Well, the first part of the mission had gone swimmingly - the Bulldogs had met with their charges as they crossed the front line and escorted them deep into enemy territory without any issues before they waved the Bull Terriers on their way and returned to refuel. The second part of the mission was where things had seemed to go awry. The Bulldogs refuelled at their advanced airfields without problem and returned to the rendezvous at the appointed time but there was neither hide nor hair of the Terriers. That meant one of two things, neither of which was good. Either the bomber chaps had lost their way home, something not unheard of, or, worst of all, they had been annihilated by the waiting Hun beyond the reach of the escorts.
Leaving it as late as they possibly dare A/Lt Cameron Paine finally had little choice but to return to their advanced airfield to refuel once more. he loosed off the washout flare and turned for home.
Paine was disappointed as he'd been wanting to try out the twin Lewis mounted on his top plane, a neat idea first tried by his OC Bill Foldes and mentioned by the chaps when he returned to the squadron. It sounded like a wizard idea so, as he was the acting CO, he'd taken full advantage of his new position and ordered his armourer and fitters to get to work on his machine ready for this mission.
On the way back to the advance field his wingmen closed up as they neared on the lines - 2Lt Percy Veer to his left in #2, F/Sgt Robert Pynne to his right with no number.
Passing over Bixschoote Paine spotted that the Hun had put up a reception committee to patrol the line for them. They seemed to be a mixed bag of types that all turned on them at once.
(Centre Fokker E.IV - Ltn Hans-Eberhardt Gossner, distance Fokker D.III - Ltn Kurt-Bertram Drekman; near Halberstadt D.II - Ltn Hugo Stark)
Paine waggled his wings and once he was sure he had his pilots attention he raised his right hand, waved it and chopped it downward to his right. A moment later all three Bulldogs turned in that direction.
Stark muttered "Scheisse" to himself and checked his guns for the umpteenth time
Pynne stalled allowing Paine to catch up and they met the Fokker more or less head on as it snaked toward them - Pynne exchanged pleasantries at close range - Spandaus and Lewis guns chattered, tracers flew. Pynne's controls stiffened, Stark's engine faltered. Behind them Gossner entertained Veer with a long range shot on his beam but did not apparent damage.
Percy threw his machine about but it was almost as if the Gossner had anticipated this, raising the nose of his Eindecker and shooting up at him from close range - rounds clatter through his wings but thankfully nothing drastic is damaged
A general overview of the situation: Paine had made exactly the same move and Immels behind his wingman - Stark's machine blows a thin white smoke trail from his damaged motor as he and Pynne pass each other by - Drekman's blue Halberstadt, thus far uninvolved, closes in the background.
As Percy pulls out of his Immel he is met by the Halberstadt as it turns toward the fight and they exchange close range greetings. His Nieuport takes a decent amount of damage but it seems he makes no lasting impression on the blue Hun. Behind him Paine narrowly misses the Eindecker as it turns across his nose.
Pynne Immels just in time to see his recent enemy break away for home
Paine is perfectly placed to catch the Halberstadt as it turns past him, taking the opportunity Cam squeezes both triggers and lets him have both barrels at close range - it would be rude not to.
The attack is devastating, the high rate of fire smashes the Halbersatdt which almost visible wilts under the onslaught. Drekman is showered with broken glass and splinters and struck a blow to the head. All he feels is sharp pain and sees blood
As Pynne pulls out of his Immel he sees the Fokker biplane slip away from him but he meets the Eindecker and they exchange at close range too - he takes some hits but it's not bad and he gives as good as he got, if not better
Another general overview of the situation:
Things are pretty mixed, people are running or manoeuvring to re-engage..
Paine reefs his Nieuport round after the injured Halbertadt as both his colleagues Immel once again. Meantime Stark turns for safety and exits the battle space moments later
Paine completes his turn as Percy heads after the Halberstadt but gets caught by the Eindecker as he does so, luckily it seems one of his guns jams in the process.
Percy completes his turn and gets an extreme range shot at the retreating blue Hun but his gun jams almost immediately and no obvious damage is inflicted
Paine, seeing the on rushing Eindecker, stalls his machine and squeezes both triggers again as they exchange close range blows both machines blow smoke and the second Spandau sputters to silence.
Another general overview of the situation:
The Halberstadt leaves the battle space with the chasing Percy unable to do any more to stop it - the Eindecker & Paine pass one another trailing smoke behind them.
Paine and the Eindecker Immel once again but neither has the advantage of a shot, the Eindecker being jammed of course and Paine down to his last burst in his left gun. As they pass each other Paine can see the German working to clear his guns - this is maybe why he didn't see Pynne sweeping in. His long range effort sets the German machine on fire
Pynne follows through and catches the Hun flat footed as he tries to turn into the attack, emptying his pan into it at point blank range
It's too much for the Eindecker and it spins earthward trailing flame, smoke and sparks. Kill Pynne !
Cam Paine seeing it's demise nods his approval and fires the recall Very light to gather the lads on him for the now short flight home.
Victory points:
Bulldogs: 5pts for kill, 2pts for each FRTB = 9 pts
Eagles: No kills or FRTB = 0 pts
Clear Bulldog Victory
Butchers Tally:
Eagles:
Ltn Kurt-Bertram Drekman: (Halberstadt D.II) FRTB-W/WIA 0 kills
Rolled 4&1 - landed safely
Rolled 7 +1RTB -1WIA = 7 - Injured skip 1D2. Rolled 2 = Skip 1
Ltn Hugo Stark: (Fokker D.III) FRTB-E 0 kills
Rolled 6&5 - landed safely
Ltn Hans-Eberhardt Gossner: (Fokker E.IV) SD-FLM-FT 0 kills
Rolled 7 -2FLM = 5 - Injured Skip 1D3. Rolled 6 = skip 3
Bulldogs:
A/Lt Cameron Paine: (N.17 #4) RTB 0 kills
2Lt Percy Veer: (N.17 #2) RTB 0 kills
F/Sgt Robert Pynne: (N.17) RTB 1kill (Gossner)
Well that was a fun game to play and went along very smoothly.
I flew as Cam Paine everything else was AI - used my usual rules. As you'll see I didn't fight over NML but it was in the distance. I rolled to see what the Bulldogs would do - they rolled to follow the leader and he rolled to attack the right flank. I was pleased to put out one of their A firers early on and to put out the Halb not long after - The Eindecker was FRTB damage when he was set on fire and subsequently shot down. At least they didn't all escape this time.
Having twin Lewis guns was great - I decided to fire a single gun at long range, both at close range if the opportunity came up, which it did a couple of times. I had one burst left by the end.
I even forgot to use their inherent ace skills.
Think you'll enjoy this one chaps - Thanks Mike !
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