AAR report Mission 4 Better part of valour
Ron Curtis stared long and hard at his favourate bottle of red wine. It would have to wait till later when he got back. "Go get some more time in that Camel of yours Ron " the CO had said. " It's to foggy for the Hun and you need to get back in the saddle after your last outing eh what!"
Curtis rubbed his shoulder, it still hurt from time to time, and the CO was right he need to be ready for his next encounter with the Eagles. He had a score to settle with one in particular. The Grand Cru would have to wait he thought as he turned his machine into the wind and set off down the runway.
10mins out and the skies had begun to clear. He could see the trucks on the road below struggling in the sea of mud. Better off here he thought, just 10mins more and then home. As he looked around he caught a glimpse of something in the sky to his rear. Christ it's an old Albatros. Pulling back on his stick he flipped his machine over into an Immellman , and fired a short burst (0pts) . The German was luckier (2pts)
Curtis cut left and then right again and the 2 planes began to circle eachother, both trying to get a mark on the other
This was going nowhere thought Curtis , time to turn the books on this guy. Curtis Immellmaned again and found himself directly on the right hand side of his foe. His gunnes flashed (3pts plus pilot wounded , 2pts plus right rudder jam)
The Albatros pulled away straight and level, the pilot obviously stunned by his wounds, Curtis dropped in behind him and let rip again( 1pt) plus (5pts plus 5pts and pilot wounded) He saw the pilots head drop and the Albatros spiraled to the ground.
But as he suspected Huns only hunt in groups and there was his wingman
"No time to run" Curtis thought as he swung left to meet his foe. They each begin cicling each
other but the Camel has the advantage and gets in close.
The staticoe of the Camels guns rings out as the bullets thud into the fusalage (4pts) then another burst (2pts,4pts)
The Albatros is in a bad way, its pilot unable to shrug off Curtis as his next burst rips the rudder off (2pts +right rudder damge)
The Hun now breaks for his own lines but the Fates were nt with him and in a final burst he goes down (2pts +fire)
Ron glances up from watching his opponents fall to earth "Christ not another"
The DR1 looks not to have seen him as it flies at 90° to the RFC pilot. "A hat trick would be good for moral back at base" he thought and turned to follow the little Fokker !!
within seconds Curtis was on his tail and the bullets ripping though the wings of his plane(3pts) spurred the German into evasive action.
but Curtis is on him and fires twice more (1pt +4pts) The Dr weaves wildly to the right and fires at the Camel (2pts)
Curtis is too close to avoid him , he sees the Germans undercariage slice through his upper wing (collision damage 2xB deck Camel 3pts DR 1pt)
Both pilots recover and head away from eachother.
Now Ron's shoulder is aching and his fuel is low, "Any more mistakes like that and it could be goodnight Vienna for me " he thought. Curtis looks down and sees the river slowly winding its way though the blackened landscape, the Dr looked to be nearly finished " One last go, For the Bulldogs", he thinks as he pulls another Immelman and chases the DR But the agile Dr has swung round and as they approach both fire (Camel 3pts) (DR2pts)
With so much damage to his smaller plane the German pilot breaks for home soil, but not before delivering a salvo(3pts) at the passing Camel
Ron glances at his fuel guage, "just enough for home " especially when he sees another Albatros off in the distance heading toward him.
Time for that Chateau Neuf de Pape .
Result 2 kills for Curtis both Albatros, and a luck escape for a DR1 with 11pts damage.
Damage to Camel 13pts
I played using the upgraded solo rules from Richard and they play very well, lots of variation in the moves and realistic reactions from the NPC
Before I started I set a limit of 20 turns, simply to reflect the amount of time a plane could stay airbourne if you take a turn to be 3 mins or there abouts, and the amount of ammo you might expend. the game took 16 turns and Curtis erred on the better part of valour by flying home.
Originally Posted by Blackronin
Bookmarks