Fanclub X-wing Series Fan Club: Home of the Dancing Gamorrean

Oh hey wait, did someone use the zed word?

 

Happy, belated , Lifeday @Adalia-Durron

 

I laugh cuz it's true, AF gives away ribbon like Crackerjack prizes.

 

I told you to get those power converters from Tosche Station.

 

This popped up in the C-130 aircrew FB group, and I couldn't resist tweaking it for the Sheep. It originally said "Nice landing, Colonel."

 

17 August 1940: Pilot Officer William Meade Lindsley Fiske III died at St. Richard’s Hospital, Chichester, Sussex, England, as a result of injuries sustained in combat the previous day. Billy Fiske was the second American pilot to lose his life in combat during the Second World War.
On 16 August, No. 601 Squadron, based at RAF Tangmere, was dispatched by Fighter Command to intercept incoming Luftwaffe aircraft at 12,000 feet (3,658 meters). This was Billy Fiske’s second sortie of the day. He was airborne at 12:25 p.m. In the resulting air battle, the squadron shot down eight enemy Junkers Ju 87 Sturzkampfflugzeug (“Stuka”) dive bombers.
One of the Stukas’ gunners hit Billy Fiske’s Hawker Hurricane with his Rheinmetall MG 15 machine gun. A 7.92 millimeter bullet punctured the Hurricane’s fuselage fuel tank. Fiske was able to fly the damaged fighter back to Tangmere. With the engine out, Fiske glided to a belly-landing at the airfield. He had suffered severe burns this lower body. He had to be lifted from the cockpit by rescuers, with his clothing still burning.
The squadron’s medical officer, Flying Officer Courtney B.I. Wiley, examined Fiske, and administered morphine. He was sent to the Royal West Sussex Hospital in Chichester. Dr. Wiley was “very pessimistic” about the pilot’s chances of survival. Billy Fiske died the following day. For his actions in rescuing Fiske, Dr. Wiley was awarded the Military Cross, and Corporal G.W. Jones and Aircraftsman 2nd Class C.G. Faulkner received the Military Medal.
Pilot Officer William Meade Lindsley Fiske III was buried near Tangmere, at the St. Mary and St. Blaise Church, Boxgrove, West Sussex, England, 20 August 1940.
A ceremony unveiled a memorial to Fiske at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, 4 July 1941. At the presentation, Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air, said, “Here was a young man for whom life held much. Under no compulsion he came to fight for Britain. He came and he fought and he died.” The plaque reads, “An American citizen who died that England might live.”
Fiske’s flight commander, Flight Lieutenant Sir Archibald Hope, wrote,
“Unquestionably Billy Fiske was the best pilot I’ve ever known. It was unbelievable how good he was. He picked up so fast it wasn’t true. He’d flown a bit before, but he was a natural as a fighter pilot. He was so terribly nice and extraordinarily modest, and fitted into the squadron very well.”
Fiske was educated in America, France and England, where he studied economics at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
On Saturday, 18 February 1928, Billy Fiske was in St. Moritz, Switzerland, for the II Olympic Winter Games. He was the driver for the United States five-man bobsleigh team, which set a record for a combined time for two runs on the famous Cresta Run, of 3 minutes, 20.5 seconds. The team was awarded the Olympic Gold Medal. For the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, the bobsleigh teams had been cut to four men. Also, the number of runs increased from two to four. Fiske was again the driver for the American team. And again, Fiske and his team mates won the Olympic Gold Medal with a combined time of 7 minutes, 53.68 seconds.
Fiske was invited to compete in the 1936 Olympics, but declined. That same year, he and a close friend began development of what would become the ski resort at Aspen, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. He was also involved in film production financing in Hollywood.
Fiske was also an automotive sportsman. He ordered a British Racing Green 1930 Bentley 4½-Liter Supercharged (a “Blower Bentley”) to the same specifications as Sir Henry Birkin’s LeMans racing team cars. He drove it to an average speed of 121.4 miles per hour (195.4 kilometers per hour) at Brooklands’ 2¾-mile high-banked track, for which he was awarded the Outer Circuit Banking Badge.
William M.L. Fiske married Mrs. Rose Bingham Greville, formerly the Countess of Warwick, in a civil registered ceremony at Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, 8 September 1938. (Following Fiske’s death, Mrs. Fiske joined the Women’s Voluntary Service as a truck driver.)
During 1938, Fiske had learned to fly at an airfield near London, and was awarded an Aviator’s Certificate by the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain. With war approaching, he volunteered to serve in the Royal Air Force, claiming that he was a Canadian citizen. He was interviewed by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sir Cyril Newall, and accepted for the Auxiliary Air Force.
Between 20 July and 16 August, Pilot Officer Fiske flew 42 sorties. On 11 August, Billy Fiske claimed a twin-engine Messerschmitt Bf 110 shot down. On 13 August, he claimed another Bf 110 probably shot down and two more damaged. On 15 August, Fiske and his Hurricane forced a German bomber into a balloon barrage.
Fiske wrote to his older sister, Beaulah (“Peggy”) Fiske Heaton, his reasons for joining the Royal Air Force. He said that the English had
“. . . been damn good to me in good times so naturally I feel I ought to try and help out if I can. There are absolutely no heroics in my motives, I’m probably twice as scared as the next man, but if anything happens to me I at least feel I have done the right thing in spite of the worry to my family—which I certainly couldn’t feel if I was to sit in New York making dough.”

 

Slightly off topic but great game and an avid simmer here so naturally this is a good theme for the Sheep.

 

Love it! Tried to find out who the composer was, but my Google skills don't seem to be up to the task. There's been some great music composed for games; wish the artisans got more credit.

 

Let's hope the incoming crippled ships heed this reminder about our maintainers:

 

Trailer looks good but I kinda have a nitpick, why do the imperial adress their enemies as "Republicans"? Shouldn´t they say "Rebels" instead, whole not giving the enemy legitimacy.

 

So I started watching this show The Rookie and it is funny to see Joy in it, and her character is kinda similar

 

Great trailer for Squadrons! Agree with @Anedon little good there. Y Wing here I come.