I thought it’d be only fitting that I fly a famous American fighter for the July 4th Independence Day celebration currently going on in the United States. Here’s a short story of hunting some Me262s in the P-47D-28!

High speed, low drag

I have a lot of appreciation for the clean yet rugged lines of Republic’s P-47 Thunderbolt and after spending years with it in the original IL-2 it’s great to see it again in this third generation of the series.

Though best suited to higher altitude work, the P-47 can be made into a formidable fighter at any altitude. One thing is certain, however, and that is that its not a dogfighter. Gaining and keeping speed are essential and it is this technique that I decided to practice in today’s fight.

Hunting the storm

My opponent for this QMB were four Me262s (veruss our flight of P-47s) and the fight really kicked off after the initial merge. The AI in IL-2 are not what I would call fully tuned for either the 262 or the P-47 though both do attempt, at veteran levels, to use some vertical energy tactics.

I won’t bore you with the details because it was a long drawn out fight switching targets and trying to position to intercept one Me262 or another during one of their broad turns.

Finally, a quick opportunity presented itself with a dangerous head-on with one of the 262s. I knew he didn’t quite have an angle but at last minute pull up and I had him in my gunsight for just long enough.

Several rounds of .50cal machine gun bullets punctured what appeared to be his fuel tank setting it ablaze and leaving a long trail of thick black smoke behind him.

One Me262 down! My first jet shot down in IL-2: Great Battles Series no less!

Hopefully you enjoyed this short story and once again a happy Independence Day to all celebrating today!