Watchdog
04-06-2012, 13:33
THE HUNTER IN THE SKIES
Personal log of Leutnant Isztvan Laszlo, pilot of Flik 61J, now serving with the famous Jasta Kaiser's Adler on the western front:
Jasta 24 „Kaiser's Adler“ aerodrome near St. Caronne, France, 31st October 1917: Finally, I am back with my comrades from Jasta 24. After a “lecture“ from Wachtmeister Tlutschorsch about my careless flying that had resulted in writing off my trusted green Albatros D.III I was assigned a replacement machine. The Wachtmeister refused to get me any green paint, saying that I did not deserve it after what I had done to my previous one. As if I was the one who had pulled the triggers onboard those Sopwith Camels. The replacement Albatros D.III used to belong to Hauptmann Godwin Brumowski who had spent some time training with our German allies too. Apparently he had just finished painting this machine red when he was transfered back to Italy. He even painted his personal emblem on it, a skull. Oh well, I thought, I am going to look like a big flying radish...
Today, late in the afternoon, I took the new bird for a flight, to see if I was in condition for combat. The Jasta commander, Hauptmann Willi Gabriel, told me to fly low to the area near St. Caronne, where the skies should be full of our scouts and two-seaters, so that no Englander should be able to intercept me, unless I flew too deep behind the enemy lines. Well, at least that is what he thought.
While nearing the frontline I really saw quite a few of our patrols circling high above. When I was over the no-man's land, just after I had crossed the small river to the west of St. Caronne, I looked above and behind me to check on our patrols again and that probably saved my life. I spotted an enemy biplane diving on me, guns blazing!
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39113&d=1333730939
I breaked right, but it was too late to avoid the fire and my Albatros shook heavily under the impact. I groaned to myself imagining Wachtmeister Tlutschorsch's faces after seeing me having brought my new machine back full of brand new bullet holes.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39117&d=1333730974
I think the enemy pilot had expected me to turn in the other direction, since he climbed sharply and performed an Immelmann's turn.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39118&d=1333730983
He then started circling to the right, while I circled to the left to meet him.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39119&d=1333730991
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39120&d=1333731000
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39121&d=1333731009
To my surprise he perfomed an Immelmann again and turned towards me.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39122&d=1333731018
We met head on and exchanged some fire. He missed me by an inch while I scored some hits on him.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39123&d=1333731027
I saw a piece of loose fabric flaying from his rudder as we made a pass so close I would have seen whether he had shaved that morning, if not for his pilot mask. He was flying a SPAD XIII, in colours I did not recognize. He certainly did not belong to the Bulldogs, our usual adversaries. He climbed a bit while I dived to gain speed for an Immelmann's turn.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39124&d=1333731036
While I turned around, the enemy side slipped and turned right to avoid my fire.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39125&d=1333731045
I turned around again and saw the enemy circling to the right again.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39126&d=1333731054
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39127&d=1333731063
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39129&d=1333731082
I kicked the ailerons controls and sideslipped to the left just a second before he would have gotten me into his sights again, I sent a burst his way, but I missed. Damn, this enemy pilot was good.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39130&d=1333731091
I turned around again while he started circling to the right. He was apparently too fast! Maybe I could use this to my advantage. When I saw another burst missing him, I thought that he was not only fast, but also damn slippery.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39131&d=1333731100
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39132&d=1333731109
And another burst avoided by a rough side slip! The enemy pilot was not only good, he was very good.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39133&d=1333731118
As I saw him circling I thought that this was probably my only chance.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39134&d=1333731127
I was in a good and reliable machine, but the Albatros D.III was not exactly an even match for the newer SPAD XIII. I pushed the flying stick to the right as much as I could and I started circling in the same direction as the enemy, only my circle had a significantly shorter radius.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39135&d=1333731138
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39136&d=1333731148
I was right! I was soon able to fire a few deflection shots. Too hasty shots though, as I only saw them making a few more holes in his rudder, but he did not seem to really care.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39137&d=1333731158
He kept circling with me on his tail. As my next deflection shots missed him, I remembered what Oberleutnant von Skrbensky told me when we had last gone hunting wild ducks and I corrected my aim. This time I hit the tip of the enemy's left wing.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39138&d=1333731221
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39139&d=1333731250
More corrections and spot on! I hit the fuselage just in front of the cockpit and some of my shots penetrated his fuel tank. For a brief moment nothing happened, apart from the appearance of a visible trail of leaking fuel.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39140&d=1333731394
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39142&d=1333731419
A few heartbeats later the enemy airplane cought fire at the same time with two bursts of my twin Schwarzlose machine guns now hitting hard. Suddenly, both machine guns stopped firing at once. I checked the guns, while keeping one eye on the burning enemy and I realized that I had already ran out of ammunition. If he turned on me again I would have been defenceless and done for.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39143&d=1333731429
I kept pursuing the SPAD and he breaked right and dived, waving his wings. The enemy wanted to surrender! I would have respected that even if I had any ammunition in my guns.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39146&d=1333731582
I saw him attempting to land the flaming machine along the edge of a forest, when suddenly his engine stopped and he crashed in the field. My third victory!
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39145&d=1333731499
I circled around and I saw a figure on all fours crawling out of the heap of firing rubble. I looked around and seeing no apparent enemy positions or units nearby I thought, what the hell, I could as well land nearby and see if he was alright.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39114&d=1333730948
After I had landed, I got to meet my former opponent. He introduced himself to me as Major Gervais Raoul Lufbery, an American of French ancestry, serving with the French. We shaked hands, he presented a bottle of cognac and I shared slices of spiced Hungarian meat suasage with him. We had a short chat and he congratulated me on another victory and laughed heartily when I showed him my empty guns. He told me he was already considered one of the aces of the Entente. No wonder he had managed to avoid my fire.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39116&d=1333730966
I then climbed aboard my Albatros again and headed for home, while he, after checking the direction in my map, went for the closest known positions of Entente soldiers.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39115&d=1333730958
Even now I still cannot get something out of my head though. I suspect that he thought I was someone else. He looked at the skull on the fuselage of my airplane as if in confusion and said he did not know I used such a symbol. He also told me he would have expected a triplane and that nobody was going to believe him that he actually had a drink with me.
I know that our K. u. K. Luftfahrtruppen uniforms are much better looking than the German ones, and that Major Lufbery told me that my accepting his surrender had been a noble act fitting for an aristocrat, but was this really the reason why he kept calling me “baron“?
Mission Result:
Central Powers victory, the ace went down in flames.
Central Powers:
Leutnant Isztvan Laszlo – returned to base with damaged Albatros D.III, 1 victory (SPAD XIII)
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39111&d=1333730921
Entente:
Major Gervais Raoul Lufbery – shot down in flames in his SPAD XIII, but he survived the crash
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39112&d=1333730931
OOC notes:
I chose a SPAD XIII as an opponent, as I wanted to try my theory that if I get him to a circling dogfight, I would gain the upper hand. None of the two airplane types have any special manoeuvres, but the SPAD XIII is more durable and significantly faster.
My expectations proved true, though it could have all gone wrong for me. The +1 on each hit for the enemy is a killer. The SPAD XIII has problems to keep slower airplanes in its sights though.
I chose Major Gervais Raoul Lufbery since he was an American (my only non Italian SPAD XIII is in American colours) and since he had already achieved the ace status before October 1917.
I gave the enemy Dedicated Ground Crew II as the optional ace skill to avoid all gun jams. The Lucky Git I was used to avoid the first 3+Engine Damage card taken. I forgot to use the Aiming rule for the hit that caused 2+Fire and 3 damage points in turn 8 move 2, but I hit it hard again after the next manoeuvre and the second fire damage did the rest.
After seeing all the flames, I think Leutnant Laszlo is going to go for Chivalrous Aptitude if he manages to achieve two more victories and survive.
Personal log of Leutnant Isztvan Laszlo, pilot of Flik 61J, now serving with the famous Jasta Kaiser's Adler on the western front:
Jasta 24 „Kaiser's Adler“ aerodrome near St. Caronne, France, 31st October 1917: Finally, I am back with my comrades from Jasta 24. After a “lecture“ from Wachtmeister Tlutschorsch about my careless flying that had resulted in writing off my trusted green Albatros D.III I was assigned a replacement machine. The Wachtmeister refused to get me any green paint, saying that I did not deserve it after what I had done to my previous one. As if I was the one who had pulled the triggers onboard those Sopwith Camels. The replacement Albatros D.III used to belong to Hauptmann Godwin Brumowski who had spent some time training with our German allies too. Apparently he had just finished painting this machine red when he was transfered back to Italy. He even painted his personal emblem on it, a skull. Oh well, I thought, I am going to look like a big flying radish...
Today, late in the afternoon, I took the new bird for a flight, to see if I was in condition for combat. The Jasta commander, Hauptmann Willi Gabriel, told me to fly low to the area near St. Caronne, where the skies should be full of our scouts and two-seaters, so that no Englander should be able to intercept me, unless I flew too deep behind the enemy lines. Well, at least that is what he thought.
While nearing the frontline I really saw quite a few of our patrols circling high above. When I was over the no-man's land, just after I had crossed the small river to the west of St. Caronne, I looked above and behind me to check on our patrols again and that probably saved my life. I spotted an enemy biplane diving on me, guns blazing!
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39113&d=1333730939
I breaked right, but it was too late to avoid the fire and my Albatros shook heavily under the impact. I groaned to myself imagining Wachtmeister Tlutschorsch's faces after seeing me having brought my new machine back full of brand new bullet holes.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39117&d=1333730974
I think the enemy pilot had expected me to turn in the other direction, since he climbed sharply and performed an Immelmann's turn.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39118&d=1333730983
He then started circling to the right, while I circled to the left to meet him.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39119&d=1333730991
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39120&d=1333731000
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39121&d=1333731009
To my surprise he perfomed an Immelmann again and turned towards me.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39122&d=1333731018
We met head on and exchanged some fire. He missed me by an inch while I scored some hits on him.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39123&d=1333731027
I saw a piece of loose fabric flaying from his rudder as we made a pass so close I would have seen whether he had shaved that morning, if not for his pilot mask. He was flying a SPAD XIII, in colours I did not recognize. He certainly did not belong to the Bulldogs, our usual adversaries. He climbed a bit while I dived to gain speed for an Immelmann's turn.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39124&d=1333731036
While I turned around, the enemy side slipped and turned right to avoid my fire.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39125&d=1333731045
I turned around again and saw the enemy circling to the right again.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39126&d=1333731054
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39127&d=1333731063
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39129&d=1333731082
I kicked the ailerons controls and sideslipped to the left just a second before he would have gotten me into his sights again, I sent a burst his way, but I missed. Damn, this enemy pilot was good.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39130&d=1333731091
I turned around again while he started circling to the right. He was apparently too fast! Maybe I could use this to my advantage. When I saw another burst missing him, I thought that he was not only fast, but also damn slippery.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39131&d=1333731100
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39132&d=1333731109
And another burst avoided by a rough side slip! The enemy pilot was not only good, he was very good.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39133&d=1333731118
As I saw him circling I thought that this was probably my only chance.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39134&d=1333731127
I was in a good and reliable machine, but the Albatros D.III was not exactly an even match for the newer SPAD XIII. I pushed the flying stick to the right as much as I could and I started circling in the same direction as the enemy, only my circle had a significantly shorter radius.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39135&d=1333731138
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39136&d=1333731148
I was right! I was soon able to fire a few deflection shots. Too hasty shots though, as I only saw them making a few more holes in his rudder, but he did not seem to really care.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39137&d=1333731158
He kept circling with me on his tail. As my next deflection shots missed him, I remembered what Oberleutnant von Skrbensky told me when we had last gone hunting wild ducks and I corrected my aim. This time I hit the tip of the enemy's left wing.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39138&d=1333731221
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39139&d=1333731250
More corrections and spot on! I hit the fuselage just in front of the cockpit and some of my shots penetrated his fuel tank. For a brief moment nothing happened, apart from the appearance of a visible trail of leaking fuel.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39140&d=1333731394
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39142&d=1333731419
A few heartbeats later the enemy airplane cought fire at the same time with two bursts of my twin Schwarzlose machine guns now hitting hard. Suddenly, both machine guns stopped firing at once. I checked the guns, while keeping one eye on the burning enemy and I realized that I had already ran out of ammunition. If he turned on me again I would have been defenceless and done for.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39143&d=1333731429
I kept pursuing the SPAD and he breaked right and dived, waving his wings. The enemy wanted to surrender! I would have respected that even if I had any ammunition in my guns.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39146&d=1333731582
I saw him attempting to land the flaming machine along the edge of a forest, when suddenly his engine stopped and he crashed in the field. My third victory!
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39145&d=1333731499
I circled around and I saw a figure on all fours crawling out of the heap of firing rubble. I looked around and seeing no apparent enemy positions or units nearby I thought, what the hell, I could as well land nearby and see if he was alright.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39114&d=1333730948
After I had landed, I got to meet my former opponent. He introduced himself to me as Major Gervais Raoul Lufbery, an American of French ancestry, serving with the French. We shaked hands, he presented a bottle of cognac and I shared slices of spiced Hungarian meat suasage with him. We had a short chat and he congratulated me on another victory and laughed heartily when I showed him my empty guns. He told me he was already considered one of the aces of the Entente. No wonder he had managed to avoid my fire.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39116&d=1333730966
I then climbed aboard my Albatros again and headed for home, while he, after checking the direction in my map, went for the closest known positions of Entente soldiers.
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39115&d=1333730958
Even now I still cannot get something out of my head though. I suspect that he thought I was someone else. He looked at the skull on the fuselage of my airplane as if in confusion and said he did not know I used such a symbol. He also told me he would have expected a triplane and that nobody was going to believe him that he actually had a drink with me.
I know that our K. u. K. Luftfahrtruppen uniforms are much better looking than the German ones, and that Major Lufbery told me that my accepting his surrender had been a noble act fitting for an aristocrat, but was this really the reason why he kept calling me “baron“?
Mission Result:
Central Powers victory, the ace went down in flames.
Central Powers:
Leutnant Isztvan Laszlo – returned to base with damaged Albatros D.III, 1 victory (SPAD XIII)
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39111&d=1333730921
Entente:
Major Gervais Raoul Lufbery – shot down in flames in his SPAD XIII, but he survived the crash
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=39112&d=1333730931
OOC notes:
I chose a SPAD XIII as an opponent, as I wanted to try my theory that if I get him to a circling dogfight, I would gain the upper hand. None of the two airplane types have any special manoeuvres, but the SPAD XIII is more durable and significantly faster.
My expectations proved true, though it could have all gone wrong for me. The +1 on each hit for the enemy is a killer. The SPAD XIII has problems to keep slower airplanes in its sights though.
I chose Major Gervais Raoul Lufbery since he was an American (my only non Italian SPAD XIII is in American colours) and since he had already achieved the ace status before October 1917.
I gave the enemy Dedicated Ground Crew II as the optional ace skill to avoid all gun jams. The Lucky Git I was used to avoid the first 3+Engine Damage card taken. I forgot to use the Aiming rule for the hit that caused 2+Fire and 3 damage points in turn 8 move 2, but I hit it hard again after the next manoeuvre and the second fire damage did the rest.
After seeing all the flames, I think Leutnant Laszlo is going to go for Chivalrous Aptitude if he manages to achieve two more victories and survive.