OTTED Mission 11 - Live To Fight Another Day
RFC
LT J Gresham DH2
LT P Hall Morane (S)
Lt J Flinch Morane
German
H Lex Halb( Red)
A Immelman Alb DII (Yellow)
M Kahl Halb (Blue)
H Hartman Alb DII
Jonty was savouring the moment. With 3 kills on his last sortie he was the talk of the Mess. The drink had flowed and by the second day Uncle had called an end to the festivities .
" Deep recon tomorrow so get an early night chaps"was his advice which Hall , Flinch and Gresham took reluctantly.
Dawn was cold and cloudy . with nothing serviceable except a couple of Moranes and a DH2 the pilots double checked their crates for any signs of wear and tear.
" Not the greatest collection of planes I've seen" Hall mumbled to himself
"Thats why we head for home at the first sign of trouble and keep in the clouds " Jonty replied"So watch for my signals"
At 15000 ft the cold was biting.. Jonty rubbed his legs in an effort to get the blood flowing again but seemingly to no effect. Both his wingmen he imagined were experiencing the same discomfort . Ahead something glinted as the weak suns rays broke though a patch of cloud., then a blob formed on the horizon." No birds at this height which means...." Gresham gunned his engine and signalled to Hall and Finch to about turn.
All 3 planes banked hard left , The Hun planes closed in rapidly and Jonty saw the flash of a Halbs guns , the bullets tearing into the struts of the DH2 (3)
The slower and weaker Moranes headed for the safety of the British lines. Aware of this Jonty flicked his plane to the right in an effort to get behind the Halb that had him targeted.
Pip Hall , with 3 planes on his tail headed for cloud cover Flinch as he turned saw the red Halb of Herman Lex as it fired a 2 more bursts (0,0) at Gresham.
Ignoring his flight leaders orders he continued his turn ito the oncoming German plane
Unable to shake the Albatross Hall found himself with no choice but to attack .Catching Immelman on his blind side his shots peppering the wings (3,0)
Finch watched as Jonty Immells the focuses on the Alb ahead of him. feeling the rounds strike he watches in horror as flames began to lick around the engine. (2+fire) Squeezing the trigger his shots thudded home (2)
Coming over the top of his loop, the lumbering Halb of Kahle fell into Gresham's gun sights. Firing a long burst Jonty saw Kahles left wing spars and wires snap and tear themselves apart. The Halb pitched wildly and spiralled nose first towards the ground (XP)
Lex had slipped in beneath the clouds, his eyes on the flaming Morane and as the Morane turned he closed and fired (1+LRD)
Immellman with Hall on his tail Immels
Finch meanwhile kept his plane in a shallow right turn,unaware that Lex was closing in on him. Hartman fired quickly at the DH 2 and his aim was good (4,1) . His engine suddenly stalled as Jontys shots fell on the Albatross (2+eng,0)
Jonty side slipped behind Hartman and assessed his planes damage. The wings were tattered but the wires and struts looked good .Glancing to his left the the glow from Finch was clearly visible ,as was the red Halb bearing down on him
With his engine shot up Hartman limped back towards his aerodrome.
Not wishing to lose Halls slower Morane Immell performed a split S again but Hall opened up the throttle in an attempt to make his getaway. Finch dove for the cover of a cloud bank, which was enough to put Lex`s aim off (0)
With the flames receding on Flinch's Morane and Hall close to crossing into NML Gresham was keen not to let the yellow Albatross cut off Finch as he made for home .Using the cloud cover he coaxed the DH2 towards the German plane.
Finch saw Gresham pass ahead of him as he weaved right and left to avoid Lex (0) but a slack rudder told him some of the bullets had struck home (1+ LRD)
Jonty side slipped and broke from the clouds catching Immellman on the right side and unable to return fire. A loud bang and a sheet of flame enveloped the Albatross (1+Fire)
Lex totally out of position to get back on the tail of Flinch and decided to break off.
A second burst from Jonty hits Immelman's Albatross in the fuel line (2+fire,1+GJ) but a jammed round prevents any further target practice.
With 2 fires to contend with Immelman was in serious trouble, He watched in horror as the fabric of both wings peeled back to the burning wooden struts below. Would he be able to survive the impact? he thought as the ground grew larger in his sights.
With the British planes far ahead of him and safely across their lines Lex flew over the burning wreckage, watching for any sign of movement. Perhaps the troops running across the open field might find something or someone.
Result
RFC
J Gresham RTB 2 kills.
P Hall RTB No Damage
J Flinch RTB
The hapless Eagles
Lex Halb (Red) RTB No Damage
A Immelman Alb DII (Yellow) SD/Fire x2
M Kahl Halb (Blue) SD/ XP
H Hartman Alb DII RTB /engine damage.
Not a lot of luck for Immelman with 2 fires which burnt his plane in one round, where as Flinch got a bit singedI played the DH2 , the rest were in the hands of the Gods of WoW and it played very well setting the lines as the target for the RFC planes. I did allow them to target the german planes if they were within 1 ruler and in a position to attack which I felt would be a true reflection of what a pilot might reasonably do.
Shame Hartmans Alb took engine damage and had to bug out, his A guns and speed could have turned the tide in their favour.
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Originally Posted by flash
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