AAR:
Things went quietly until Sgt Andrew Etheridge, Country Lass' new tail gunner, spotted an Me-110 trying to sneak up on our tail. In an excellent display of beginner's luck, Sgt Etheridge proceeded to shoot the Jerry down. Shortly thereafter, another Tame Boar made an attempt on Country Lass. This one was a Ju-88, and caught us by surprise. Once Jerry opened fire, I threw Country Lass into a series of evasive maneuvers. The Ju-88 made three passes and though we exchanged shots, both The Ju-88, his rear gunner, and Country Lass' gunners' hits proved of minor consequence.
Approaching Karlsruhe, we encountered no enemy fighters on target run-in, despite bing lit up by the Jerry searchlights. Ack-Ack did hit us, taking out the tail guns, both the port and starboard flaps, and putting a hole in Sgt Stephan York's chest. Sgt Etheridge made Sgt York as comfortable as possible, and, since the tail guns were out, took over the mid upper turret. By this time, fires on the ground enabled F/Sgt George Smythe to identify the factory complex. He delivered 30% of our payload on target. As per target ingress, there were no enemy fighters on target egress.
Things then remained quiet until reaching the German/Dutch border where we were again surprised by an Me-110. The 110's initial burst started an oxygen fire in the pilot compartment that was quickly extinguished by navigator W/O Francis Russel. The Jerry also did some damage to the port wing root. His rear gunner fired in passing to no effect. Two more passes were equally ineffective, though on Jerry's last pass F/Sgt Smythe gave him something to remember us by.
No further enemy aircraft were encountered and Country Lass landed safely at Lincoln despite the inoperable flaps. Sgt York was transferred to an ambulance, though the Flight Surgeon says he will likely not live to see the dawn.
Respectfully submitted,
F/O Reginald Pope, Commanding
Country Lass