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Thread: OTT Bitter End Mission 9--7th March----We're poor little Lambs----gully_raker

  1. #1

    Post OTT Bitter End Mission 9--7th March----We're poor little Lambs----gully_raker

    Prologue

    6th March 1918
    Central Flying School Upavon England.

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    Lt. Col. A.J. L."Jack" Scott, C.O. of the Central Flying School & recently C.O. of 60 Sqd during the Billy Bishop era & a key figure in Billy's V.C award called his Orderly Sargent to bring 2nd Lt. Tom Cobbley, known to his mates as "Uncle", (not to be confused with the much older "Uncle" the recording Officer of the Bulldogs Squadron) to Scott's office.

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    Entering & snapping off a smart salute Tom exclaimed "You wanted me Sir?"

    "Ah yes, Cobbley. I want you & the other two top graduates of this course, Sgt's Reginald Smith & Huw Jones to carry out a Ferry operation to take badly needed aircraft to France. Now one of these is the new Sopwith Scout named the Dolphin which you will fly
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    & the two Sgts. will be taking new SE 5a's to reinforce the Hearts of Oak Squadron at Bertangles.

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    Now you have been training recently on Camels so you will find these are much easier to fly with their inline Hispanio engines. Apparently very steady gun platforms but I do not want you three to do any heroics! This will give you a taste of the Front before you are appointed to a Squadron. Now once you cross the Channel you will land & refuel at the Aircraft Park at St Omer. Then you will need to fly along the lines until you reach Bertangles.
    These Aircraft are sorely needed so I want you to ensure they reach their new home in one piece. Understood!

    Tom Cobbley called the two Sgts. together & outlined their job. Excitement was high! Finally they were going to France & the War even if this first foray was only a Ferry Mission. However they did not know what might await them tomorrow when they set off on their mission.

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    L to R: Cobbley, Smith & Jones.

    The Next Day 7th March 1917

    The Mission

    Early in the morning the 3 rookie pilots climbed into their aircraft & headed towards the Channel & St Omer.
    Tom Cobbley was amazed at the view from the Dolphins cockpit & the smoothness of the Hispanio engine. Looking to his left & then right he saw the 2 Sgts were keeping close company on either wing. So far so good!

    On the other side of the Channel Captain Bon King of the Hearts of Oak Squadron was discussing the impending arrival of the new aircraft with 2nd Lt "Tiny" Large who had recently returned from wound leave. " Tiny I would like you to patrol & keep a lookout for these new planes. As I understand they are being piloted by 3 chaps straight out of Central Flying School & Lord knows how good they are & if they can steer a compass course.
    Just tootle around until you see them & lead them home".

    Further away Ltn Wilhelm Ulmer who like Tiny Large had also just returned to lead the Eagles Jasta after being wounded. He was arranging the morning patrols. He would of course be flying his Dragon Albatross D.Va with the Leaders Stripes on the top wing & would be accompanied by Ltn Kurt Parschau in the Black fuselage Albatross. Five minutes behind them would come Fritz Kirchfeld in his Pfalz & Gustav Mahn in a Fokker Dr.1
    They would be patrolling along the front lines looking for targets of opportunity

    ( I had rolled for starting placement & both the British aircraft & the Germans would start from the right corner & right side of the second mat with both German groups facing the Airfield. The first German Group would enter on turn 2 & the next lot on turn 3. This promised some early & crowded action!)

    After refuelling at St Omar the 3 rookie pilots studied their maps of the Front Lines to make sure they knew their way to the Hearts of Oak Aerodrome.

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    Lt. Cobbley glimpsed 2 dots in the distance which due to the speed of the British planes grew quickly larger. His heart leapt in his chest. "Good Lord! Their Huns!". Waggling his wings furiously he pointed towards the enemy machines & cocked his guns. He knew there was no way to avoid a fight!

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    Within what seemed like seconds the sky was full of twisting & turning aircraft & the sound of machine-gun fire filled his ears.

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    Reg Smith felt his rudder tighten from the enemies bullets but knew he too had hit the Hun flying towards him.
    Tom felt the rush of air as bullets passed his aircraft but had the satisfaction of seeing his own strike home.

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    In the next round of shooting he was gratified to see the leader of the German Kette whose guns had jammed, catch fire but he in turn received a bullet wound to the meaty part of his thigh. All aircraft except Huw Jones Se 5a appeared to sustain damage.

    (NOTE) For some reason my camera appears to have lost 2 photos ???)

    The Fokker Triplane was trailing smoke & another round of shooting saw the British planes pass through the cordon of German Aircraft but not before the Dr.I got another burst into Reg Smiths plane before the Fokkers guns also jammed. It was now time to use the speed of their aircraft to make a break towards Bertangles.

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    Ulmers Albatross continued to fight the flames & was forced to perform an Immleman but fortunately no further fire damage occurred. (A card drawn for illegal move---0)

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    Reg Smiths SE had now taken severe damage & he turned away from the fight looking for an alternate landing field.
    Tiny Large had now joined the fight & put a burst into the Grey & Yellow Pfalz.

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    Tiny flew towards the two German Albatross & he saw the pilot of the Black one jerk in his seat. " Got you my lad thought Tiny" The German leader also tried a shot but perhaps blinded by the fire & smoke missed the Camel.

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    Tiny & the Albatross' continued to dogfight.

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    The Dolphin & the other SE continued towards their target airfield while the 2nd group of Germans regrouped & gave chase.

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    Banking to avoid the flaming German machine Tiny tried a deflection shot at the other Albatross but missed.

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    The Flames continued to eat at the Albatross but they appeared to be getting less.

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    In the meantime Reg Smith was still searching for an alternate Airfield to land his damaged aircraft.

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    Tiny was still harassing the wounded German pilots Albatross & the flames from Ulmer's plane finally went out.

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    Both the Dolphin & the SE of Huw Jones were approaching Bertangles Aerodrome & managing to keep ahead if the Chasing Pfalz & Fokker.
    Tom Cobbley had managed to signal Jones that he needed to land first because of his wound & the 2 British aircraft started to line up for their approach.

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    Tom lined up on the runway but probably because of his loss of control due to his wound ended up in the rough off the end of the airstrip.

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    Tiny Large was still pursuing the wounded Albatross pilot who was making full speed for his home aerodrome & try as he might Tiny could not close the distance to shooting range!

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    Huw Jones now made his final approach to the landing field & judged his touchdown perfectly!

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    The 3 German Aircraft which had pursued the 2 British machines now sheered off towards German Lines as they did not want to be caught by unfriendly AA guns & their fuel reserves were getting very low.

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    Sgt Smith had finally spied a likely looking emergency British landing strip & made his way towards it.

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    With a huge sigh of relief he touched down along the edge of the strip thanking God & the Royal Aircraft factory for the ruggedness of his SE 5a.

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    Comments
    Well that was a real challenge trying to line up those landings!
    Managed to get two down O.K. but it will be interesting after Battle Damage is subtracted from their scores.
    I knew it was going to get Ugly when everything came on in the Right hand corner of the Mat & the Germans appeared in turn 2 & then 3.

    Anyway a different & enjoyable Fun Game .
    Last edited by gully_raker; 03-19-2017 at 02:44.

  2. #2

    Thumbs up The BUTCHERS BILL!

    German Forces

    Ltn. Wilhelm Ulmer:
    Albatross Dragon
    RTB
    12 Damage points
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    Ltn Kurt Parschau: Black Albatross - RTB/WIA
    Rolled 5 +3RTB -1WIA = 7 Injured - Skip 1D2 Scenario. Rolled 4 = Skip 2 (WW)
    11 Damage points
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    Ltn Fritz Kirchfeld:
    Pfalz D.IIIa
    RTB
    3 Damage points
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    Ltn Gustav Mahn:
    Fokker Dr.I
    RTB
    5 Damage Points
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    British Forces

    2nd Lt. "Tiny" Large:
    Sopwith Camel No.2
    RTB
    0 Damage Points
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    2nd Lt Tom Cobbley: Sopwith Dolphin - RTB/WIA - Landed Bertangles
    Rolled 6 +3RTB -1 WIA = 8 Injured - Skip 1D2 Scenario. Rolled 5 = Skip 2 (WW)
    4 Damage points + 4 landing damage = 8 Damage points
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    Sgt Huw Jones:
    SE 5a Camo
    Landed Bertangles
    RTB
    No Damage
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    Sgt Reginald Smith:
    SE 5a "G"
    Landed emergency Airstrip
    12 damage points
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    Mission Result

    Ltn Tom Cobbley
    20 points less damage 8 = 12 Victory points

    Sgt Reginald Smith
    20 points less 12 damage = 8 Victory points

    Sgt Huw Jones
    20 points = 20 Victory points

    TOTAL = 40 Victory points

    RESULT = VICTORY by a very slender margin (One Point!)

    Well as Wellington said "That was a close run thing!"


    Dave may I impose on you & Uncle to do the Wound/Survival rolls pretty please! ...and Done
    Last edited by flash; 03-19-2017 at 03:27. Reason: Tidy Butchers Bill.

  3. #3

    Default

    Your Bulldog and the Pups performed well under pressure Barry, well played. The turn of speed on those SE5as and the Dolphin is certainly handy when you have to break contact - the Pfalz D.III and Fokker Triplane have not a chance in hell to catch them.

  4. #4

    Default

    Nicely done Baz, I think that was the way to go - get the crates down as fast as possible with as little damage as possible, if you can, to assure the victory.

    Uncle says:


    not to be confused with the much older "Uncle"
    I resemble that remark ....
    Those fast kites can get you out of trouble but they are a bugger to land, well done for getting them in .

    Ltn Kurt Parschau: Black Albatross - RTB/WIA
    Rolled 5 +3RTB -1WIA = 7 Injured - Skip 1D2 Scenario. Rolled 4 = Skip 2 (WW)

    2nd Lt Tom Cobbley: Sopwith Dolphin - RTB/WIA - Landed Bertangles
    Rolled 6 +3RTB -1 WIA = 8 Injured - Skip 1D2 Scenario. Rolled 5 = Skip 2 (WW)

    I have updated your tally.
    Last edited by flash; 03-19-2017 at 03:35.

    "He is wise who watches"

  5. #5

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    I think that was the way to go - get the crates down as fast as possible with as little damage as possible, if you can, to assure the victory.
    That was the intent of the mission - don't get distracted chasing enemy aircraft - no points for shooting anything down.
    Well played Baz. A victory for your little lambs.

  6. #6

    Setarius's Avatar May you forever fly in blue skies
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    Name
    Dale
    Location
    Kentucky
    Sorties Flown
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    Join Date
    Sep 2009

    Default

    Nicely done Barry. Looks like you had the best run of all of us. Great job.

  7. #7

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    Nicely done Baz, I think that was the way to go - get the crates down as fast as possible with as little damage as possible, if you can, to assure the victory.

    Uncle says:


    I resemble that remark ....
    Those fast kites can get you out of trouble but they are a bugger to land, well done for getting them in .

    Ltn Kurt Parschau: Black Albatross - RTB/WIA
    Rolled 5 +3RTB -1WIA = 7 Injured - Skip 1D2 Scenario. Rolled 4 = Skip 2 (WW)

    2nd Lt Tom Cobbley: Sopwith Dolphin - RTB/WIA - Landed Bertangles
    Rolled 6 +3RTB -1 WIA = 8 Injured - Skip 1D2 Scenario. Rolled 5 = Skip 2 (WW)

    I have updated your tally.
    Thank you Uncle!

    Dave I thought you might enjoy that "Nod" to the Bulldogs Uncle.

  8. #8

    Default

    Made me grin

    "He is wise who watches"

  9. #9

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    Made me grin

  10. #10

    Default

    Fine mission there Baz - congrats on getting all your aircraft home! Like the Tom Cobbley reference too. Home territory for me - We live around 20 minutes drive from Widecombe in the Moor, so if you ever happen to be this way we'll pay a visit to his local Nicely told story - thanks. Rep on the way, I hope! Mike

  11. #11

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by mikeemagnus View Post
    Fine mission there Baz - congrats on getting all your aircraft home! Like the Tom Cobbley reference too. Home territory for me - We live around 20 minutes drive from Widecombe in the Moor, so if you ever happen to be this way we'll pay a visit to his local Nicely told story - thanks. Rep on the way, I hope! Mike
    Thanks for the Rep Mike!
    I would be interested in any local legends re said Uncle Tom Cobbley.

  12. #12

    Default

    I would be interested in any local legends re said Uncle Tom Cobbley.
    Next time we're up on the moors and decide we want to imbibe a pint or three, I'll nose around and see if there is anything going which isn't available anywhere else. Watch this space (or one like it )

  13. #13

    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by mikeemagnus View Post
    Next time we're up on the moors and decide we want to imbibe a pint or three, I'll nose around and see if there is anything going which isn't available anywhere else. Watch this space (or one like it )
    Thanks Mike. Look forward to that.

    I did a Wiki search & got some good info. Looks like the locals are right into Uncle Tom. Would be great to visit the Pub but a bit too far for me & there is NO Bridge!

  14. #14

    Default

    Proper job! Old uncle Tom Cobbley and all.
    Just remember Uncle is not as old as I am.
    Kyte.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  15. #15

    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte View Post
    Proper job! Old uncle Tom Cobbley and all.
    Just remember Uncle is not as old as I am.
    Kyte.
    Rob, I am even older than you but we are both preserved by fine spirits!

  16. #16

    Default

    Good flying by Large caused enough distraction for the rooks to slip past those nasty Bosch. Too bad they all hadn't the time to practice landing those fast kites. But, 3 new planes will be a great boost for the next effort.



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