Open _ - ------------__Squad Leader

Open__-- ----------__ Second in Command

RAF Pappy ____-__ Flight Lieutenant

Open_-___ _ ___-__Flight Lieutenant

 Open-__-_ ----------__Pilot Officer

Open____---------___Pilot Officer

__Hotel squad is now accepting applications for new pilots. The following steps must be taken to become an active member in RAF_662:

• Read the code of conduct and agreed to it
• Apply to the message board
• Fly with the RAF_ 662 and be invited to become a member of the RAF_662
• Forward an e-mail to the squad leader RAF_662 CFSG as per your intent

__The game that the RAF_662 is running, is IL2 Forgotten Battles + Aces Expansions Pack + Pacific Fighters = Merged install. You must have the game updated to the lasted patches.

__The Communication that the RAF_662 is using, is Team Speak. The Team Speak IP and password will be forward to the prospective pilot after the initial contact has been made.

__I went overseasin October, 1941. In November, I was posted to OTU, where I flew spitfire Is and IIs until February. Later that month, I was posted 412 squadron and flew the improved MKV.

__When I first sate in a spitfire cockpit it seemed rather rudimentary. The RAF didn’t pay as much attention to switches and instrumentation as the Americans did. The spitfire was a very small, but you got used to it. For an average size person it was quite comparable.

__I found the instrumentationto be well laid out the throttle control and the trim control were very good. The only significant cockpit problem in the spitfire was the landing gear control, which was located on the right side, with the throttle on the left. Having to change hands on takeoff was a little tough, particularly when you are taking off in formation. On the early Spits, the undercarriage was raised and lowered by the hydraulic and pulled on the right hand side.

__The early canopyis for flat side, which made it tough to see what was behind you. That was improved greatly in 1942 with the introduction of the bulge hood. To keep the canopy polished and to remove scratches, we used to use jeweler’s rouge, a fine grinding compound for polishing metal and brass.

__The spitfire cockpit was simple, comfortable and snug. It was normally unheated, and our heavy jackets proved to be too bulky. You couldn't turn to see what was behind you. Generally, we were a battle dress, with a sweater underneath in cold weather. Five from the spitfire to be a beautiful airplane to fly, especially the Mk IXe, which was generally superior to the latest Bf 109’s.

Iwo Jima Landing

__ Iwo Jima was an island of less than ten square miles in area, but had two virtual airfields that would be considerably assistance to the American bombing effort against Japan . The Japanese had forfeited the island when the Marines stormed ashore on the nineteenth of February, 1945, they met unyielding resistance, despite the fact that they had been 75 days of preparatory bombardment from the air and sea. Fighting raged for 36 days before the Marines are in control of the island- Famous picture of the American flag being raised on Mount Suribachi was taken only four days after the landing, and well before the fighting had ended.

__ By the end of 1944, American commanders had become convinced of the need to take the Japanese island of Iwo Jima . The rationale for this course of action lay in three factors. The first was that the island offered a base from which P-51 mustang escort fighters could reach Japan, providing much needed protection to the B-29's raiding the country. One of the islands two airstrips could accommodate the B-29's without great difficulty. Making it a perfect location for an emergency landing site for aircraft operating out of the Marinas, as well as a potential location from which air raids could be launched. Another factor was that the island was regarded as part of the Japanese homeland, and capturing it could have a government and its population.

__ The Japanesewere painfully aware of the strategic significance of Iwo Jima , and made strenuous efforts to establish affective defense positions, sending experienced reinforcements to the island in the late part of 1944. By the end of the year, the defenders had dug miles of tunnels that protected them from the substantial proportion of the bombardment delivered by the air and sea from late November. On February 19, 1945, the invasion force was put ashore facing little resistance. However as the first Marines made their way a little further inland, they were hit by heavy machine gun fire. The Marines responded by changing the lead defensive position. By nightfall some 30,000 Marines were ashore, and had isolated the highest point on the island Mount Suribachi.

__ Over the next four days, the Marines fought bitterly with the Japanese until they took Mount Suribachi (which led to the famed photograph of the stars and stripes bring raised by the Marine patrol), but this did not mark the end of the fighting. A vicious attritional battle continued for three weeks, as the Americans fought their way from bunker to bunker, cleaning out the enemy. As early as the tenth day of the assault, many units were down to half strength, such was the ferocity of the fighting. On the night of 26 th of March, the remaining Japanese defenders launched a suicidal charge against the Marines and were wiped out. Some 23,000 Japanese died and only 216 survived; the Marines lost 6,281 killed and over 18,000 wounded in the bloodiest operation in the Marine Corps' history.