352nd Fighter Group
S3: Rommel's Last Stand
Rommel's Last Stand was a definite change of pace for the 352nd. We were designated as a strike fighter squadron and given P-40Es and Hurricane IIs. We had several low-level strike missions (mostly against shipping) in the face of Fw 190A4s and Me 109Fs. The missions were not easy and our planes were severely outclassed, but we accomplished our objectives and shot down more enemy aircraft than many pure fighter squads did.
Frame 1
For our first mission we were tasked to fly a joint NOE mission with the
Night Stalkers. We arrange to rendezvous and both squads arrived right on time. The
352nd was flying a mixture of P-40E's and Hurri II's, the NS were all in Hurri II's.
Dune was overall CO for the strike and Dedeye of the NS took command of the Hurri II's.
We attacked the port at F6. The P-40E's went in first to destroy the AA and the Hurri's
went after the ships. Both ships were sunk and heavy damage was done to the port.
Unfortunately, we were attacked by Fw 190's as we attempted to egress. The P-40E's of the
352nd turned to the attack while the Hurri's attempted to escape. Our losses were heavy,
but we accomplished our mission.
Frame 2
For this mission, we were assigned CAP for the Zuara and Sirte areas. We spent much of our time
reacting to LW attacks while patrolling the coast. Even though we were handicapped by poor planes,
we succeeded in shooting down 6 LW planes for the loss of only one of our own. Wicked and Jamdru
got two apiece while DGoose and Dune each got one.
Frame 3
We were given orders to attack Marsala for this frame. However, we were bounced by several
Fw-190's just as we took off and were forced to abandon the attack to defend ourselves. Unable
to carry out the attack, we were ordered to take up CAP over Zuara. We maintained CAP until the
IAF called for help as they egressed from an attack. We went to their defense and kept several
190's from reaching them. However we paid dearly for this defense and lost 5 pilots with Dune
scoring the only kill.
Frame 4
With DGoose in command, the 352nd again attempted to attack the airfield at Marsala. The mission
was a success and heavy damage was inflicted on the base. During the attack a Me 109F attacked
the group but DGoose and Jamdru were able to fend it off with Jamdru getting credit for the kill.
During the egress H-Kriz was jumped by a Fw 190 and killed but Rhino managed to limp his damaged
Hurricane back to base. For the second sortie, we took up CAP of Zuara with elements of the
NightStalkers. While on CAP, the 352nd was vectored to an incoming LW raid. During the attack
Jamdru shot down another Me 109F and DGoose scored a Ju-88.
Frame 5
For this frame, we were given the job of going NOE to attack the port at F10. It was a long
flight and we twice had enemy planes overfly us. Fortunately we made it to the port without
being seen. We hit the port hard, sinking one ship, but lost DGoose and Alsail in the attack.
The remaining Bastards began the run home, dodging enemy formations the entire way. After
rearming and refueling, we were assigned CAP duties over Zuara. A raid was discovered to the
north and we moved to intercept. The remaining four Bastards were soon outnumbered by Fw 190s
and shot down. It was not the way we had hoped to end this scenario, but we did accomplish our
original mission of attacking the port.
Final Totals
| Aircraft Destroyed | 10 |
| Jamdru | 4 |
| Dune | 2 |
| DGoose | 2 |
| Wicked | 2 |
| Ground Targets Destroyed |
18 |
| DGoose | 8 |
| Jammie | 4 |
| Dune | 2 |
| Rhino | 1 |
| Joemac | 1 |
| Alsail | 1 |
| Bhoot | 1 |
| Aircraft Lost | 19 |