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Thread: AARs of Sopwith Dolphin missions?

  1. #1

    Default AARs of Sopwith Dolphin missions?

    I love reading the After Action Reports. They are just brilliant! The AARs really bring the game to life and suggests interesting senarios to play out in my own game sessions. I can't say how much I enjoy this forum.

    I have a question regarding the Sopwith Dolphin which is said to have been quite good, but the Dolphin doesn't get the same respect as the Camel or SE5a. Perhaps there were relatively few Dolphins in use, or maybe there are other reasons this plane gets less attention. Has any forum members used Dolphins in a game senario? How does the Dolphin fare vis-a-vis its opponents?

  2. #2

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    Historicon 2021 I ran a game with a couple of Dolphins in the mix. You can see it HERE.

    The Dolphin has been given the same stats as the SE5a. If you like flying a SE5a, you get the same experience with a Dolphin. Most players I have found if given a choice of an Entente plane will choose a SE5a. So needless to say but I'll do so anyway, Dolphins are well liked when flown. Dolphins came to the front in numbers several months after the SE5a. Over 5000 SE5as were built while there were a little over 2000 Dolphins. When a player first sees a Dolphin they are usually not sure what it is. Once I explain they are the same for some reason they more than not choose the SE5a.

  3. #3

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    It's one of the most overlooked planes of the war, with 1,500 to 1,700 built, and it was quite effective. Perhaps since it only showed up in late 1917, it didn't have time to rack up the scores and totals of the Camel and SE5a (and the attached publicity). Built with maximum forward and upward visibility in mind, it wasn't trusted at first because pilots feared serious injury should it flip over on landing. Many pilots scored air victories in the teens and twenties flying the Dolphin.

  4. #4

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    I have one Dolphin but only flew it a couple of times because it did not fit in with the Campaign Over the Trenches in which I was playing, Larry. Much the same reason as I never really flew my Austin-Ball.

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

  5. #5

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    I have a couple of Dolphins now, Larry, and have used them in late war OTT games in the past. They fly the same as the SE5a which means they have the same issues with wounded pilots and steep moves. Always wondered if it performed better than the SE, as I would prefer it if it didn't have so many steeps - this quote from Cecil Lewis in his memoir Sagittarius Rising might suggests it was:
    Describing a mock dogfight between his S.E.5a and a Dolphin: "The Dolphin had a better performance than I realised. He was up in a climbing turn and on my tail in a flash. I half rolled out of the way, he was still there. I sat in a tight climbing spiral, he sat in a tighter one. I tried to climb above him, he climbed faster. Every dodge I have ever learned I tried on him; but he just sat there on my tail, for all the world as if I had just been towing him behind me."
    They became operational with four squadrons in Feb & March 1918 so are an option for later scenarios but offer nothing more, other than a different look to a game, than the SE5a.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Dolphin

    "He is wise who watches"

  6. #6

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    Thanks for your useful comments, Peter, Daryl, Rob, Dave. So, there is nothing special about the Dolphin, not for gaming purposes, at least.

    Peter, I enjoyed reading your "Tommy on the Run" troop strafing mission. I'd like to incorporate a bit of ground action in my game. Perhaps even a tank or two in some way, as a strafing target maybe.

  7. #7

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    I bought a couple of Reduced Air Factory Dolphins, but they will not get to the table (in Over the Tranches at least) for a few years

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stumptonian View Post
    I bought a couple of Reduced Air Factory Dolphins, but they will not get to the table (in Over the Tranches at least) for a few years
    ....a few years..???. ha-ha....I think I know where you're coming from



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