A long range mission - full load, no gunner, no gun. Straight forward he said - stay up high he said and the Hun might leave them alone. Run in, drop the eggs, run out, job done. Simple.
Not overly convinced Lt Bull & 2lt Hale came up with a wheeze that may put off an enemy - straw dummies togged up in kit & tied into the front cockpit with a couple of broom handles as mock guns might give a Hun pause before setting about them.. At least they'd have an escort there and one to bring them back.
2lt Alan Keye stamped his feet on the cockpit floor in a futile effort to warm them up, he tapped his fuel gauge and knew he'd have to turn back very soon but he'd got his charges to their target with little trouble so his job was done, hopefully 2lt Cameron Paine would be along on time to give them a hand on the way home.
He glanced to his left and eyed the pair of overweight Fee's wallowing toward their targets, Lt Terry Bull in number 4 on the left, 2Lt Justin Hale on the right; almost dead ahead now he saw they were aligning themselves to drop their eggs.
The first bombs separated cleanly from the racks slung under their machines.
Keye spots a Hun slipping toward his charges from the 1 o'clock position. Looks like a Frenchy type but no cockades, just big fat black crosses.
(Ltn Walter Gandert is trying out a captured Nieuport Bebe)
Moments later the next bombs are being tee'd up
The crump of Archie momentarily catches his attention but luckily it's wide of the mark. He'd have keep away from that !
Terry Bull thinks much the same as his machine is rocked by a near miss.
Gandert closes the gap, adjusts his position & opens fire at long range, his rounds crashing through Hale's Fee and his silent partner in the front.
Pulling his nose left the young Eagle puts a burst into Bull's machine damaging the controls - that will cause problems later.
The bombs crash onto their second targets as the third load passes overhead - all direct hits so far but can this last ? With damaged controls it's highly unlikely.
Completing his turn Gandert empties his drum into the big Tommi crossing his path and sees splinters fly - no return fire - he must've killed the gunner !
Hale, swings his big machine left into the attack so as to help line up his turn to the right for the run back along the line of other targets - fortunately for him Gandert's out of ammo or that could have been a painful experience. Bull has chopped the speed of his Fee as he wrestles with his jammed controls.
"Oh, for a gun now" thinks Hale as the blue Nieuport slides alongside his aircraft but his straw companion cannot take advantage.
Circling back Keye takes some damage from Archie - that was close !
Keye roars back into protect the unarmed bombers, spattering the Nieuport at long range but taking no major damage himself
Hale releases the rest of his bombs as rounds patter through his wing fabric. Archie chimes in with a near miss & Keye turns back for base
Disaster strikes, busy watching his foe Keye misjudges his turn and collides with the Fee of Terry Bull - something breaks and Keye's DH2 falls away out of control
The last bombs of Hale's load obliterate the final target as the blue Nieuport jostles for position behind Bull's
The blue Nieuport cuts back into the attack and rakes Bull's Fee at close range
As there is separation between the foes the gunners below take a shot and knock some lumps from Bull's machine
The Fee's run for home, the blue Nieuport turns to give chase, Paine follows suit
Gandert opens up on Bull's machine and his rounds crash through the air frame. Paine opens fire but the burst has no effect.
Paine's second burst is more accurate and he sees the reward as the machine spews fire.. Gandert's last rounds seem to do no further damage
Paine puts a final burst into the blue Nieuport and its engine sound changes dramatically as the rounds find their way into the vitals of the engine
Bull follows Hale and leaves the table with Paine on his tail reloading his Lewis, Gandert looks to escape...
Gandert, his gun empty, on fire, engine damaged can only do one thing and so he heads for the deck - his overdive is enough to snuff out the fire and he manages to limp home
Butcher's Tally:
Bulldogs:
2lt Alan Keye: DH2 cdl tail - COL-ET 0 kills
Rolled 10 -2COL = 8 - Injured skip D2 scenario. Rolled 6 = skip 2
E&E: Rolled 7 -1WIC -1BEL = 5 In Hiding ! Skip 1D2 scenaro. Rolled 4 = Skip 2. Total Skips 2.
2lt Cameron Paine: DH2 PC10 tail - RTB 0 kills
Lt Terry Bull: Fee #4 - RTB 0 kills
3 direct hits , 1 near miss
2Lt Justin Hale: Fee #6 - RTB 0 kills
4 direct hits
Eagles:
Ltn Walter Gandert: N.11 - RTB 0 kills
Seven targets took direct hits, one of them twice; two remained unscathed.
Well it was different. I found the run in is easy(ish), making the turn and lining up for the last line was harder - particularly with rudder damage !
In an effort to mix it up I staggered my attacking aircraft a little to prevent conflict when it came to the turn, as it happens the rudder damage did much the same thing.
Managing the multi bomb high alt drop is a challenge & doesn't look pretty but can be done with care.
Good luck everyone
For the record I flew the bombers, both my escorts & enemy were AI driven, once the last bombs dropped the bombers reverted to AI & I took over as Paine for the run home.
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