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Thread: OTT-EYM Mission 2 - Hunting and Hunted in the Clouds - January 12th 1917 by Hu Rhu

  1. #1

    Default OTT-EYM Mission 2 - Hunting and Hunted in the Clouds - January 12th 1917 by Hu Rhu

    aka OTT EYM Mission 2 – Cloud surfing - 12th January 1917 - Hu Rhu

    Ltn Hans Neumann peered through the clouds looking for his first target, cursing his luck that he had caught the CO ‘s eye, when he was looking for a victim.

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    “It’s an easy job” said ObLtn Koch. “The bombers claim that they hit all their targets yesterday but HQ wants confirmation. You need to get eyes onto the three targets in our sector and report back what damage has been inflicted. Oh and don’t get shot down whilst you’re at it” he chuckled.


    Now Neumann observed the heavily clouded sky and realised that this was going to be hard work especially as he was expecting that the British were flying patrols over the area. He decided that he would use the cloud cover to hide his approach to the targets.

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    2Lt Denis Giles flying a Nieuport 17 and 2Lt Redford Pugh, flying a SPAD VII were flying Eastward on a routine patrol pattern.

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    The cloud cover was giving the British pilots a headache too as they carried out their patrol pattern. 2 Lt Hugh Evans, flying a Sopwith Triplane was having trouble maintaining his northward course in the heavy clouds.

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    As he exited a particularly large one he found that he had deviated almost 90 degrees and was now heading West.

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    Neumann was also having a little trouble navigating in the clouds.

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    Giles and Neumann found themselves on opposite sides of the same cloud, blissfully unaware of the other’s presence.

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    Then as the clouds shifted, Giles spotted an Albatros on his left side before moments later losing sight of it as he plunged into another cloud. Neumann also spotted the Nieuport and dived into another cloud to avoid him.

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    Meanwhile Evans had reached the end of his patrol pattern was preparing to turn round.

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    Pugh was still heading due East but caught up in more cloud.

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    Unable to Immelman in the cloud, Giles wrenched his machine around and circled back in the direction of the last sighting.

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    Neumann emerged from his cloud having evaded the Nieuport and found himself perfectly aligned onto his first target.

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    Evans in his Triplane had by now got himself back onto his original course and was heading Northwards but was plagued by clouds obscuring his view.

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    Passing directly over the target, Neumann could see that the bombers had destroyed almost all of the target. He now lined himself up with his second objective.

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    Suddenly a Triplane emerged from the clouds in front of him and both pilots spotted the other, although were out of range.

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    Giles meanwhile was still chasing the Albatros but was blinded by the clouds.

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    Pugh reversed his course and was heading back West, when emerging from a cloud spotted an Albatros off to the North.

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    Both Neumann and Evans turned towards each other and opened fire. The Albatros didn’t seem to take much damage but was left smoking, whilst the Triplanes rudder was damaged.

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    Giles also spotted the dogfight as he exited the cloud and turned towards the combat.

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    Neumann and Evans passed by each other as the Albatros headed for the next bank of clouds. Neumann realised that was the only way to shake off his pursuers.

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    Then disaster struck the British. Evans was having trouble with his rudder and was not paying attention as Giles was too hasty in following the Albatros. There was a sickening crash and both planes were badly damaged, with the Nieuport taking the worst of it.

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    Emerging from another cloud, Neumann lined up his next target. (Although the SPAD is in the shot, it is still in the cloud and can neither be spotted by or spot the Albatros at this point.)

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    Flying directly over the target, Neumann sees that the bombers have hardly touched the objective. Glancing up he is surprised to spot a SPAD suddenly burst from the cloud in front of him and sends a quick burst into it, but misses. Pugh’s SPAD has deviated in the cloud and has no target.

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    As the two planes flash past each other, Neumann again heads into the cloud.

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    Unable to Immelmann, Pugh turns as quickly as he is able, although realising that the SPAD is quite slow to turn, however fast it was.

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    Meanwhile recovering form the shock of the crash, Evans has Immelmanned and is heading back towards the last sighting of the Albatros, whilst Giles is nursing his battered plane back towards his own lines.

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    Suddenly the Nieuport exits a cloudbank to find the Albatros right in front of him and fires a quick burst but misses.

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    Pugh is still slowly turning.

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    Losing the Albatros again, Giles heads back to base as Pugh is still slowly turning back to the fight but can’t spot Neumann who is still in the cloud. Evans is also masked by another cloudbank.

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    With heavy cloud cover all the combatants are unsighted both from each other and the target.

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    The as both planes emerge from the clouds, Evans has a perfect shot at close range on the Albatros and succeeds in damaging his rudder controls. However Neumann has a good view of the heavy damage the bomber has inflicted on the target.

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    The two planes pass each other as Neumann puts his nose down and starts the journey home. He has all the information needed, he just needs to get home to tell HQ.

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    Again he dives into a cloud to escape the British planes who are closing in on him.

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    The two remaining British scouts are now on either side of the cloud and are giving chase.

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    Emerging from the cloud allows Evans to spot him and he closes the range.

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    Evans opens fire at long range but does no damage but jams his guns. With the SPAD still some way away and with his nearest opponent frantically trying to clear his guns, Neumann turns for the lines, escaping safely back to his own aerodrome.

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    Butchers Tally

    Adlers:

    Ltn Hans Neumann: Albatros D.II – RTB – No Kills Viewed all 3 Targets

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    Bulldogs:

    2Lt Denis Giles: Nieuport 17 – FRTB-D – 0 Kills
    C&W Rolled 5+6. Landed safely.

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    2Lt Huw Evans: Sopwith Triplane – RTB – 0 Kills

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    2 Lt Redford Pugh: SPAD VII – RTB – 0 Kills

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    Victory to the Adlers.


    I planned to use pictures of clouds printed on A4 paper but half way through printing it packed up. Instead I used sheets of kapok cut to rough shapes as they were flat enough to allow the cards and planes to rest on top of them easily.

    The variations for exiting the clouds worked well with only one plane wildly off course and the rest with a relatively minor course corrections. However these were to have an effect throughout the game with some deviations allowing planes to get in a shot and others preventing one. All in all very enjoyable.
    Last edited by flash; 12-07-2022 at 00:44. Reason: Title & Tally tidy

  2. #2

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    Enjoyable read & easy to follow AAR Gary. I thought the clouds looked good as well.

  3. #3

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    Nicely done, Gary. Great use of tactics to roam about those clouds. I think you penalized yourself when Giles emerged from a cloud and shot Neumann in the same phase but at least it was a zero
    Home to warm up!
    REP

  4. #4

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    Smart pilot that Neumann. Kept out of trouble as best he could using the clouds to his advantage and completed his soptting mission. Well done!

  5. #5

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    That went well, I thought at the end when the Tripe and Spad were chasing down Neumann that being faster planes they would catch up. Pleased to see he evaded them.

    Clouds looked good, with a bit of work they could blend in seamlessly with your mat.

    Nice Triplane, I like the heart on the tail, whose plane was this?

  6. #6

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    An interesting use of Kapok for your clouds Gary. It certainly solves the problem of slippage.

    Quote Originally Posted by malachi View Post
    I think you penalized yourself when Giles emerged from a cloud and shot Neumann in the same phase.

    We have a slightly different rule in our games for an emerging aircraft Chris. We assume that if an aircraft is partly emerging out of the cover on its move the pilot can see out of the thinning clouds around him, but can't be spotted by an enemy until he is fully revealed. The converse is true for an aircraft entering cloud cover. He is not concealed until the base is totally within the cloud and may thus be fired upon until this point.

    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  7. #7

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    Well played, Gary, a clear home run and everyone made it back in one piece which was good to see.
    Well done with the clouds btw.

    Onkel says:
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    Well done, Hans, HQ und the bomber boys will be pleased to hear the results of their efforts, glad you made it back with just minimal damage and a soot stain !
    Last edited by flash; 12-07-2022 at 00:59.

    "He is wise who watches"

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Vagabond View Post
    ...Nice Triplane, I like the heart on the tail, whose plane was this?
    It's Captain Robert Alexander Little, RNAS 8 Naval Squadron, John. Ares did a model of it too.

    "He is wise who watches"

  9. #9

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    Thanks for all the kind comments chaps. A very enjoyable game so thanks very much to John (Vagabond) for writing the mission.

    I made a couple of decisions about the game which others might not agree with. Before spotting the German plane, the British planes were subject to the full effects of deviation in the cloud, which resulted in one plane veering wildly off course. However after they had spotted him the deviations were a maximum of 45 degrees (1,2 left, 3,4 straight on, 5,6 right). This deviation did not change the game significantly but as you can see from the pictures it certainly affected who could shoot and when. I applied this equally to both sides.

    Secondly I allowed shooting whenever a pilot was out of a cloud, even when emerging. I saw no difference in taking snapshots as it were, since this also occurs in dogfights. As it was there was only a few exchanges of fire, most of them snapshots as planes emerged from the gloom. Given the relatively clouded sky, without this rule change there would have been almost no shooting at all.

    John - The Triplane is Robert Little's which I painted up after the last game and is one from Syborg 3Ds models. In fact all four planes were painted by me (blowing my own trumpet here ) being a mix of Shapeways, Syborg 3D, Vallom and F-Toys.

  10. #10

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    Well played Chris. Those kapok clouds certainly fitted in well with that lovely mat of yours and I think you got the balance of the number and size of the clouds pretty well nailed there. The outcome was perfect with, as Dave points out, everyone making it back to the barn safely. That collision was a nasty one and I think it must be the first time I've seen the 10 and 6+PW "C" cards come out together and both planes survive - Nice one Very enjoyable read and lovely photos to boot.

  11. #11

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    Thanks for the info on the triplane. I've actually got the Ares model but don't remember the heart on the tail although did recognise the red bars or cross on the fuselage. Yours must look better than the Ares version otherwise I'm sure I'd have noticed.

    I'd noticed the buff coloured Spad but not that you'd painted the other one.
    Cheers

  12. #12

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    great AAR Gary. Felt the sense of frustration as planes appear then disappear into the clouds

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by camel crew View Post
    great AAR Gary. Felt the sense of frustration as planes appear then disappear into the clouds
    Glad it read like that, as that was very much how it felt in the game.

    Great for Neumann to stooge around in the clouds but the fighter pilot in me wanted to get out in the open and blast something. However he wouldn't have survived fighting three planes all of which were faster than him, albeit armed with only a single gun.

    However, the sense of elation when Neumann finally escaped from the British was worth it.

  14. #14

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    Good tactics + good visuals + good planes + good story = Great AAR.

  15. #15

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    Excellent take on this mission, Gary.
    Those clouds look like the perfect mix of looks and function.
    I am afraid my version is going to look pretty bland in comparison with you guys with cotton clouds.


    A very successful mission for our Adler.

  16. #16

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    Ahh, thanks for the cloud rules explanations, gents. Definitely food for thought as I prepare

  17. #17

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    Hi Gary, nice win for the Eagles, Tommies must be more careful when flying in cloud!



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