OTT Cocky Young Men - Mission 5 "Going Solo" - 5th August 1916 - by Mike
OTT Cocky Young Men - Mission 5 "Going Solo" - 5th August 1916 - by Mike
“It’s already August”, thought Dubh Beard, still an acting Lieutenant with 52 Squadron RFC – The British Bulldogs.
“Where did the time go?”
He was sitting on the grass, in warm sunlight, on the fringes of their current “aerodrome” in France, somewhere west of Albert, half listening to the distant melody trilled by a skylark, which appeared to be playing in an orchestra, consisting of itself and the distant rumble of drums. Guns plying their trade on the Western Front. The other half of his troubled mind mused on the state of the war. It was August 5th 1916 and the Somme offensive had been raging for over a month now and still nothing much seemed to have been gained by it, apart from a meagre amount of shell torn territory and a lot of dead troops on both sides and on top of no-man’s land.
Added to which, enemy activity in the air had recently taken on a much more sinister atmosphere. For a short while, the Bulldogs, as they were wont to call themselves, had had it relatively easy. But now, Dubh and his peers had begun to notice significant changes. Discussions in the mess had become annimated when someone described seeing larger groups of EA, or when a new type of aircraft was spotted.
His thoughts on this matter, however, were interrupted when he noticed one of the older, grey haired members of the ground crew approaching at an attempted jog.
“’scuse , sir, but you’re wanted in the office. And I was told to inform you you’re flight have already been ordered to prepare to go up again as soon as possible”.
“Very well corporal Jones, thank you.” replied Dubh and wearily got to his feet and headed in the direction of Uncle’s hut.
Not more than forty minutes later, he and his flight had become embroiled in a proper dogfight.
From which they had come off totally scattered and by far the worst for wear.
It began when they spotted a large formation of enemy aircraft, mainly Fokkers, but with a few other types included.
At least one Roland two seater, possibly a Halbestadt DII and definitely two or three of a type they had never seen before. Very much faster, more agile and definitely better armed than they themselves.
Dubh was fairly certain that two of his flight had gone down, possibly still under control, but he wouldn’t know for sure until, or if, he got back to the barn safely.
Of the other two of his flight he had no knowledge at all.
An unpleasant experience from their point of view.
One minute there were aircraft all over the show, the next minute he was on his own, with not a ****ie bird in sight, despite turning his head sharply this way and that, up and down and round about in a mad pattern of circles. The air was just empty. Not even an EA to settle his imagination.
So, there was nothing left for him to do but to head home, west. Still searching the sky and the mud strewn terrain beneath him for signs of other aircraft, off he went. He flew west until he reached his own lines, then he turned north, intending to find familiar landmarks, before turning west again for Albert and his barn beyond that haven.
It was as he was flying north ,along the line of his own sides trenches, still searching for the remnants of his flight, that he came across a veritable gaggle of Fokker EIIIs heading South East towards their own lines.
And that was enough for this hot blooded Irishman. Attack anything and everything, seemed to be the general attitude required of RFC pilots and Dubh was not about to let this opportunity slip by without having a crack at them.
There were five of them. Two bright red machines some way in front, followed by three more. Banking sharply to starboard, Dubh came in on the flank of the hindmost of them, before they had even realised he was there. He opened up at long range and kept firing until the drum of his Lewis gun was empty.
The unfortunate pilot of the Fokker didn’t stand an earthly chance against that whirlwind attack. First thing he knew the starboard side fuselage was being stitched from end to end. Next, something slammed into his side and virtually knocked him unconscious, so he didn’t really know, or care, when his aircraft caught fire and plunged, lifeless, towards the British trenches below.
And, as much as Dubh Beard dreaded setting any aircraft on fire like that, he had no time to sit around and contemplate it, let alone say a prayer for the poor beggar inside it. The hornets nest had been rudely shaken and the hornets were scattering angrily, only to gather their wits and turn with malice aforethought in their eyes. One of their own was destroyed and they wanted swift revenge.
Dubh struggled to change the drum on his Lewis then almost threw the joystick over to port. Without any finesse at all his DH2 slewed drunkenly around to the left, just in time for him to confront another of his opponents head on. Daka daka daka daka, daka daka daka daka. The symphony of the skies was played again, whilst now, surrounded, Dubh was conscious of the hornets closing on him from all directions.
(NB At last! Dubh Beard got to use his Bullet Checker ace skill – whoopee!!! What a relief)
Again throwing the joystick hard over, this time to starboard, Dubh banked right, but was not quick enough to avoid the bullets of the two red Fokkers rapidly sliding in behind him.
He could almost sense hot lead seeking his soul, although the first rounds hit nothing – close enough thank you very much. The next lot, however, found their mark as bits of canvas were shredded from wings and pieces of splintered wood torn from struts.
“Its moments like these when I wonder what in heaven possesses me to want to attack such numbers.” A fleeting thought in the back of Dubh Beard’s mind. But there was no going back! Or was there – Of course there was and he flipped the DH2 around in an appropriately named manoeuver which again brought him face to face with an enemy that was trying to kill him.
(Oops – missed a plus one shot against the DH2 here, but on inspection it makes no difference to the outcome whatsoever)
Another exchange of animosity and Dubh noticed a certain lack of control over his rudder. Which momentarily caught his attention and explains why he was a little slow to registered the disappearance of the red Fokker in a downward spiral. Something vital had been hit and a second Fokker was going to bite the dust, so to speak! A lucky shot for sure, if at that moment you happened to be an Irishman named Beard. But, again, no time to reflect, no time to ponder. Just get on with the job in hand
As the red Fokker disappeared from sight, so another Fokker appeared before Dubh’s gun. An ineffective snap shot at short range did nothing to enhance Dubh’s chances of survival. Nor did the ensuing collision which neither pilot had anticipated and therefore did not take adequate measures to avoid. Clunk!
Dubh, the luckiest git in 52 Squadron RFC, was almost shocked into insensibility, but realised, when he looked around him, that the DH2 hadn’t even been dented by the blow (He drew an 8 damage plus smoke, but was relieved to be able to apply that beautiful ace skill called “Lucky pilot” - ignore any single damage card during the course of the game - luck of the Irish or what. Indeed the little green leprechaun which he undoubtedly believes in, was dancing to a merry tune after that little encounter).
Sadly for the pilot of the Fokker, the damage his aircraft received in the collision was not so protected, nor so easily ignored. Down went yet a third Fokker, towards mother earth and Dubh had dispatched his third victim of the encounter, albeit with a little help from lady luck.
And so, with that, the poor little Fokker rolled belly up and wafted its way downwards like an autumn leaf. Whilst Dubh, who had run out of ammunition again, took a few more insignificant hits to his DH2 and decided to skidaddled. Now was the time to aknowledge that his personal preservation, ie discretion, was certainly the better part of valour. It was time to call it a day.
He therefore departed the fray, heading westward towards home, leaving the remaining two Fokkers to quarrel amongst themselves over who was responsible for the final near collision – get over it boys!
As for the dogfight earlier in the day, Dubh was relieved to discover, on his safe return to the family fold, that all four of his flight had found their way home by one means or another. A happy end to the day indeed.
The End
The Butcher’s Bill
Entente
A/Lt Dubh Beard / RTB/ 3 kills
Result – All good
Central Powers
Fwbl Franz Theiler (normally a two seater pilot but I was short of scout pilots) / RTB / 0 kills
Result – All good
Ltn Heinrich Gabriel / RTB / 0 kills
Result – All good
Ltn Xavier Döring / EXP NML / 0 kills
Roll 2D6 = 6 – 3 EXP -1NML = 2 - Dead
Ltn Theodor Ehmann / FLM NML / WIA / 0 kills
Roll 2D6 = 7 – 2 FLM – 1 WIA -1NML = 3 - Injured skip 1D6 = 4 skip 4 scenarios
E & E Roll 2D6 = 9 – 1 FLM – 1 WIA - 1 WIC + 1 NML = 7 Landed almost home. Skip 1 scenario.
Result – Skip 4 scenarios
Ltn Eric Wedel / COL / NML / 0 kills
Roll 2D6 = 9 – 2 COL -1NML = 6 - Injured skip 1D3 = 4 (on 1D6) skip 2 scenarios.
E & E Roll 2D6 = 10 – 1 WIC +1 NML = 10 They didn’t even see him.
Result – Skip 2 scenarios
Victory goes to the Bulldogs with Dubh Beard clearly achieving his objectives albeit with a great deal of help from lady luck.
Notes: Acting Lt Dubh Beard already had ace skill “Bullet Checker”. The mission permitted his one off use of “Lucky Pilot”, without which he would have failed.His success hopefully gives him the permanent one off use per mission of “Acrobatic Pilot” which, although able to, he did not use in this mission. (See Mission BRF for explanation).
I used Dave’s (Flash) D8 solo charts, as always. I did not use altitude this time around and my apologies for posting it so late. But having played it five times already, during the development phase, I was a bit fed up with it, so decided to give it a good break before attempting the Campaign version – so glad I did that as the result was by far and away the best for the Bulldogs – practice (or luck) makes perfect huh?Once again, the cards fell well for the RFC – no apologies for that – I’m on a roll right now and hope it stays that way
Used my new terrain mats for the first time in an official game. They are intended for use at Doncaster 2020, if only that gets the go ahead – going to be a late decision I think. Anyway, hope you like them. Makes a change to fly at a greater altitude and there is less need for other three D pieces – makes it easier to play on
My phone is reaching the end of its useful life – I think the battery is dying. So I’m going to lose my camera. Not sure what to replace it with but this Huawei P9 has done me proud I think. Cannot use the most recent generation as it isn’t supported by Google. The Samsung S20 Ultra has camera issues if my research is correct but if anyone knows for certain that those issues have been successfully addressed I’d love to know – expensive but nice and I depend on having a good camera.
Mike
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Thanks Paul. The artwork is all thanks to Google I guess. I wanted to try and show as many pics as poss to convey a sense of a confused dogfight - hope that came across ok 
Originally Posted by mikeemagnus
for achieving double ace status with his tenth victory and his achievements have finally been recognised by our allies and he is made a Knight of the Legion of Honour (Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur) (LdH) for his efforts against the enemies of the republic. 
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