Solo Dawn Patrol
G. Guynemer - Spad XIII
M. Richtofen - Fokker DR I
A.B. Ellwood - Sopwith Camel
G. Brumowski - Albatross D III
Brumowski and Richtofen came speeding in on a straight-line course headed directly toward the two Allied pilots
Guynemer and Ellwood performed a sideslip each in towards each other, then each quickly threw his plane into a dowble sideslip outward, followed by a sweeping curve inward, trying to catch the Germans in a flank maneuver.
As Richtofen and Brumowski continued straight, they suddenly saw the two British pilots begin their turns.
Richtofen gulped - Guynemer had him dead to rights at extremely short range. Brumowski, meanwhile, saw that he was
perfectly lined up for a long-range shot at the Sopwith of Ellwood.
Brumowski fired, then muttered under his breath as he saw his bullets fly underneath the Camel.
Richtofen heard the rat-tat-tat of the Spad's guns and winced as he heard two bullets tear into the side of his Fokker.
He looked to his richt and saw the British pilot fiddling with his guns...JAMMED! Richtofen breathed a quick sigh of relief
and turned back to plan his next moves - for the time being, HE would be on the offensive, and this Brit would soon be a
fireball (he hoped).
As the Fokker executed a turn to the left, his eyes widened - Ellwood's Spad was heading straight for him, at close range.
He could see the gleam of excitement in the Brit's eyes and thought, "Never!" He reached for the trigger. Brumowski shrieked as his Albatross almost collided with the Camel, but pulled on the stick and rose up just in time to avoid hitting him.
The air was filled with the sound of machine gun fire, as Ellwood and Richtofen fired almost simultaneously. Richtofen cursed as he saw his bullets miss low, then began to panick as another two bullets found their mark. Suddenly, flame erupted from the Fokker...Richtofen was on fire! He noticed that Ellwood's guns were jammed now, too, and prayed he could make it home before it was too late...
As Richtofen tried to escape with a sideslip right, he heard his airplane begin to rip apart...
Brumowski looked behind him and saw his wingman's plane on fire.
Richtofen sped for the safety of the German lines as the two Brits began to turn starboard in hopes of bringing him down for good. But they didn't need to worry. As Richtofen screamed in pain, the fire reached his cockpit and the battered red plane of the Red Baron began a slow nosedive to the earth...
Brumowski felt the sweat dripping from his forehead as he headed in the opposite direction from Richtofen. Maybe the two Brits would be so concerned with his wingman that he could get back home safely...he knew their jammed guns wouldn't stay jammed forever. He just hoped he had enough time...
Brunowski suddenly changed his mind. Why run for home when he was facing two pilots who apparently couldn't work their guns very well? He threw his Albatross into a hard right turn, coming around to catch Ellwood's Sopwith dead in his sights. Squeezing the trigger, he cheered as two bullets tore into the Sopwith, and he noticed the right rudder was hit. Now to head for the kill...
As the planes continued their dance of death, Brunowski realized he had overestimated the abilities of the Brits. After coming on a hard left, then heading straight SW, he realized too late that the Camel was on his tail and the Spad was coming in from the left. This was going to hurt...
5 bullets from the Allied planes tore into the Albatross. No smoke or fire, but at least she was hit. Ellwood and Guynemer thought, "maybe we'll get out of here, yet...and have one heck of a story to tell..."
The battle raged on for some time, with no pilot ever able to get a bead on an opponent. Eventually, the three parted and headed back to their own lines.
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A nice storyline to go with some great Action David. Well done!
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