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Thread: OTT DYM-Mission 4-27th Jan. 1916- Some Mothers do 'ave 'em!--gully_raker

  1. #1

    Default OTT DYM-Mission 4-27th Jan. 1916- Some Mothers do 'ave 'em!--gully_raker

    Bentangles Aerodrome--0800 hours-27th January 1916

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    Prologue
    Inside C Flights command hut Lt. Reginald Fife-Brand was knee deep in paperwork.
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    There were Requisitions, Combat Reports, Parts requests, Mess requirements not to mention Intelligence Reports which required scrutiny. One interesting thing was the report of a new German Biplane that had been encountered by some Squadrons recently. Thank the Lord that at last there was to be some relief in sight as a new single seat fighter the DH-2 was due to be introduced shortly & indeed 2nd Lt "Dusty" Rhodes was now at St Omer having training on the new aircraft.
    Suddenly his ruminations were interrupted by the strident bellow of a RAF V8 engine from a BE 2c. "What the Devil?" cried Reg. "We have no flights programmed for this morning perhaps it just an engine test" This solution was quickly squashed as the engine noise rose in pitch & continued to rev harder.
    Leaving the hut he was greeted by the sight of a BE 2c climbing away from the aerodrome.

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    Striding out on to the 'drome he rounded on a group of ground crew who were also watching the plane as it disappeared into the morning mist.
    "What the bloody hell is going on Corporal Smithers" he demanded of the senior NCO in the group.
    Saluting smartly Smithers explained that Flight Sgt Griswold (known to all C flight as "Pudden" as he hailed from Yorkshire) had ordered his ground crew to bomb up the BE for a special mission. "We presumed he had been ordered to do a solo mission Sir" replied Smithers looking rather sheepish.
    "Damn & bloody hell" Shouted the Flight Commander. "What is the young fool up to?" Smithers looking particularly contrite said Griswold had mentioned a German Airfield near the front lines which appeared to not be defended by AA guns.

    Still cursing under his breath Fife-Brand rounded up Flight Sgt Stark & the experienced Lt. "Lofty" Hill & ordered them to chase the "young fool" & try to bring him back safely so I can tear strips off him. "Stark you take the Morane & Lofty grab that new FE 2b with Quartermain as your gunner".

    The Mission

    Set Up

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    Flight Sgt. Lawrence Griswold was feeling rather pleased with himself. He had grabbed the opportunity to show his ingenuity & spunk & successfully bombed the German airfield he had spotted during one of the regular patrols over the trenches. He had destroyed a German plane on the 'drome as well. He was sure his success would overcome any criticism for his high handed actions. Suddenly he was brought back to reality by the sound of a Spandau cracking & bullets tearing at the fabric of his plane. In his dreaming he had failed to notice not one but two German aircraft closing on his unarmed BE. "God!" "What have I done?" he thought. "I have to get back to base ASAP!"

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    As the rescue party closed on the scene they saw that Griswold's panic moves had flat footed the German aircraft which included a new Biplane they had not encountered before.

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    The German Biplane which was indeed one of the new Halberstadt D.II's flown by the Eagles leader Obltn Wilhelm Bassenge had already reacted & turned towards the fleeing British aircraft.

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    As the rescue planes closed they saw that the German biplane using its superior speed & manoeuvrability had closed on the BE & again attacked this time causing damage to the BE's Engine.

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    A general melee now occurred with the Halberstadt getting a good burst into Stark's Morane which could not return fire & the Fee only managed minimum damage to the German biplane. The Eindekker opened fire on the Fee but its gun immediately jammed!

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    The next moment one of those inexplicable things happened. The Eindekker collided with the FE 2b & the fragile German aircraft fell apart & crashed to the ground behind the British Trenches whilst the sturdy Fee suffered no damage at all!

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    Hampered by the damaged engine Griswold struggled towards the Bulldogs aerodrome while the Halberstadt closed in for the kill!

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    As he flew over the wreckage of the Fokker, Lofty was surprised to see another E.III appear out of the clouds off to his Port side. Alerting Alex Quartermain by slapping the nacelle he pointed in the direction of the new danger.

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    The two aircraft quickly closed to shooting range & the Fee got in serious damage to the Fokker thanks to Quartermain's accurate gunnery.

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    Meanwhile Bassenge's Halberstadt continued to harass the BE & suddenly Lawrence Griswold felt a hammer blow to his right shoulder. "#*2^" he cried. "I am wounded, this idea of glory has gone to Hell in a Basket!"

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    Bassenge closed in for the kill & his next burst proved fatal to the BE & it spiralled into the ground for a hard crash landing in British territory.

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    The Fee now closed on the Halberstadt but Quartermain's snap shot missed.

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    Brandon Stark's Morane had returned to the battle after pulling an Immleman & got a good burst into the grey biplane whose gun jammed after a few shots.

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    Ltn Carl-August Schwartz's green Fokker E.III had now managed to return to the eagles aerodrome with the Oberusal engine firing on about 50% of its cylinders & after landing he switched off & went looking for a restorative schnapps.

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    Lofty Hill had now also closed on the Halberstadt & Alex's burst caused the German aircraft to commence smoking.

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    With the last rounds from his Lewis guns magazine Alex Quartermain managed to cause more slight damage to the German Biplane.

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    The German aircraft then returned the favour but its shots went wide.

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    Stark now took up the fight while Quartermain changed the Lewis' Magazine & his shots set the Halberstadt on fire which immediately flared up & caused the German aircraft to crash into the ground a smoking wreck in British territory.

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    The two British aircraft now turned for home hoping for some good news regarding the fate of young Griswald.

    Comments & Observations

    Well that was a most enjoyable little game & it was good to field two new Aircraft in the scenario. Used Dave's D8 charts, no altitude & ALL aircraft flown by AI as my named pilot is over at St Omer getting prepped for the advent of the DH-2's. For once all the jams hit the Germans this time!

    Victory Points

    German Forces: 1 point for shooting down BE 2c

    British Forces: 2 points for shooting down Halberstadt
    1 point for Green Fokker E.III forced return to base with damaged engine.
    (I did not count the CDL Fokker crashed due to Collision!)
    Total Points: 3

    Therefore a BRITISH VICTORY! (yeh, Finally!)
    Last edited by flash; 04-21-2019 at 01:53. Reason: Title adjust

  2. #2

    Smile The BUTCHERS BILL!

    British Forces

    FE 2b
    Lt. "Lofty" Hill: (P) RTB--0 Kills
    AM3 Alex Quartermain: (O) RTB--No Kills
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    Morane Saulnier
    F/Sgt Brandon Stark: (R) RTB 1 Kill (Oblt Bassenge Halberstadt)
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    BE2c
    F/Sgt L Griswold: (R) SD-FT /WIA 0 kills
    Rolled 8-1SD -1WIA = 6 - Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios
    Rolled 2 = Skip 1 (or more depending on Court Martial)
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    German Forces

    Fokker E.III Green
    Ltn C-A Schwartz: FRTB-E 0 Kills
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    Fokker E.III CDL
    Ltn Gerhard Brunig: EXP (COL)-ET 0 kills
    Rolled 6 -3EXP = 3 - Injured - Skip 1D6 Scenarios. Rolled 3 = Skip 3
    E&E Rolled 7 -1EXP -1 BEL -1WIC = 4 Captured and escaped! - Skip 1D3 Scenarios. Rolled 6 = skip 3. SKIP total 3
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    Halberstadt D.II
    Obltn Wilhelm Bassenge: SD-FLM-ET 1 kill (BE2c)
    Rolled 11-2FLM =9 All well when you land well.
    E&E Rolled 5 -1FLM -1BEL = 3 - Captured and escaped! - Skip 1D3 Scenarios. Rolled 3(?) = Skip 2
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    Well against the odds all pilots survived.
    We now wait for Mr Griswalds fate at the hands of Uncle.

    Dave would you kindly cast a critical eye over my rolls to check for any mistakes.
    Last edited by flash; 04-21-2019 at 01:20.

  3. #3

    Default

    Great scrap Baz nice to see another Halberstadt in the sky for this mission Quite enjoyed the eindecker bouncing off the Fee ! Shame your lad couldn't get the Quirk home but can't win them all. I'm sure if Dusty had flown the Morane he'd have made it back... ?

    Uncle says:

    Quote Originally Posted by gully_raker View Post
    ...Dave would you kindly cast a critical eye over my rolls to check for any mistakes.
    I've cast a critical eye over your mistakes and checked any rolls....

    Most were wrong as you added (or subtracted in this case) the WIC modifier when it's not required - that is for E&E not the C/W roll.
    Brunig's roll, you modified for a Collision -2 but as the result of it was a boom card then it defaults to -3EXP ..
    Anyway some results ended up the same, others slightly different - Herr Bassenge did better than thought as he landed without injury but still had to escape.
    As for Griswold - there's blood on the carpet.
    The C.O. has decided to make an example of him - we can't have sergeant pilots swanning off on private missions pranging machines and getting the other lads shot about, just won't do - he is reduced in rank, grounded for a week, loses his pilot status and made an observer. He will take priority as observer in any mission requiring one.
    Should he prove himself in action his flying status may be restored.
    PM me details of a replacement pilot please Baz.
    Last edited by flash; 04-21-2019 at 01:54.

    "He is wise who watches"

  4. #4

    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    Great scrap Baz nice to see another Halberstadt in the sky for this mission Quite enjoyed the eindecker bouncing off the Fee ! Shame your lad couldn't get the Quirk home but can't win them all. I'm sure if Dusty had flown the Morane he'd have made it back... ?

    Uncle says:


    I've cast a critical eye over your mistakes and checked any rolls....

    Most were wrong as you added (or subtracted in this case) the WIC modifier when it's not required - that is for E&E not the C/W roll.
    Brunig's roll, you modified for a Collision -2 but as the result of it was a boom card then it defaults to -3EXP ..
    Anyway some results ended up the same, others slightly different - Herr Bassenge did better than thought as he landed without injury but still had to escape.
    As for Griswold - there's blood on the carpet.
    The C.O. has decided to make an example of him - we can't have sergeant pilots swanning off on private missions pranging machines and getting the other lads shot about, just won't do - he is reduced in rank, grounded for a week, loses his pilot status and made an observer. He will take priority as observer in any mission requiring one.
    Should he prove himself in action his flying status may be restored.
    PM me details of a replacement pilot please Baz.
    Thanks Dave me ole mate !
    I just knew I would stuff something up. Always had problems getting my head straight on the Injured in Crash thing. Must be my advancing age.

    Anyway thanks for fixing things up.
    Serves young Griswold right. Deserves everything he gets!

    Please add James Lanister to the Pilots roster & give him whatever rank you think he deserves but I will PM you as well.
    Must admit it was nice to finally get a WIN.

  5. #5

    Default

    Bloody nose for the Eagles this time for sure.

    Question, though-is the use of the Halberstadt historical? I had the impression they didn't reach the front until around March. Not that of course, we're sticking to strict historical accuracy, this is our own game-within-a-game.

  6. #6

    Default

    Finding info on dates etc is not very straight forward for some of these kites but this one was on our list (post #6 in the rules sticky) for the last early war outing.
    The Halberstadt D.II was initially issued to the FFA units of the German airforce in ones and twos, then later to the KEK which began forming in February '16.
    It may be that KEK's of Halbs didn't appear until March ? Anyway, much searching has gone on and results, it is fair to say, are pretty vague but these are the dates that were settled on as 'close enough' !
    It is worth noting that these were most likely pre-production types.
    http://www.histomin.com/hm%20journal...adt%20D.II.htm
    Last edited by flash; 04-24-2019 at 01:19.

    "He is wise who watches"

  7. #7

    Smile

    Not that it proves anything date wise but I post a pic below of Kesta 4 at Freiburg with a very interesting mix of aircraft.
    One would assume the Fokker E. IV & the Halberstadt D.II are "leftovers" from before the arrival of the Fokker Biplanes.

    Incidentally if you look closely at my Halberstadt you will find it is based in the one in this photo with 10 on the side of the fuselage.

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    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails WW1 Kesta 4 full pic.jpg   WSF  Halberstadt D.II side.jpg  
    Last edited by gully_raker; 04-22-2019 at 02:43.

  8. #8

    Default

    Well that was a tough one for we 'Bloody Hun', Baz.

    Nice to see my Fiedler not the only one demoted (but at least mine kept his pilot's license)
    Lets hope Griswold spends his time observing proper targets and not looking for future solo mission objectives.

    P.S. Your mention of what "Dusty" Rhodes was up to plays nicely into the upcoming Mission 5

  9. #9

    Default

    Great action Barry with some very nice touches, I like the pic of the crashed BE2 you do come up with some good ones.
    Poor Griswald, the lad shows a bit of initiative gets shotdown and carpeted on top of it. I'm not sure this move to Dorset has improved Uncles temper at all.

    I hadn't looked at the list of German planes recently and missed the Halberstadt option, so great to see that flying and it took me a while but I finally realised why you had dice on the table, a jolly spiffing idea.

    Congratulations on the win and look forward to seeing Dusty's new mount in the next action.

  10. #10

    Default

    A very impressive result all round Baz.
    Plus yet another spiffing tale of daring young airmen on both sides of the lines. Onlyn hope my lads do as well when it is their turn for fame and gory!
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  11. #11

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Vagabond View Post
    ... I'm not sure this move to Dorset has improved Uncles temper at all...
    Oh it has - the C.O was tempted to have him RTU'd but I managed to keep him in the Corps with a slim chance of redemption.
    The C.O. now has the corporal of the guard mounting a large post in the corner of the field... he said there's still time, whatever that means !

    "He is wise who watches"

  12. #12

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    Oh it has - the C.O was tempted to have him RTU'd but I managed to keep him in the Corps with a slim chance of redemption.
    The C.O. now has the corporal of the guard mounting a large post in the corner of the field... he said there's still time, whatever that means !
    I'm sure that you know me well enough now Uncle, to understand very well what that means old chap. Do drop in for a spot of G&T after the last Flight returns and I will regale you with the full story.
    If anyone else pulls a stunt like that they will find themselves manning a forward observation post in NML for the duration, even if their father is the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
    Kyte.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  13. #13

  14. #14

    Default

    I suppose if it's the post it's either 100 lashes or the firing squad, better than if it had been a cross and crucifixion.

    I guess all those still to play this are looking for their least favourite pilot to send up in the BE2.

  15. #15

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Vagabond View Post
    I suppose if it's the post it's either 100 lashes or the firing squad, better than if it had been a cross and crucifixion.

    I guess all those still to play this are looking for their least favourite pilot to send up in the BE2.
    In the case of my Italian Front storyline, there could have been no other choice than Ltn Ryan on Taaffe. One could exactly say he's my least favourite pilot.

  16. #16

    Default

    Congratulations Baz. Something for us Bulldogs to celebrate for a change Like the choice of aircraft, but am a little worried that someone is threatening to go a bit too far with the punishment of young Griswold, what with the construction of a post and all Guess he'll just have to work hard and redeem himself in our eyes

    Must admit, the collision did kind of bring a smile to my face

    P.S. Your mention of what "Dusty" Rhodes was up to plays nicely into the upcoming Mission 5
    Ooh that sounds interesting Pete Need to dust off the DH2s do we?

  17. #17

    Default

    What Mike said . Well flown Baz


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

  18. #18

    Default

    Nicely done Baz. Love your planes, especially the rigged ones.

    In my opinion Griswald got off easy. If he doesn't straighten out I'll wager he'll be put in a trench somewhere.



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