In the beginning..........

 

In 2007, the flight sim community was healthy and going strong. IL2 1946 had just come out and it was wildly popular. Due to this, there were several Australian squads going around at the time. Squads like RAAF [Real Aussie Air Force], WTE [Wedge tailed eagles], 450 [Full real squadron] and II/Jg2 were going strong with plenty of members joining up. It was a time of high adventure in the virtual skies. Servers catered to all kinds of situations, full arcade like Skies of Valor & Skies of Fire, full realism like Spits vs 109s & Zekes vs Wildcats and then the hybrid servers like Warclouds which had a combination of realistic flight model/engine management but had icons on for aircraft and navigation.

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There were lots of squad battles and events. One such event were the regular battles between the German exclusive Australian squad, II/Jg2 & the RAAF. These were battles based on historical engagements. In these battles, you only got 1 life. If you died, you were out of the match. The matches spanned 1 hour and it was based on a complicated system of primary, secondary and tertiary objectives. These online matches were named War Nights and based on historical missions.

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However, the CO of II/Jg2, namely, one called II/JG2_Wick was frustrated with only having to fly German and so events took place that would lead into the formation of the 452RAAF squadron.

 

 

 

 

 

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452RAAF - SEPT 2007 - FEB 2008

 

With this squad forming as part of the allied component of jg2, recruitment was slow at start. Commanded by 452RAAF_Coker, the squad was young indeed. Getting shot down almost regularly by the more experienced jg2 who had experienced veterans such as the dreaded Wulf Swarm that specialized in the Butcher bird, aka the Fock Wulfe 190s it had a bunch of new recruits including young loudmouths Steele, a few Queenslanders Young, Harper and Cullen among others. The squad continued to grow adding new members every week until there was a collection of several new members. This squad was still part of the overall structure of the II/JG2 squad but were created by II/Jg2_Wick to participate in tournaments as Wick believed his Jg2 squad superior to anything that was currently in the southern hemisphere for IL21946. This line of thinking was due to the 'War Nights' or missions that were fought against the most numerous Australian squad _RAAF. _RAAF had the most pilots in the WW2 sim community in Australia. It is for primary the shocking defeats that the _RAAF suffered under the cold blooded skill of II/Jg2, that Wick formed the 452RAAF. The idea being 452 could be trained to be more competent enemies for the mighty II/Jg2. Soon the ranks of the 452 squadron swelled to around 8 members with. Joining Coker were new pilots Makin and Redbeard. Makin, a dashing young rogue that was was kill hungry but prone to falling for traps by the more experienced Jg2. Redbeard was a more experienced pilot, very knowledgeable about aircraft from WW2. Makin and others were considered too brash. Too foolhardy to be of any use apart from target practice. Thus, inevitably, Wick chose 1 of his ace pilots to train 452 in combat flight tactics. In this period of squad growth, life chose to get in the way. CO, Coker due to family commitments, resigned as CO of the fledgling 452. Wick considered disbanding 452. However, Makin, now a somewhat competent pilot, faced with life challenges, needed to fuel this new addiction in his life. He appealed to Wick to keep 452, with himself as CO. This was unprecedented as Makin was one of the younger pilots in 452. However, a productive discussion with the normally uncompromising Wick, the stern leader of Jg2, agreed to have Makin lead 452.

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Bridges Burned - FEB 2008

 

Everything had been proceeding as planned. New pilots from 452 which was basically thrown together by asking random pilots that joined the Jg2 server that had a local ping (Australia) were invited to join. Finally, after making a new mission and after several months of practice, the first match between 452 and Jg2 was designed.

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It would be the first test of the 452RAAF vs the formidable II/Jg2 squadron who at the time of this match were undefeated in their previous 6 matches against the _RAAF_ squad. 452RAAF would be flying spitfires and II/Jg2 would have the 109s and 190s.

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Jg2 were the obvious favorites as they had a better team who were experienced in the Luftwaffe planes, which were harder to fly but when flown correctly using energy tactics outclassed the better turning spitfires in the climb and dives and overall speed. The spitfires were more maneuverable and more forgiving and thus more suited to the newer unblooded 452.

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This match would be crucial in the history of this squad. Perhaps, it shed light on what was known but not spoken of aloud. Perhaps, this match would finally wake up 452 to what the whole arrangement was with Jg2. Whatever the case may be, this event resulted in the death of a squad and the birth of a new one in that same day. It saw the bridge that connected 452 to Jg2 burned forever. It saw the birth of the 453 squad, the Bridgeburners. Gone was the 452RAAF squadron. 

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The events of the day were simple. Jg2 lost. 452 won. Halfway through the match, Wick called a stop to the event. Rage quit the game and then upon discussion with Makin, claimed the match illegal. WIck was someone that always had anger issues. Prone to blasting enemies and squad members with fits of rage, this incident was familiar. Wick in his rage, exploded that the match was not fair due to technical lag issues. No one in 452 experienced this but it was commonly known to occur. However, when Wick insinuated such an event was deliberate on the part of 452, this was a bridge too far. Up to that point, Wick's rages were defended by the young impressionable Makin but being accused of cheating was too much especially considering the taunting, condescension, the superiority complex of some of the Jg2 pilots in the months leading up to the event. 452's skills had collectively improved with Redbeard's guidance so when it finally all worked for 452 on the day of the event, only to be dismissed and rejected as 'lag' issues was too much. Voting unanimously, 452 disbanded. Wick, who owned the spiritual and moral rights to 452 stated that the newly created 453 couldn't use the call signs of 452 as they were based on the real pilots of the squadron much like the naming system of Jg2. This was largely due to Wick stating some of the ridiculous names he had seen online that other squads flew with for example _RAAF_Wombat. 

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Enter Bridgeburners - FEB 2008

 

Thus, the old squadron shed their old names. Young became Yarra. Redbeard became Whittle. Witten became Cullen. Makin became Kinninmont etc. etc. Kinninmont (Makin) went a step further. Based on these events, he would name the 453 squad the Bridgeburners as they had officially burned bridges with Jg2 as their unofficial squadron name. In a few months due to numerous factors including squad discontent and negative feelings towards Wick, a few members from jg2 joined 453 including one of their aces, the killer of their squad, Kellner now known as Murray. A colorful figure from Jg2, Gruebel, would also join, calling himself Gorman. 453 swelled in numbers. The Bridgeburners started flying in many servers mainly the more realistic servers but also frequented some of the more action oriented servers. Though the squad mainly kept the naming system for squadron pilots adopted from Wick's policy in Jg2, Kinninmont wasn't as strict and allowed members to keep callsigns and names they were really attached to. 453 also had made numerous foreign allies who would fly with them. Notables were the Texan and superb Mustang pilot, 453=Nolan. An Irish pilot also joined the predominantly Australian squad and was affectionately given the title of 453=Guinness. He was often online the teams 453 was and due to his jovial nature he was invited unofficially and then officially into the squad. Another prominent fellow that flew regularly and was an unofficial member was the French surgeon, 615sdn_Acrobat. Though his command of the English language was at a very basic level his shouts of 'break!!' did save lives. Rather outrageously, he had setup his il2 setup at his workplace, at a French hospital in Paris. We don't have documentation of the lives saved or lost whilst he flew in the virtual skies at work but his exploits can be found in the Hall of Records.

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453 rising - 2008 - 2011

 

The subsequent new few years were the most colorful in the squadron's history. Numerous battles were fought against the more numerous _RAAF_. However, regular flying and teamwork meant that the squad which was little more than a bunch of flight sim addicts were now something more. Flying for any side, unlike Jg2, 453 flew British, German, Japanese and American aircraft participating in many historical based missions. There were more recruits from Australia including the young Harper and the self titled greatest pilot to have ever lived: 453=Steele. Steele's attitude seemed to indicate he knew things before they happened and he asserted his flying skills were of an elite level. Sadly, when it came to the events, his kill to death ratio sadly did not match up to his claims. Still, it was a source of much amusement among the other members of the squad. The squad continued to perform well against the _RAAF_ and on squad nights flying on numerous servers. Members had swollen to more than 10 members with the likes of Read, Murray, Whittle, Yarra, Cullen, Guinness, Nolan, Parker, Harper, Beagle and Gorman joining Kinninmont regularly in sorties in the online skies.  IL2 1946 was at it's peak in this period. There were many servers with both Pacific, Easter and Western front planes available. It was a good time to be alive as an online WW2 pilot. Then, it was announced that 1C were going to release the more graphically updated, full fidelity WW2 game: IL2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover. There are expressions in human civilization like 'All good things come to an end' and 'nothing lasts forever'. Both these statements would ring true for the Bridgeburners in the fateful year of Cliffs of Dover (CLOD), 2011.

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the dark ages - 2011 - 2020

 

The excitement of the release of CLOD was high. Everyone in the squad was rearing to go as it promised so much. Improved graphics, flight model. This was going to boost the flight sim genre to new unheard of heights. It would make IL 1946 look like a Childs game. This was a game designed for men. The hype was real. Then it released. And with it died the hopes and dreams of an entire subculture.

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The game run well for a week and then with some patches, it was largely unplayable. Coupled with the fact several key members had lifestyle changes, the squad found itself at a loss. Events became scarcer. No one in 453 had time to make maps vs the _RAAF_. The squad effectively was largely a loose collection of individuals flying occasionally in either CLOD or IL2 1946. Even with the announcement of the next game, IL2: Battle of Stalingrad (BoS) which eventually lead to several expansions and known as IL2 Great Battles (IL2 GB), 453 were no more. Days passed into months. Months passed into years. All seemed like a dream of ancient empires that came before. Then, in 2020, a miracle happened for the lost Bridgeburners. A miracle known as COVID and lockdown.

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rebirth - 2020 - Present

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Dormant throughout the years from the disaster of CLOD, 453 would be revived in the lockdown of 2020. Kinninmont, now playing the new IL2 BOS mostly individually met an American Il2 community that had come over from the the Fighter Ace from the early 2000s. They flew in largely arcade settings with various assists including engine management and the controversial 'padlock'. However, because they were focused on dogfighting, it was a good reintroduction to IL2. Kin had not really been invested in flight sims for over 5 years but COVID meant that he had a lot of spare time to fly online. He still flew with his Bridgeburner callsign, 453=Kinninmont. In the coming months, he would make many friends in this community including the leadership of the Air Attack Tactical Combat (American Fighter Ace community)/AATC group. The main pilots organizing events and dogfight scenarios being from the =MERCS= squad including =MERCS=Warrior and =MERCS=Firestorm. =MERCS= were largely a squad based on getting the best possible pilots together regardless of squad affiliation or squad identity. =MERCS= standing for mercenaries was very appropriate for the squad recruitment and mentality.

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Months passed and then finally Warrior proposed something that was not done yet in the IL2 community. A dogfighting tournament based on squad vs squad. scenarios There were several squads that were considered including several American, a Canadian, a European and an Australian squad.  Kinninmont was offered a position to join the HARD (American squad) but he politely declined. The glory days of 453 still burned brightly in his memories. Instead of joining any of these squads, even the highly skilled Australian RS squad. Instead, he decided to get 453 back together.

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Emails were sent out to all the old squadron members. A lot had moved not and were missing. Details can be found in the Hall of Records section in this website. Some had moved on to other pursuits like Yarra who now had resigned his callsign and moved on to sim racing. Others like Spinner and Gorman were too busy with their lives to have time for online flying. Still, there were some that answered the call to arms. Whittle, the second in command of the old 453. Murray, the deadly killer of the old jg2 also answered, now calling himself Thornley. Others from the old squad would join but later much later.

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There were others that were in the AATC community that were Australian that joined. There was the pilot Sig, who upon offered the uniforms of 453, chose Yarra, in effect becoming the new Yarra. He is a much wiser and older version of the Queenslander that came before him and in the word's of Cullen, 'not replacing anything special'. There was the mad young pilot from the Philippines, Luib, who despite having almost no social skills, was a remarkably adept at putting the crosshairs onto an enemy plane. There was IntrepidSix, who, a former pilot from Fighter Ace, joined the ranks brining much needed experience and skill to the ranks. Others like Reg and Flashheart joined. Randoms, to be sure, but competent pilots from Sydney and Wellington in NZ respectively. And finally we got to the pilot, formerly known as _RAAF_Wombat. This pilot joined 453 under the highly dubious callsign, 453=Jihady_Daddy. JDAD as he is also known has since become an integral part of the squad focusing on DCS mainly flying the Mi24 HIND with Yarra and Cullen.

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Joining the team were other old members from Jg2, like Krake who became 453=Wotan and 453=Harper. Since the formation of the squad, 453 has participated in several tournaments including the dogfight league where they were defeated in the knockout semi finals against the HARD squadron who would go on to the final only to be defeated by the MERCS.

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The Bridgeburners would also participate in other tournaments and events including the topgun 1v1 tournament and the 2v2 tournament where they would score well against the other pilots with Luib coming in 3rd place in the 1v1 tournament losing out to the likes of Warrior and another ace who was the winner HARD=LooseSubset. Likewise, in the 2v2 tournament in the first round, Kinninmont/Luib went undefeated. Luib, in the next week, in Round 2, was unavailable due to 'church' commitments which forced Kinninmont to pair up with an ally 54th_Battle and the pair would go on to place 3rd after losing to the eventual winners 54th_Javelin/54th_Coopaloop.

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453 has also participated in other historical events and continue to fly IL2 and DCS. They have since forming in 2020 been slowly adding new members including the likes of the calm WhiskeyJack, the wild and fun loving Aimless and the Texan Oelrich. The squad is largely focused still on IL2 with some members preferring to focus on DCS. Cullen, from the original 453, has since rejoined the squad and is largely focused on various DCS modules. 

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This concludes the history of the squad to date. I will continue to update it as I see fit dear reader as we move forward into the future,

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Your humble servant,

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Kinninmont

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