CYM Mission 5 - Going Solo - 5th August '16 -- Vagabond
Good grief but I was frightened - I’ve mentioned in the past that my fighting trousers are a dull shade of brown, they’ve saved me many an embarrassing moment and this looked like it could be another of them.
I’d seen two of B Flight shot down and I’d got separated from the remaining two members of my patrol and was trying to make my way home without attracting any more attention from the German Airforce when I saw five on their damn planes up ahead. Hail Mary I thought and then realized what I was saying. Not being a practising Christian she was unlikely to go out of her way to help me. Not unless she was looking for an easy convert on that cold grey morning, and yes I think at that point in my short life I might have been an easy convert.
This is me, Lt John Vagabond in my borrowed plane trying to creep around the back of a line of German planes. There were two batches of them, a pair up ahead, off to my right, some plane I didn’t recognise but they were flying in a beeline, straight for their own side of the trenches. They were followed by three planes I knew only too well, Fokker EIII’s and I would have been quite happy to edge past them and head for home myself. That is unless someone who will remain nameless hadn’t decreed otherwise. (Yes MIKE that’s you and if I get killed here it will be on your head)
I might have misinterpreted the brief a little but this is how I played it out.
The enemy took their first turn in a straight line (if that’s possible) and I made my move straight and then curling round them a little, and this is the position after the first turn. The lead pair would react once they heard gunfire and that was their undoing.
The rearmost trio reacted when they saw me and started to circle, I continued to circle.
This went on and on. This is the 2nd full circle I believe.
Then I realized what Mike’s plan was and why I single-handedly was taking on half the German Airforce, they were going to collide with each other and I could fly home and claim 3 victims.
It’s a brilliant scenario Mike. By this time the two planes up front have flown straight off the table and no one has fired a shot, it’s turn five.
Ahh this doesn’t look good, the Hun has finally sorted himself out and with true Teutonic thoroughness they are coming to get me.
One from the left, one from the right and one straight on, that ought to do it for them.
I started thinking of Rosary Beads about this time and wondered if Mary might like to lend me a hand, - maybe not.
Unfortunately for them the outside two tend a bit too wide and I am flying straight at the grey chap in the middle, I can feel my beautiful new plane shudder as she gets torn apart by German bullets but I can see I am knocking lumps off his plane as well. My gun stutters and then continues firing and I realise checking all those bullets has finally paid off.
I don’t usually use my Ace skill of bullet checker, I’m not a big fan of Special Abilities in games but mainly because I forget about them, however I know I’m going to need every advantage I can get in this scenario and so don’t forget this time. I decided not to use lucky pilot yet even though this one pass has destroyed half the points of my machine, things might get worse. If that’s possible.
I Immel and catch the cameo Fokker unawares and his plane bursts into flames, must have hit something serious and that probably means he’s out of the fight.
The other two are all over each other again, there’s too many planes all trying to kill me and thank goodness they can’t co-ordinate their actions, I’m still waiting for the collision but it’s not come so far.
Oh s**t I’m going to get tangled up with the rest of them and one is blazing like a torch.
I can see the fire damage is eating his plane away and I wonder how long he can stay in the air.
I get through the morass of Germans and Imell again, getting a long shot at the grey one again but my gun does jam this time.
It’s no fun standing on my seat, hanging on with one hand and hitting the machine gun with the wooden mallet, the one I now carry with me like a talisman, especially while I try and pilot the plane with my left foot. Why would some idiot place the machine gun on the top wing, why didn’t they make it really difficult and position it under the fuselage.
There’s lots of stooging around, planes all over the show and the cameo one is still on fire and belatedly I remember he has to return home if he catches fire.
Of course that means I nearly fly into him for the second time, but then he flies off home and I chase him for a while before realizing I’m not going to catch up and return to the fray.
The two Fokker’s have been tooling around while I’ve been chasing after the cameo one, the blue striped one flew off the table when I wasn’t looking but I eventually got him back and here we are flying straight at each other.
Pleasantries were exchanged and I could see I’d hit his engine and I should have exploded, but the fuel tank self healed and it didn’t happen. All I could think was that it had been a wise decision not to use the lucky attribute earlier. With his engine damaged, blue stripe has to go home, (you can see I’m finally getting a grasp of the scenario).
A bit more flying about and I finally catch the grey EIII but he catches me as well. Blue stripe is headed left and home is to his right, this will become important.
My gun jams again and I start the ritual beating.
I Imell and open fire on the grey Fokker, but realise my gun is still jammed so this damage doesn’t count, I bang the wall with my head a few times but all it does is shake the plaster loose.
The picture now shows that we are both headed right, towards their home.
I get on the tail of the damaged blue stripe Fokker, thinking that with his engine malfunctioning he will be easy meat.
But I miss, I can see the grey EIII sweeping in from my left but I’m too stubborn or maybe too stupid to let go of the Blue Striped one.
And I miss again, fortunately Grey misses me and jams his gun or I would be pushing up the daisies at this point.
Finally I’m on target and blowing large holes in the fabric of his crate but don’t hit anything serious.
Grey has now overshot and is going to give me time to finish blue stripe. So I hope.
The pilot slumps in his seat and I cause more damage, I never realized these Fokker's were so tough to shoot down but I’m determined to do it.
Even with a damaged engine and 2 full turns of pursuit I couldn’t get within close range. He was jinking about a bit and later I realized if I side slip, I go faster than if I just go straight, 2 years of playing before I found that out.
But the last long range shot does the trick and he dives down in a graceful glide, landing cleanly but a clear kill for me.
The grey one mean time has reversed direction and has been chasing after us but too far away to be a worry, that is until I Imell and he catches me and I can’t return his fire.
We slide past each other and then both Imell and fly straight at each other yet again.
Coming within range we both let fly and I can see I’ve done considerable damage to his plane, however the damage he’s done to my plane makes her unresponsive and I know I’m going to have to run for home soon.
We pass within inches of each other, at least I do, for him it’s centimetres but we are both a bit white faced however you measure it. As we pass I manage a grim smile because I have one last trick up my sleeve and know what both our next moves are.
I Imell again but he doesn’t and I’m on his tail, a long range shot sets his plane afire.
And he crashes to the ground, I whoop with joy, until I look at the canvas streaming in ribbons from the shattered air-frame of the Nieuport and I very carefully fly home, wondering if Mary missed a golden opportunity to bring a sinner into the fold - we’ll never know.
Well Mike that was an exciting ride and if you had got me killed I would have damned you for a fool but the lucky attribute got me out of jail so well done. I don’t know if I got the scenario right as I don’t get internet in my war games room and so went with my notes which were a bit vague on what the first 2 planes did but as I didn’t bring on any reinforcements I’m taking the win.
Since I played and wrote this I’ve read all the game reports and am amazed at the variety in the results, and I’m astounded at the number of pilots who took on 5 planes on their own, you need to see some one about that, I thought I was being foolhardy fighting 3 of them.
Cheers
Reply With Quote
from me.
Holy Moses! (or should I have said Mary 
)
and 
all around I’d say.
Originally Posted by gully_raker
I'm sure it's not my age.
Its a fine take on the mission and I shall say, with reference to your prayers - "Dia is Muire duit". The mission was originally the idea of a mate of mine who insisted on having three Albatros DIIIs and two Albatros DVas against my sole Albert Ball Nieuport. I was amazed to survive long enough to shoot down one of the DIIIs and chase off a second, but then I took so much damage I had to quit. My mate did point out that such actions took place for real, but not under our game rules and conditions. Hence the temporary changes to the rules regarding 
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