Ok that is why I didnt see it as I havent changed from RNAS YET. When I put rfc in it will probably show up. Thanks

I know I'm coming really late to the party, but could I join in on the fun of the DID campaign or do I need to wait until you guys start another one?

You can start a DiD campaign at any time. Everyone is welcome!

You are not late at all, Banjoman!
The "modern air war" has only just begun. The first really useful fighters came up only in summer
last year (1916), and now, early 1917, the squadrons and Jastas are beginning to develop real
air combat rules and tactics. Getting through 1917 will be a long and bloody way - and then there
will still be 1918 to survive, when the air war will see many more planes than ever before.
So, you are still rather early.

Please make sure you read the rules in page one. When you have questions, just ask;
the gents here are all very nice, no matter which side.

In post #1 is also the link to the survey - after your first sortie, you should note all data
from your pilot log book, and fill them into the survey - welcome over Flanders fields, Banjo!

So, what date do I start with? I noticed on the first posting that it was June 1916.

Welcome to the front, Banjoman! The campaign is a great experience, and the people involved are wonderful. I joined late myself, going through my first two pilots in September and October, before getting my current career underway in November.

Here are a few lessons learned the hard way (screwing up and adjusting or starting over):

1. Read Olham's instructions on the first page of this thread very carefully. They are thorough.
2. Pay careful attention to the instruction about which rank to begin with. It's easy to miss.
3. You'll start on this date in 1917.
4. Jim Attrill runs the reporting system for stats. Be sure to submit a stat report after your first mission or two. The link to Jim's system is in the page one instructions.
5. Your first pilot's given name will start with A.
6. Pay close attention to the DiD claim system instructions on page one. It is designed to keep the kill count realistic.
7. I recommend keeping a paper record of hours flown month by month, because the "Quiet / Medium / Hot" intensity levels can change with each month or with each change of base and the accounting must be done manually.

And please send in your stories. You'll see everyone has his own approach, and the reports are highly entertaining. Some are straightforward written combat reports. Some, like Louvert or Olham or Lederhosen, accompany them with beautifully done photo-compositions. Some like Carrick and MFair and HarryH do great in-flight screen shots. Some, like Maeran, write segments that read like previews of an upcoming novel. Robert Wiggens is a video master with a new one each day or two, and Louvert does videos less often but deserves an Academy Awards for his work. Others base their reports on "letters home." Most importantly, have fun and keep your guy alive!

Simultaneous post with Olham...

At long last, spring came and embraced the Champagne and it's wide areas of green farmland.
Jasta 17 pilots Landin, Walz, Prager and myself travelled to Armee-Flugpark 1 at Rethel
yesterday afternoon and brought back 4 overhauled Albatros D.II to the Staffel.
This was necessary, after the withdrawal from service of the Albatros D.III for an uncertain length of time.
Several reports of structural failures on the lower sesquiplane wings had led to this decision.

With the new "old" birds, almost the whole Jasta could make a sortie today - at last!
Everyone was in the best possible mood after all the reain and grey!
North of Laon we sighted a flight of 5 Nieuport 23 slightly higher, which engaged us.
I avoided the furball and chased after a single Nieuport, that ran south.
We crossed over Laon, before I caught up with the French.
He fell under my first, close burst, and his craft went down out of control.
The Nieuport slammed in at 7:42 h, at the northern edge of Bruyères-et-Montbérault,
and my wingman Eberle witnessed my victory.
A perfect morning - except for this French fellow...

Here are a couple more questions, how many missions can I fly per real day? How many missions can I fly per game day? I've seen you guys talking about missions being scrubbed because of bad weather, so is this bad weather in the game or in real life? That leads me to my next question, do you only fly missions when the weather in the real world is good for flight? I'm sorry for all of the questions, but I'm going to start the DID campaign tonight and I'll be on my own this weekend so I could get a lot of flying time. Anyway, thanks for all of the help in advance.

Banjoman, if you start your campaign today, April 21st, you can fly however many missions come up for that day in 1917 that your squadron flies. Tomorrow you can do the same. If you do not fly because of real life issues for a day, a week or whatever, you advance time to the actual real life date except in 1917. The dud weather issue comes up when everyone gets home from real life, sits down at the computer for a bout of DID and it comes up " all missions cancelled due to weather" then you go fly some other campaign or quick combat. This is a LONG campaign. Also, you have to fly 3 hours in a two seater before transferring to a scout.

Glad to have you in the campaign. Good luck.

You can fly as many missions per real day, as the sim will give you for that historical date.
For example, when you have flown a morning mission on 20 May 1917, and the next WOFF mission
for that pilot is on the same day, you can fly that one too. If there is a 3rd mission for
20 May, you can even gly that, too. On the other hand, when all flyights are cancelled on
that campaign day, then you cannot advance time, but must wait.


Only the weather in the campaign - the historical weather on that day in 1917.


Maybe not - it depends on what WOFF will give you for those days. When WOFF advances the date after
only 1 sortie, then you must wait until next morning, before you can fly again.

Please take the time and read the rules closesly - then you should be prepared for the weekend.

My WOFF skipped today in a two day bad weather bounce.

Thanks for all of the answers, I've got it.

Cam's letters are almost up to date...

20 April 1917
No 10 (Naval) Squadron
Furnes, Belgium

Hi kid,

It’s been a few days since I last wrote and I’ve been going hard. Here’s a quick summary.

Saturday, 14 April – Took a Close OP down to Loos and ran into four two-seaters escorted by three vee-strutters. I was able to get the sun at our back and lead a total of six Tripehounds down on the Huns. The Albatri spotted us at the last second and broke in all directions while the two-seaters put their noses down and ran for it. I had an intense tangle with one Albatros jockey, who I claimed as driven down, but could not follow. I spotted a straggling DFW two-seater and gave chase for several miles, doing it some harm, but the Hun gunner was a brave one and holed by petrol tank, so I had to switch off and glide back to our side of the lines, putting down on a road not far from La Gorgue.

Sunday, 15 April – Patrolled over our fields near Ballieul but saw nothing. Grey, cloudy, with squalls.

Monday, 16 April – Another Close Offensive Patrol down to Ypres-Menin. Have a new fellow on my wing, a Yorkshire lad named Phil Herbert. Good sort and keen to learn. Wimbush and Ellis joined us. We spotted and attacked four DFWs and I sent one tumbling down out of control, but it was not confirmed. In the afternoon I took Herbert and Trent Craig up for Herbert’s first good look at Hunland. We spotted and chased five DFWs and I damaged one, but took a few hits and headed home.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we had torrential rain. The French down south have a massive offensive under way, but reports say it’s a huge cock-up. So much has gone into this push that I’m worried we may not retake the offensive this year. With the Russians busy fighting themselves and the Yanks wondering what they’ve got into, it could get tough out here. We’ll hope for the best.

I used the bad weather to execute a plan for the maintenance hangars that PO McBride and I had worked on for a few days. The shops were an awful mess under my predecessor, who didn’t spend much time "below decks." I decided the time had come for a change last week when Euan Dickson had a partial separation of his upper plane shortly after take-off. He narrowly avoided a serious crash. Turns out that there are two separate grades of bracing wire for the Tripe and the mechanics got them mixed. So on Tuesday I turned out all ranks, officers included, to clean and organize the shops under the PO’s direction. They look like surgeons’ wards now, with all the parts and tools carefully sorted, stored, and labelled. I am holding regular inspections to keep them that way. The other ranks groused at first, but now they are starting to take pride in their operation. You never find a slack unit with good morale. I’ve also brought in the Gunnery Officer from St-Pol to teach every officer how to sight and zero his own machine gun and check his own ammunition.

Thursday, 19 April was another day of rain. Once it became certain that there was to be no flying, we commandeered the dining room of the Hotel Noble Rose in Furnes for an informal officers’ dining-in with Belgian hutespot(sort of a potato-turnip-carrot-onion mash) with carbonnade and lots of local beer. Good time had by all. I demanded a song from every new boy, what the Navy calls a “Sods’ Opera.” The songs got filthier as the lads got drunker, and by night’s end neither was fit for civilized company. We had a star turn by Lea Wimbush, who recited the entire poem “The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God.” Rousing stuff:

There was a green-eyed yellow idol to the north of Katmandu,
There's a little marble cross below the town.
There a broken hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew,
And the yellow god forever gazes down.

Friday, 19 April (today) – Took off on a D.O.P., a distant observation patrol, that was to take us deep into Hunland: me, Herbert, Wimbush, Dickson, and Craig. As we circled to gain height before crossing the lines, I spotted a cluster of Albatri a couple of miles off to the east, heading north. We manoeuvred to get to the southeast of them with the sun to our backs, but they were alert and all of them broke for home except one. This Hun flew a deep blue bus with a red nose and black and white striped tail. He was a good pilot and a brave man, because he gave the five of us a good scrap. Dickson hit him and then I closed up and gave him a burst. Our own Archie was bursting all around at the time and it got uncomfortable. When I fired, the Albatros caught fire and broke up as it fell. I claimed it, but apparently the Archie battery was given credit. What the heck. I do this just for the fun of it.

Kick the cat for me,

Cam


"I was able to get the sun at our back and lead a total of six Tripehounds down on the Huns."


The dining room of the Hotel Noble Rose

Raine;

Cam has been a busy boy it seems! Here I thought he was on leave or something like that but I was obviously wrong. Thanks for posting. It is always a pleasure to read about Cam. Where, however, do you find the time for all the historical research and the gathering of historical photos?

Best Regards;

The continuing service of Albert "Mushroom" Ward:



21 Apr 1917 07h00 Transfer to RFC-56

Today I was informed by the C.O. that 2 of the three claims from the 16th were confirmed and that there was a request in to have me transferred to RFC-56 and promoted to Major. This squadron was being composed of elite pilots and to be picked to serve with it was a privilege. I was excited at the prospect of meeting my old friend Artemus Burroughs and flying the new SE5 I had heard so much about, and yet sorry to be leaving all my old squadron mates at RNAS-3. We had served long together and not without becoming bonded to a great degree. It was not to be an easy move. I had little time to prepare as I was expected to be at Vert Galand in the morning. I scampered off to have my things packed up and then ventured to the mess where the boys were killing time due to the weather. I made the announcement of the claims and the promotion to which the boys responded with Hurrah’s all around. I didn’t have the heart to mention the transfer and kill the moment so I held it back for later on. I put three bottles of my Mount Gay rum on the counter and told the boys to join me in a celebration. We partied for some time and then I made the announcement of the transfer and you could have heard a pin drop. I followed that with the comment that “Hell boys, it’s just around the corner from here. We shall likely see more of each other in the coming days. You know where to find me if the Rum runs short” and I smiled. “Hell”, I said “I’ve a young lady who would miss me dearly if I ventured too far from this turf!, and she, my fine friends, should keep my morale up if not my morals!” The room broke out in laughter and Beamish, Travers and Malone carried me off to the piano that Carter had scavenged just a week ago. The piano needed tuning, but then again so did our voices and none of us noticed it much.

Carter offered to drive me over the Vert Galand the next morning, having already sought the approval of the C.O.

YouTube Video:

22 Apr 1917 @ Patrol of Cachy airfield

Carter and I set out for Vert Galand at 2:30 am. I was pondering the change from RNAS to the RFC. 56 Squadron was to be part of 9th Wing, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel C.L.N. Newell. The C.O at this time is a Major Richard Bloomfield and I hear he is alright. I arrived early this morning at 4 am with not time to unpack. The C.O told me to get ready for my first flight with the squadron in an hour. I barely had time to change into my flying gear and attend the briefing. The C.O. briefly introduced me to the flight and then immediately went into details of the morning mission. The weather was good with winds of 6 kn from the N, and scattered high cumulous fron 2500 to 8200 ft. The flight was short to Cachy, only 19 mi.

I lead the flight with Ball, Kay, Meintjes, Hoidge, and Barrlow accompanying. I had heard good things about Ball and Hoidge was no doddler either so I expected good things at 56. The pilots for this squadron had been hand picked and there were no shirkers here.

The flight to Cachy was pretty quiet until we crossed the road from Amiens to Albert. It was then that I sighted 5 specs moving from my starboard to port side well in front of us and at a slight height advantage. Shortly after I saw archie sending bursts up among them and immediately lead the flight in pursuit. We caught up with them near Corbie and I gave the signal to attack. I singled out the left most DFW and started the attack from his six and below. I made several climbing runs at him giving him several volleys until he broke formation and broke to port. I quickly glanced to starboard and saw the boys maliciously pestering the other 4 DFW’s. Kay made a pass on my DFW and then seeing I was well in control broke left and followed me. I sent the DFW down and we returned to find Ball, Hoidge, and Barrow forming up. We joined them and then I noticed that Meintjes was missing. I gave a circle movement with my hand towards Ball and then showed 4 fingers and he replied with a signal indicating 1 returned home. That was Meintjes and I could only assume he was either hit in the scrap or suffered engine trouble. After forming up we finished our circuit of Cachy and then returned home.
Upon arrived we reported in. I claimed one DFW which Kay confirmed and Ball claimed 3 which Hoidge and Barrow confirmed. I patted Ball on the back and told him to “leave some for the rest of us as it can get boring up there sometimes”. He smiled and we all laughed. Seems the stories about his gunning skills are true.

We broke for breakfast and then I departed to unpack and settle in. I also had a chat with H.N. (Hubert Noel) Charles, the squadron equipment officer to ask him to have one of the men paint up my bus, and check out the engine as it seemed to me to be running a little rough. I handed him a drawing of what I wanted it to look like. I also made a point of presenting him with a bottle of my best rum as an inducement to keep my baby ship shape. I told him that his skill with field modifications to the enngine and carburetor is widely know and that I was happy to be leaving my machine in his hands. I also made a point of asserting that he was a very important asset to the cause and that his service was greatly appreciated by every one of us in the squadron. He seemed nonplussed but never the less it had to be said and I’m sure it was appreciated.

On my return to my quarters I bumped into an old friend Major Burroughs who had preceded me to 56 a short time ago. It was a jovial reunion in which we reminisced about some of our shenanigans of the past over a couple of glasses of single malt.
He told me about his recent encounter with the Hun which explained the bandage around his head. He also advised that this was a very active sector and that we were up against some of the best the Hun had to offer. I suggested that I had some leave coming and that a trip to Amiens together could be quite enjoyable if he has any time coming.
Knowing Burroughs, I’m sure there will be much unexpected pleasure to be had in the coming months. Having polished off a couple of glasses we parted ways for the day. He said “nice to have you on the team Mushroom!” and I replied “Since I had heard you were here, I just couldn’t let you have all the fun without getting my share of it too”


YouTube Video:

Wow, Robert, nice work! Did pilots really go between services like that? Was it more informal back then? What do you think of the in line Hizzy engine over the rotary in the Pup?

Diary of Ed Aikpill, 1 RNAS, Bellevue, Flanders. April 21st, 1917

Finally, we got to go up again today. The rains have stopped, for now at least, and the weather was glorious. I was on the early patrol, with Jane, Gerrard and Russel. Almost immediately that I was in the air, I heard a nasty knocking sound from my engine, and it continued even as we climbed to 7,000ft, so I decided to turn back. Unfortunately, Jane didn't make it back. We're waiting for news.

Had to switch to a reserve machine for a second sortie in the afternoon. On the face of it, a fairly mundane patrol, well behind enemy lines, north, up to St Omer, and back again. We had just got to our cruising height of 10,000ft when we spotted a group of four brightly painted Albatri, south of St Omer, and off to our left, about 2,000ft below us. They seemed eager to scrap, and turned toward us. Down we swept, toward them. This time I had Dallas alongside and he dived into the fray, while I stayed high, trying to decide which foe to take on. One Albatros seemed to have made the decision for me, and was climbing up to meet me. Bright red fuselage with dark grey / blue wings, and some kind of white-ish pattern along its flank. I decided to stay high and try to outflank it. We ended up circling each other, until finally I gained a slight advantage, at which point my adversary went into a twisting dive away from me. I turned and nosed down to follow, dropping the revs back in the process, and managed to get on his tail for the briefest of moments, getting a couple of short bursts off, before he swooped away. Climbing again, to make sure I kept the height advantage, we repeated the dance several more times, before he finally broke off and headed for the lines. Although I'm starting to get the feel of this wonderful Triplane now, I'm still not confident enough to go chasing the Hun all over the place, so I decided to let him leave unmolested.

Finally got back to our aerodrome, and managed a smooth landing, just ahead of Dallas. Later that evening, in the mess, I was describing the events of the day to another squadron member that I am getting to know. His name is Hamm, and he's proving to be quite a flyer. Hamm thought that might have been a contingent of Richthofen's Jasta 11 that we tangled with today, based on my descriptions. Apparently, they are based just the other side of the lines, directly east of us, so it's possible I suppose.

Must dash off a quick letter to Lillian, then it's off to bed for me. I'm on the early patrol tomorrow, with Chisam leading.

You made good use of the bad weather, Raine.
Now the squadron is well organised, and the leisure time with "hutespot" and Belgian beer sounded great!
You "hun" was from Jasta 18 most likely - vermillion red noses and Prussian blue fuselage.
Great photo!

"Mushroom" seems to have fully arrived now at No. 56, Robert.
So from now on the area where you guys fly - Artemus and you - will be a much more lethal terrain.

Wise decision, HarryH - learn the kite, and THEN fight and survive.

*** *** *** *** ***

Here's the chart from Tuesday, 21 April 1917 - click on the image to enlarge.

What a day....for Emil anyway.

Congrats on your promotion to Leutnant, Lederhosen - glad you're enjoying the service!

Maeran, your Level-A-pilot Cadogan West has passed the 75-hour-mark - congratulations on that!
You have been awarded the "75-Hour-Bars".