homepage Forums Air Combat & Civil Aviation Battle of Britain + Battle of Britain II Here's what happened (Continued)

Folks,




Comments from Old Dux-

Without continued contributions on this and the main forum from the remaining original hard-core posters I think I would have lost interest some time ago. The association with on-line friends has the effect of assuring perpetuation far beyond general troubleshooting inquiries - but aren't such inquiries the start of such friendships? Although playing the original Rowan BoB and to a lesser extent WOV fairly regularly over the years it has hardly been incidental to my posts. In fact, once upgraded - soon I hope - I will spend more time on it and reap the benefits provided by the seemingly tireless developers. Thanks to all of them!

The content of the HWH thread is generally humorous (probably) and often twisted (definitely) and occasionally sprinkled with pics and anecdotes of aviation interest. I hope that more posters will soon surface with contributions which will continue that which was started by the long departed SNAFU and kept firmly on track by JRT.

Comments from C51-

BOB and the later version of WOV have always tried, and succeeded like no other sim in my humble opinion, to give the feeling of 'being there'. That is why so many remain faithful to this sim. But while the software gives us the look and feeling of flight and battle, there is one thing no sim can do. We enjoy this phenomenon for the most part in virtual seclusion, and the human element can be hard to represent. But this forum, and specifically this thread provides the friendship and camaraderie which was every bit as much a part of the Battle of Britain as all the rest.

SNAFU was truly inspired in hitting upon the concept of a place to debrief, compare notes, laugh, stretch our deranged imaginations or just sit and gab. And the idea struck an obvious chord in the likes of JRT and Old Dux and many others, who have continued to come here to meet as friends. Whenever I attend Remembrance Day ceremonies I see veterans coming together many years later, still as brothers. And here on HWH several years after I was so warmly welcomed as a newby, we still drop in to be with our brothers. Many thanks to you all for the many was in which HWH has enhanced my life over the years.

Comments from JRT-

I couldn't agree more with you Dux if you were offering to pay that bar tab you've run up over the past almost 7 years... Since SNAFU is MIA it falls to us to celebrate his brainchild in our own way. We do not however forget that it was he, Mark Carroll, that created HWH. Salute SNAFU where ever you may be.

SNAFU's HWH has been and is a remarkable thread. Not only has it garnered over 5,000 posts on over 500 pages it has welded many a international friendship and brought together many like-minded individuals from across the globe who are fascinated by the BoB-WOV adventure and wish to share their experiences. All I might add in a flame-free environment that was perhaps SNAFU's greatest inspiration. After two threads, HWH and HWH continued, with over 5,000 posts on the latter alone, I am proud to say that we have had not one flame on this thread. And friends I have dropped by here every day so I'd know if there had been.

Here is how it all started way back on 4/24/01 with SNAFU's very first post on the brand new thread he called "Here's What Happened".

SNAFU Typed:
"OK it seems to me that most of the time we are here either complaining about what is not right with BOB or discussing the latest and greatest mod. Both are important to the forum. What I think is missing here is more talk about PLAYING the game. Playing the game after all is why we are here isnt it? Well maybe not all of us. there are some who are just not happy unless they can #%&*$# about something. For those of us who have BOB running well the game is awesome. Here's my proposal. Let us take time to post at least 1 game experience every week that has to do with the Battle of Britian and not the lack of RAM,CTD's etc etc. Keep it short and sweet but descriptive enough for everyone else to get a sense of what happened. So, to get things going here's mine for this week."

"Last night (7/12/40) I was flying intercept in my Spit with the boys from 65 squadron. Over the channel we ran into 40 or so JU87's and 75 ME109's. A total of 5 of our squadrons were ready to fight. I lined up on a Stuka and began letting him have it. A few hits but no major damage. All of a sudden from my left came another Spit blazing a way at the same Stuka. He blew the tail right off the hun. The plane rolled heavily to the right and the crew bailed. The pilot went out the left and his chute opened. The other crewman went out to the right pulled his cord but nothing.. The chute failed and he fell to earth screaming all the way down. WOW. I couldnt beleive what I saw. A bit later we reformed and I found 3 planes missing and 2 more smoking badly. We headed for home sad for the losses, but along the way at 3 different times each of the 3 missing lads showed up. A complete squadron again we all made it home to fight again. Awesome, simply awesome. Your turn........."

And that is how this amazing thread was started almost seven years ago.

Thank you Dux for sharing your time, talent and good humor with me and with our visitors over the past six and a half years. It has been for me an honor. I have enjoyed every happy minute of our virtual HWH association. Your Olga Sagas have become legendary and they are still much looked forward to by all. What a wonderfully twisted and fertile mind you have sir. Your encyclopedic aviation knowledge and your interesting photographs and the occasional drawing have been a marvel. You are a large part of the glue that binds us to this thread.

Thank you my Canadian friend C51 for your thoughtful comments. I heartily agree with your evaluation of our forum and our thread. For me at least it has been my friendly associations with folks like you and Dux that has made the many hours of typing and reading here the greatest of pleasures. In addition your daily e-mails and constant encouragement have meant more than you know.

Let me thank all those who have so kindly posted stories here over the years. I have enjoyed reading every one. Thank you also to all you 'lurkers' out there who come here daily to read our aimless chatter and perhaps to find the occasional new story or a re-posting of a popular old one. I continue to maintain our archives on a daily basis and I am retrieving the stories from the original HWH thread on the SimHq archives as well. These are available on request.

Thanks to the Admin of SimHq for hosting us and special thanks to our pals Jens and 20mm who have helped us many, many times. I do not have to tell you what a rare and valuable experience SimHq has been and continues to be. They deserve our thanks and our congratulations on the occasion of their 10th anniversary.

Now on to the next 5,000. Right Dux?