Operation Supercircus
- "Heh. I'm gonna miss that voice..."
- ― Alvin H. Davenport
Operation Supercircus was a planned ceremonial fly-by performed by the Wardog Squadron for a peace ceremony held in November City. It turned into a defense mission with the sudden appearance of Yuktobanian aircraft. This operation marked the only time in the Circum-Pacific War that a Wardog Squadron member was killed, namely Captain Alvin H. Davenport.
Prelude
Osean Vice President Appelrouth was scheduled to give a speech at the peace ceremony at November International Stadium, November City, Osea. Wardog Squadron was requested to perform a fly-by as part of the production, given their popularity amongst the military. Wardog would then patrol the area, and return to base after the speech ended (half an hour after the fly-by).
Summary
The fly-by was performed without a hitch, but Appelrouth used the "peace" ceremony to try and incite the public against Yuktobania. The audience in the stadium rejected his message and sang "The Journey Home".
Shortly after, Yuktobanian fighters entered the area and Wardog was ordered to engage. Osean reinforcements from McNealy Air Force Base were delayed by an aircraft crashing on the runway. AWACS Thunderhead requested more reinforcements from other bases while Wardog attempted to stave off the forces. After a delayed start, evacuation of the stadium began.
Somewhere in the middle of the operation, the 8492nd Squadron falsely informed the reinforcements that the operation was merely a drill. An ECM unit nearby jammed the radio and radar for a few seconds to prevent Thunderhead from contradicting the 8492nd, although the connection was quickly restored. With the reinforcements thus further delayed, Wardog was quickly growing weary.
A squadron of seven F-117A stealth fighters then appeared to attack the stadium directly. In the middle of the engagement against the stealth fighters, Captain Alvin H. Davenport was hit by a missile. His plane was still operable, but not for long. He chose to not bail out just yet; instead, he wanted to wait for the stadium to evacuate some more and then aim it at the center while he ejected, to prevent any casualties.
Once all of the stealth fighters were destroyed, Thunderhead successfully called back allied reinforcements. However, by then, Davenport's plane began to lose functionality, and eventually the ejection seat and canopy failed to work. He still dropped the plane into the center of the stadium, and died in the impact.
Yuktobanian reinforcements continued to arrive even with the loss of the stealth fighters, but Wardog fought them off with a renewed fury. The Yuktobanian fighters retreated when allied reinforcements finally arrived. Thunderhead showed remorse for Chopper, calling him a model pilot and Wardog, and the backup planes honoured Chopper by performing a missing man formation over the stadium.
Result
With no civilian casualties except for a few minor injuries in the evacuation's confusion, as well as the safe exit of Vice President Appelrouth, the defense operation was deemed a success for Osea. Around 30-35 Yuktobanian aircraft were shot down, including several units of Kvant Squadron as well as the entire Gorizont Squadron of F-117As.
Captain Davenport was labeled as Killed In Action, and awarded a posthumous two-rank promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. His plane was not replaced, and Sand Island did not have any capable pilots at the time to replace his position in the team; the position of "Wardog 3" would remain vacant until the squadron's disbanding on December 7.