Packwood Triumphs By Slim Margin Of Victory!

Sixty-four pilots took off from airfields in England to attack the industrial might of the German war machine. This year all three missions for the tournament went to the same city showing the importance of making sure that bombing a major industrial area would hamper the war effort. Just as during the actual missions during WWII, only the “senior” staff of the B-17 tournament knew where the actual missions were going to be, with the crew’s being told when the “please draw the curtain. Gentlemen the Target For Today Is was done during the briefing.

The WBC B-17 tournament is unique in that the game is a solitaire game and the people that are playing are using the actual missions that the 8th Army Air Force did during WW II. A score system that was developed by David Terry who was the founder of the tournament is used in order to determine who would be the top dog. A key element of the scoring is that the bomber has to return with at least one crew member able to go on the next mission. If they lose all of the crew, their points are reset with the largest total from “continuity” as the total score. Here are the three missions that the players had to contend with.

Mission #1 – Bremen (8th Army Air Force Mission #130) 13Nov43: Bad weather forced the bomb groups to bomb thru the clouds for “targets of opportunity” with the main target covered with clouds where the bombers could not find the target. The P-47’s that were supposed to escort the bombers were not able to meet up with the groups, only the P38’s was able to meet up with them. The Luftwaffe figured out how to attack the twin engine escorts and were able to shot down more of the escorts than the P-38’s was able to shoot down the attacking fighters. Of the bombers that were able to reach the target area, three were shot down and 2 had to be scrapped.

Mission #2 – Bremen (8th Army Air Force Mission #111) 8Oct43: Again, bad weather forced the bombers to hit “targets of opportunity” with the main target covered to the point where the bombers were unable to see the target.

Mission #3 – Bremen (8th Army Air Force Mission #52) 17Apr43: This mission was considered a success by both the 8th Air Force and the Luftwaffe. 107 bombers were sent to Bremen and in clear weather were able to hit the target (According to after action reports 50% of the FW-190 factory was destroyed) along with at least 30 planes waiting to be sent to the respected squadrons near the factory. The Luftwaffe also considered their defense against this attack a success. Of the 107 that were sent, 16 bombers were claimed to be shot down 13 by one Jagstaffel.

Because of weather hampering the targeting during two of the missions. Accuracy in bombing the target took a major hit. While in past years, the person with the highest average percentage was usually around 50% or better, the top average in hitting the three targets this year was 25%. Eric Buetikofer (In the bomber, Gremlins Revenge) was able to have the best average for the three missions.

Weather didn’t hamper the Luftwaffe efforts in meeting up with the bombers. Karl Hennings crew (In the bomber, Bouyant Bastion) tallied a total of 19 claimed kills for the three missions (Historically after the debriefings done after the missions the actual confirmed kills by the crews was usually at least 1/2 of the total that were claimed).

These difficulties didn’t faze the top score, Tim Packwood (in the bomber Brought to you by Carl’s Jr), was able to get a total score of 168 for the three missions. Second place wasn’t that far behind. Jennifer Otwell (In the bomber Flak Around and Find Out), came in second place only 1/2 point behind the leader with 167.5, the difference being either claiming one more fighter or a .5 difference in bombing accuracy.

Rounding out the top five places were Riley Gleaton (In the bomber Boba Tea) with a score of 163, Brian Conlon (In the bomber Old Glory Honey Badger) with a score of 161, and Anthony Levins (In the bomber Lu Lu Belle) with a score of 159.

The top scores are not the only ones that are singled out during the After Action Report (AAR) meeting where people find out where they placed among their peers. The last two places are called out getting a “special” door prize during the festivities. The honor for those places were Ted Drozd (In the bomber Snarls Barkley), with a total of 18. Doug Kolpien (In the bomber Flak Me Daddy) was able to edge out last place with a score of 18.

Along with the individual scores, the best and worse squadrons are called out during the AAR. A perpetual trophy is given to the best and worse squadron of the tournament. This year the worst was one of the oldest squadrons in the group (Of the six players in the bomb squadron at least 3 of them have been together for at least 30 years of the tournament). The “Beside the Door” squadron as they are known had the dubious honor of bringing up the rear with a total point score of 437 (Pete Pollard, Keith Hunsinger, Paul Risner, Chris Storzillo, Bill Thompson, and Keith McFarland). The top squadron is one of the “more” recent groups (Most of the squadron has been together for at least 20 years) with a score of 699 Squadron #9 (Charles Squibb, Suzanne Taylor, Nora Frank, Jacob Hebner, Cassidy Hebner).

Next year’s missions are already being planned out by the senior staff. If you would like to know where the missions are going next year, join in the fun of the B-17 Tournament.