OTT EYM Mission 5 - Adler Home Run - 5 February 1917 {Stumptonian}
Obltn Bernhard Wienand had been contacted by Kampfgeschwader command to coordinate sending several pilots and observers (on a strictly 'voluntary' basis) from FFA 245 to augment a large bombing raid 17km south of Arras, Courcelles-le-Comte, where the Entente were stockpiling large amounts of ammunition and supplies.
This would give the crews much-needed experience in aircraft much larger than the Zweisitzers they were accustomed to.
Fwbl Pilots Siegfried Nixdorf and Lukas Himmel-Spaziergänger were assigned, as well as Leutnants Herbert Fiedler and Max Jungbauer, and Obltn Leonard Wiechers to fill in as gunners.
The aircraft are a pair of AEG G.IV and will be escorted by Adler Leutnants Till Hübner and Jens Höfer flying Halberstadt D.IIIs.
The airmen, especially Hübner, were disappointed that Wienand had only authorized the use of the second tier Halberstadts, but he apparently did not want to risk losing any of the remaining Albatros D.IIs.
With the Albatros D.III being recalled for upgrades to the wing structure the Jastas had to make do with what they had in reserve for the forseeable future.
„Die G.IV sind langsam, also ist es wahrscheinlich auch gut so.‘
< The G.IV are slow, so it's probably just as well … >
The mission was a success, although the G.IV did each receive damage from anti-aircraft fire over the target.
[Note: I assigned 5 points of damage to each to bring the damage limit more in line with the tandems that were to be used in the briefing as written.]
No Man‘s Land is not far .... They will soon be back over German-held territory.
„Eine warme Mahlzeit und ein Schnaps hören sich jetzt richtig gut an ...“
< A hot meal and a schnapps sounds really good right now >
Was the thought going through the minds of more than one crew member …
Unfortunately for the Adler airmen a trio of Pups from 52 Squadron have different ideas.
Bulldogs John Moncrieff, George Whitney and Ronald Billinge are approaching, just over the horizon.
“Englander!” shouts Ltn Herbert Fiedler from his perch in the forward nacelle of the darker hued G.IV
Himmel-Spaziergänger immediately turns to the left, hoping to get the attention of Nixdorf and his crew in the other G.IV.
KRAK!
A British ‘Archie’ unit has been waiting for the right opportunity and puts a round very close to the dark G.IV.
Luckily there does not seem to be any damage.
Rat-at-tat-a-tat
Da da da da
Billinge exchanges a few rounds with Max Jungbauer, firing the forward gun of the paler G.IV
Both do minor damage, although smoke will start to stream from the Pup.
Next up – Fiedler versus Moncrieff.
Da da da da
[Moncrieff is just out of range due to the angle.]
Höfer takes on Whitney
Tikka tikka tik …
< Scheiße! >
Right off the bat his gun has jammed.
(In his mind he can hear Hübner expounding on the need to check the bullets before every mission ….)
To make matters worse, his Mercedes engine is making a helluva racket …
Not a good start – he will be forced back to base!
Tikka tikka tikka
Hübner, using his Sniper Skill, hits Billinge.
[His Bullet Checker skill has also saved him from a Gun Jam]
Da da da da
Roland-Reinhart Dietrich-Daimler (R2D2 for short) fires from the rear cockpit at Moncrieff but there is no noticeable effect.
Whitney dips his agile Pup in front of Höfer, narrowly avoiding a collision.
Da da da da
Another miss.
R2D2 must not be used to the sights on his Parabellum.
Da da da da
Wiechers fires at the anti-aircraft gun as they pass by and does a bit of damage.
He seems to have his Parabellum ‘dialed in’ …
KRAK!
Another shot from the AA, but another miss.
[And I forgot to do the return fire from Fiedler …]
Rat-a-tat-a-t ….
Moncrieff curses as his Vickers jams.
Da da da da
And Dietrich-Daimler is 0 for 3 ….
Forgetting to note Moncrieff’s gun jam I allowed him to fire again in phase 2 …
The only difference is Moncrieff did 2 points of damage (that shouldn’t have counted …)
And R2D2 can’t hit the broad side of a barn!
Rat-a-tat-a-tat
Whitney does some serious damage to Höfer, who is looking to “Exit, Stage Left” as soon as possible.
Tikka tik …
Hübner comes to Höfer’s aid, but his gun jams almost immediately.
So much for his storied “Bullet Checking” …
Da da da
“R2D2” finally scores a hit on Moncrieff!
Perhaps I spoke to soon …
Da da da and Dietrich-Daimler does zero damage again.
Moncrieff is madly trying to clear his jam.
Rat-a-t ……
Gun jams are becoming contagious it seems.
Whitney joins the club with his attempt on Höfer.
Things are about to change in a big way …
Rat-a-tat-a-t…
Moncrieff finally clears his Vickers only to have it jam again!
But … his bullets find Himmel-Spaziergänger.
If he wasn’t already heading home he would be now.
Da da da da
Dietrich-Daimler can’t believe it!
With a quick flash, Moncrieff’s Pup suffers some major structural damage and drops from his sight (and his sights).
Moncrieff skillfully dives his damaged Pup to the ground.
Luckily some nearby Tommies are there to help him from the wreckage.
Hübner performs a perfect Immelmann, but both he and Whitney cannot get a shot off (even if they were in range) with their frustrating jams.
KRAK!
Just in case anyone had forgotten, the ‘Archie’ has another go at the darker G.IV but is well off the mark.
Höfer ducks away while he has a chance.
Now to make it back to the airfield ….
Tikka tikkka
Hübner uses his Sniper ability and feels he has missed a perfect opportunity, but then notices a flicker of flame from Whitney’s Pup.
The flames are steady, but not too damaging yet.
Tikka tikka
Hübner does some more damage to Whitney, but expected much more from such close range.
Rat-a-tat-a-tat
Billinge sees no apparent damage on the G.IV
Da da da
‘R2’ finally sees some major damage on Billinge in return.
Seems he is either Hit or Miss today.
(Pun intended)
Hübner ducks behind Whitney and can almost feel the heat from the flames streaming from the Pup.
Rat-a-tat-a-tat
Billinge misses his mark yet again.
Da da da
Dietrich-Daimler has the range right and does some more damage.
Rat-a-ta-a-tat
Finally Billinge sees bits of wood and fabric flying off the G.IV!
But almost instantly his own machine takes catastrophic damage from Dietrich-Daimler!
‘R2D2’ has his second kill of the day!
[Sorry about the missing range ruler. I realized I had forgotten the +1 and then forgot to put it back for the corrected photo]
Billinge gets his Pup to ground and extracts himself from the cockpit, none the worse for wear.
Whitney is now alone, but doesn’t know it.
He has other fish to fry …
Nixdorf gets his G.IV safely out of harms way.
The Bulldogs had almost totally ignored them after the initial spats.
‘Skywalker’ follows suit shortly thereafter, although he and ‘R2’ had seen a lot more action today.
All that is left now is the duel between Hübner and Whitney.
Whitney is definitely the underdog now.
One thing Whitney will no longer have to deal with is the fire as the last flame fizzles out.
No rest for our plucky young Bulldog, however …
Tikka tikka
Hübner’s Sniper skill finally comes through and his bullets nick Whitney in his right side.
Rata-t …
To make things worse he has another damn jam!
Focusing on his gun jam Whitney very nearly does himself in with what surely would have been a mission-ending collision.
Whitney and Hübner eye each other cautiously.
Tikka tik ...
Hübner joins the jam club for the second time.
His Bullet Checker skill needs some work …
Whitney Immelmanns and gets himself into the perfect spot for a kill shot!
[Unfortunately, a wounded pilot cannot fire after an Immelmann or steep maneuver]
… and his ‘Mandatory Straight’ has put him into an ‘Overlap’, so again he has no shot!
Hübner performs his own Immelmann while Whitney pulls off a sharp 90 degree turn.
“Meine Güte, diese Welpen sind wendig ...“
< My God these Pups are agile >
Both pilots look back over their shoulder and try to determine what to do next.
Hübner performs a Split-S while Whitney does another Immelmann.
Both pilots close in for the kill.
Rat-a-tata-tat
Tikka tikka tik
Perhaps Whitney’s injury has messed with his aim, but Hübner’s Sniper skill definitely sways the outcome this time.
Flames flare up again, along with damaged rudder controls.
Whitney flips his machine from side to side to try to control the flames.
Tikka tikka
Hübner fires at long range, but does barely noticeable damage this time.
The flames are flaring up!
And that was enough for Whitney’s Pup
Wounded and on fire his machine streaks to the fields below.
Hübner has his 19th kill!
Butcher’s Tally
Bulldogs
Sopwith Pup
Lt John Moncrieff: EXP-FT 0 Kills or Probable's
C&W: 10 -3EXP = 7- Injured - Skip 1D2 Scenario. Rolled 4 = Skip 2
Sopwith Pup
2Lt Ronald Billinge: EXP-FT 0 Kills or Probable's
C&W: 12 -3EXP = 9 - All well when you land well!
Sopwith Pup
2Lt George Whitney: SD-FLM-FT / WIA 0 Kills 1 Probable (Höfer)
C&W: 11 -2FLM -1WIA = 8 - Injured - Skip 1D2 Scenario. Rolled 6 = Skip 2 Missions.
Adler
Halberstadt D.III
Ltn Jens Höfer: FRTB-E 0 Kills or Probable's
FRTB Roll: 3 & 3 = Crashed
C&W: 5 +1RTB -1FRTB = 5 - Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios. Rolled 3* = Skip 3 Missions.
* Actual D3 die
Halberstadt D.III
Ltn Till Hübner: RTB 1 Kill (Whitney)
AEG G.IV
Pilot: Fwbl Siegfried Nixdorf: RTB 0 Kills or Probable's
Rear Gunner: Obltn Leonard Wiechers: RTB 0 Kills or Probable's
Front Gunner: Ltn Max Jungbauer: RTB 0 Kills or Probable's
AEG G.IV
Pilot: Fwbl Lukas Himmel-Spaziergänger: FRTB-W / WIA 0 Kills or Probable's
FRTB 6+4 = stuck the landing (phew!)
C&W: 6 +1RTB -1WIA = 6 - Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios. Rolled 2* = Skip 2 missions
Front Gunner: Ltn Herbert Fiedler: RTB 0 Kills or Probable's
Rear Gunner: Ltn Roland-Reinhart Dietrich-Daimler: RTB 2 Kills (Moncrieff & Billinge)
* Actual D3 die
Victory Points
Bulldogs
Enemy scout FRTB : 2 Points
Adler
Bomber Safely RTB : 6 x 2 = 12 Points
Enemy scout shot down 5 x 3 = 15 points
AA Damaged : 0 Points
Total : 27 Points
---------------------------------------------------------
An interesting mission, Chris.
I ‘flipped’ it because the scenario as written would have been almost a repeat of Mission 3 for me, with Fe2b and DH.2 on their last legs.
When Höfer was FRTB in Turn 1.3 I was pretty sure this was not going to go well for my Adler.
Then when ‘R2D2’ couldn’t hit anything for spit I thought my luck was going to be all bad.
Luckily for me, the Bulldogs couldn’t hit much either, although the ‘Star Wars’ crew was very close to going down near the end.
Roland-Reinhart Dietrich-Daimler finally got his act together and got two kills – most unusual for a Zweisitzer crew.
With two Bulldogs going down with Booms and the other in flames I did not have much hope for their survival but the Dice Gods must have been on vacation.
Now on to Mr. Landry’s mission ….
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Originally Posted by Baxter
for his continued service and victories for the Kaiser & Fatherland 
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