OTT EYM Mission 4 – Bombs and Blondes – 4th February 1917 {Stumptonian}
Adler Operations Tent
Oberleutnant Bernhard Wienand has been directed to send a flight of three aircraft to the Zeebrugge area as part of a weekly revolving cycle tasked with providing patrols of the area to protect the construction of new U-Boat pens.
Leutnants Till Hübner, Felix Eisenhardt and Dietrich Oelker have been given the assignment.
“Viel Glück, meine Herren. Wir sehen uns in einer Woche.“
< Good luck gentlemen. I will see you in a week. >
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The Adler will have their work cut out for them.
An Entente force is making its way to the harbour, comprised of a giant Handley Page O/100 and two Sopwith Pup escorts.
Following behind the main force is a lone BE.2c
2Lt Neil Stead has been tasked with the recovery of a Belgian spy who has been compromised after providing information on the construction to British Intelligence.
He will look for a makeshift landing strip on the outskirts of town. The Belgian Resistance will assist the spy to get safely aboard the recovery aircraft.
The observer seat will be empty to provide a spot for the spy. He has been told that the resistance assured that the agent has been trained in the operation of a Lewis gun.
(Although they failed to mention that said agent has never fired from a moving aircraft before ...)
The Adler approach the harbour, Oelker in a Halberstadt D.III and Hübner and Eisenhardt back in their old familiar Albatros D.IIs
They have been slowly climbing for the last few minutes to try to have an advantage over any enemy bombers they may encounter.
Both Hübner and Eisenhardt grumble to themselves about the handling of the D.II compared to the D.III they had become accustomed to.
With the grounding of all Albatros D.III after recent reports of structural instability (which Hübner and Eisenhardt experienced firsthand) the Jastas had scrambled to get enough suitable aircraft to take their place.
Oelker, being the least experienced of the trio, drew the ‘short straw’ and had to settle for the Halberstadt.
“Zurück zu einer einzelnen Kanone, aber eigentlich ziehe ich die Handhabung der Halberstadt der D.II vor ...“
< Back to a single gun, but actually I prefer the handling of the Halberstadt to the D.II... >
Moore ducks his Pup under the giant bomber.
He wants to get closer to Billinge to coordinate their movements better.
The Adler spread out, gradually climbing.
Moore feels the bomber overhead.
The Pup feels even smaller than it usually does.
Hübner glances down at the construction as he flies past the town.
Oelker spots the enemy and levels off.
“Mein Gott ist das ein riesiges Tier!“
< My God that is an enormous beast >
Oelker gets a good look at Billinge’s Pup but the altitude difference prevents a shot.
Moore is still in the shadow of the Handley Page.
Billinge climbs to meet Oelker but now they are too close for a shot.
Tikka Tikka
Tikka Tikka
Billinge and Eisenhardt exchange short bursts.
The adversaries eye each other as they pass by so close they could almost touch each other.
Tikka tikka tikka
Hübner uses his Sniper skill and hits the Handley Page hard!
Da da da
The bomber’s front gunner fires in response but misses the Albatros entirely.
Moore has no shot due to altitude difference.
The Handley Page drops its first bombs.
The target seems a long way away at this altitude.
The Handley’s dorsal gunner gets off a quick burst at Hübner.
Da da da
Only minor damage to the Albatros
The bomber prepares a second bomb drop.
This set of bombs were released after a stall maneuver so might have a better chance of hitting the target.
Hübner has performed an Immelmann and fires at the bomber.
Tikka tikka
Another solid hit, but it will take a lot more to bring this beast down.
[The Albatros is in the dorsal gunner’s blind spot]
Tikka tikka
Moore gets a quick shot at Eisenhardt’s Albatros.
Boom!
The first bombs hit the target area but not close enough to damage the submarine pen.
Tikka tikka
Billinge’s turn to hit Eisenhardt.
Minor damage, but the rudder control is affected.
Tikka tikka
Hübner somehow manages to miss the big bird!
The dorsal gunner gets a good shot in return
Da da da
Now Hübner has rudder issues as well.
Ba-Boom!
The final bombs hit closer to the docks, but only partially damage them.
Tikka tikka
Hübner again misses the bomber!
Tikka tikka
Oelker dives at the BE.2c using his inherent Sniper skill
Nada!
Tikka tikka
Hübner’s Sniper skill seems to be rusty, but he does manage to do a bit of damage.
Good thing he still checks his bullets before each mission ….
Da da da
The dorsal gunner misses with his return fire.
Moore heads to protect the BE.2
Tikka tikka
Billinge flies a sharp turn and hits Eisenhardt’s rudder again.
Tikka tikka
Hübner sticks with the Handley Page and does some more damage at last.
Da da da
The dorsal gunner is frazzled and can not hit the Albatros.
Billinge gets behind Eisenhardt
The bomber surprises Hübner with a turn.
Da da da
The dorsal gunner hits Hübner this time – more rudder damage!
Meanwhile Stead has lined up the landing strip.
Oelker performs a Split-S and sees the BE.2 landing.
Hübner ties to turn right and follow the bomber but his rudder will not respond!
Moore approaches Oelker’s Halberstadt but has no shot < Altitude >
Frustrated, Hübner performs a Split-S to try to get back after the bomber.
Stead dives to Level 1.
Moore and Oelker nearly clip each other as they pass.
Luckily the altitude difference saves the day.
Tikka tikka
Eisenhardt’s Sniper shot damages the H-Ps rudder, but only slightly.
Da da da da
The front gunner hits Eisenhardt’s Albatros with return fire.
Da da da da
The dorsal gunner comes up short.
Stead has misjudged the landing!
“Hold on to your hat!” he shouts to no one in particular.
Thick brush slows the BE.2
Tikka tikka
Eisenhardt hits the co-pilot on the Handley Page
Stead rolls the BE.2 to a stop.
Belgian resistance scramble from some nearby bushes.
The soon-to-be-passenger wonders about Stead's flying capabilities ...
Tikka tikka
Eisenhardt does better without his sniper skill and damages the Handley Page’s engine!
[I forgot about the chit draw to determine the number of possible engine damage]
Tikka tikka
Eisenhardt does more minor damage to the Handley Page.
Da da d...
The dorsal gunner jams his gun
Tikka tikka
Billinge to the rescue!
Flames start to flicker from Eisenhardt’s aircraft!
Tikka tikka
Eisenhardt’s sniper skill comes through and the bomber’s front gunner is silenced, along with a decent amount of damage.
Tikka tikka
Billinge comes through again with more fire damage to Eisenhardt.
[That should have been a +1]
That last hit from Eisenhardt was enough to bring down the bomber and it falls to the earth below.
Tikka tikka
Oelker rakes the BE.2 and starts the engine smoking.
Eisenhardt has no time to celebrate his downing of the Handley Page as he has his own problems to deal with.
No shots as the combatants circle each other.
The resistance has helped Stead get his BE.2 moving and the spy takes up the gunner’s seat.
Tikka tikka
Oelker takes opportunity fire at Moore’s Pup
The Pup’s engine seizes and then suddenly
BOOM!
A fuel line has been severed!
Moore’s day is done!
The Pup plummets to the ground.
Meanwhile, Moore’s wingman, Billinge, pursues the burning yellow Albatros.
Tikka tikka
Billinge zigged when he shoulda zagged and Eisenhardt gets out of his sights.
Tikka tikka
Oelker hits the BE.2 as it trundles up the field.
Da da da da
The Belgian spy fires back at the Halberstadt to no effect.
Eisenhardt’s fire is spreading!
The flames are too much for the Albatros and it falls to the floor, streaming fire and smoke.
Billinge turns to look for his target and all he sees are flames far below.
He has his first kill!
Stead frantically looks over his should at the approaching Halberstadt.
Tikka tikka
Oelker’s bullets rip through the fragile machine.
Da da da
The Belgian fires her Lewis
Boom!
The Halberstadt explodes in flame!
[Pretty hard to use the minus 1 penalty for her lack of skill on that card draw]
Stead can’t believe his luck as the Halberstadt falls to the ground.
Across the battlefield Hübner uses his sniper skill and finally gets a devastating series of hits on Billinge!
The Pups’ engine begins to howl and he feel a sharp pain in his side as bullets rip through his flying suit!
Tikka tikka
His return fire does more damage to Hübner’s rudder, but he will definitely be looking to get back to the barn.
Billinge turns away while Hübner eyes the escaping BE.2c
Billinge is not surprised to see the Albatros perform a Split-S
Billinge’s steep maneuver prevents him from taking what could have been a very opportunistic shot!
Hübner changes his tack and goes after the BE.2c
Tikka tikka
Hübner’s sniper skill comes through again as he dives on the hapless quarry.
The BE.2 lurches toward the ground.
Neal struggles with the controls and the aircraft hits the ground hard.
Hübner sees the remaining Pup hoping to avoid becoming another casualty.
Billinge makes a daring move and performs an overdive to get away from Hübner.
Success!
Hübner turns about and begins his lonely flight home, wondering about the fates of his wingmen.
Both went down in fiery crashes – hopefully some luck will be with them.
Butcher’s Tally
Entente
Handley Page O/100 SD ET
Pilot: SD-ET
C&W: 5 -1SD = 4 : Injured 1D6(5) = Skip 5
E&E: 5 -1BEL -1WIC = 3 : Captured and Escaped 1D3(3) = skip 2
Total : Skip 5 missions.
Co-Pilot: SD-ET / WIA
C&W: 12 -1SD -1WIA = 10 - All well when you land well !
E&E: 7 -1BEL -1WIA = 5 - In Hiding 1D2{1} = Skip 1
Front Gunner: SD-ET / WIA 0 kills
C&W: 10 -1SD -1WIA = 8 - Injured 1D2{3) = Skip 1
E&E: 7 -1BEL -1WIA -1WIC = 4 - Captured and Escaped 1D3(2) = Skip 2
Dorsal Gunner: SD-ET 0 kills
C&W: 6 -1SD = 5 - Injured 1D3(2) = Skip 2
E&E: 4 -1BEL -1WIC = 2 - Captured! The war is over for this airman.
Sopwith Pup
2Lt Duncan Moore: EXP-ET 0 Kills 0 Probable
C&W: 7 -3EXP = 4- Injured - Skip 1D6 Scenarios, rolled 4 = Skip 4
E&E: 7 -1EXP -1BEL -1WIC = 4 - Captured and escaped! - Skip 1D3 Scenarios, rolled 3 = Skip 2
R.A.F. BE.2c
2Lt Neal Stead: (P2) SD-ET 0 Kills 0 Probable
C&W: 8 -1SD = 7 - Injured - Skip 1D2 Scenario, rolled 4 = Skip 2
E&E: 6 -1BEL -1WIC = 4 - Captured and escaped! - Skip 1D3 Scenarios, rolled 1 = Skip 1
'Madame Blanchet': SD-ET 1 Kill (Halberstadt D.III - Oelker)
C&W: 10 -1SD = 9 - All well when you land well !
E&E: 7 -1BEL = 6 - In hiding! Skip 1D2 Scenarios, rolled 4 = Skip 2.
Sopwith Pup
2Lt Ronald Billinge: FTRB-E / WIA 1 Kill (Albatros D.II - Eisenhardt)
FRTB: 3+1 = OK
C&W: 10 +1RTB -1WIA = 10 - All well when you land well !
Adler
Albatros D.II
Ltn Felix Eisenhardt: SD-FLM-FT 1 Kill (Handley Page O/100)
C&W: 5 -2FLM = 3 - Injured - Skip 1D6 Scenarios, rolled 2 = Skip 2
Halberstadt D.III
Ltn Dietrich Oelker: EXP-FT 1 Kill: (Sopwith Pup - Moore)
C&W: 8 -3EXP = 5 - Injured - Skip 1D6 Scenarios, rolled 2 = Skip 2
Oelker has his 5th kill and is now an ace. His inherent Sniper skill is now permanent.
Albatros D.II
Ltn Till Hübner: RTB 1 Kill (BE.2c) 1 Probable FRTB-E (Sopwith Pup - Billinge)
Victory Points
Entente
Bomber near miss x 2 = 10*
Scout shot down x 2 = 10
Total : 20 points
Adler
Bomber shot down after dropping bombs = 7
Scout shot down x 1 = 5
Two-seater shot down = 5
Scout FRTB = 2
Total : 19 points
*Just noticed there was not supposed to be an option to split the bomb drop so rated each near miss at 5 instead of 10
Technically a minor win for the Entente, but a very close one in the end.
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Denouement
So what became of ‘Madame Blanchet’ the Belgian Spy?
It turned out ‘she’ was more of a brunette than a blonde.
While 2Lt Stead was captured and eventually escaped, rumour has it she made her way out of town hidden in the back of a milk cart.
Or was it a beer wagon?
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for his fifth victory for the Kaiser & the Fatherland :salute
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