The third scenario of the World War II Tactical Air Combat linked scenario campaign featuring the Cactus Air Force went off without a hitch and was a tense fight from start to finish. The Marine pilots of VMF 233 scrambled from Henderson Field in response to a coast watcher report of a large formation of Japanese bombers approaching. The Marines decided to stay at medium altitude and wait for the bombers to appear. Nine G4M1 Betty Bombers did show up but were at a higher altitude and the Marines were forced to climb to intercept the bombers. It was quickly apparent that the bombers had no fighter escort so the Marine Wildcats slowly took their station above the approaching bombers and dove into the attack. The first strike was quite effective with one Betty falling to the Marine guns. The Wildcats clawed around in tight turns and quickly attacked the rear of the Japanese bomber formation. The sky was filled with tracers as both sides attempted to hit the other. Two Bettys were shot down in the exchange along with one Wildcat that fell out of the sky on fire. At least two more Wildcats were damaged as well. The next two turns had the Wildcats settle down and knock down three more Bettys with one exploding violently when hit by Wildcat .50 caliber fire. The defensive fire from the Bettys was somewhat effective as they scored hits but no other Wildcat was shot down. Only three of the original nine Betty bombers reached Henderson field but the seasoned bomber crews hit the airfield hard but causing no additional US aircraft losses. Believing that Henderson field was neutralized, the Japanese pushed a convoy of troop transports to Guadalcanal to reinforce the garrison already there and prepare for an offensive against the US forces. Skillful sailing as well as a weak search pattern by US aircraft allowed 4000 troops to unload at Guadalcanal unmolested. The Japanese also pressed their air attacks and slipped another bomber group over Henderson Field to bomb and strafe. Local AA fire downed one Zero but five US aircraft were destroyed in this raid. The first attempt to have US Army planes work in concert with the US Marines ended up with the both the Army and Marine aircraft missing the Japanese bombers inbound and only the Marine aircraft chasing to catch the slippery Japanese as the attempt to leave the area!! The chase and subsequent fight will be the next scenario!!
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 05:04:06 +0000
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