OTT EYM Mission 3 - Take These Broken Wings and Learn to Fly – 19 January 1917
The Albatros D.III entered squadron service in December 1916, and was immediately acclaimed by German pilots for its maneuverability and rate of climb. However, two faults with the new aircraft were soon identified.
Like the later models of the D.II, early D.IIIs featured a Teves und Braun airfoil-shaped radiator in the center of the upper wing, where it tended to scald the pilot if punctured. From the 290th D.III onward, the radiator was offset to the right on production machines while others were soon moved to the right as a field modification. Aircraft deployed in Palestine used two wing radiators, to cope with the warmer climate.
More seriously, the new aircraft immediately began experiencing failures of the lower wing ribs and leading edge, a defect shared with the Nieuport 17.
On January 23 1917, a Jasta 6 pilot suffered a failure of the lower right wing spar. On the following day, Manfred von Richthofen suffered a crack in the lower wing of his new D.III. On January 27, the Kogenluft (Kommandierender General der Luftstreitkräfte) issued an order grounding all D.IIIs pending resolution of the wing failure problem.
At the time, the continued wing failures were attributed to poor workmanship and materials at the Johannisthal factory. In fact, the real cause lay in the sesquiplane arrangement taken from the Nieuport. While the lower wing had sufficient strength in static tests, it was subsequently determined that the main spar was located too far aft, causing the wing to twist under aerodynamic loads. Pilots were therefore advised not to perform steep or prolonged dives in the D.III. This design flaw persisted despite attempts to rectify the problem in the D.III and succeeding D.V.
Apart from its structural deficiencies, the D.III was considered pleasant and easy to fly, if somewhat heavy on the controls. The sesquiplane arrangement offered improved climb, maneuverability, and downward visibility compared to the preceding D.II. Like most contemporary aircraft, the D.III was prone to spinning, but recovery was straightforward.
Setup
Place two mats joined on the short edge or three mats joined on the long edge.
If you do not have enough space use the “slide one mat off” system.
One map will be No Man’s Land and the other(s) will be one of the other Ares mats (Countryside, City, Industrial Complex) which will be considered enemy territory. If using 3 mats they will represent Entente / No Man’s Land / German territory.
If you do not use Ares mats, just consider one half of the playing area to be No Man’s Land and the other to be Enemy Territory.
Phase One
Entente aircraft will be comprised of 3 bombers and 2 escorting scouts
The Entente will start one ruler from the western edge, heading toward the far opposite edge of the table.
[Note: Photo shows 1-1/2 rulers, which is incorrect]
If using altitude start the bombers at Level 4. Escorting scouts may start at Altitude 5.
Note: Bombers are considered to be carrying a full load and must play one stall each Turn.
The bomber objective is to exit the board at the far edge of Enemy Territory.
Any Entente aircraft that are forced to return to base (FRTB) can exit from any edge of No Man’s Land (or Friendly territory if using 3 mats)
A bomber that is FRTB may drop its load to enable full movement.
The German force will be comprised of 4 scouts, at least two of which should be an Albatros D.III
If you do not have any D.III you can substitute an alternate, but for game purposes consider it to be a D.III
Maneuver Deck: J
Damage Deck: A
Damage Limit: 14
Climb Rate: 4
The Germans will start at Altitude 6 on the same edge of the mat where the Entente entered and use a random selection to place them in the left, center or right sector of the starting edge.
(see Red Numbers 1, 2, 3 in the following photo.) They can be placed as one group of four, or split into two groups.
When the Germans are within one ruler range of the enemy they must plan an Overdive to attack the Entente group.
Target priority should be the bombers.
No change in altitude can be played before this Overdive.
If not using altitude you will still need to perform the Overdive procedure for the first attack.
The Overdive sequence is Stall / Dive / Straight.
Special Scenario Rule
Albatros D.III are subject to possible structural damage during an Overdive.
Draw an ‘A’ damage card after the initial Dive card and then again after the following straight.
Disregard any Special Damage except the Boom card and Rudder Damage.
The Boom card will be considered to be 7 points for an Albatros D.III
If any numeric damage other than 0 is drawn during the Overdive procedure you must draw an ‘A’ damage card after any steep maneuver performed by this aircraft for the remainder of the scenario.
If there is zero damage during this test the aircraft may perform as normal for the remainder of the game.
Note: Lucky Pilot or Firm Hand may not be used to negate this damage.
If an Albatros D.III that suffered structural damage is within 5 of its damage limit it is subject to FRTB-D and must exit the board from any edge.
Phase Two
Once the Entente Bombers have exited the mat remove any German Planes that are not executing an FRTB.
They will be considered to be following the Entente group off the table.
The German planes will return and be placed at the edge of the mat the Entente exited from, heading back toward the opposite end.
The rest of the scenario will be a Dog Fight.
A new Entente force, comprised of one less scout than the Germans currently have, starts at the join between the two mats, heading toward the Germans.
If none of the German aircraft suffered structural failure in Phase One they must again use the Overdive procedure for their first attack: Start them at Altitude 6 and the Entente at Altitude 4.
Otherwise, use a random method to determine initiative and place the group with higher initiative one level higher.
Victory Conditions
Entente Points
Bomber exits the far edge of the mat 3
Scout Shot Down 2
Scout FRTB or downed by structural failure 1
German Points
Bomber Shot Down 3
Bomber FRTB 1
Scout Shot Down 2
Scout FRTB 1
Structurally damaged D.III RTB 1
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Originally Posted by Hu Rhu
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