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Thread: D.VII vs Balloon

  1. #1

    Default D.VII vs Balloon

    A 1-all draw. Balloon busted, but D.VII brought down and pilot captured uninjured.

    http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65...pilot-captured

    German airplane attacks an observation balloon near Montfaucon in France on October 3, 1918 . The observer drops in a parachute from the balloon. Antiaircraft guns and machines guns are fired at the approaching enemy plane to protect the balloon. The balloon explodes in flames and crashes to earth. The German air plane is shot down. Shows the wrecked plane and its pilot under officer Hans Heinrick Marwede.

  2. #2

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    May I be the first to say - WOW! Great find!

  3. #3

  4. #4

    Thumbs up

    What a great find Zoe!

    I noticed the balloon observer jumped really early before the plane got anywhere near.
    The German Pilot was really lucky to pull the Fokker out of that initial spin & showed no injury from the crash.

    Noticed it appeared to be an American Signal Corps film.

  5. #5

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    That's a nice bit of footage, think I've seen a still of the downed Fokker somewhere but to see the 'live action' is something else. The first shot of the Hotchkiss AAMG made me laugh as it looked as though the gunner was going to throw down his ammo strip in disgust just as they cut away to the next scene.

  6. #6

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    Great stuff! Thanks once again, Zoe.

  7. #7

  8. #8

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    Nice stuff. After seeing the video, I thought repainting Marwede's plane would be a cool idea. However, the only one I can find is his wrecked one in the video.

    Excellent find Zoe!

  9. #9

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    Very interesting and informative footage Zoe, especially the speed with which the balloon was engulfed.
    I have felt for some time that once a balloon is on fire it is doomed, not even after three cards do ours go down sometimes.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  10. #10

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    Another great find, Zoe! The blazing balloon was spectacular.

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  12. #12

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    Credit for finding it should go to Chuck Thomas of The Fallen Eagles of WWI FB group.

  13. #13

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    Excellent footage and excellent find Zoe. It would not surprise me if the observer jumped out of fear that his own AA defenders would inadvertently shoot his balloon down. I'm in the camp that says any flaming balloon was doomed but there is lots of evidence that balloons were not that easy to set alight even with specialty rounds, and I'm not sure what a more realistic and at the same time more playable WoG rule would be.
    I'm running a PBeM balloon busting game right now and have my own House Rule. It is a tough rule that, except for very good shooting results luck, requires a well co-ordinated attack with skilled flying by 2-3 AC over the course of up to 5 Turns to have a good likelihood of destroying the balloon. The Balloon descends at 1 Level per Turn after the Turn in which the first shot is taken at it. Then the attackers must try to keep pace with the balloon's descent in order to keep getting get a short-range shot or at least 1 good long-range or 1-Level-difference shot each Turn. I'll ask the players for suggestion to improve my rule after this game. I also have 3 AA MGs defending each balloon but they can only shoot at AC at Level 2 or lower.

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce View Post
    ... I'm in the camp that says any flaming balloon was doomed but there is lots of evidence that balloons were not that easy to set alight even with specialty rounds, and I'm not sure what a more realistic and at the same time more playable WoG rule would be....
    I've found the incendiary bullet rules work fairly well Bruce but to make it harder you could limit the cards that cause fire in a balloon to just flame and smoke damage cards, though I'm not sure you'll down many in the time frame allowed !
    Here's a link to some more info on balloons you might find interesting & may provide some inspiration:
    http://www.westernfrontassociation.c...-bal-west.html

    "He is wise who watches"

  15. #15

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    :Thanks for that Zoe


    I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
    Coming down is the hardest thing



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