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Thread: Early Doors Scenario 7 - New Wings.... 7th July 1916 - Entente (Archidamus)

  1. #1

    Default Early Doors Scenario 7 - New Wings.... 7th July 1916 - Entente (Archidamus)

    Combat Evaluation Report, Nieuport 17

    I find the airframe to be woefully inadequate, and considerably weaker than the new German designs arriving at the front. During the combat evaluation flight I personally witnessed a collision between another Nieuport 17 and a Halberstadt D.II - the German machine appeared undamaged, whilst the Nieuport suffered catastrophic failure of the wing spars and crashed.

    Given the amount of damage both Nieuport machines took to their rudder controls and surfaces, I would have to rate these areas of the aircraft as vulnerable.

    I also find the armament, whilst a slight improvement on earlier Nieuport designs in that the pilot is no longer expected to stand up to change drums, to be a severe limitation on the aircraft's effectiveness in combat. There is urgent need to provide a larger ammunition drum for the Lewis machine gun, as the frequent need to change the existing small drums has robbed pilots of more than a few combat victories.

    On a positive note, the plane is responsive and maneuverable, and it's ability to make radical side-slips will undoubtedly confound enemy pilots.

    On balance I feel this machine is scarcely an improvement on existing designs, and I urge that the new Sopwith designs I saw whilst on leave are made operational as soon as possible.

    Signed

    Captain Frank Palmer VC MC

    Addendum: On a related note, rifle fire from our own trenches caused significant damage to both Nieuports - my own rudder was damaged, and 2nd Lt. Horton's plane was set on fire. I urgently request that all troops are ordered not to fire on aircraft unless they are clearly identified as the enemy.
    Last edited by Archidamus; 10-24-2014 at 09:05.

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    52 Squadron's Mess was buzzing with the news - they were going to receive the first shipment of the RFC's new Nieuport 17s in the next 10 days or so. The Adjutant had managed to persuade the French to loan a couple of their 17s for an early evaluation.

    Given his victories over Ypres the previous month, 2nd Lt. John Horton was chosen to accompany Capt. Frank Palmer on the evaluation flight. Their orders were to approach the front lines and engage any enemy aircraft to more fully evaluate the Nieuport's combat-worthiness.

    As they flew close to the front line Frank and John both saw a couple of unknown German single-seaters approaching from the other direction - maybe these were the new Halberstadts that were rumoured to be arriving at the front?

    The British trenches below them erupted with rifle-fire - and it was directed at the Nieuports! John's machine began to spurt flames around the engine cowling as a bullet found one of the oil lines

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    (I had to use the N16 from the Balloon Buster set to represent one N17 - this is Horton's plane)

    Moments later Frank saw the German trenches erupt with rifle fire, which seemed to be directed at the enemy machines - one jerked in the air, in the way characteristic of a wounded pilot. Clearly neither side's infantry recognised these new designs!

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    There was very little time to dwell on the lamentable recognition skills of British infantry, as the Nieuports engaged their German foes. Nonetheless, as John fired on the Halberstadt coming towards him, ground fire from the German trenches hit the control wires to his rudder. To add insult to injury, his Lewis jammed even as he saw a few bullets strike the enemy machine.

    Meanwhile Frank's opponent landed a solid hit on his Nieuport's rudder, but did not get off scot free as the British ace landed his own blow in return.

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    As John began to sideslip he was relieved to see that the small fire sputtered and did little additional damage

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    The dogfight became a swirling mass of close-quarters combat, and it became apparent that neither side's infantry below would risk firing on aircraft that were too close together. Concentrating on keeping the flames at bay, John's Nieuport swung away from the combat and the trenches below immediately opened fire - and his rudder controls were hit for a second time!

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    As the combatants separated ground fire from the British trenches now hit one of the Halberstadts, damaging it's rudder controls. Frank put his Nieuport into an Immelmann, and found the second German in his sights - he fired a long burst that stitched bullet holes along the rear fuselage, and saw the pilot jerk in the cockpit as he was hit, presumably by ground fire .......

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    ...... followed shortly afterwards by Frank seeing a control wire flapping behind the same plane as ground fire again found rudder controls.

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    Elsewhere John was turning his stricken plane away from the German lines, and suddenly noticed a German machine ahead of him. Unfortunately, at that very moment the small fire roared into life and began burning through the fuselage!

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    Undeterred, John Horton manoeuvred until the enemy was in his sights, and let loose a punishing burst of fire that shredded it's tail.

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    Then, horrifyingly, the German pilot Immelmanned and John was unable to avoid a mid-air collision! The sturdy Halberstadt appeared to suffer minimal damage, but the more fragile Nieuport's wing spars cracked and splintered. John struggled to keep the doomed machine from a fatal dive, and with great skill managed a partially controlled crash landing in the British rear area - although he was badly injured.

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    Despite his dismay at these events Frank continued to pursue his quarry. He emptied his Lewis gun's drum into the target, and was rewarded by the sight of black smoke pouring from just behind the engine. He began to change the drum.

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    Both German machines took damage from ground fire, and became increasing unresponsive as their rudders took more and more damage

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    Frank found himself out of position, between the two Halberstadts. Bullets suddenly hit the cockpit of his Nieuport, and he flinched as a bullet creased his ribcage and passed harmlessly through. All three machines were hit - again - by ground fire, with one of the German machines set on fire, and the other's rudder being so badly damaged that it could no longer turn left

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    The pilot of the burning machine, realising that his rudder controls were increasing unresponsive and slow to turn towards Frank's Nieuport, decided to break off the combat and dive for home. Later reports from ground based observers confirmed that the pilot was successful in keeping the flames from consuming his machine.

    Frank was initially surprised to see his opponent turn away from the front lines and fly deeper into British territory - but he soon realised that the enemy pilot was suffering from extensive rudder damage. He pursued, and managed a shot burst which was unfortunately wide of the intended target.

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    Expecting the German to continue to circle right, Frank was surprised when the enemy suddenly reversed course. He had time for one close-range burst as the two machines flashed by each other. He was rewarded as he saw the Halberstadt stagger as it was heavily damaged, and flames beagn to stream from it's engine back towards the cockpit. Not everything went his way, however, as his Nieuport also began to trail flame.

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    As he began to weave across the sky towards home Frank looked over his shoulder, and saw the Halberstadt fall in a ball of flame as fire rapidly consumed it.

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    He could spare little thought for his victory as he nursed the Nieuport home, all the while praying that the fire would not burn through anything vital.

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    When he finally touched down at the aerodrome he breathed a sigh of relief - and then strode off to write a scathing appraisal of this new "wonder" machine!

    THE BUTCHER'S BILL

    2nd Lt. John Horton SD COLLISION FT / - / 0 Kill
    Crash Roll 7 -2COL -2FLM= 3 Severely Injured miss 1d6 scenarios (Roll 4)

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    Capt. Frank Palmer VC MC RTB / 1 WND / 1 Kill
    Landing Roll 8 +2ACE +3AERO -1WND = 12 Alls Well When You Land Well
    (and I was an idiot for not using his Luck Git skill to avoid the fire)

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    Ltn. Karl Fleischer RTB / 1 WND / 0 kill
    Landing roll 10 +3AERO -1WND = 12 Alls Well When You Land Well

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    Ltn. Siegfried Wielhe SD FLM NML / 1 WND / 0 kill
    Crash roll 7 -2FLM -1WND -1NML = 3 Severely Injured miss 1d6 scenarios (roll 2)
    E&E roll 9 -2WNDS -1FLM +1NML = 7 Almost Home miss 1 scenario
    Total of 3 scenarios missed

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    Last edited by Archidamus; 10-24-2014 at 09:08.

  3. #3

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    That was a fun scenario, although the ground fire was brutal for both sides. Using the "remove one turn per rudder damage" option rule rendered a couple of the planes unable to turn in one direction I did modify the ground fire by deciding that no-one would fire at any plane that was overlapping another's base.

    I made a couple of mistakes - most notably focussing so much on the "ground fire only does the special damage, and not the points" that I ignored the severity of the wounds caused. Ltn. Fleischer should have broken off earlier - ah well, hopefully it doesn't detract from the tale.

    Thanks for the scenario Baz - great fun to fly

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    Great stuff Brian - man that was busy - poor old Horton - second time out not so good but he'll be back !

    "He is wise who watches"

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  6. #6

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    Great AAr and superb evaluation of the aircraft Brian.
    I will bear it in mind when I fly my mission.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    poor old Horton - second time out not so good but he'll be back !
    Yea - he had luck with the "Boom" card first time out, so I suppose the "10" collision was balancing the scales I'm just glad I rolled an average crash dice - 6 or less and he was KIA.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte View Post
    superb evaluation of the aircraft Brian.
    I will bear it in mind when I fly my mission.
    Rob.
    Bear in mind that Palmer might have been a little biased due to that awful ground fire, and the rather extreme collision result

    I do think the N17 is sub-par compared to the Halberstadt though

  9. #9

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    The N.17 is quicker than the Halb and has a couple of extra side slips so it should be a little better - you may have overdone the ground fire, once the dogfight commences I will be stopping mine as per the scenario and concentrating solely on the dogfight.

  10. #10

    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    The N.17 is quicker than the Halb and has a couple of extra side slips so it should be a little better - you may have overdone the ground fire, once the dogfight commences I will be stopping mine as per the scenario and concentrating solely on the dogfight.
    Glad you noticed that part of the scenario flash!

  11. #11

    Thumbs up

    Great & brutal set to there Brian!
    Talk about full on action, fire & flames.
    Loved Palmer's evaluation report. Very nice touch.

    I wanted to give you Rep but I have to spread it around after repping your "Oh Canada" AAR.

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    The N.17 is quicker than the Halb and has a couple of extra side slips so it should be a little better
    Agreed - I do think the extra 2 damage points and "unlimited" ammo (if using the Lewis gun optional rule as we mostly do) does make the overall balance tip in the Halb's favour. However, not as badly as Frank's somewhat jaded report suggests.

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    you may have overdone the ground fire, once the dogfight commences I will be stopping mine as per the scenario and concentrating solely on the dogfight.
    Rats! Note to self - always read the scenario closely and not when feeling a bit fuzzy (it's my cold, not the G&T's I consumed last night, honest ) I somehow read it as they'd stop firing at friendlies, but keep up the fire at enemies. Ah well, made for an exciting game

  13. #13

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    Certainly did ! I hear some chaps at 24 sqn are working on a bigger pan for the Lewis so that might even things out in the near future !

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    Well I certainly hope that they get it sorted before I fly the mission.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

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    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    Be a few months yet Rob !
    I can wait.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Archidamus View Post
    I somehow read it as they'd stop firing at friendlies, but keep up the fire at enemies...
    Having read it again you're quite right - I will probably still stop it or restrict it by being within half ruler of a friendly anyway - want to fly & fight the 'planes not the grunts - they can watch the show !!

  18. #18

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    Bloomin'eck Brian you're cracking out some corker AAR's.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skafloc View Post
    Bloomin'eck Brian you're cracking out some corker AAR's.
    Thanks mate - somehow on these last two missions the damage cards have helped to make for some exciting and flame-boyant action

  20. #20

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    Nasty fight Brian. Didn't help with all those trigger happy foot sloggers! I hope those Nieuports are as bad as Frank Palmer's report when I bring on my new planes for the Kaiser.

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    That mid-air was a bit lopsided, but nice AAR.

  22. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by WWIflyingace View Post
    That mid-air was a bit lopsided
    Yea it was. I took it as a Bulldog's version of Oswald Boelcke's fatal crash i.e. the Halb's undercart hit the Nieuport's upper wing and caused it to peel away. I've read (on Wiki and elsewhere) that Boelcke's crash was survivable with a bit of good luck (which he didn't have) so was happy that Horton walking away wasn't too improbable

  23. #23

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    Or something like this:

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    But in this case both pilot's survived...

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    Ouch! Now that looks expensive - glad to hear they both walked away from the wreckage though

  25. #25

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    Looks like my aircraft after the cat's had a bad mouse day Chuck.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  26. #26

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    Great battle Brian, action all the way and what a collision. Thanks for posting.



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