Acting Flight Commander John "Tiny" Large watched out the office window as the dispatch rider pulled up outside.
"Wonder what trouble this means" he thought as he waited for the knock on the door.
The rider entered & saluted smartly then handed Tiny a red & white striped envelope marked Urgent---Top Secret!
Dismissing the motorcyclist he opened the missive from GHQ & his eyes widened as he read the contents.
"Well I'll be" he exclaimed. "What next?"
Sending the orderly Sgt. to bring the two duty pilots to a briefing he studied the wall map & the rendezvous references in the letter.
2nd Lt Anthony "Quick" March & 2nd Lt Mick O'Leary soon appeared in the doorway.
"Come in chaps & grab a seat. I have a rather fascinating little job for you both first thing tomorrow morning"
"Seems there is a high level Hun on a Diplomatic matter being brought over from neutral territory by one of our new big bombers & we are to rendezvous over German territory & escort it back to our lines safely!" "It goes without saying that this is a highly secretive mission & it is imperative we ensure the safety of this person!" Now study the map & the co ordinates & inbed them in your memories."
Before dawn the next morning the two pilots climbed into their Spad VII's & headed for the rendezvous. Quick was flying the Grey Spad while Mick had a new camo aircraft that had just arrived on strength.They flew on until they approached the designated point & saw the huge Handley Page coming towards them. The front gunner of the Bomber signalled them with a Morse lamp to advise German Aircraft were trailing them.
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That same morning Obit. Harry von Bukard had assembled a Kette of the Eagles Jasta all equipped with the new Albatross D.III "V" strutters that promised to regain superiority from the English. His heart swelled with pride as the 4 aircraft took off for their morning patrol.
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They had not been airborne too long when in the distance he saw an unusually large aircraft in the familiar brownish colour of the RFC.
Now what could this new type of aircraft be doing so far behind German lines & where did it come from. Firing off a Red flare to attract the attention of his wingmen he pointed & headed towards the strange aircraft.
As they closed he also saw two of the familiar Spad aircraft also heading in his direction. "Haa!" he thought "they wont stay to hang around with our numerical advantage, they will turn tail & run!"
He gasped in amazement as both English aircraft swept past the bomber & headed straight for his Kette. "Verdammit, are zey mad these Englishers?". The leading Spad exchanged shots with von Bukard neither doing much damage but the Spad's gun immediately jambed.
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The second Spad also headed into the German formation scattering the Eagles in all directions & a well aimed burst set Ltn Wilhelm Ulmer's Albatross on fire!
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Passing the flaming Albatross March next lined up Gerhard Bruning's D.III & whilst he received return fire his shots caused the Albatross to explode in a spectacular manner!
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The fire continued to eat at the wings of Ulmer's bird as he desperately swung the aircraft to keep the flames from his face.
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The brave attack by the two Spads had disconcerted the Germans & this had allowed the Bomber to gain a valuable lead.
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Having passed through the German formation the two English aircraft turned behind the German aircraft to continue the harassment.
To add to Ulmer's woes Mick now managed to damage the engine of the fiery Albatross!
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Both English aircraft now raked the hapless Ulmer's D.III.
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And the fire continued to consume the stricken Albatross as Ulmer did his best to keep in the fight.
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O'Leary now closed on Ulmer & caused great damage until his gun once again jambed.
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In the meantime von Bukard & Ltn Kurt Walz in the 4th Albatross were giving chase to the Bomber but it looked a little too late as the tactics of the two Spads had caused havoc to the German formation.
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Ulmer had been trying to turn back towards his home field but the fire & pursuing Spads had thwarted his efforts but now he made one final effort to escape his foes.
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However it was too late as the fire finally caused the Albatross to spin into the ground.
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The Handley-Page had now reached the safety of the English lines with its Diplomatic cargo intact as the pursuing German aircraft had not been able to get with in range thanks to the great work by the Bulldogs pilots.
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The two remaining German aircraft now turned for home to face the returning Spads.
A final long range shot from March missed Walz's plane.
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And the Germans headed back with heavy hearts to enquire about their fellow pilots but they were not confident especially Brunig's explosion!
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The Butchers Bill
Handley-Page
RTB with diplomatic personage
No damage
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2nd Lt Anthony "Quick" March--Grey Spad
RTB--2 Kills, Brunig Exp, Ulmer result of fire
2 damage points
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2nd Lt Mick O'Leary
RTB No Kills
1 damage point
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The Germans
Oblt. Harry von Bukard (Voss)
RTB
No Damage
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Ltn. Kurt Walz (Baumer)
RTB
No Damage
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Ltn Gerhard Brunig (Udet)
Shot Down Explosion--(March)
1 damage + Exp
Rolled 5 - 3Exp =2 = KIA
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Ltn. Wilhelm Ulmer (Dragon)
SD-Flamer/FT (March)
15 damage points
Rolled 11 - 2 flamer = 9
Alls well when you land well
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Overview & Thoughts
I rolled a 2 so the Huns came on via the RH top corner.
I think the concentrated attack by both Spads caused the German Aircraft to react to this attack & by the time two started chasing the Bomber, the "Cat" had a good start & the Eagles never got into range. The early Fire & Explosion card certainly helped my lads & it could have been a far different outcome without that luck. I really thought before the game it would be a hard one to win. If the German aircraft had arrived right in the centre behind the Bomber I think that would have helped them as well & that Ltn.Ulmer is one lucky Hun with all the damage he took & survived!
For a change I flew the Bomber & all the Fighters were AI controlled using Flash's D8 charts.
Anyway a great success for the Bulldogs with a successful mission & two Kills for "Quick" March.
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