OberLeutnants Bernhard Wienand and Moritz Melbeck have summoned Zweisitzer pilots Feldwebel Siegfried Nixdorf and recently reassigned Leutnant Herbert Fiedler to discuss a mission that has just been given to the Eagles by High Command.
Showing them a recent aerial photograph Melbeck stabs his finger at the central area.
“Meine Herren, Sie müssen dieses Bild in Ihr Gehirn einbrennen.“ < Gentlemen, you must burn this picture into your brain. >
Handing each of the pilots a folded piece of paper he adds
„Hier ist eine Karte mit den Koordinaten.“ < Here is a map with the coordinates >
Observer Leutnants Ewald Engelbrecht and Leonard Wiechers lean in to get a better view of the photo.
“Sie werden für diese Mission nicht benötigt.“ < You will not be needed for this mission > Wienand announces to the surprised crewmen, brushing them aside.
„Was? Warum??“ < What? Why??> several voices at once question the statement.
Melbeck explains the mission.
„Kraftstoff sparen.“ < To save fuel >
He then adds that they will be flying further than they ever have in the past using a roundabout route to avoid detection.
„Wir werden keinen Schutz von hinten haben!“ <We will have no protection from behind> Nixdorf exclaims, obviously distraught at the thought.
„Sie haben auch keinen Schutz vor der Front ...“ < you will also have no protection from the front> adds Wienand.
„Sie müssen um jeden Preis Gewicht reduzieren.“ < you must reduce weight at all costs >
„Sie fliegen auf 3300 Metern Höhe.“ < you will fly at 3300 meters altitude >
„Auf dieser Höhe sollte es keine Opposition geben.“ < at that height there should be no opposition >
Wienand tries to calm down the agitated pilots.
„Ich werde Begleiter schicken, um Sie zu treffen. Sie hätten nicht genug Treibstoff, um den ganzen Weg mit dir zu fliegen.“
<I will send escorts to meet you. They would not have enough fuel to fly all the way with you.>
After flying for some time, to both gain altitude and hopefully avoid detection, Nixdorf in a pale blue Albatros C.III and Fiedler in a plain doped linen and brown one approach their target. The view is nearly identical to the one they were shown in the photograph, so both pilots prepare to begin the process of dropping several bombs in succession.
It’s a dicey prospect as best. They will not be able to see the damage effect from so high, and there is no one else aboard to assist with the process.
There are several areas with juicy targets in the area below.
Fiedler and Nixdorf both prepare to release their first bombs.
Each carries six and they determined before taking to the air that they would drop them individually rather than in bunches.
“Eins zwei drei …”
As had been advised by their commander, Oblt Melbeck, both Nixdorf and Fiedler count a few seconds and release their second bomb.
Contrary to what they had been promised, a lone DH.2 has made it to nearly 10,000 ft.
“Bloody ‘ell it’s cowd up ‘ere …”
2nd Lt. John Moncrieff is wondering when he will ever feel warm again.
Nixdorf has no idea where his bombs are and hopes to see some flashes below soon.
He needn’t have worried.
His first bomb, at least, falls right on a target.
Fiedler has also been lucky with his first bomb, although he has no way of knowing at the time.
KRAK!
Fiedler nearly jumps out of his skin as an AA shell explodes nearby.
KRAK!
A few seconds later, Nixdorf nearly has what his Bulldog opponents might call a “brown trouser moment.” as a second AA gun fires.
Both Nixdorf and Fiedler regain their composure enough to release their third bomb, although it looks as though the distraction of the flak bursts may have messed up their timing.
* Actually it was my timing that got messed up trying to keep track of multiple bombs, AA fire and the aircraft movement.
Nixdorf and Fiedler’s second bombs appear to only manage partial damage.
Fiedler’s third bomb falls short,
as does Nixdorf’s.
“Was zur Hölle??!” < what the hell ? >
Fiedler sees the DH.2 approaching
„Auf dieser Höhe sollte es keine Opposition geben.“
Wienand‘s promise of no opposition rings hollow.
But what of his other promise?
As if on cue, two Haberstadt D.IIs are closing.
Ltn Till Huebner is the dark red one, and Ltn Günther Giesebrecht, who recently lost his Rookie status, in the CDL one off to the right.
Both pilots are anxious to try out these newly-received aircraft.
The sight of the DH.2 has thrown off Fiedler’s concentration.
Suddenly he sees Nixdorf’s C.III straight ahead.
“Pass auf!” < watch out > both pilots shout in unison.
Da da da da da
Moncrieff fires at Nixdorf’s C.III doing some minor damage
Moncrieff waits too long to fire and has to pull to the lift to avoid colliding with Nixdorf.
Moncrieff sets his sights on Fiedler.
Da da da da
No visible effect.
KRAK!
The AA reminds Nixdorf he is still over enemy territory.
Fiedler slows up his Albatros and releases his 4th bomb.
Nixdorf also plans to release his 4th bomb, but will jink to the right first.
A short time later the bomb hits the ground, only causing partial damage.
Moncrieff flies a reversal and heads back toward the German aircraft.
Fiedler prepares to release his 5th bomb and is startled to see Giesebrecht nearly plow his Halberstadt into him.
Fiedler’s 4th bomb also does partial damage, although he has lost all hope of tracking his results (even if he could see so far below)
The reason Giesebrecht nearly collided with Fiedler was that his vision was focused on Moncrieff’s DH.2
Tikka tikka tikka
Moncrieff is horrified to see fabric and wood fly from his aircraft.
Da da da da
Moncrieff does manage a deflection burst at the receding pale blue C.III but misses his target completely
KRAK!
The British 'Archie' is not having a very good time of it today.
Nixdorf prepares to release the last of his load.
Moncrieff struggles to swap out his Lewis drum. He can sense a Halberstadt closing.
Nixdorf’s 5th bomb gets a partial hit on the AA unit.
Although there were only minor injuries the shock will keep the gun from firing again for a little while at least.
Fiedler prepares his 5th bomb release.
Tikka tikka tikka
Huebner hits the DH.2 and sees flames begin to flicker.
Tikka tikka tikka
Huebner fires at the flaming DH.2
Again Nixdorf’s bomb fails to do any significant damage. This was his final attempt.
Moncrieff flits from side to side, trying to keep the flames from doing serious damage, but they still eat up fabric ….
Huebner again lines up Moncrieff.
Tikka tikka tikka
More damage to the burning Airco machine.
* Should have been +1
Fiedler’s 5th bomb again fails to do any damage.
KRAK!
Another miss for ‘Archie’.
Nixdorf feels like his C.III is no longer carrying dead weight.
With all of his bombs released he sets his sights for home.
* this is where the deck switched from XD to Y
Moncrieff sees the red Halberstadt closing and tenses up in anticipation …
Tikka tikka tikka tikka
Huebner lets him have it.
The left rudder cable is destroyed and then the Gnôme Monosoupape engine begins to make a godawful racket.
Moncrieff’s day is done.
Streaming flames his DH.2 plummets downward …
Seeing Nixdorf and both Halberstadts grouping together, Fiedler releases his final bomb and proceeds to join up with them.
Huebner is quite happy with the Halberstadt’s performance, and hopes he will have an opportunity to fly one again soon.
Fielder has survived his first ‘real’ mission in a two-seater and feels he might not miss the scout machines after all.
“Aber ich werde meinen Schützen Kanonier!“ <but I will need my gunner >
It is very likely that Nixdorf feels the same.
Butcher's Tally
The Lone Bulldog - Airco DH.2
2nd Lt John Moncrieff
SD FLM FT 0 kills
C&W Roll 10 -2 FLM = 8 : Injured 1D2(3) = Skip 1
Adler
Halberstadt D.II
(CDL) Ltn Günther Giesebrecht : RTB 0 kills
(Red) Ltn Till Huebner : RTB 1 kill (DH.2)
Albatros C.III
(CDL) Ltn Herbert Fiedler - RTB
(Light Blue) Fwbl Siegfried Nixdorf - RTB
Results
Bomb Damage
3 targets destroyed ( 2 direct hit, 1 by 2 hits) = 6 points
3 Targets damaged = 3 points
1 AA Unit damaged = 0 points
So 9 points all together says this was a victory!
I suppose it did feel like one, with all Eagles surviving, Huebner adding his sixth kill, and the Entente losing their one aircraft.
I wonder if the mission should have allowed two – that would have changed things for sure.
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Afterthoughts ....
Well it was an interesting challenge, one that brought up a lot of discussion regarding high altitude bombing.
The prep work I did with my Excel charts did help, I am sure.
I ended up sending a PM to John apologizing for stirring up the pot, but assured him it was in no way a slag on his mission, just something that pointed out that the mechanics need some adjusting …
If I dig back through my notes I could probably determine how each pilot did with his bombing accuracy, but I think they were fairly close, although Fiedler only dropped 5 of his 6 bombs towards the target area. From such a high altitude there is no way they would have known their individual results, so I left it at that.
I considered bringing on a replacement for Moncrieff but when I rolled a 2 it would have had the next DH.2 coming on far from the action so decided to call it a day after 9 turns, especially since the Halberstadts were heading home anyway.
It was lucky for Huebner that Moncrieff was still in his arc of fire or he would have had to leave without finishing the job, although, since the DH.2 was on fire it may have gone down anyway.
I followed John’s instructions to not read ahead when determining when to bring on the escorts and brought them both to the table in Turn 4.
If there had been two enemy aircraft I might have considered staggering them.
Looking forward to reading how the rest of you fare!
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