OTT ED Mission 11 - Flash Lives To Fight Another Day - November 15th 1916
With all their later model of aircraft either damaged or grounded due to technical issues the Bulldogs had had to fall back onto the old and reliable DH2 -
It wasn't going to be pretty but it was necessary that they at least put something in the air to stem the resurgent tide of what was now called the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte.
So far the patrol had gone well and they had seen off a couple of German recon machines just by turning up and looking a little threatening but they were in no position to chase them or bring them down and so they pressed on deeper into German territory seeking to disrupt any German air activity as best as they could.
Lt Ben Downe led the flight in in all cdl kite numbered 4; 2Lt Claude Back had a green brown type with a cdl tail; and Sgt Barry Cade had an all green crate and brought up the rear.
Suddenly they were there - mere specks in the distance that rapidly grew in size - a whole gaggle of Hun kites
a bit of manoeuvring and posturing was carried out by both sides but the Bulldogs knew that if they got caught too deep by the superior German aircraft and numbers they could be in serious trouble - discretion being the better part of valour it was high time to head home. Even as Downe signalled his intent the Germans pounced, two of the lead German aircraft opened up on Downe as he turned he felt a heavy blow and things went black ...
Ltns Richard Pütz Alb & Josef Bauers light up Downes DH2 as he begins to turn away - Bauers is sure he's hit the pilot as his tracer leads to the cockpit...
The other lead German, Ltn Fichter, in a green and brown Halberstadt singled out Claude Back for special attention but his first burst was ineffective and his gun jammed
All too soon the sky was swarming with Hun kites as they sought an easy kill
Downe, shocked by his wound had blacked out briefly and his kite continued its turn and began to circle - Ltn Pütz in the Albatros who had stalled to drop on his tail was taken completely by surprise by this move and narrowly avoided a collision, as the DH2 swept past his nose the German leader Obltn Kunz catches the wheeling DH2 almost head on and his rounds score a telling hit
Downe comes to and glances over his shoulder to see a number of the Huns turning back for him
Fichter, having cleared his gun, keeps on at Back, his first burst was ineffective again but the next scored !
Downe turns back toward his lines and finds himself caught between Kunz & Strünklenberg's Albatrii, the latter jams but Kunz' burst sets the DH2 afire
Pütz having been slipped by Downes' DH2 presses on after Sgt Cade's DH2 but the stalls he made have given the Tommy the lead he needs and the Sergeant makes good progress though Pütz is doing his best to overhaul him
Back has dodged Fichter with the odd sideslip - the German gets back on target but cannot get a decent hit on the bobbing and weaving DH2 of Back
Suddenly the DH2 rears up and turns -- Fichter scores a hit but his gun jams again - Verdammt !
Downe slips past Kunz and heads for the lines trailing fire and smoke in his wake
Seeing their flight leader in trouble the others turned back to cover his escape - Ltn Bauers in the blue Halberstadt has been cursing his Argos engine while trying to play catch up on the lead group though he has all but given up hope of catching them when he is startled to see a DH2 turning toward him ... "Was" !
Sgt Cade turns inside the Albatros on his tail and confronts a pale blue Halberstadt ... he squeezes the trigger, his Lewis gun chatters, his long burst results in a puff of smoke and flame and then the Hun aircraft fireballs
As the Halb spins away in flame Cade Immels to take on the Albatros but Ltn Pütz judges his turn to perfection cutting back on the DH2 pair and raking one at close range with solid hits before his Spandaus stutter to silence
The DH2's join up and skirt the lines, Fichters Halb closing from the left, Pütz' Alb circling to the right as he clears his jam - they see Downe closing up fast and Back points towards home, Cade nods in response
Downe has headed for the fight looking to get the drop on Pütz and is successful - his rounds patter through the Albs tail ! He gets a second chance but does no further damage
Fichter manages a parting shot on Back's DH2 as he and Cade slip across the lines to safety but to no avail.
Downe, fire now out, sees his opportunity to escape. His pursuers are just too far back, The Alb he shot up takes avoiding action so he slips toward Fichter causing him to take avoiding action rather than shooting then dives across the lines to safety
Butchers Tally:
Lt Ben Downe RTB 0 Kills
2Lt Claude Back RTB 0 Kills
Sgt Barry Cade RTB 1 Kill
Josef Bauers Halb SD EXP / 0 kills
Rolled 6 -3EXP = 3 Severely Injured miss D6 scenario - Rolled 3
Richard Pütz Alb (blue) RTB 0 Kills light damage
Obltn Paul Kunz Alb (check) Ltns Helmut Fichter Halb (camo); Christian Koch Halb (K); Konrad Strünklenberg Alb (red) all RTB 0 Kills no damage
Well that was fun, the Brits were very lucky with the cards - Back led a charmed life with those zero's and jams and Downe too with the low scoring fire cards. Cade was also lucky to drop the boom on poor old Bauers to complete an unexpected but very welcome total victory for the Bulldogs !
If I have time I will fly it again and I'm sure that it will be a quite different result - hope your games go as well
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Some great escaping by your lads flash.
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