downed only moments afterwards. Dave fired on approach, but was forced to take evasive action when locked up. He re-engaged in time to down his own MiG, just as his final wingman took a hit. Dave and the two remaining MiGs disengaged.
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Mission 3: Fleet Cover
| Target: |
Intercept MiG-29 Flight believed to be threatening the carrier fleet |
| Duration: |
day 2, 0030-0100 |
| Aircraft: |
4xF-16C-52 Kimhae (Michael, Dave, Todd, Adam) |
| Result: |
Target Destroyed |
| Kills: |
14 |
| Losses: |
2 (both MIA) |
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Description:
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AWACS had identified a MiG-29sm flight out to sea to the north-east. It was most likely hunting for our carrier fleet, so an intercept flight was launched to take it down. The flight had secondary orders to sweep across the northern FLOT and engage any enemy they encountered.
The initial intercept was a text-book success, with the MiGs found exactly where predicted, and engaged as they were on their return flight. Four MiGs were downed for no losses. From their, a flight of heavy transports was detected and engaged, with three more being downed. However, while the flight was focussed on the transports, two flights of Su25s entered the area. They were spotted and engaged, but initially it was thought there was only one flight. As a result, one pair engaged one Su25 flight, while the other pair engaged a different flight. This caused them to become unexpectedly separated. The danger of this was revealed when a third flight arrived on the scene - four escorting MiG-21s. These surprised and engaged Adam and Michael, who were both shot down - though not before Adam took one MiG with him. Dave and Todd arrived on the scene too late to save their wingmen, but took their revenge on the MiGs, downing all three, plus another one that happened to stray too close on their return to base.
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Mission 4: Man the Bridges
| Target: |
Enemy troop concentrations north of Pohang |
| Duration: |
day 2, 0130-0210 |
| Aircraft: |
4xF-16C-52 Pohang (Michael, Dave, Todd, Adam) |
| Result: |
Enemy troops heavily damaged |
| Kills: |
over 50 enemy units destroyed |
| Losses: |
1 |
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Description:
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A short way north of Pohang, friendly units were desperately holding a bridge against a concentration of advancing troops. Our flight was tasked with engaging and destroying those troops, without hitting the nearby friendlies!
The chosen armaments were a mixture of AGM-65D IR missiles and cluster bombs; mostly Mk-20 Rockeyes, and some CBU-87 CEM.
The enemy troops were easily identified and separated from the friendlies at the bridgehead. The flight plit into two, with one pair engaging the armour to the south of the town with Macericks and Rockeyes, while the other pair engaged artillery to the north. Air defences were nonexistant, and so the attack proceeded flawlessly, with some pilots even resorting to strafing - with some success - when they ran out of other ordnance.
As the flight moved to return to base, a flight of MiG-29As were encountered, and flushed with their earlier success, the team downed them all without loss.
The only negative marring an otherwise flawless mission was that Michael clipped the (excesively tall) perimeter fence on landing approach, and crashed on the threshold.
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