An early war scenario of recon & escorts v scouts and limited ammo.
An early spring day Fwbl Alois Engler pilots Ltn Willi Steinbecker in their big Albatros C.I across the lines, their orders clear, to recce the Tommy in the villages behind their front and see what they are up to.
Covering them at a distance is Ltn Willy Rabe in his captured Nieuport Bebe
As they cross over they notice a pair of hawks are stooging about looking for a feed - a pair of Nieuport 11's
2Lt George Aldridge
2Lt John Douglas
So there you go, a simple and fun scenario, I used my own D8 AI solo charts and random entry points for the planes.
As the close on their first target the enemy swoop in, Lewis guns chattering leaving the Albatros trailing smoke and with some control damage
Steinbecker gets of a shot at Aldridge as he turns away to meet Rabe as he rushes in
Hauling his nose up to meet the attack Aldridge gets the best of the exchange and the German machine blows smoke
Steinbecker gets another shot away but cannot tag the elusive Aldridge
He quickly switches to Douglas' machine now at close range and causes some damage to his control surfaces
Douglas turns in and attempts to return the complement but he only suffers more damage and both guns stutter to silence before any more damage can be caused
Now it's time to clear jams and seek position
Pressing on past his interceptor Rabe gets a solid long range effort on Douglas causing more hefty damage, though his follow up wasn't near as good and his gun runs dry.
Gun now cleared Steinbecker is the first to score, swinging his parabellum and raking the green machine
Douglas is in serious trouble and must look to break off - They trade shots but no significant damage is caused.
Then as he's passing behind (just missing the blind spot) Steinbecker lands the decisive blow
Steinbecker's next task is to photo the village below
Rabe, now reloaded puts himself between Aldridge and the Albatros trading blows
They circle each other without further result, though Steinbecker tries to intervene
As Aldridge reloads Steibecker takes advantage though he then puts the gun aside to complete his photo mission
Then the chase is on - as the Albatros heads for home Aldridge gives chase - Steinbecker expends the last of his ammo and has to reload
Aldridge slips into the blindspot and opens up again causing the machine to smoke once more
Steinbecker returns fire but his gun jams almost immediately
Unopposed Aldridge opens up once more but his gun runs dry and the Albatros slips away behind his own lines, followed shortly by Rabe
Butchers Tally:
Fwbl Alois Engler pilot & Ltn Willi Steinbecker
Ltn Willy Rabe
2Lt George Aldridge
2Lt John Douglas
So there you go, a simple scenario using random start points, restricted ammo & my D8 solo AI charts; I flew the Albatros.
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