OTTDYM Mission 2- Coming & Going - 14th January 1916 by Tikkifriend

[tikkifriend]

RFC
JP Berdard Mol (Sharp eyes )
2nd Lt Jonty Pierce

Eagles

Bomber
Obl tn Peter Degenhardt Pilot (Strong Con)
Ltn Ernst Vogel Obs

Recon
Aviatik
Ltn Hans Wiese P
Ltn Martin Brachel Obs

Scout
E111
Tomas Werner

Degenhardt was pleased with the prototype Roland he was flying. It had good all round visability, a wide arc of fire for the rear gunner and a fair turn of speed.
The bombing run was as far as he could tell a sucesss and so far he was the only plane in the air of either side.


Ahead he could see the trenches of NML zig zagging over the muddy gap that separated the two antagonists

` Ah There they are ` he muttered as the 2 Alied planes fell into view.


Turning to his Observer he motioned to him to be prepared.

Peirce was the closest to the bomber a short burst from both flew wild.



but as the 2 planes passed Vogel raked the Morane (0,3) (0)



The young French rookie began to close in on the Roland, Degenhardt was in no hurry to fight 2 planes and continued his weaving path towards his own lines.



Pierce turned his plane right in an attempt to get back into the fray



even on full throttle Pierce could not get close enough to fire.



Suddenly the bomber pulled right shortening the gap between the 2 planes a tracer whipped under the Moranes wing. JP fired creating a small tear in the Germans wing (2)



twitching right the Roland s observer lined up his sights. The gun spluttered to a halt after a few rounds hit its target.



Jp returned fire taking full advantage of the silenced rear gun.clipping the wing again before the German streaked across his lines to safety.



Seconds away Round 2

The Bulldogs returned to their figure of 8 patrol over NML . On the 4th pass however the now familiar sight of an EIII presented itself.



The Bulldogs broke left and right as did the Eagles escort and recon Aviatik



a mistake for JP as the nimble Focker straightened out and grazed the French pilots forehead with a burst at long range.



Stunned he wiped the blood from his eyes just in time to see the German full in his sights.
Rounds thudded into the rudder (0,2+RRD)


forced to turn left the German scout drifted away from the melee, but the dazed rookie , unable to correct his plane ended up in a very dangerous position separated from his wingman.. Waiting patiently he saw the enemy scout turn left and fired (3,2) before pulling away to tail the Aviatik



Pierce exchanged shots with the 2 seater.



more rounds hit Pierce as the Aviatik slipped by .


Pierce Immelled to get on its tail

Werner ,his plane now limping along was still up for a fight, and a Frenchman would do nicely. Being careful to stay out of his opponents los he fired as he passed .



With no hope of catching the Aviatik Piece looked to the EIII for sport

JP Immelled to face the oncoming scout ..both pilots felt the rounds as they hit (2) (1)


but as rookie tend to do the French pilot could not avoid almost touching Werners plane as he skimmed over the cockpit



Berdard and Werner circled eachother firing as their paths crossed a fatal mistake as Werners plane was already badly damaged . He paid the price his plane unable to take further damage



The Aviatik continued unopposed on its mission, the RFC low on fuel headed for home.

Result.

RFC
s/Lt JP Berdard Mol: (Sharp eyes ) RTB /WIA 1 Kill .
Rolled 9 -1WIA +1RTB = 9 All's well when you land well



2nd Lt Jonty Pierce: RTB 0 0kills




Eagles

Bomber
Obltn Peter Degenhardt: (P2 - Strong Con) RTB 0 kills
Ltn Ernst Vogel (O) RTB 0 kills
Mission accomplished

Recon
Aviatik
Ltn Hans Wiese (P2) RTB 0 kills
Ltn Martin Brachel (O) RTB 0 kills
Mission accomplished


Scout
E.III

Ltn Tomas Werner: SD-ET 0 kills
Rolled 6 -1SD = 5 - Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios. Rolled 6 = Skip 3
E&E: Rolled 8 -1WIC -1BEL = 6 - In hiding! - Skip 1D2 Scenarios. Rolled 6 + Skip 2 Total Skips 3 (RRW)

Overall Allied loss

Lesson learnt. AI Moranes if they make the wrong turn can never get back into the action easily . Pierce being a prime example in this mission.

[flash]

You were always going to struggle up against the Roland Paul, it would be hard against an Alb C.III or similar with the same speed as your Moranes. Without pre-planning the turn it can become a pretty hopeless chase. Don't know which AI charts you use but you didn't slow when closing by the look of it which may have kept you closer on the follow round.
Still, a ripping good yarn for all of that & a victory that's not to be sniffed at.

Uncle says:

Well done lads, even if you couldn't sop them you made it back and bagged a Hun so that's something - we'll need an intel report about that new type you came across, sounds like it may be trouble down the road.
A third victory for JP, we'll have to keep an eye on this young fellah !
Shocking paperwork - good job you can fly I knocked it into shape again but do try and use the format.

[ShadowDragon]

I find in general that AI planes making a wrong turn have a hard time getting back into action when the target plane is ignoring them and heading away from them. Escorts also have a tough time unless the attackers engage them. As Dave says, “you need to be the I in AI”. Improving the ‘I’ for those cases are part of my game I need to improve. So far I’ve gone with a minimalist approach when it comes to adjusting the chart result (e.g., at the mat edge). I think the issue is anticipating where a target plane will be is different in a duel versus heading off an interceptor or taking down an enemy bomber / recon plane. Mind you if an AI plane gets on the tail of a bomber / recon plane they are deadly.

Those are my observations based on my limited experience.

[tikkifriend]

Held for Uncle

Merci TonTon

[tikkifriend]

I find in general that AI planes making a wrong turn have a hard time getting back into action when the target plane is ignoring them and heading away from them. Escorts also have a tough time unless the attackers engage them. As Dave says, “you need to be the I in AI”. Improving the ‘I’ for those cases are part of my game I need to improve. So far I’ve gone with a minimalist approach when it comes to adjusting the chart result (e.g., at the mat edge). I think the issue is anticipating where a target plane will be is different in a duel versus heading off an interceptor or taking down an enemy bomber / recon plane. Mind you if an AI plane gets on the tail of a bomber / recon plane they are deadly.

Those are my observations based on my limited experience.

Sometimes for the game to flow you need to look at the AI results and ask yourself would you do that!!! A little tweek now and again helps, especially with the slower early planes

[zenlizard]

Nice, cogent AAR, Paul. Once again, we see how large the role that situational awareness plays in aerial combat...the AI rules probably do reflect the decision-making of a rookie, i.e. a lot of mistakes for this particular situation. An experienced pilot? Well, sometimes, they make bad decisions, as well.

There is truth in the old adage, "Every mistake could be your last one."

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Very neat pair of scenarios Paul.
At least we got our chaps home for a change.
Never fear our day will come.
Kyte.

[gully_raker]

Sharp & not so Sweet engagement there Paul!
At least you got the Eindekker.
Nice batch of aircraft on the mat for that one.

Rep on its way.

[ShadowDragon]

Sometimes for the game to flow you need to look at the AI results and ask yourself would you do that!!! A little tweek now and again helps, especially with the slower early planes

My hesitation on making changes to the AI results is because too many times the AI was right and I was wrong.
Until I have more experience I’ll give the benefit of the doubt to Dave’s invisible hand.

[Baxter]

Great action there. We are planning on using the solo app tomorrow night. 1 human plus 1 AI per side. Should be interesting to compare our experiences with yours.

[Vagabond]

Great game report, as others have said unless you anticipate and turn in time you are never going to catch up if the lead plane carries straight on. You just have to get him when he returns.

[flash]

...Until I have more experience I’ll give the benefit of the doubt to Dave’s invisible hand.

Classic "That's what she said... !" moment

[mikeemagnus]

I enjoyed that AAR Paul. Not the result any Bulldog would want but at least you got everyone home. The early aircraft we are using appear difficult to fly under the rules, being so slow, but it would appear that this is not so very different from what happened historically. Or am I wrong? Thanks for sharing - REP on the way.

[Teaticket]

Nicely flown Paul. Not a mission success but the boys all got home and there is one less Hun for tomorrow's mission.

As the discussion mentioned already, planes not engaging but flying on are sometimes impossible to catch after the first pass. This scenario's random set up can help or mess you up. Such is war!

[Stumptonian]

Missed this one as I was travelling.
I feel your pain with the missed chances, although sometime that goes your way.


These monoplanes are sure fragile - doesn't take much to knock them down.
You did well to get your home.