Triples @ Sheffield; the view through the "Helmut-Cam"!

[Flying Helmut]

Day 1, Saturday 17th May; all quiet, no bandits/bogeys/baddies on the horizon yet.

The WingCo's WWII table


Boney's WWI table


.......and here they come! Albatros DIIs vs Pups; yours truly flying the Jacobs DII with the green wing stripes (bottom of pic.)


My first kill of the day! What a great start!


Well, that good luck didn't last long!!!!! The four bottom cards were at +1; the final card received was the top left '3' - pilot wounded.
Chris pointed out that the 'Critical Hit' card said I had managed a safe forced landing, and so survived.....
I then pointed out that the card which shot me down was my SECOND wound, so I was already dead!


The Luftkreitskrafte strikes back!


So does the RFC!!


What's happening on the other table? (Sorry, got a bit distracted now I'm dead!)


nabbed by a punter, so missed the next round - final result, RFC victory (boo, hiss!)


Game 2 - a family of seven "booked" the table for 12:30, and duly arrived with many scores to settle. They chose Fokker DVIIs vs SE5as. At 4 vs 3, I joined the German side in the Jasta 15 Schaefer DVII

First exchanges, no visible damage



I set one of the SE5s ablaze (cheers!)


but fate has something else in mind for our brave German pilots.....


Saschenberg latches on to a smoking Tommy......


.............and evens the score!


Then fate deals her harshest blow!


A head-on exchange, with the young victor over Udet earlier, we draw one 'A' card each; he draws a Zero. Guess what I drew.




Go on, guess.




Please, guess.




Which card do I always manage to find?




Always.




Even when there is only one in the double 'A' deck we are using.




Yep.




You guessed it.



Wasn't difficult, was it?


Meanwhile, over the other side of the table, fate pokes her oar in again!


..............and so Goering's all on his lonesome, facing three opponents. Still, he makes a good fist of it (FIST of it, geddit? Oh never mind)


but what goes up, can come down........aeroplanes as well as thumbs.



Scheiss!!!!! Game 2 to the Tommies also!





Game 3 - Chris's yellow Halberstadt Schlasta on a mission to bomb a British chip shop in the coastal town. I fielded punters and offered as little guidance as possible to the two guests who flew 2 'Naval 9' Sopwith Camels each.

Come on the Huns!!!!!


A vibrant spectacle


a Pair of Preposterously-Painted Potential Party-Poopers!


and another two


don't worry chaps - they're bally MILES away!


STREWTH!!!!!!


Crikey! That was a LOT of 'B' cards!
Get it together, chaps!


NOT what the RFC had in mind!


They're turning back towards the chippy! After 'em!


That's not the WingCo is it? No, just an impersonator!


Good grief, they're almost there - and we've lost another fellow!


Oh No! The chippy's gone for a burton! <<ha,ha - a win for the dastardly Hun!>>

so it's bully beef 'n' biscuits for tea, then!




Game 4 - A retaliatory raid on a German sausage factory by four of my new DH4s from 27 Squadron (I bit the bullet and opted to fly for the RAF - well, they are my new planes!
I was joined by a very young, very keen chap, who wanted to fly all over the place! His sister teamed up with an opposition punter, with 2 Albatros DVas each, one of which turned out to be a Pfalz DIII!

With very little time remaining, I opted to take three DH4s myself, giving one to my somewhat independent wingman.

He opted to disobey orders, and went swanning off on his own, whereupon his elder sister ambushed him and shot him down in flames! ( 4 simultaneous 'A' cards!)
I was out-manouevering the other two Hun scouts, when I was alerted to large quantities of chocolate being spread over the fingers and card decks by my now deceased wingman! His father took him home, and after a bit of cleaning up chocolatey fingerprints, we called it a day.

Hence only one photo.

Look, I got behind them! Alas, we had to stop there.




Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh, is that the time? Off to kip.
Will post Day 2 soon.

[flash]

Thanks Tim - great pics - liked your literal dead stick landing in the Alb D.II !

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

But at least the aircraft was landed safely Tim. Great pictures of the first day. Can't wait to see what I missed on day 2.

I then pointed out that the card which shot me down was my SECOND wound, so I was already dead!

Thankfully A flight Northumberland turned up and lent a hand. Well done that flight leader the redoubtable Neil (aka sparky) and his wingmen Tom and Ian.

Neil 'The missing one'.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Well done Tim, and thanks for covering the parts that Kyte couldn't reach.
As far as sticky fingers go, that, and sheep poo (don't even ask) is the main reason for my cards being in plastic sleeves.
Rob.

[Flying Helmut]

sheep poo (don't even ask)

Don't need to - I am more than familiar with it, for a similar reason as yourself!
I have not, as yet, exposed any WGF components to its evil effects.
And don't intend to!

[Naharaht]

Thank you for the great pictures and commentaries.

[Hedeby]

Great photo's and great comments - nice work Tim.
On the subject of you and the drawing of a certain card.. does this mean that Hugh 'Boom' Trenchard was an early Wings of Glory Player????

[Booboohamster]

Thanks fellas for some great gaming. Lucky Bryan and I were the culprits of Games 3 and 4. Our only redemption brought by a elder sister of chocolate fingers who uncannily grasped the geometry of flying her German fighters. When I queried her ability, with some pride she replied 'at school we've learning about planeology!' Amazing what they teach these days.

As an added note, here's a few pics I took of our debacle attempting to defend the chippy.






Lucky Bryan's ballooning excitement at playing Wings of Glory was self evident.

[Flying Helmut]

Nice addition Andrew! Thanks for that.

Reminds me, must post up Triples Day 2..........................

[Naharaht]

Thank you for your great pictures too, Andrew. That flight of Halberstadts look formidable.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Great.
That covers another game that I did not get time to take in.
Rob.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

No...more shots of what I missed...cheers Andrew.

[Hedeby]

Nice photo's here are the results of the Hedeby recon flights....

First up Pups vs. Albatross - tit for tat for a while but the RFC emerges triumphant 4-1 (small child accounting for 2 of the Hun, under my expert guidance of course showing the way downing the other two and emerging without a scratch)


The we stepped it up with the family grudge war - matching SE5A's against D.VII's, another RFC victory (4-2 this time) - yet again Flt. Commander Hedeby emerging unscathed and victorious (with 1 hit point left...) have to say game of the day, loud, shouty, funny lots of abuse, shameless displays following each kill etc.. brilliant and a privilege to be allowed to join in with... Final shots shows the end for Goering's D.VII flown by the head of the family, and the disembodied hand of one of the youngsters proclaiming the fact that he nailed three of his elders in the preceding dogfight...


and look Neil... not one Kamikaze move all day, lol

[Naharaht]

You clearly had a good time. Thank you for the A.A.R.'s.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Even more fun and games.
Thanks again Chris.
Rob.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

Yes but no carriers in sight Chris!

and look Neil... not one Kamikaze move all day, lol