OTT CYM Mission 6 – Flash Dog Days of August – 12th August 1916
As things had gone the massed long range raids into Belgium had so far been a milk run for the bulldogs - they'd hit their target, a railway station out toward Ghent, though what good it would do in the great scheme of things, who knew.
Lt Terry Bull and AM1 Jack Dawe led the way home in their FE2b #4, followed by 2Lt Justin Hale & AM.2 Reg Sole in #6.
They were trailed at some distance by 2Lt Chris cross & AM.3 Ric' Shaw in a Strutter
In sight of safety things went sideways rather suddenly with the appearance of a pair of German scouts to the left of the formation..
(Obltn Willi Kirmaier in Halberstadt D.III (All cdl/white #K) & Ltn Raven Busse in a blue Halberstadt D.II from pos 2 & 1)
Having turned in alongside the formation the Halberstadts close rapidly - In pursuit of the lead machine Kirmaier leaves himself open to some abuse from Reg Sole as he climbs and his machine blows smoke.... Letting down slowly behind the second machine Busse pumps rounds into the bulk of the FE
Reg pours more rounds into the white scout - he must have angered the pilot as it veers toward them unleashing a short range burst. Rounds crash through both airframes - has Reg hit the pilot ?
Busse is confused as his second burst appears to do no further damage.
Another Halberstadt D.III climbs up from the right of the formation to cut off Bull's escape. They exchange short range pleasantries - the controls are damaged; Dawe's gun jams and he falls back into his nacelle.
(Ltn Otto Hengl (cammo/green Halb D.III) from pos 5)
Cross, bringing up the rear can only watch helplessly as his comrades are attacked
Reg jams his Lewis as he empties it into the white Halberstadt - Busse gets concerned he's firing blanks - these damned lattice tails !
There - splinters ! Finally Busse is rewarded for his efforts as he drops in behind the FE - Hale glances back as he feels the rounds smash home and sees the blue machine..
As Reg works on his gun Hale, put off by a fast approaching green Halberstadt, swerves left - he needn't have worried as it reverses before them and the white one switches sides. More rounds clatter in behind them and Hale senses more than sees fire bloom from behind them..
Swerving seems to put off his blue tormentor as no further rounds hit the machine - maybe he's jammed. Reg gets his gun going again and lets rip at the white one but seemingly does little damage
But the old FE has taken too much - the flames have done their bit and the machine starts rolls away - Cross can only look on in horror.
Busse punches the air in victory as he passes his first victim.
He celebrates a little too long - Cross lines himself up on the blue machine and his Vickers stammers briefly, stitching hate through the enemy's fuselage...
A brisk turn saves him perhaps from further major damage as Cross can see no obvious effect of his follow up burst
At that moment Lt Bill Foldes crashes the party from the left catching both the other machines as they are turning to re-engage.
His first burst slams into the white Halberstadt at close range as he drops from above.
Moments later Bull exits the battle area as Cross exchanges with the white machine himself - the snap shot does nothing but the return fire damages his controls - he hears the ripping burst of Shaw's Lewis behind him as he takes a pot shot at the reversing blue machine
As Cross swerves to avoid the on rushing white machine he sees Foldes open up at close range causing it further damage. Another ripping burst from Shaw sets the blue machine aflame..
Shaw empties his gun into the white machine as it appears from under their tail the shot is devastating and the machine tumbles from the sky - some measure of revenge for the other chaps.
Even as he sees this Foldes feels his machine tremble as the climbing blue machine, trailing flame, clatters him with a close range shot and the green one has a pop too. It's suddenly getting a bit hairy !
Throwing his nimble Nieuport around Foldes finds the blue machine below him and empties his Lewis but causes nothing more than a few useless holes in the Hun's kite.
Caught reloading Shaw cannot defend them as the blue machine moves into range and makes the best of it, damaging controls on the Strutter
Finally Shaw gets his Lewis up and running and his first blow is on the nose, so to speak... The Hun's engine misses a beat
Gun reloaded Foldes gives chase - exchanging with the green machine as they pass each other by
Cross takes his Strutter to safety leaving Foldes, trailing smoke, with the enemy machines. One afire & with a damaged engine. (I abbreviated the next phase trying to keep the pic numbers down)
Foldes heads out after the crippled machine finally catching it with a long range shot but jamming his gun in the process..he decides to reload a fresh drum
The green machine had reversed and got in behind him by the time his Lewis was recharged but the damage was light and he too jammed his gun
He never got another opportunity on the blue one before it slipped away but had his hands full with the green one as they turned and counter reversed looking for an opening
Foldes made a minor error and the green machine was on him - he lost a pot or two up front and then the race for home was on.
Which fortunately Foldes won
Victory Points:
Bulldogs: 1 scout = +2
2 Tandems Home = +6
1 enemy scout FRTB = +1
Total = 9 points
Eagles: 1 Tandem destroyed = +3
1 enemy scout FRTB = +1
Total = 4 points
Victory to Bulldogs !
Butcher's Tally:
Eagles:
Obltn Willi Kirmaier: (white Halberstadt D.III) SD-EXP-FT / 0 kills
Rolled 5 -3EXP = 2 KIA
Ltn Raven Busse: (Blue Halberstadt D.II) FRTB-E / 1 Kill (Hale/Sole)
Ltn Otto Hengl: ( Cammo Halberstadt D.III) RTB 0 kills
Bulldogs:
Lt Bill Foldes: (Nieuport 16 #F) FRTB-E / 0 kills
2Lt Justin Hale: (P; FE2b #6) SD-FLM-ET / 0 kills
Rolled 7 -2FLM = 5 Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios
Rolled 3 = skip 2.
E&E Rolled 6 -1FLM -1WIC -1BEL = 3 Captured and escaped! - Skip 1D3 Scenarios. rolled 1 = skip 1
AM.2 Reg Sole: (O; FE2b #6) SD-FLM-ET / 0 kills
Rolled 6 -2FLM = 4 Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios
Rolled 6 = skip 3.
E&E Rolled 8 -1FLM -1WIC -1BEL = 5 - In hiding! - Skip 1D2 Scenarios. Rolled 1 = skip 1
Lt Terry Bull: (P; FE2b #4) RTB / 0 kills
AM.1 Jack Dawe: (O; FE2b #4) RTB / WIA / 0 kills
Rolled 6 +1RTB -1WIA = 6 Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios. Rolled 5 = skip 3
2Lt Chris Cross: (P; Strutter #C2) RTB 0 kills
AM.3 Ric Shaw: (O; Strutter #C2) RTB 1 kill (Kirmaier)
Great game, thanks Peter.
Foldes cannot seem to get a victory and Kirmaier's luck finally ran out - hopefully Achilles can improve on his equally bad record leading the Eagles.
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for his victory & service to the King as well as Croix de Guerre étoile de argent from our French allies. Long overdue. 
Originally Posted by Stumptonian
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