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Thread: AAR OTTCYM Mission 8--Formation Flying--26th August 1916--gully_raker

  1. #1

    Default AAR OTTCYM Mission 8--Formation Flying--26th August 1916--gully_raker

    Statement re Proxys
    Due to the mission & what German 2 seaters I had available I considered all the 2 seaters to be Albatross C.III's with the same statistics.

    Prologue

    Uncle called the commander of C Flight Lt Reginald Fife-Brand to his office.
    "Ha Reg, come in & take a seat, we have had a request from HQ. As you know the wily old Hun have started flying their Bombers over our lines, trying to destroy our reserve assets, in formations of 4 aircraft to overcome our scouts. Now HQ wants the Squadrons in the areas affected to come up with a plan to overcome this formation business. Needless to say individual attacks wont succeed! I want you to gather your scout pilots together & brainstorm to develop a plan that they think will succeed"

    Lt Fife-Brand called the C Flight scout pilots to their usual outdoor meeting spot & explained the situation.

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    "Rightoh! Lets get some ideas going" F/Sgt Brandon Stark, C Flights only Ace, spoke up. "Well I think we must attack from different directions to split their fire. If we all come in from one quarter they can concentrate their fire!" "Yes Bran, said Reg, that's a good point & we should try to attack from a quarter where we can avoid the wide arc of fire from their Observers Spandaus". Other pilots contributed to the discussion & a decision was made to attack in groups of two aircraft from opposite sides at approx 45 degrees forward of the center section of the enemy formation which all agreed usually took the form of a Cross. Reg reported back to Uncle & was given the O.K. to put the plan in operation the next morning when the expected raid would be made. The British aircraft would take off early & gain height to watch for the incoming Germans & spiral down into position at the same altitude.

    The Mission

    Next morning say Fife-Brand in his new Nieuport 17 leading Jon Snow in DH-2 No.2 as his wingman whilst Bran Stark in DH-2 No.1 had the Aussie "Dusty" Rhodes in No.3 as his offsider.

    Coming from the German side Oblt Dahlmann with Ltn Pozner as his Observer led a formation of Albatross C.III's in a cross formation which appealed to Dahlmann's Teutonic sense of order. What could be more appropriate than using a formation that echoed their Nation insignia!

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    Stark & Rhodes came in on the Port side of the German formation as planned & Dusty got a good burst into the outside Albatross which sported white lines across its top wing.

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    On the opposite side The N 17 shot at a blue & green painted Albatross but Jon was just out of arc but got some holes on his wing from the German pilot.

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    Snow moved to close range & exchanged shots with the German aircraft but was horrified to suddenly hear his rotary engine loose a couple of cylinders. "Bugger!" exclaimed Jon "that's the end of my day!" Unbeknown to Jon his bullets had wounded the German Observer who slumped down in his cockpit. (NOTE: I rolled a D6 to see if Pilot or Observer was hit)

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    The white striped wing Albatross now came under attack from both Bran & Dusty & while it shot & missed Bran he set it on fire while Dusty's shots damaged its rudder.

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    Bran now exchanged shots with the Formation leader & while its Observer managed to damage his rudder he caused major damage to its engine with the last shots from his Lewis's drum.
    Oblt Dahlmann was not amused. "Verdammit, bloody Britisher! @#^#*! Now I must nurse my darling Albatross home!"

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    The fire on the Albatross continued to smolder but did little damage to the rugged aircraft.

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    Dusty took a shot at the Tail End CDL Albatross but only succeeded in emptying his Lewis drum for no result.

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    Jon Snow who was battling his damaged engine while preparing to head for home suddenly had the CDL Tail end Charlie right in front of him & he made it pay! The German Observer did get a shot at Reg's N 17 but did no damage.

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    There was a very close shave for 2 of the De Havilland pilots & the CDL Albatross as they narrowly adverted a 3 way collision when suddenly the Albatross was no longer there!
    Reg Fife-Brand had hit something vital & the German aircraft crashed to the ground in British territory.

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    The White striped Albatross was managing to stop the fire from spreading.

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    Dusty who had now changed his Lewis drum took a long range shot at the blue & green Albatross but missed. Its return shot caused black smoke to issue from his engine but it did not miss a beat!

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    As Dahlmann turned for home he just avoided a catastrophic collision with the fiery Albatross whose pilot was blinded by the smoke & flames.

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    The Blue/green Albatross shot at Dusty as he flew away but the shots went wide.

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    The fire on the Albatross finally spluttered out to the great relief of both pilot & observer.

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    Dusty continued to chase the 2 remaining Albatross & got a couple of good shots into the now fire free one but came under fire from both Observers with the blue green one only managing to jam its gun.

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    As the 2 opposing aircraft with engine damage passed on their way home Jon managed to set the Formation Leader's Albatross on fire as he emptied his drum.

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    The Observer of the Albatross gave Jon a parting shot which caused black smoke to pour from his damaged engine but it kept on working.

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    The fire on Dahlmann's aircraft continued to burn as the German pilot nursed the stricken aircraft towards home.

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    In the meantime the 3 other British planes continued to chase down the remaining two Albatross but it was a lost cause as they were not able to close the distance enough to try to shoot them down.

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    With no British aircraft anywhere near him Dahlmann managed to safely land his fire & engine damaged Albatross at the Eagles Nest aerodrome. (Rolled 5 + 1 for crash possibility)

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    OBSERVATIONS

    Well it was great to finally get back to a game 3 months after the big move!
    I found I was really rusty & made a few mistakes along the way like forgetting sometimes to use the 2 sideslips I had ready for use with the German Aircraft on fire. I noticed that when posting the photos in the AAR. I would not have penalised them anyway as it was my mistake. Probably missed 1 or 2 + 1's along the way as well.
    I initially flew Jon Snow's DH-2 but switched to Dusty's when Jon got the engine damage. Did not fly with altitude & used Dave's D8 charts which always work so well. The Formation used the 2 straights + 1 stall as per the BRF.

    I really enjoyed the game & it was interesting to see that the plan to attack the formation actually worked rather well.
    Now to catch up with the other missions by the end of April!

    Victory Points

    German Forces
    2 x Bombers exit Board = 4 points

    British Forces
    1 Bomber Shot Down = 2 points
    1 Bomber FRTB = 2 points
    Total 4 points

    RESULT A Draw
    Last edited by gully_raker; 04-03-2021 at 18:47.

  2. #2

    Default the Butchers Bill.

    Bulldogs

    Lt. R Fife-Brand N.17- RTB 1Kill (CDL C.III)
    Nil Damage
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    2nd Lt Jon Snow - DH-2 No.2 FRTB-E 0 Kills
    Rolled 6+3 = No crash landing
    6 damage
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    F/Sgt Brandon Stark - DH-2 No.1-- RTB 0 Kills
    2 damage
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    2nd Lt Dusty Rhodes - DH-2 No.3-- RTB 0 Kills
    3 Damage
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    Eagles

    Oblt H Dahlmann P2- Brown/Cream Alb C.III-- FRTB-E 0 Kills
    Rolled 5+1 = No crash

    Observer Ltn W.Pozner --FRTB-E 0 Kills
    No crash
    11 Damage

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    Vzfbl F Schlieff P2--green/blue C.III-- RTB 0 Kills

    Ltn Franz Thieiller Observer-- RTB/WIA 0 Kills
    Rolled 7 -1 WIA +1RTB = 7 Injured - Skip 1D2 Scenario - Rolled 1= Skips 1
    4 Damage

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    Fwbl H Anslinger P2-- White Striped top wing-- RTB 0 Kills

    Ltn K Seitz Observer -- RTB 0 Kills

    11 Damage

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    Unknown Pilot--CDL Alb C.III-- SD/EXP ET 0 Kills
    Rolled 7 - 3 boom = 4 Inj -Rolled 5 skips 5
    E&E - Rolled 5 -1EXP -1WIC -1BEL= 2 Captured
    The war has ended --POW

    Unknown Observer-- SD/EXP ET 0 Kills
    Rolled 7-3 boom= 4 Inj Rolled 6--Skips 6
    E&E Rolled 12 -1EXP -1WIC-1BEL = 9 They did not even see me!

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    Dave could you kindly check my figures. After 3 months away I hope I got the above correct!
    Last edited by flash; 04-04-2021 at 08:22. Reason: Tally Correction

  3. #3

    Default

    Nice one Baz, good to have you back in action mate. You made a mess of that formation and no mistake. Tallies as a draw but from what I remember that pretty much counts as a win in this scenario !

    Uncle says:

    Well done chaps, saw off Jerry and all managed to get home safe and sound with one in the bag !

    Lt. Reginald Fife-Brand is awarded the Military Cross for his fifth victory and continued service to King and country
    The French award him the Croix de Guerre with bronze palm for his efforts.

    PM me an ace skill for him Baz

    Meanwhile across the lines:
    Ltn Franz Theiller is awarded his Observer badge and the Iron cross 2nd class for his service to the Kaiser
    Vzfwbl Friedrich Schleiff is awarded his pilots badge and the Iron cross 2nd class for his service to the Kaiser
    Last edited by flash; 04-04-2021 at 08:34.

    "He is wise who watches"

  4. #4

    Default

    Well it was great to finally get back to a game 3 months after the big move!
    Well its good to see you back again Baz and in one piece, despite the floods and fire and whatever Nicely played. For a bit I thought you were going to get both of the remaining "Albatros CIIIs, but sadly they got away. A draw, though, is the perfect result REP on the way.

  5. #5

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by mikeemagnus View Post
    Well its good to see you back again Baz and in one piece, despite the floods and fire and whatever Nicely played. For a bit I thought you were going to get both of the remaining "Albatros CIIIs, but sadly they got away. A draw, though, is the perfect result REP on the way.
    Thanks Mike it was great to be back at the Front if a bit "Rusty"!

  6. #6

    Default

    Good to see you back in action, Baz.
    I saw your post was "Under Construction" last night so waited until this morning to read it.

    Your boys certainly gave our Adler some nastiness - fire, engine damage, wounds and a Boom! to finish off the tail end Albatros and its unknown crew.
    At least they survived, although the pilot will finish off the campaign in camp.

    Looking forward to your 'catch up' posts - I know how that goes from my first campaign where I joined late.
    Have some rep and a wee dram o' single malt to celebrate your return.

    Sorry - we seem to only have G&T glasses in the mess, but I am sure the taste will be the same.

  7. #7

    Default

    As Dave says, a draw is a win for this mission. Well done. Drinks in the mess, I think.

  8. #8

    Default

    A good finish with all Bulldogs coming home. Bagged one Hun so a good outing overall.

    Nice to see you back Baz.

  9. #9

    Default

    Nice AAR! One of the best results for this one. Great job!

  10. #10

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by Stumptonian View Post
    Good to see you back in action, Baz.
    I saw your post was "Under Construction" last night so waited until this morning to read it.

    Your boys certainly gave our Adler some nastiness - fire, engine damage, wounds and a Boom! to finish off the tail end Albatros and its unknown crew.
    At least they survived, although the pilot will finish off the campaign in camp.

    Looking forward to your 'catch up' posts - I know how that goes from my first campaign where I joined late.
    Have some rep and a wee dram o' single malt to celebrate your return.

    Sorry - we seem to only have G&T glasses in the mess, but I am sure the taste will be the same.
    Thanks Pete! A single malt will taste great in any glass.

  11. #11

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    Nice one Baz, good to have you back in action mate. You made a mess of that formation and no mistake. Tallies as a draw but from what I remember that pretty much counts as a win in this scenario !

    Uncle says:

    Well done chaps, saw off Jerry and all managed to get home safe and sound with one in the bag !

    Lt. Reginald Fife-Brand is awarded the Military Cross for his fifth victory and continued service to King and country
    The French award him the Croix de Guerre with bronze palm for his efforts.

    PM me an ace skill for him Baz

    Meanwhile across the lines:
    Ltn Franz Theiller is awarded his Observer badge and the Iron cross 2nd class for his service to the Kaiser
    Vzfwbl Friedrich Schleiff is awarded his pilots badge and the Iron cross 2nd class for his service to the Kaiser
    Thanks Dave I am sure Reg will like his Gongs. I will think on the Ace Skill & let you know.
    Gee don't tell me I actually got the Butchers right for once? The break must have done some good!

  12. #12

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by gully_raker View Post
    Thanks Dave I am sure Reg will like his Gongs. I will think on the Ace Skill & let you know.
    Gee don't tell me I actually got the Butchers right for once? The break must have done some good!
    Roger that Baz, and no you didn't quite nail the Tally - forgot the +1RTB for Thieiller but it didn't change the result as you rolled a 1.

    "He is wise who watches"

  13. #13

    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    Roger that Baz, and no you didn't quite nail the Tally - forgot the +1RTB for Thieiller but it didn't change the result as you rolled a 1.
    Well at least that was not too bad considering!

  14. #14

    Default

    Good to see you back Barry and a clever plan that almost worked. It's interesting that we've tried different ways of attacking the bomber formation but generally a draw has been a good result, makes you wonder why 2 seat bombers were considered fairly easy targets.

    Cheers



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