This page was created by Brian "Ripsnort" Nelson to help those that may be interested in joining up in a squadron within Aces High. The format is an interview-style format, and not formal by any means. It is simply to get an insider's view of what each squadron is all about. I am no means an HTML expert, so please forgive any format or typo errors. Feel free to contact Ripsnort if you have any comments or questions, or would like to have your particular squadron added to this page. 

Cobra: The Musketeers started at the front end beta of Fighter Ace by a retired (or tired) U.S. Air Force(don't know the rank) Phil Nagy aka PutzFlop or Duke_Musketeer(What a man!). The Sting Doctor(best darn Yak pilot ever!) was the 1st C.O., PutzFlop was X.O., and Whisky19 was the DisInformation officer. What a great time. We flew full realistic. The squad held weekly meetings and was a really tight bunch. Through the years we have tried FA & FAII(some Mskts are still there), E.A.W. , Combat Flight Simulator, Jane's WWII Fighters, Confirmed Kill(beta), Dawn of Aces, Warbirds(cost was too high for our beer budgets) and When I(Thorns) heard about Aces High, I beat the drum hard for participation from the Mskt Squad. It was a "flyer's" combat flightsim.......so cool! People moved and found the same thrill I did. Oh, some don't have time to fly as much as they would like...Putzflop started his own simulator company - "Accu-Flight Simulators"(look for one at you local mall soon), and some preach on

Sundays!(you'll never guess who, but he's a great one!) The rest of the Mskts would be hanging around airports and flying real airplanes(even though we don't have enough money for the habit) still enjoy the online WWII combat flightsims. The Musketeers are still going strong...Schwing! Our motto is "just have fun"

Thorns, Happ_Mskt, Titanium, RAFBADER, Sn1p3r, Beegerite, Eagler, Antman, Higgins, Hotrod, Nikoli, Duke_Mskt, StingDoctor, BlkWidow, CrazyHorse, Corwin, Giardia, NetHawk, Cobra, Wulff, Fairlane, Goalie_ Hawk, IronMaiden, Patrick_Too and of course our peacekeeper "NineZ" aka "Jagdnine",

Yes, Fighter Ace from its first Beta, and we still have some members who fly there. Also, the Second Incarnation of the CK Beta, and naturally Aces High since Beta. We have really tried them all...we are flyers!

We have a few memorable ones, but some of the most memorable are our Low-Level B-26's raids. Holding close formation in the weeds and making it to target to drop the eggs and get home is a blast. I've posted a few of these on our BBS, put its a few more than a 100 words...hehe. Also, anything that our resident Brit, Titanium comes up with usually involves long flights with a 2 pronged objective. Just recently we flew from A18, with a massive raid to hit Bish HQ. We knocked down the Radar and contained within that raid was a small 3 man element that captured A23 deep in Bish North Territory. (Monty has got nothing on our Titanium). We also had a particularly successful Fighter Sweep in P-38's a while back. Cleared out 2 of our Airfields that were being capped in 1 Sortie.

We actually try to fly the whole plane-set. We will pick different planes and up as a squad and do Fighter Sweeps. You'll see a couple of us in the Hawgs (boo-hiss..hehe). A couple of us like the Spit. 1 of our members really likes the 38 and right now myself and Thorns(beloved Pony Driver) are flying the Yak alot! It is a sweet airplane. We hold no restrictions on what to fly...Just have fun!

We don't have a any regular time set now. Actually you can find 5 or so Musketeers online most any night. So we try to do something different everynight, but keep it organized as much as possible.

Again, each time we do decide to do some organized missions, we try to vary the content. One night it might be a B-17 raid, or the low-level B-26 deal. We have refined our P-47 Jabo techniques just recently, so we have fun using that to do a Vehicle Base Capture.

Well the list is long and varied, (and we got the Yak, Spit, and Pony for some of us), but B-25 would be a sentimental favorite. Myself and Sniper had relatives that flew them in the war. With the addition of the navy we are looking forward to some of the naval fighters.

We are not actively seeking any recruits at this time, but we do accept new members from time to time. A pilot has to be team oriented and just want to have some fun. Oh, did we mention we love to have fun?...hehe! Actually our credo says it all: We, the Cavaliers of the Musketeer D' Escadrille, do promise to assist the needy, be true and hounorable with all, keep the faith with our fellows, NEVER hit esc, or crash out (it is dishonest and cowardly) and to vulch only when vulched upon, never desert a fellow cavalier in peril, fight fairly and cleanly, Tell only clean jokes (the kids) and never take any of this too seriously, as it is, after all, a game. This I do Swear.This was written by our Mskt forefathers and won't be compromised....EVER!! Oh, did anyone mention we fly for FUN? ;-)

Interview with Ripsnort- CO of VMF-323 (Part of MAG-33)

VMF-323 Death Rattlers is a historically based squadron that was commissioned on 1 August 1943 at MCAS, Cherry Point, NC. They fought primarily in the Okinawa campaign late in the war. I always dreamed of creating a historical squadron in respect to the men that fought to keep our United States a free country.

20 members, our roster can be viewed at HTC website under "Squads" 

There is a Warbirds squadron VMF-323. Personally, I was a member of the VF-101 Grim Reapers for 5 years in Warbirds.

Yes, just about everytime we get together and decide to capture an airfield. Usually, we sustain about 10% casualties and usually capture a base in the first attempt. This is due to our Training queue we have implemented in our squadron, and a concept called "Lifetime Targets" in addition to training right out of the Marine Corp Flight Squadron Tactics book.

F4U, Hellcats, TBM's, however we fly all the Aircraft available in AH. Squad night we fly primarily big blue aircraft, but it is not mandantory.

Yes, Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons, to accommodate both U.S. and European time zones, since we have members from all over the globe. 

I have studied the Marine Corp flight training manuals from WW2, and have studied the book about our squadron written by William Wolf called "VMF-323 Death Rattlers", and have implemented some of their ideas into our advanced training forum, as well as ideas of my own, such as 'Lifetime Targets", where an individual is designated to a single target, so that he may be consistent in hitting this target, as well as overlap targets so that every target has a minimum of 2 people on it. We usually practice in the TA and then roll our lessons learned into the BBS forum, study what we did right or wrong, and then implement it into our Main arena strategy.

Anything that would enhance the historical planeset of the current Aces High plane set.

We hand pick pilots that are mission-oriented and team players , who are willing to be dedicated to following a Marine Corp Flight Training forum. Our motto is: "Is it good for the squadron as a whole?" in everything we do.

More information can be found here about our squadron:

JG26 is a very very new squadron, It was created 1st September 2000...it is just a little child ;). It is intended to be a training squadron to make new people get used to the highly unfriendly MA environment, at the same time that is a competitive and coordinated squadron. The people that wants to be trained in JG26 will join us for 2 weeks and then they can stay in the "officer" level flying exclusively german iron, or ask for hints on the squad that fits them better. I pretend to keep an open line with all squads that want to get new people in their ranks so if a just trained guy wants to join another squad we can fit them where they will be better (F4U lovers to VMF squads, P51,38,47 to american dedicated squads, C205s to italian squads...etc).

Right now I am the only member of JG26, but very very soon 3 guys will join it, DR00, Leon and, probably, too, Sansal.

No, as a just created and raised squadron, it has no past on other sims :)

Well, you can say that the first "unofficial" JG26 sortie happened just yesterday, DR00 and me upped in 2 P51s and met several high cons near A30.It was a very nice experience to see that the first sortie together we were so well coordinated. When someone bounced him I cleared his six and

got one kill and then other con bounced me, and he cleared my six...We both returned safely to home (well ge ran out of fuel but ditched safely ;)).

There will be two very clear levels on JG26, as it is a training squad. In the "training" level, the member will fly all the planes so he can feel how it feels each one. That way he will learn how to fight each and all of the planes in the current planeset. The "officer" level ,tho, will be restricted to german iron, except of the times that the member is flying with a newbie in his training, those times he will fly the same planes as the trained guy.

Yes we will have it. Possibly Friday nights. Will be more or less well planned missions, intended to have a lot of fun.

Yes, will be a bassic part of JG26. Teamwork and cooperation, Schwarm and Rotten tactics, basically.

Focke-wulf 190 Dora 9, please..with MW50 of course ;)

I am looking forward Sansal to tell me if he wants to go thru our training time, if not we will have one slot free. After the first 2 weeks of training, and after the 3 trained members decide if they want to stay or go to other squad, there will be another 2 slots open, and so on. The only thing we look in a training squad mate is willing to learn, and wish to have fun. The members who want to join the officer level will have to be willing to help and train the new guys,and be german iron lovers. Ah!, and be "official" AH members...no 2week cheaters, please.

Well there is no real historical background to speak of. I came up with the squad name from a really old t.v. cartoon that was done with puppets back in the 60's. It was called THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO, now alot of the Aces High pilots  are old enough to know the show, but then alot are to young to know it.

The squad C.O. is myself,  wolf37 second in command is, Bloom25 third in command is,  Tom24 then we have , ao2 and night, now both these pilots have been missing since tour 7 started, dont know why. Now there is, griz, pollock1, and Sg, as well we have Spike45, but he is not sure if he will return to AH. And are two newist members of the squad are JediAce, and Loecash.

Well not really, but yes. The only other online game that had the squad THUNDER BIRDS was called       Raider Wars, now it was a sim of space fighters, but I am the only member from that game. I was squad       leader there as well.

Well there is no one plane I geuss, I started flying the 205 in tour 7 and seem to really like it, but will fly     others planes. A few members fly the spit most of the time, but everybody take differant rides depending on what it is they are doing. whether it be dog fighting, bombing raids, bomber hunting, or jabo missions.  

No, not really, everybody works differant hours and are in differant time zones, we tried once but only about half where able to make it.

LOL, well the one time we did try, we all ended up attacking each other. I think I got blasted the most, been C.O. and all. everybody wanted a peice of me. I am trying to set up more training times,   but not sure how it will work out.

Well I don't know about the rest of the squad, for me there is none. I think HTC is doing a great job and they don't need me hounding them about this plane or that.

Yes, we are always looking for new members. As for what we look for in a new member, anybody who wants to have fun, be a member of a squad, and take it for what it truly is, just a game. Now yes I have gotten ticked off at times and so have other squad mates at times. But that is the nature of compition I suppose, but the main idea here is to just have fun.  

Well I hope this helps out and I am adding my squad web page address.     

Your question can be answered in two ways. We have no connection with any historical squadron. However, as a brigade, we do have a history. TheArabian Knights were formed in 1992 for purposes of competing on the Sierra Network/(later Imagination Network.)

Well, there are quite a few AKs. We have approximately 70 members distributed over 3 sims (Aces High, Red Baron 2 and Flying Circus.) In Aces High, we currently have 12 participants: curly, Wabbit, Dingo, Elfy, Fokker Foder, Iron, Moe, Mosby, Nimitz, SeaWulfe, Xsoldier, CleanKill and Owl.

See the above. (TNN/INN, Flying Circus, Aces High)

We've had numerous successful missions in Aces High, but I don't recall a single mission where everything went right. :) With 11 or 12 guys up for squad night, something is bound to go wrong. On the other hand, I don't recall a single mission where we failed to find excellent entertainment.AH is a very rich gaming environment. 

All planes, although American planes seem to be the most popular.

Every Monday, we have "squad night" where we do something special and unusual in the main arena. We try to limit the duration of special activities to approximately 60 minutes -- one or two complicated missions.

We use H2H and the TA for practice. Squad night is for socializing.

My particular wish list includes the hellcat flying off a carrier.

Yes, we are recruiting. Our requirements are fairly simple. We require friendly and polite members. Skill levels aren't particularly important. Some of us have been together for 8 years, so friendship is important to us.

Sturmjaeger is German for Assault pilot. The Sturmjaeger were dedicated bomber interceptors pilots that flew up gunned/ uparmored versions of the Fw-190A8. The Sturmjaeger in AH are mostly former Airwarriors who came across to AH in early July of 2000. Pilots in our Squad are allowed to fly what ever plane they feel comfortable in. We certainly do not indorse any of the politics of Nazi Germany. We just felt it was a good name for our Squad.

Vati66, Bazi, Hajo, Crzhrs, MrWulf, Toggl, Gerd, EDO41

Our current roster are all former Airwarriors

That's a tough one. In AH, so far no planed mission has gone off without a hitch. Do they Ever ?

We fly a pretty good mix of planes. FW190A5's, BF-109G10, Spitfire MK IX, P-51D, Yak. Like I said , a pretty good mix .

Currently we fly squad night on Sundays. But you will find a few of us up at any given time .

Wingman tactics of all types. I'm a firm believer in team work and I harp on it all the time.

I know a few guys are hoping to see a FW-190D9. Personally I would prefer just to see PAC and the Euro Planes in separate arena's .

Yes we are recruiting but we are somewhat selective about who we fly with. We frown away from the whiners and the guys who are constantly putting others down. That's not our style. I learned quickly how to use the Squelch command.

We're um. Well. Our squad um, has a background. Um. We like beer. Sometimes when people are whining it's hard to think about beer and wings. We don't like that.

Gordo, SOB, Deadmeat, BigBird, Creamo, Skernsk, Argyll, Exile, Zulu, Escafe, Trimmer, Mason22, Central, Wil, 6pak.

Nope.

Easy, "Wing Night".

Changes, there is no given plane (though we're encouraged to fly ugly planes if possible)

Yes

E retention in chute swooping, vulching patterns, subtle prods on the open channel whiners. We'll occasionally run strat and take 2, 3, 4 bases in a row, but that is secondary to goofing off and having fun.

Beer.

We don't actively recruit, but we are always open for new idiots. You'll need to fly with us for a period of time so we know you're not a jerkoff, then mail us some beer.

Lentolaivue 34, or Flight Squadron 34, was an elite squadron that was established when Finland managed to purchase Messerschmitt 109 G-2's from Germany during winter and spring of 1943.   The new squadron was intended to be a 'crack outfit' right from the start, with air force commander Maj-Gen Lundquist giving the LLv34 CO Major Ehrnrooth the authorisation to pick the best pilots from any of the Finnish fighter units to fly the new fighters. Despite bitter protests from other squadron commanders, Lentolaivue 34 was duly formed.

Lentolaivue 34 achieved 345 confirmed kills with its MTs between Mar 13th 1943 and Sept 4th 1944 while losing only 30 planes (of which 13 in air combat, 5 in A-A fire, 7 in accidents and 5 due to technical faults). 12 pilots were killed or missing and 1 became POW. 3 pilots were awarded the Mannerheim Cross.

During the continuation war (6/41-9/44) Finns achieved 1567 air victories. 550 of these were won during 1944. Own casualties were 536 planes of which 209 in combat. 155 Finnish pilots achieved air victories, 87 of them had 5 or more kills.

Lentolaivue 34 has 18 active pilots at the moment. Four pilots are flying Aces High actively:  Camo, Jarsci, Snefens and 2Cool.  The rest are regular visitors in AH H2H.

LLv34 is mainly an EAW squadron, but we do fly some other sims as well.  Such as AH.  We are anxiously looking forward to Maddox Games' IL-2 Sturmovik as well.

You can read our EAW "War Mission" reports at our website.  We keep a kill board and flight log for all the pilots. 

Of course, we have had great times in the AH MA also.  Last week we gathered a flight group of finns and attacked the enemy HQ with 6 Ju88's, escorted by one 109 G-2. We met heavy resistance for the last 20 miles of the approach to HQ, but luckily didn't loose any planes on the way! All Ju88's dropped their 500kg bombs from level, then pushed into a dive and dive bombed their 50kg's.  Most of us took hits from the 88mm flak and 1 Ju88 was forced to ditch with both engines out. The escorting 109 was quickly overwhelmed by fighters and was shot down. However, he managed to draw the enemy away from the remaining ju88's who managed to RTB safely.  I limped back home on one engine with most of my control surfaces blown off.  The HQ took heavy damage, sealing this great victory over the defenders. :)

Definately the 109 G-2, as it is in our squadron's colours. The G-2 in AH, MT-222, was the plane of Ilmari "Illu" Juutilainen, the most successful non-German pilot in WW2 with his 94 kills.  It is told that his plane was never hit by an enemy fighter's bullet. Naturally, Juutilainen was a member of Lentolaivue 34.

Yes, we have squad nights on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  We are also active in the AH Tour of Duty and other events.

Yes.  I am the training officer of our squadron and try to keep our pilots in shape in all the various areas of piloting.  We are always on RW and utilize wingman tactics.  Snefens is also a member of the AH training corps.

Brewster model 239 "Buffalo".  The Finnish export model.  The Finns achieved an exchange ratio of 32:1 in this plane, against the Russians during over 3 years of fighting.  The Finns were generally outnumbered by 10:1 during combat.  The BW was nicknamed "Pearl of the Sky" by its pilots.

Yes, we recruit Finns that fly EAW and/or AH actively. Co-operation skills and good character are the qualities we are looking for.  Pilot skills can, and will, be taught later.

LJK isn't based on a single historical squadron, but we do follow some basic guidelines for Luftwaffe units. As you will see from our site, we have taken a few liberties with some naming conventions for the sake of the scale, but have tried to incorporate both the tactics and history of the Luftwaffe into our squadron. Most of us are involved in games like AH because we were hopeless WWII history buffs (now we're hopeless AH pilots too!), so the historical appeal of a game like this, and a squadorn like this, is really high for us.

The guys who are fully switched over to AH have the following AH nicks, we have about 7 or 8 more guys who will be along eventually: LJKkratz LJKKampf LJKRaub LJKBear LJKDern LJKBollo LJKResch maxkazar LJKSparv

Yes. LJK was established in January 2000 as a Fighter Ace II exclusive squadron. We stuck with FA until August 2000, when unresponsiveness from the developers of that game precipitated a change to AH. ...and we're loving it over here! We were the top-rated all-around Luftwaffe-only squadron in FA (kills, score, score AI) even though we had less than 15 members. I think it is safe to say that for the most part, we were respected by our friends and enemies alike.

This will have to be an FA memory, as we're still workin' on new AH memories... but... We had a really great time in the Kursk scenario in FA. We were assigned to FW-190A8s, with an initial objective of destroying a rail yard in Soviet territory, and thereby triggering a ground attack. We pressed our attack, bypassing about 50 Soviet fighters, and nailed our target for the second successful LW attack of the day. We did really well the rest of the day too, shooting down a good number of Soviet fighters as well as destroying a couple tank columns.

We try to stick with the Luftwaffe birds, though AH has allowed us to try those Macchis as well! We don't force our members to fly 'em, but everyone is encouraged to stay true to the Axis aircraft. I think right now the most popular ride is the Bf-109 G10.

Our XO and a few other guys are in New Zealand, we've got a guy in Germany, and the rest of us are US/Canada, so the only time we can really get together as a group is Saturday afternoons (Sunday in NZ). We don't have a really rigid practice schedule, and just try to get together in the evenings if a few of us are around.

We have set of squadron Fighter Doctrines that we expect our pilots to fly by - with the main 'tactic' to be to operate as a pair, and keep wingman alive... As noted, we don't have a real rigid practice schedule, but if we feel the need to work on something, we do.

Hmmm... Ta-152? I'd personally love to see the Bf-109 E4 and the Spitfire MkI and Hurc for some Battle of Britain scenarios. The Luftwaffe in AH have a pretty good planeset already...

We look for someone who has a big funny bone, who is really interested in the Second World War, and who thinks about what they do. We don't actively 'recruit', but if someone is interested, and we decide we like 'em, we usually will invite them to join.

We have just completely redesigned our site to go along with our move from being an exclusively Fighter Ace squadron. We prided ourselves on having one of the best and most comprehensive FA squadron sites, and we think that this new site really raises the bar on what can be expected from LJK as a web resource. We have a lot of great resources for both new and veteran pilots, and a constantly updated database of links about World WarII Games, Books, Films, and Websites. We are just getting rolling now, so I hope that everyone will bookmark us and keep checking back to see what we are up to!

I started the 332nd Flying Mongrels with Al "docdog" Arline back in the fall of 1997. I had been flying in the Warbirds Arena's for a few months and doc suggested we start a squad. He insisted that I be the C.O. because he was happy just pulling the trigger. After a few phone calls and e-mails we started one. At first we were just "The Mongrels", then "The Flying Mongrels", but we had an association with another new squadron called "The Black Aces" that changed things over time. Their C.O. was a fellow named "kieren" and X.O. was "ghosth", both are well known in Aces High. :-) In time the Mongrels and the Black Aces became sister squadrons primarily due to a friendship ghosth and I had prior to starting our squadrons. The Black Aces were a head to head ladder squadron that had the hottest sticks around (IMHO). You would always find their members in the top 10 of Defts Red Falcon ladder. The Mongrels on the other hand were not so competitive, in fact I tended to shy away from such events, but we did work well as a

team. Consequently our squadrons complemented each other. They would teach us some ACM and improve our skills, and the few Black Aces who had Warbird accounts would fly with the Mongrels and learn some team work and wingman flying. It was a good relationship.

During this time "ghosth" or "kieren" suggested we add on the 332nd and both squadrons fall under that umbrella. Thus was born the 332nd Flying Mongrels and the 332nd Black Aces. Over time the pull of arena flying brought many of the 332nd Black Aces to the 332nd Flying Mongrels. I always had an open door policy with the Black Aces. In other words any that wanted to join our squad could with out a vote-taking place. All other members have been voted on and it has to have been unanimous. One "no" vote and their membership is declined. Skill is not a factor and never will be. Membership is based on personality only, nothing else.

In Warbirds our squad grew from 2 to nearly 40 members strong in about 2 years. Attendance would fluctuate from 50% to 90% on any given Sunday Just a few months ago we began to debate the pros and cons of moving to Aces High. Ghosth lead the charge and we moved the squad to Aces High early this year. The move was costly as far as membership. We have about 1/3 the numbers we had, but I have no worries about the squad growing again.

C.O. daddog X.O. ghosth Flight Leaders harppa wumtt vaderr Pilots woodog wilbus kildog ozark ibreh rockster b-town gunthr gospel tbones teeerex

ammomn

Yes, Warbirds. Though we all have tried most if not all the other flight sims out there.

None. We fly them all and don't favor any one plane. Sure we all have our favorites but as a squad we don't focus on anyone fighter or bomber.

That is a doggie bag of opinions. Coming from Warbirds it was difficult for many. Certainly different, but not necessarily a better or worse flight model. Some prefer it, others like the Warbirds flight model more.

Every Sunday at 3 PM Eastern time or 12 Noon Pacific time.

No, usually we have a mission laid out and just try to accomplish the goals. We have talked about training and tactics, but never set aside time for that during squad time. We tend to be pretty relaxed about that sort of thing.

That is another doggie bag. Each one of us will give you a different answer. What I can say with confidence is the squad as a whole miss the "early war plane set".

Interview with Tobias "Redwing" Fusswinkel- Commanding Officer- VMF-115 (Part of MAG-33)

The Red Dragons were formed on January 4th 1998 by RD-OOPS! and RD-Rocket, at this time bothwere playing the simplistic WW1 Flight Simulator "Flying Circus". The squad grew at a phenomenal rate, acquiring new pilots and skill quickly allied pilots soon learned to fear the guys with the _RD_prefix in front of their callsign. The squad climbed up the ladders, soon discovering that there were only 2 squads that could compete with the Red Dragons, namely the allied squadron "Arabian Knights" which we had a friendly rivalry with ever since and the german squadron "Jasta 11" which later became "Jasta 18" and one of our greatest allies up to this day.

Things were just great until the ending of Flying Circus's beta stage was imminent in september '98,the squad had to decide whether to stick with their old game and loose all those pilots who weren't willing to pay or find a new simulation to play in which would have meant giving up some great friendships and friendly rivalrys with other Flying Circus squadrons. In a democratic vote it was decided to move on to another sim, Sierra's WW1 flight simulator "Red Baron 2".

The new CO, RD-Sneaky, put a lot of effort into getting the squad started in Red Baron 2. It worked,and soon it almost felt like the squad had never left Flying Circus, especially when many of our old allies and enemies from Flying Circus moved on to Red Baron 2, including the Arabian Knights, Jasta 18, Skeleton Crew and the Wing Walkers.Again the squad was growing at a phenomenal rate, and one of the new recruits that joined in November '98 was me, Redwing. The squad again became a well known and respected part of the community, we were involved in lots of player organized events and squad vs. squad wars. It was a great time, but eventually more and more of our members got bored with the game, mostly due to thedevelopers complete ignorance when it came to updates or patches. The game was stagnating, and so was our squadron. Average attendance at squad meetings was low and in October '99 we finally scheduled a command staff meeting to discuss the future of the squadron. At this time the command staff consisted of our CO RD-Rocket, our XO RD-Lister (now called Duma), RD-Apathy, RD-Snoozy and me (the former CO and XO had left us in summer of '99). We decided to move on to a new simulation again, but this time not giving up the old one by just splitting the squad into "Divisions" and forming a new Division instead of making the whole squad move to that new game. It proved to be a very rewarding, the newly formed Aces High Division commanded by me and Duma grew and became the biggest squad in Aces High's beta period with 24 enlisted pilots. When Aces High's beta period was over there was no discussion about moving on to another game again, we were too addicted. At least Duma, Rocket, Bullzi, Apathy and I were, the majority of our pilots wasn't, and we lost them all. It was a costly decision to stick with Aces High, but I'm very confident that we will eventually regain our old strength and become a big squad again. A short note on our other Divisions, the weren't THAT successful. A few weeks back we merged our old Red Baron 2 Division with the Jasta 18 which became our sister squad in the process, and we're still trying to get the other divisions rolling.  

Command staff: CO - me (Redwing); XO - Duma; TO - Rocket. Pilots: Apathy, Bullzi, Goat10, Terracota

I mentioned them before, Flying Circus and Red Baron 2. Some of us also have been involved in the Confirmed Kill closed beta test and played Warbirds Head2Head, we never had a squad or division presence in one of those games though.

I remember one squad meeting during the Aces High beta test sometime in december '99, we captured 4 fields on our own in less than 3 hours and our fighters scored an unbelievable amount of kills. And this was on a saturday night, so the arena was far from being empty.

When we decided to form the Aces High Division we agreed on representing a USMC unit, we had been flying for the germans in all our previous games and wanted a change. The current lack of a historical arena doesn't allow us to really act like a USMC unit right now, but as soon as this changes we'll be fighting in the pacific theatre for sure. So currently we're just flying the F4U-1D and keep pretending we're a USMC unit. We agreed on not flying the F4U-1C anymore, even if its firepower was historically accurate its still not much fun for other players to be ripped apart by 2-3 pings.

Not yet, we're an international squad and its damn hard to figure out a day and time when members from the US and from europe can make it on a regular basis. So right now I just email the squad when I feel like its time for a meeting again and we agree on the day and time. I try to schedule the meetings on a weekly basis that way.

This depends on Rocket, if he can make it to the meeting he usually provides us with some tactical training in the Training Arena or on a H2H server before we head into the Main Arena. If he can't we usually just head into the Main Arena and learn ACM the hard way.

I bet every Dragon would ask for a different plane here, but personally I would love to see more Japanese and US planes used in the pacific theatre. And of course, Carriers (yes I know it's not really an aircraft)

Interview with Nexx-Officer Commanding 'Firebirds' 56 (Fighter) Squadron - RAF

The real 56 Sqn was formed back in 1916 in the days of the Royal Flying Corp. They quickly showed what they were made of by becoming one of the primary British fighter squadrons. In 1928 the squadrons badge, the Phoenix, was authorised and hence where the name 'Firebirds' comes from. During WWII they took part in the Battle of Britain flying Hawker Hurricanes. Other aircraft used during WWII include the Typhoon, Spitfire and the Tempest. By VE day the squadron had claimed over 130 enemy aircraft and destroyed 63 flying bombs. I had always wanted to form a RAF squadron and I wanted to choose a squadron that flew a varied amount of aircraft. I originally went for IV(Army Cooperation) Squadron because they are based where I work with Harrier GR7s. During WWII they flew P51, P40, Spitfire, Typhoon, Mosquito, Lysander but their operations were more of the recon nature which although extremely worthy and honourable I wanted an out right fighter squadron. So I chose 56 Sqn which is a squadron I'm still very much learning about and the more I read about them the better it gets!

Our current roster is Vladd (XO), Sparks, Travis, Skyman, JReb, Beemer (SEA only) and obviously myself. Apart from JReb and Beemer, everyone is British.

No, the 'Firebirds' 56 (Fighter) Squadron are a very new squad having only entered Aces High at the end of September 2000. All of the current squad were previously members of the 13th TAS which is now a P51 only squadron. This obviously means that all of us have been flying together for some time now which has really helped gel the Firebirds together quickly. Travis, Vladd and Sparks were also all together in the AW3 squad the 'Kraits'.

As mentioned we are a very young squadron and hopefully we will be experiencing 'perfect missions' very soon! We have experienced that in the past with the 13th TAS, but then that's a different story! :)

Well, seeing that we are a RAF squadron we are aiming to fly mostly RAF metal. So far we have been flying the Spitfire IX and Typhoon the most. Occasionally we will fly other fighters or buffs such as the Lancaster or what is needed to complete the mission. I used to fly the B26 an awful lot, and Pnzrs, so I'm quickly having to get to grips with flying fighters again! There is quite a choice of aircraft within Aces High so it's only fair that if anyone wants to try another aircraft, even axis (!), then that isn't a problem. Our squad nights on the other hand are primarily restricted to RAF or allied aircraft.

Yes, we currently have one squad night which is on Sunday's at 6:00pm (BST, then same time when it reverts to GMT). We may have an additional squad night on Wednesday nights too but no time has been decided yet. One of our main aims was to have a suitable time where we could all link up together and by doing this, hopefully have more fun! I think this was the main reason for starting our own squadron. We are also hoping to participate in future Special Events etc. which are sure to be fun! As a young squadron, our options are unlimited.

Yes, our main tactic is 'shoot the other guy before he shoots you', which unsurprisingly is pretty effective! :) Seriously we will be trying various tactics and ideas that are submitted by our current squad. Sometimes our tactics have to change to whatever is happening in the arena we're in and the country status within AH, but above all, we want to have fun and always enjoy ourselves. Incidently, we will almost always try to avoid anything dweebery, but as always you will always be a dweeb if you don't play the style of game your oponent wants you to play!

Hmm, I will guess at the Mosquito MkIV (or whatever it's called) - the one with the rockets, MGs and the 20mm cannons! It's a truly wonderful aircraft and I have no doubt that it would be modeled very well in Aces High. Personally I would like any of the following - Hurricane II (with A/B/C/D versions all being options in armament), Mosquito, A26 Invader, P40, and perhaps at the top of my wishlist would be the Beaufighter which I'm sure would be an excellent anti-ship plane.

Yes, yes, yes, we are recruiting at the Firebirds! We are particularly looking for other British/West European pilots to join our squad. Other countries are also welcome as we already have a couple of Canadian pilots and if other N. American's wish to join then we are more than happy to adapt our squad to fit in with their needs. We like to think that we are an enthusiastic, happy and friendly bunch of guys and that will reflect in the sort of pilots we are looking for. We all have a fair amount of skill and therefore any 'newbie' pilots are always welcome as we will spend whatever time is necessary in the Training Arena and Main Arena to help the new pilot settle in the Firebirds as quickly as possible. Learning never ends in Aces High and our squad will always try to reflect the needs and wants of all squad members. All members will have an input and running of the squadron as we all like to learn off each other. Incidently a fondness for beer also helps!

Well, I've just managed to do my very first website, and yes it is for the 'Firebirds'. Please come and check the site out and see if we are the squadron for you!

Interview with Funkedup308 (Polish) Squadron "City of Cracow" RAF 

308 Squadron was a Polish-manned RAF squadron flying Hurricanes and Spitfires from 1940-1945.  They carried on the traditions of 121 Eskadra of the Polish Air Force which bravely fought in P.11 fighters against the Nazi invaders in 1939.  At first 308 Sqn. flew primarily air-to-air missions from Britain, but during the invasion of Europe and conquest of Germany they flew an increasing amount of ground attack sorties, moving to airfields in France, Belgium, and Germany in the last year of the war.

We are part of the Northolt Wing (1st Polish Fighter Wing) along with 303 Squadron in WarBirds and 315 Squadron (coming soon) in WWII Online.

In the Libya, 1942 scenario we were assigned two flights of Spitfires Mk. V for a close air support mission.  After a lengthy hunt, Allied ground forces finally made contact with the enemy and directed us to their position.  Right as we neared the target, we spotted a mixed force of German and Italian fighters approaching at high altitude.  I ordered the one flight to jettison bombs and distract the enemy fighters while the rest of us engaged the enemy ground forces.  The enemy fighters took the bait, and we gave them a bloody nose while destroying nearly half of the enemy armored column.  We took moderate losses but the mission was a success because the Allied ground force was able to completely destroy the weakened enemy armor column and secure their objective.

Spitfires, Typhoons, and Lancasters.

Thursdays 2100 Eastern

Finger Four/Loose Deuce, heavy bomber raids with escort, fighter-bomber airfield attacks.

Spitfire Mk. XIV or Mustang Mk. III

We are looking for team players who are interested in historical scenarios and enjoy both fighters and bombers.  Profanity and abusive behavior to opponents is not acceptable, but we have a pretty wild squad channel at times.  :)

Interview with Hblair, CO of the Assassins

No real historical background.

CO:hblair, XO:Milenko, eddiek, Wlfgng, Moose11, Lizard3, Blakjak, Bigmax, newwguy, SAR, Skidog, Hamish, Regurge, Jeckel, Havoc4.

Some members came from Warbirds, Dawn of Aces, Air Warrior, and various boxed simms.

Lizard3 writes: "My most satisfiying mission ever was in old AW. I was flying for C-land at the time, and we had captured a base across the pond in B-land some time earlier. I observed a large block of AC cross into that bases sector so I upped at a base as near as i could and hot-footed it into indian country at low level. As I went feet dry I observed a buncha hostiles and dove for the deck gettin my AS up high. They never even saw me till it was to late. I swear I've never flown like that before or since, killed a B-17, C-47, couple spits, ponies and a 190 for a grand total of 7. I was completely dumbfounded at my exploits and started wondering just how did I do that...then I noticed...'Dammit, not again!' NO FILM"

No particular plane affiliation. I think we lean somewhat towards the Luftwaffe, a few of the guys like flying the FW-190's. We have a couple of P47 fans. I (hblair) personally prefer the 109's for air-to-air. As a squad, we usually use Heavy US fighters for field attacks.

Wednesday nights, 9PM CST

We all use roger wilco, try to employ practical wingman tactics.

Regurge: P47M & N

Lizard3: 1) Ki-61 Tony 2) Pe2 3) Ta-152 4) any real early war stuff. French or Polish or maybe a Curtis Hawk.

hblair: 190D9 as a perk plane.

Not recruiting at this time

Interview with Ripsnort, one of the CO's for MAG-33

MAG-33 was a concept I thought of after seeing it successfully implemented within the Warbirds community. It is a combination of several squadrons that meet at a designated time to perform co-operative operations within Aces High. MAG-33 was an actual Marine Air Group that flew primarily in late war events in the Pacific during WW2.

The squadrons involved so far with MAG-33 are Jimbears VMF-111 "Devil Dogs", Redwings VMF-115 "Joes Jokers" and Ripsnorts VMF-323 "Death Rattlers", all historical WW2 Marine corp squadrons. Combined we are approximately 60+ strong.

All of us did, you can read about the individual squadrons on this page. MAG-33 is a collection of several different squadrons in Aces High.

Not yet, we're newly formed and have yet to have our first meeting for operations.

I think all 3 squads at this time fly any planes, speaking for -323, we primarily fly the Corsair, but again, we fly all A/C types, depending on what the mission calls for. During MAG operations, once V1.05 and the Navy version of AH gets here, expect to see us in TBM's, F6F hellcats, and F4U-1D Corsairs.

It is yet to be determined for MAG-33

We have a MAG-33 guideline we use, and its top secret. :)

Speaking for -323, we would like to see the F6F which is coming in V1.05.

We welcome all VMF groups to join our MAG. You don't have to be the same country since we take turns changing countries when we do our onece-a-month operations.

We don't have a MAG-33 website yet, however you can contact Jimbear, Redwing, or Ripsnort if you're interested in joining our MAG. Our emails are current within the Bulletin board of Aces High.

Interview with "Dune", XO for the 352^nd FG

The historical background of the 352nd FG is fairly large. They flew P-47's and P-51's with the 8th AF. Hi-lights include:

-Two of the USAAF's top seven aces of all U.S. wars were pilots in the 352nd

-Four 352nd pilots became "aces in a day" with five victories on one mission

-One 352nd pilot, Major George E Preddy, Jr. shot down six enemy fighters on one mission

-The top Mustang ace was Major George E Preddy, Jr. with 26.83 aerial victories

-Seven 352nd pilots became "ground aces in a day", destroying five or more in ground attacks.

-Twelve 352nd pilots scored aerial victories over German jet fighters

-Twenty-seven of the USAAF's aerial aces over Europe were 352nd pilots

-Ten 352nd pilots were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the 2nd highest U.S. combat award. Col J.C. Meyer receiving the DSC three times and Capt Bill Whisner twice. Lt Ed Heller got the DSC for setting the 8th AF strafing record.

-Seven 352nd pilots continued their military careers and attained the rank of General. One of these, Col J. C. Meyer, the only fighter pilot in WWII to attain four-star rank, commanded the Strategic Air Command and later became the Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force.

-Twin-brothers Bill and Buck Pattillo, both pilots in the 352nd, later flew with the first USAF Thunderbird team. Both went on to attain General rank.

-One 352nd squadron was the only 8th Air Force Squadron to be award a Unit Citation. This award came after a mission flown from a Belgian airfield during the Battle of the Bulge period when 12 pilots of the 487th, led by Colonel Meyer, shot down 23 attacking German fighters without a loss while under a strafing attack on takeoff.

-The 486th Squadron participated in the first "Shuttle Mission" flown by the 8th AF from England to Russia to Italy to England escorting bombers to targets enroute. On this mission, Lt. Ed Heller scored the longest range fighter victory of the war.

-Among the leading air aces of WWII, two 352nd pilots, Major George Preddy and Col J.C. Meyer ranked sixth and seventh.

-Among leading aces of the AAF and USAF in both WWII and the Korean War, 352^nd pilots Col J.C. Meyer ranks second; Major Bill Whisner ranks fifth; and Lt Col Ed Heller ranks nineteenth. Whisner became an ace in both WWII and the Korean War.

Right now, only two of us fly regularly in AH. Wicked and Thog.

WarBirds.

Just tonight, 16 of us took off from England in our P-51D's. Over Calais we met up with the B-17G's of the 457th BG. We escorted them to a raid on Munich. We broke up into squadrons and each squadron covered an area of sky. We were engaged several times by LW fighters, but we were able to drive them off. Our guys followed orders, stayed above the hard-deck and stayed with the bombers and their wingmen. While we didn't score any kills, all of the bombers and all of us made it home.

The P-51D

Not right now.

We mainly practice different wingman tactics and bomber escort tactics.

P-51B.

Not right now.

Interview with "ICE", CO of the 13^th TAS squadron

Totally fabricated.

What are the names of your squaddies?

Ice...Thunder...Yeager....Voss....Elvis...Hangtime

Did your squadron have any ties to online flight sims in the past?

13th TAS originated in AWDOS back in 1991, then moved to Warbirds for a short time. We recently re-formed the squad in Aces High.

If so, can you recall a mission (in Warbirds, FA, AW or AH) where 'everything went right' in 100 words or less?

There have been many as we have always been fortunate to have quality as well as skilled individuals as members. The most memorable were closing entire countries in AWDOS on our squad nights....membership was 35 strong at that time. Az and Cz would truce and hunt the 13th.

What type of planes does your squadron fly the most?

The 13th TAS only flies the Cadillac of the Skies...the P-51D Mustang. We are a 51 Hunter/Killer fighter Squadron and are dedicated to the mastery of the P-51. We do digress from time to time and will fly a C-47 to capture a field if necessary.

Does your squadron have a regular meeting time for operations?

Yes, however, it is Top Secret Code Eight Encrypted Information and cannot be shared here.

Do you practice any specific tactics if/when your squad meets?

We focus on fighting as a unit, killing as many enemy as possible and most importantly landing those kills....We take pride in killing with impunity.

What type of aircraft is on your squadrons wish list?

Any 51 variant.

Is your squad recruiting at this time, and if so, what do they look for in a squad mate?

We are always interested in recruits, however, they must first possess the dedication to the 51 and understand that we are focused on being the BEST in the arena at what we do...we will accept nothing less. For us in the 13th, this is how we have our fun.

What is the URL of your squadron website, if any?

Interview with "skrbrofr "(Rickod), CO of the 27^th Sentai squadron

What is the historical background, if any, of your squadron?

The 27th sentai was a IJAA squadron during ww2 my wb squad leader aanvil can give all the pertinent details.

What are the names of your squaddies?

Currently in AH we have recruited one member ice1 we will be expanding shortly.

Did your squadron have any ties to online flight sims in the past?

Warbirds.

If so, can you recall a mission (in Warbirds, FA, AW or AH) where 'everything went right' in 100 words or less?

We were used as exchange pilots in the ETO we flew from the south of France to the southern tip of England myself leading 4 ju88s with torpedoes the rest of the squad in 190's heavy for escort the 190s reached target area first of four buffs three made it on station I blew up the Queen Mary and we sunk one escort as well as wreaking havoc on the port before returning home.

What type of planes does your squadron fly the most?

Japanese or German.

Does your squadron have a regular meeting time for operations?

In Warbirds, its usually Wednesday night with Saturday morning practice .

Do you practice any specific tactics if/when your squad meets?

Yes.

What type of aircraft is on your squadrons wish list?

Japanese craft of all sizes and types.

Is your squad recruiting at this time, and if so, what do they look for in a squad mate?

Yes and someone who can shoot straight is a plus.

What is the URL of your squadron website, if any?

What is the historical background, if any, of your squadron?

I have just began researching the 78th squadron from the 8th Air Force. What interested me is that it was the first group to fly the P51, 47D, and 38. These are favorite planes of mine.

What are the names of your squaddies?

We are still new. SG, Darling, and Pollock1.

Did your squadron have any ties to online flight sims in the past?

Yes but this is my first attempt at it according to Skybax there was/is a squad in warbirds under the same name. A big Salute! to sky for all the info he has sent me...

If so, can you recall a mission (in Warbirds, FA, AW or AH) where 'everything went right' in 100 words or less?

No.

What type of planes does your squadron fly the most?

Thus far the Pony.

Does your squadron have a regular meeting time for operations?

Not established yet.

Do you practice any specific tactics if/when your squad meets?

No official meetings yet but when we do group escorts, high alt patrol, jaboing fields, and tank busting.

What type of aircraft is on your squadrons wish list?

Maybe a razorback jug and also to a put the testicles back on the 47D.

Is your squad recruiting at this time, and if so, what do they look for in a squad mate?

HECK YEA! join up please. Major factor is fun I am hoping to become a niche group to escort B17s to strategic targets, mainly the Mad Bombers welcome back Sunchasr!!! I want to fully utilize BnZ tactics where planes coridinate their engagements and wingman skills. There are no restrictions if you want to do something different by all means do it I am hoping to find pilots that shre my interests.

What is the URL of your squadron website, if any?

We are based on the flying tigers third squadron A.V.G

What are the names of your squaddies?

dirtball manybeer, GH, Pyroman, Busher, skrbrofr, JoeD, SEABASSS, ElStevie, Garand, oboe, BillReed, ker, firemn

Did your squadron have any ties to online flight sims in the past?

We were originally the 27th sentai recon force in aces high I broke off and formed it and still flew with the 27th sentai in Warbirds.

If so, can you recall a mission (in Warbirds, FA, AW or AH) where everything went right' in 100 words or less?

We ran a mission on European terrain where we flew to Southampton and were able to torpedo the Queen Mary until it rolled over and sank.

What type of planes does your squadron fly the most?

All of the Aces High stable.

Does your squadron have a regular meeting time for operations?

Tuesday nights 830-10.00 pm cst.

Do you practice any specific tactics if/when your squad meets?

Working on that now.

What type of aircraft is on your squadrons wish list?

P-40 ANY MAKE!!

Is your squad recruiting at this time, and if so, what do they look for in a squad mate?

Yes we are recruiting and all i ask is some maturity and the ability to

learn and have fun.

What is the URL of your squadron website, if any?

What is the historical background, if any, of your squadron?

There is no historical background to the squad, although the name "Whispering Death" is what the Japanese called the Bristol Beaufighter. We decided against an historical tilt to the sqaud, since we all fly different planes from different nations.

What are the names of your squaddies?

Kronos (CO), Dowding (XO), MADMARK, Wilfrid, Shootyou, Sailor, SKULL, SwoopGB, BigUC, CJ, Sling322, DogBod, AceRimmr

Did your squadron have any ties to online flight sims in the past?

The original squadron was 99th "Raging Rooks", but after several of the long established members left, we reformed the squadron with its current name. Several squaddies came from Warbirds. As an aside, the squadron rotates between the different sides which is decided by squad as a whole.

If so, can you recall a mission (in Warbirds, FA, AW or AH) where 'everything went right' in 100 words or less?

Everything always goes right!!! :-)

What type of planes does your squadron fly the most?

We all have our own 'special' plane, for instance the CO (Kronos) tends to fly the Me.109 G-10, whereas I fly the La-5. There are no restrictions on plane type, people fly anything they like.

Does your squadron have a regular meeting time for operations?

Yes - Saturday night 20.00 GMT. This is not mandatory, as for the European flyers in the squad, it is Saturday night after all!! Besides the squad night, we do tend to design missions at any time, if enough members are online.

Do you practice any specific tactics if/when your squad meets?

We tend to be a Jabo squad, and our tactics revolve around that role. But that means we need fighters and bombers. New members will be able to have training if they want from the experienced players in the squad.

What type of aircraft is on your squadrons wish list?

Sailor and myself fly the La-5 alot, and we both want to see the Il-2 ASAP. There is quite a diversity in the types of plane people fly, and a similar diversity exists concerning what planes people want to fly.

Is your squad recruiting at this time, and if so, what do they look for in a squad mate?

We are recruiting at the moment and will be for the forseeable future. We ideally want people who are going to be here for a while. Other than that, we accept complete novices, since we believe the best way for anyone to become proficient is to learn within a squadron structure.

What is the URL of your squadron website, if any?