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Thread: OTT --BE Mission 11 Water!--Ship Down---gully_raker

  1. #1

    Post OTT --BE Mission 11 Water!--Ship Down---gully_raker

    Preamble

    Major Triggers of the Hearts of Oak Squadron landed his personal Camel back at his home Aerodrome after attending an Integration Conference at St Omer.

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    He walked to the Squadron H.Q. Hut & hung his Flying cap, goggles & leather coat on the rack inside the door.
    Sitting at his desk he opened the bottom drawer & pulled out the bottle of single malt Scotch that lived there & poured himself a generous measure.
    Leaning back in his chair he savoured the smooth warmth of the mellow Whisky.
    He pondered over the future & reminisced on the past. Thinking back to his early days as a Ltn. in the RFC flying those early BE's, then the special flight & his Transfer to the Royal Naval Air Service flying Camels as a Captain & forming the Hearts of Oak Squadron. The War which was supposed to be "Over by Christmas" had now dragged on for four years & things had come full circle with the amalgamation of the RNAS & the RFC into the Royal Air Force on 1st April. So here he was back in the RAF! His beloved Hearts of Oak was now 218 Sqd RAF but would still be his "Hearts of Oak"!
    At the conference it was confirmed that 218 Sqd would still be working with the Dunkirk Squadrons & Petit Synthe providing escorts for 205 RAF Bomber Sqd & other duties in that area. In fact he had been advised that there was a possible mission to be expected as Intelligence had discovered that a German Destroyer & armoured freighter were making a run to take much needed supplies to Zeebrugge & his Squadron was being asked to provide one of a number of patrols to find & attempt to destroy the freighter.
    Then the phone rang in his adjutants office.

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    The adjutant passed him the message that the German Ships had been sighted & to send his detachment to co-ordinates off the coast near Furnes.
    Sending his Orderly Sargent to find Captain "Bon" King of C flight he settled back & took another sip of his Whisky.
    "Bon" soon arrived & Triggers outlined the mission & "Bon" then called C flight together & detailed the crews & the mission details.

    "Bon" ordered 2nd Lt. Mick O'Leary to lead the escorts who would fly SE 5a's & he was to take Sgt Simon Short in the Camo bus as Simon needed more battle hours & "Bon" thought this would be a good opportunity. For the Bomber he had detailed Morris Dance who had preformed excellently in the recent mission to contain the German Breakthrough however on this occasion he would take 1st Lt James Earl who was an experienced bomb aimer.
    The Bomber Crew would travel in a RAF tender to Petit Synthe to pick up a 205 Squadron DH-4 while the SE's would fly there land & refuel before the 3 Aircraft would take off together.
    The tender arrived & the bomber crew piled in.

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    Arriving at 205 Squadron they found their DH-4 waiting for them fully armed & fuelled.

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    The Se's were refuelled & then the Aircraft took off towards the Co-ordinates supplied.

    The Mission

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    On the German side of the lines the Eagles Staffelfuhrer Wilhelm Ulmer briefed his Kette comprising of Ltn Schneider in the Black fuselarged Albatross D.Va & Ltn Kirchfeld who wold fly the Pfalz with the yellow tail & markings. They were to keep an eye out for any enemy aircraft that might try to attack the German convoy.

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    Passing over the low coastal dunes they soon saw the ships below but also in the distance a group of what were obviously British aircraft including a large 2 seater. Opening the throttles on their engines they moved to intercept the enemy.

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    The British crews had also sighted their targets & the oncoming German planes & the DH-4 banked right to approach the ships whilst the Fighters made for the Hun aircraft.

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    As the British bomber approached the freighter it came under fire from a Flak gun on board & the German aim was spot on!
    Lt. Dance grimaced as his lower legs were peppered by shrapnel. Gritting his teeth against the pain he kept heading for his target

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    The Destroyer also fired its Flak gut but fortunately it missed.

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    Mick O'Leary & the German Kette leader now exchanged shots & while O'Leary got some good hits the Germans guns jammed immediately.

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    Disaster now struck the Germans as in trying to out manoeuvre the SE's the Pfalz collided with Ulmer's D.Va & tore the top wing from the Albatross which plunged into the sea.

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    Distracted by the collision Kirchfeld was not able to fire at O'Leary who peppered the Pfalz causing rudder damage.

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    The battle now took a dramatic turn as the De Havilland approached the Freighter it received a burst of Machine Gun fire from the ship which caused its fuel tank to explode & the Bomber crashed towards the sea striking the freighter with its rear fuselage & igniting the 2 bombs it carried. The ship was covered in flames from the burning aircraft the crew of which stood little chance of surviving the inferno.

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    Sgt Short now got into the action with a good burst into the cockpit area of Schneider's Albatross wounding the Pilot who momentarily blacked out from the shock of the bullet.

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    Coming to Schneider found himself in a perfect position to repay the SE pilot with a burst from his Spandaus before he turned for home & safety before his wound caused him to crash.

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    Mick O'Leary now came under attack from the Destroyer's Flak & Machine Guns but fortunately their aim was off & the Machine Gun jammed.

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    Mick now strafed the destroyers deck but did little damage.

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    The four remaining aircraft exchanged shots but Mick could see no further damage to the Albatross & Simon's Rudder went stiff & his gun jammed but not before he hit the Pfalz.

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    This duel continued with the Pfalz getting in some good shots on Sgt Shorts plane but then Kirchfeld felt a stinging blow to his left shoulder as Mick O'Leary hit the German pilot with a .303 round.

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    O'Leary continued to hound the Pfalz & pumped more rounds into the Hun plane while Schneider continued his run for home.

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    Simon Short now came under attack from the German Destroyers Flak gun but their range was off.

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    Schneider had now reached the Eagles aerodrome & after landing was carried to the Hospital tent for attention.

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    The destroyer continued to fire at Sgt Short but their Machine Gun shots missed by a mile.

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    Kirchfeld's Pfalz & O'Leary's SE 5a continued their duel & while the Pfalz did some damage to the British plane Mick's burst caused thick black smoke to issue from the Pfalz's engine & the German aircraft crashed into the Sea.

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    The sky was now clear of German Aircraft so the two Se's turned back towards Petit Synthe to break the news of the loss of their Squadron mates & the DH-4 bomber. What damage it had done with its crash was still to be discovered!

    Comments & Observations

    Well I am not having much luck with my 2 seaters lately. This is the second time in 3 or 4 missions where the 2 seater was lost to the Boom Card in the first few turns.
    However the Germans got their share of Boom & there were lots of pilot wounds for them as well.
    I used flash's D8 charts & was using Zoe's Altitude rules but did not get the chance to dive the DH-4 before it went "BOOM"!
    Mick O'Leary racked up his 3rd victory & Sgt Short got some valuable combat experience !

    Very interesting mission thanks to Rob & I will ask Dave to kindly adjudicate on what damage was done to the Freighter & who was the Victor for the Mission.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails AAR German steamer 1.jpg   AAR 18.jpg  
    Last edited by gully_raker; 05-25-2017 at 22:35.

  2. #2

    Default Butchers Bill

    Bulldogs

    2nd Lt Mick O'Leary: SE 5a "G": RTB 1 Kill Kirchfeld Pfalz
    3 damage points
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    Sgt Simon Short SE 5a Camo: RTB 0 kills
    11 damage points
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    2Lt Morris Dance: Pilot DH.4 B1: EXP-SEA / WIA / 0 kills
    Rolled 10 -3EXP -1SEA -1WIA = 5 Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios; Rolled 4 = Skip 2
    E&E: Rolled 2 -1EXP -1SEA +1NML -1WIA -1WIC = -1 Captured! The war ended for this pilot...

    Lt James Earl: Obs DH.4 B1: EXP-SEA / 0 kills
    Rolled 8 -3EXP -1SEA = 4 Injured - Skip 1D6 Scenarios; Rolled 1 = Skip 1
    E&E: Rolled 6 -1EXP -1SEA +1NML -1WIC = 4 Captured and escaped! - Skip 1D3 Scenarios; Rolled 2 = Skip 1
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    Eagles

    Ltn Wilhelm Ulmer: Albatross D.Va "Dragon": EXP (collision with Pfalz) / 0 kills
    Rolled 8 -3EXP -1SEA = 4 Injured - Skip 1D6 Scenarios; Rolled 5 = Skip 5
    E&E: Rolled 8 -1EXP -1SEA+1NML -1WIC = 6 In hiding! - Skip 1D2 Scenarios; Rolled 4 = Skip 2
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    Ltn Richard Schneider: Albatross D.Va---Black fuselage: RTB / WIA 0 kills
    Rolled: 7 +3RTB -1WIA = 9 All well when you land well !
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    Ltn Fritz Kirchfeld: Pfalz-Yellow tail: SD-SEA / WIA 0 kills
    Rolled 2 -1SD -1 SEA = 0 KIA
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    German Destroyer
    4 MG damage points

    German Freighter
    Damaged by crashing DH-4
    Damage assessed as negligible

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    Dave could I impose on you to do the survival rolls & adjudicate on what damage might have been caused to the Freighter.
    Last edited by flash; 05-26-2017 at 07:16. Reason: Tally updated

  3. #3

    Default

    Temptation , and so soon after Lent Baz.


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

  4. #4

    Default

    back in the RAF
    Like the pun Baz Looking forward to reading the rest! Mike

  5. #5

    Default

    The BOOM cards seem to be contagious lately.


    I no longer feel alone in the Bad Luck Club.
    It will be interesting to see how this one pans out, Baz.
    Well documented and an interesting story.

    Good luck with Dave's rolls.

  6. #6

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by Stumptonian View Post
    The BOOM cards seem to be contagious lately.


    I no longer feel alone in the Bad Luck Club.
    It will be interesting to see how this one pans out, Baz.
    Well documented and an interesting story.

    Good luck with Dave's rolls.
    Hi Pete!
    Yes I thought it best to let a Umpire decide on the Mission outcome. Many thanks for the Rep

  7. #7

    Default

    Looks brutal Baz - I will get Uncle on it later today !
    Ye Gods man, what a carve up ! Thoroughly enjoyed it even if our chaps took a beating, though they gave as good as they got, great AAR Baz.

    Uncle says:

    Well done chaps, a brave effort but a mort too far when Jerry takes out the bomber as soon as it gets into striking distance; if only he'd let his eggs go he might've hit the Blighter and taken it with him !

    We've heard from Naval sources that they picked up Lt Earl from the Briney. As he tells it they both managed to survive the dunking though Dance had stopped one and wasn't too healthy but they kept each other afloat long enough to get picked up by the Hun. Once he knew Morris was safe Earl saw an opportunity, snatched a life ring and took a header over the side, Jerry was in no mood to mess about picking him up again and cleared off, clearly thinking he was mad, but a passing fisherman picked him up and handed him off to a passing Navy boat and he'll be back after a visit to the Naval hospital.

    2Lt Morris Dance: EXP-SEA / WIA / 0 kills
    Rolled 10 -3EXP -1SEA -1WIA = 5 Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios; Rolled 4 = Skip 2
    E&E: Rolled 2 -1EXP -1SEA +1NML -1WIA -1WIC = -1 Captured! The war ended for this pilot...

    Lt James Earl: EXP-SEA / 0 kills
    Rolled 8 -3EXP -1SEA = 4 Injured - Skip 1D6 Scenarios; Rolled 1 = Skip 1
    E&E: Rolled 6 -1EXP -1SEA +1NML -1WIC = 4 Captured and escaped! - Skip 1D3 Scenarios; Rolled 2 = Skip 1

    Looking at the image and putting a stall in front I think the falling DH.4 would have cleared the freighter and any trailing debris would have caused negligible damage but quite hairy all the same !

    You'll have to PM me a new P2 pilot Baz !
    Last edited by flash; 05-26-2017 at 07:11.

    "He is wise who watches"

  8. #8

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    Looks brutal Baz - I will get Uncle on it later today !

    Many thanks Dave!

  9. #9

    Default

    A fiery little encounter Barry! It looks like we are early adopters of 'kamikaze' tactics. When Achilles crashed into the RN monitor pulled a C card for each as 'collision' damage from the crash. Of course your DH.4 also had bombs aboard!

  10. #10

    Default

    What can I say Baz? That was awful bad luck with the boom on the two seater. All looked like it was going swimmingly until then, at least for the Bulldogs. Took out three scouts though. That was pretty fine shooting, sir. Hope your pilots (of both sides) fare better than mine in the survival stakes. At least it was all over pretty quickly I'm guessing. Nice AAR and great pics - thanks! Mike

  11. #11

    Smile

    The game eventually stretched to about 12 turns before the Pfalz went down Mike.

  12. #12

    Default

    The Tally is done Baz

    "He is wise who watches"

  13. #13

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    The Tally is done Baz

    Many thanks Dave & a pretty good result for the De Havilland crew!
    I thought they had "Brought it" for sure. That is James Earl's second big let off. Must have a good "Rabbits Foot" in his pocket.

    That German Freighter was sure lucky but not Ltn. Kirchfeld. R.I.P

    That will go in the Records as a GERMAN VICTORY.

  14. #14

    Default

    I was a bit sorry to roll snake eyes for Morris's E&E having rolled high for his crash result; then to do it again for Kirchfeld's crash result but those are the fortunes of war for these poor chaps, sometimes you just can't call it.

    "He is wise who watches"

  15. #15

    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    I was a bit sorry to roll snake eyes for Morris's E&E having rolled high for his crash result; then to do it again for Kirchfeld's crash result but those are the fortunes of war for these poor chaps, sometimes you just can't call it.
    The Gods of War & Dice have their ways & nothing you or I can do about it.
    Incidentally Lt James Earl's nickname is now "Lucky"!

  16. #16

    Setarius's Avatar May you forever fly in blue skies
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    Default

    Nicely done. Unfortunate events with the DH4. Maybe next time you can get a 2 seater to survive.
    Nice job on eliminating the Hun aircraft.

  17. #17

    Post EPILOGUE--- The Next Day.

    The evening after the ineffective mission to stop the German Merchant ship the mood in the Officers Mess of 218 Hearts of Oak C Flight was sombre to say the least. Not only had the mission failed but they had lost a crew.
    Whilst Morris Dance had only been with the Squadron a few weeks he had impressed everyone with his willing & cheerful attitude but more devastating was the loss of the Observer 1st Lt. James Earl MC who had been with the Squadron from day one. Earl had already survived the loss of one pilot & plane & was always ready to volunteer for a mission. Nothing Official had been heard but from the reports of the Escort Pilots, Lt. Mick O'Leary & Sgt Short the chances of survival were extremely slim.

    The next night the Officers of C Flight were still drowning their sorrows in the Mess.

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    Suddenly the door opened & Major Triggers walked in & called for attention.
    With a big grin slowly appearing on his face he announced the amazing news that both Pilot & Observer had somehow survived the crash & whilst Lt. Dance had been wounded & captured by the Huns he was recovering in a German Naval Hospital & would eventually be sent to a Prisoner of War camp. James Earl however had again showed his ability to overcome the worst situations as after he had been dragged from the water by the crew of the Freighter he had made a daring escape by grabbing a life preserver while the crew were busy fighting the fire & he jumped into the sea. Apparently the German Crew thought he had lost his head & made no further attempt to recapture him.
    Not long after the Freighter had drawn away he was rescued from the water by a British fishing boat who subsequently handed him over to a Naval Patrol boat suffering no more that extreme cold from the water. He was now being checked over at the Naval Hospital at Dunkirk & when considered sufficiently recovered would be returned to the Squadron. No doubt Captain King would grant him a 48 hour leave in Paris to ensure his complete recovery.
    The Mess erupted in Cheers & Cries of "Well Done" & "Bloody Hell! He's done it again" & "What a Lucky Bugger!"
    From that time on Lt James Earl was known as "Lucky" by all of the C Flight personnel.
    Major Triggers stayed to drink the health of "Lucky" Earl until he reminded the Pilots & Observers of tomorrows Patrols & reluctantly they all retired for the night.

  18. #18

    Default

    Like it Baz Nice one. Glad they both survived. Mike

  19. #19

    Default

    Cracking escapade Baz.
    Glad it worked out so well for your chaps too.
    Never mind about the Freighter, as I/m sure one of our other patrols will pick it up.
    Thanks for another good read.
    Kyte.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  20. #20

    Default

    Hot action over a cold sea! Awful bad luck getting BOOMed before having the chance to drop it's load of goodies. Good to see Earl's quick thinking kept him out of the klink and will get back into the action again.

    Love your islands



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