Geoff Williams - 1 RNAS 2nd March 1915 - DiD style

Hello everyone....OK here we go!

After playing WOFF:UE for a couple months now, I feel that I am ready to start a challenge that is quite different from hoping into quick combat with the aircraft of my choices, trying crazy things like bombing other aircraft whilst in the air, and pitting unusual combatants against one another.

This will be a challenge of survival: I'm playing as a twenty-three year old, newly minted pilot for 1 RNAS starting on the 2nd of March 1915.

RULES of ENGAGEMENT:

1) Dead - is - Dead! I believe this can be modded, however, I'm not running the mission editor for this one, and therefore I have no backup pilots, so Dead is truly Dead for any reason. If I do die, I will be starting one day after death with a fresh, new, different named (but still British for now) pilot.

2) Flying rules set to (mostly) "historical"...the only "non-historical" setting I have is I have reduced the accuracy of rear gunners...I have read many posts that suggest this is a good idea.

3) All aces included, and historical weather. I actually tend to prefer games that allow you to change history (think Hearts of Iron or Victoria series), however, based on posts, and my own experiments, I feel it will be best to go ahead and play into history as opposed to changing something I cannot (within the framework of this sim). Yes, I might shhot down Boelke six times, and in flames even, but it is more the challenge of facing pilots like him that make this fun, interesting, and challenging.

4) Controls. I will not use labels, I will not use the "z" button for stats, I will not use the in-flight maps (with dreaded airplane cursor that tells exactly where one is at) but use paper printed maps (I will likely be in Flanders most of the time anyways). I will also turn off the text display (shift-D) ...you know, those messages at the top of the screen when bad stuff and other stuff happens (low fuel, health, stall, etc.). Now, because of how some planes are set up, I might feel compelled to use F5 just to see the compass to get an idea of my direction, however, when I have the time, I can also use mouse-tracking to look down, or even fidget with eyepoints, to find my compass. But, with all of this said, it really doesn't matter too much, as I am not going for DiD points, but survival. I am going to do my best to survive to November 11, 1918! Flame-outs especially scare me, and so do structural defects, but otherwise I feel OK about the possibilities...

5) Controls, part deux. I have an old Logitech Wingman with a left throttle control slider, and except for a trigger and top joystick button, no other programmable buttons exist! It is from another era:

I may use the slider throttle in either all up or all down to simulate a blip button on rotary engines...a bit gamey, but I must admit I prefer it to trying to find the "b" button on my keyboard!

6) Transfers. I have found one source of an obscure pilot (Lt. Daniel Joseph Sheehan) who original flew for the RNAS in at least 1915 and perhaps 1916 before being injured. He was then allowed to transfer to the RFC and he became a trainer until being let back into combat. He became part of 66 Sqn RFC and was killed on 10 May 1917. If our WOFF:UE squadrons are accurate, it looks like he may have been flying a Pup...either way, it shows that transfers between the air services did occasionally happen, so, I am willing to judicially transfer between services if the opportunity arises. Not terribly historical, but I found one instance, so hey!

EDIT: 7) Game speed...I will use time compression, especially in situations that seem "safe" or "dull"....if I am going to get through a career, I feel it will be necessary to do this

(Now for some drivel you may choose not to read )...I really like the Dead-is-Dead style of playing. For about the last four years, my game of choice has been Skyrim, and I have played a version of DiD for over 1200 hours in that game. Many of my colleagues and kids HATE how I play, and believe it or not, I have never once fought a dragon (I moderately mod the game...one important mod for me is the "Random Start" mod that drops you in one of 400 random places on the Skyrim map...no opening scene with dragon fight! I have run away from the opening dragon in trying to escape a few times when first playing, but I do not count it ). I have seen much of Skyrim in the way I played it, and I played as many different races as each time I died, I started anew..for me, WOFF:UE campaign DiD mode is right up my alley!

OK, this is pretty much the framework, now to some background biographical information about my first (and hopefully only) British pilot, Geoff Williams!

Geoff Williams Bio:



Geoff Williams

Born 20 April 1891

Heslington, East Yorkshire, England

Joined Royal Navy at age 17 (1908), and served on HMS Mermaid out of Dover as part of a gunnery crew operating a QF 6-pounder L/40 gun achieving the enlisted rank of Petty Officer into 1914.



Always interested in flying things (kites) and had a keen interest in the exploits of Wright Bros., Samuel Cody, etc.

Especially when war started (and reading about German Taube bombing Paris in 1914), Williams was keen to appreciate that there was a future in the idea of war in the air.



Was accepted into the Royal Naval Flying School at Eastchurch, took flying lessons and earned Royal Aero Club certificate number 1000 near the end of 1914 flying a Short S.38 biplane (top speed, 58 mph!).





(NOTE: no disrespect intended to the actual holder of Aero Club cert 1000 - Flight Sub.-Lt. Roger Martin Field RNAS...what I am doing is fantasie!)

Williams did very well and it was decided to reward him with a temporary Sub-Lieutenant commission being sent to Sutton's Farm to the east of London for his obligatory training. After completing his ten-plus hours, Williams was posted to the new RNAS 1 Squadron on or about 2 March 1915 flying BE2s.

Regards,

Jeff

We will be watching with interest
Cheers,
shredward

This will be a fun read. I'll be following...

@ Shredward....thanks for your encouragement!

@ Raine

Activity report:

6 March 1915:

I have completed my training at Sutton's Farm and have been posted to 1 Squadron RNAS at St.-Pol-sur-Mere in Flanders.






Pilot roster



Concerning training, I logged 7.67 hours of flight time. Weather was rather poor throughout the six days I spent at Sutton's Farm, with snow most of the time. (A technical note: I just found the individual HUD gauges, and I'm glad to see I can select just the compass...I tell you if I were a real WWI pilot, I would not leave home without being able to have a readily available compass!):



Decided to visit my old Dover haunts for one of my free flights:



Training was uneventful, and now I am ready to fly at the front. I must say the BE2c is a very stable aeroplane and a fair bit quicker than the Short I flew whilst training. This is what I will be flying for a while.

(Schedule note: I plan on reporting once a game-week on game-Sundays [before any Sunday flights]. 6th March 1915 was a Saturday, so I will stretch this to eight days and make a report for Sunday 14th March 1915 unless something important happens).

Regards,

Jeff

...to put things in perspective, in WOFF:UE on 6 March 1915, only two of the twelve or so Hun squads are flying Pfalz A.I craft with armament. The rest are flying the hapless Aviatik B.I planes. These times are nothing like 1918, let alone even 1916! Lots of flying in ones and twos, and little contact with enemy EA expected until the eindeckers start making a show in August. I have to chuckle a bit when I see pilots with "six confirmed" kills in our squadron, when of course Adolphe Pegoud was the first five kill ace in the world and did not achieve it until 3 April 1915, but I can live with it, and I hope my squad mates live as long as possible and are as successful as they can be!

One source I have stumbled upon is at archive.org. They have the entire The War in Air six volume series by Sir Walter A. Raleigh and then carried on by Henry Albert Jones scanned and available online (free and available to download too). Volume three, appendix ten is wonderfully titled "Notes on Aeroplane Fighting in Single-Seater Scouts" and it is from November 1916. This really helps to give the British perspective on things and as early as I have found any document from the British side about techniques.

https://archive.org/stream/warinairbeingsto03rale#page/392/mode/2up

Enjoy,

Jeff

Thx for reports and The War in Air series link.

Geoff Williams has (finally....real life intervened a few times recently) finished his first week with 1 RNAS. Some interesting things did occur!

First mission 6 March uneventful...patchy snow on the ground and clouds in the air



A nice day for flying off the Flanders coast....too bad we have this lousy war going on....



Second mission 7 March....uneventful at first. The mission was to patrol over a friendly airfield. Scanning the space around me, I noticed a monoplane and I assumed it was a Morane Parasol...I decided it would be prudent to check it out:



It was a lone Pfalz A.I! Once I realized what it was, it was already sending bullets into my Bus...took a few and then swooped down a bit, but that was it; although my aeroplane is likely a bit faster, it had the height and I could not get into good position before he fled for his own lines (ugh, and my video recorder ran out of space...I tried to restart the video recorder, but my alt-tabbing led to a RTB crash we will just have to go with this story as the official account...). This EA was likely from either FA 47b or FA(A) 292b

Third mission 8 March...fairly uneventful, but did see a friendly aeroplane heading back from across the lines, a BE2c.

Fourth mission 9 March....uneventful, but the Huns received a fierce bombardment on the ground from our artillery.

Fifth mission 10 March...a patrol to the enemy airfield at Ghistelles...we got wind of what Captain Louis Strange was going to do over at 6 RFC, and we were given the same task; I was selected to be the “guinea pig”! So, I took my Bus over the enemy airfield, and was at about 300 feet and tried to release, but...nothing! We we took a second pass and...nothing again. Finally on the third pass, I realized that the cable was kinked...I reached down and grabbed it closer to the bombs, and the third time was a charm! I missed the Aviatik that was parked, but destroyed the hanger next to it. No medal for my exploits, but hopefully a good impression for a promotion at some point.



Sixth mission 13 March...after a decent day for flying on 10 March, the snows came with a vengeance, and we were grounded for 48 hours. Went back up on this day, but weather was still rather poor with snow and poor visibility. Flight Lieutenant Tepes and Captain Hainsworth were both injured and their craft completely destroyed on a landing near our aerodrome. Our bus had to do a fly around and we landed “backwards”...I then witnessed Tepes' Bus stall and then regain control...I then saw as they tried to make the field, but had to land nearby...even heard the fabric rip as their plane crashed...glad to hear they will recover, but always frightful to go through a crash I assume!











....thus ends the first week of the adventures of Geoff Williams, 1 RNAS ...STAY TUNED

@JJJ65 ...sure thing!

The saga continues:

Seventh mission 14 March...Uneventful recce to begin (lousy weather for sure), but I had engine failure for the first time and had to land at a friendly field (La Gorgue)...landing went well!



Eighth mission 15 March...another patrol of the Ghistelles aerodrome. This time, I was again given the task to glide bomb whilst the wing leader bombed from above, although in the end he never dropped his bombs. I witnessed some new type of German aeroplane I had not seen before....perhaps a newer Aviatik?



The German defenses were rather weak, just throwing up some sporadic archie. Instead of following the assigned path, I headed straight for where the Yser River meets the sea (also near Spuikom Lake), then out over the ocean at 3000 feet, and then heading for home following the coastline but keeping distance to stay out of archie range.



Ninth mission 20 March...I had the opportunity to take a 48 hour pass, and then we were grounded for another 48 hours because of poor weather (it seems Winter does not want to relinquish it's grip), so four days off! I took in some of the sights of Dunkerque:

(this postcard is actually from April 1915! Courtesy Wikipedia)

Finally on 20 March we flew a patrol near the front, and I was chosen as the leader of B flight for the first time. As we were flying we spotted two Aviatik BI aeroplanes doing what appeared to be reconnaissance work. I was able to fly in front of them at various stages, and Tock Renyolds (gunner assigned to me...great chap!) put some rounds into the lead plane which then started a slow spiral down to the ground. I and my wingman (Frederick Lathram) followed him down to near the ground, not too far from a German sausage balloon and also not all that far from the lines. It was odd as he never did crash, but instead rode around the ground in circles, tearing up his wings a bit more each time as he went. This kind of behavior suggests the pilot was dead or incapacitated, and perhaps the observer of the hapless, unarmed Aviatik BI was as well. Because I had a witness, I am hopeful the claim will stand.



(Writer's note: I have gone back to using in-flight maps for now...also, when dropping bombs I need to use the text display to ensure I have the bombs selected, but then I turn the display off once the bombs have been dropped)











(That was a quick game week....I also may need to cut down on the visual info I provide, although I am obviously having fun )

Regards,

Jeff

Enjoying these.

@ Smithcorp.....thanks much, glad you are!

I had a quick question for the collective here...any reason why the Royal Navay is spelled that way in some of the squadron banners? I assume it is not a misspelling, and I have found some fleeting evidence that it was occasionally spelled like that in the 19th century.



Regards,

Jeff

Mood music!

This is what some of the blokes are listening to on the phonograph:

#4 on the "Top 40 Song Chart for 1915"



(First time I heard this was from the movie Das Boot )

Jeff

Think it's just a typo for "naval." That spelling was never used, I believe.

The first casualties since I joined up...

Tenth mission 21 March...First day of spring, and weather is certainly improving. This mission was a patrol over a friendly airfield and there was absolutely nothing other than our four craft in the sky around us. In another note, I was informed that the claim I made will not stand! I am a bit saddened by this, and I think it is because the EA was downed behind enemy lines.



Still I press on!


Eleventh mission 22 March...a beautiful day for flying. The snow has melted, and it has been warmer. Uneventful mission, but got a good look at the Poperinghe Cathedral.



(real version for comparison)



Our A flight bolted before we ended, but I do not know why.


Twelfth mission 23 March...another great day for flying, although a bit more hazy. Beautiful view of half moon (NOTE: are there solar eclipses in WOFF:UE? Looks like there were not too many over Western Europe 1914-1918...).



Uneventful mission otherwise.


Thirteenth mission 24 March...Our flight pleaded for a ground attack / patrol mission and we received it! Yet another patrol of the Ghistelles aerodrome, and I glide bombed once again, with similar effect, this time missing some new Pfalz A.1 aeroplanes but destroying a hanger.





Sadly, FSL Tom McHarg and Lieutenant Tubby Bathurst were lost to a flame out, poor chaps. These are the first fatalities since I arrived here at 1 RNAS. Bathurst flew with me on my first couple missions and both were good men. Hard to believe they are gone. (NOTE: this board also says my gunner Tock was killed...no worries, he is fine. Some poor orderly was probably shook up by the other men being gone or something )






Fourteenth mission 25 March...Another flame out, two more lives lost...this time it was poor FL Francis Tepes and Lieutenant Brian Kelly. I did not know Kelly all that well, however, Tepes had just returned from hospital and leave. Unlucky souls had their craft suddenly catch fire. Something must be done about this issue. I did not see the accident as Tepes was part of A flight and went out of my visual range at some point during the mission. (NOTE: same orderly mistake killing off Tock Reynolds....is this a premonition? )



The mission was otherwise uneventful.


Fifteenth mission 26 March... Another patrol of the Ghistelles aerodrome, and some more bombing. This time, as flight leader, I directed my wing man to bomb the airfield, and he did just that. We both missed a bit, but intell says we scored some hits. I opted to bomb the EA headquarters, but did not wait around to see the results.




Sixteenth mission 27 March...Even though meteorology said “weather is poor for flying” we were sent up to patrol over Treizennes / Aire, a friendly aerodrome well behind the lines. Indeed weather was poor with a cold rain until we got near the patrol area, then suddenly the sky opened up a bit to a beautiful sight of clouds and sun and the rain stopped! Then, almost as a curse, once we headed north, the skies opened up again. Difficult to see much for most of the flight, and indeed no EA were spotted.



So, this week we lost four fine men to flame outs...I have mentioned this is what makes me most fearful about flying at this juncture. I am saddened by the losses, but we must press on for all that is good!







Regards,

Jeff

Great show! Thanks, Jeff.

I was curious so took a quick look:

Apparently there was a total solar eclipse over far Eastern Europe on August 21, 1914. Probably a little too far east for where the front was at the time, but visible in the modern day Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine.

The only other solar eclipse during the war visible from Europe was a partial on January 23, 1917. It looks like it would have been somewhat visible from the Western Front, though more so through the heart of Germany.

@ Raine...thanks for the info! Interesting...

@ Buckeye Bob....thank YOU for your great cloud mod!

@ CatKnight...I came across this website: 1910 to 1919 eclipses ...perhaps one could see the effects of an eclipse on February 3, 1916 as well? We'll see if WOFF:UE models these...if not, no big deal in my opinion, just curious. I suppose if I really wanted to see right away, I could just start a fake career on these dates....

Regards,

Jeff

No flame-outs this week, and rather uneventful...good to be alive!

Seventeenth mission 28 March...Weather was worse today than yesterday with the return of snow! This did not accumulate on the ground, but still very unpleasant to fly through, and in combination with all the clouds, very difficult to see. In addition, the winds were rather strong and our craft were buffeted through most of the trip. And no EA spotted, just some barrages to remind the troops the war is still going on.



Eighteenth mission 29 March...another run at the Ghistelles aerodrome; I guess C.O. Likes the work we have done there! I decided to once again bomb the chateau and I did get some hits. Archie was slightly more intense, so I have to be careful. Also decided to fly low past Dunkerque for the sight of it.





Ninteenth mission 30 March...Weather improving...patrol over front lines...completely uneventful!

Twentieth mission 31 March...A good day for flying. Uneventful mission, except that B flight leader Buckminster had engine trouble and had to take his bus down early. Some direction we have been given to avoid flame-outs (in light of the recent casualties) is to 1) at the first sign of engine trouble, get back over friendly territory as soon as possible, 2) turn off engine as soon as possible when over friendly lines, 3) land as soon as possible, preferably on an aerodrome.



Twenty-first mission 1 April...yet another run at the Ghistelles aerodrome (this time the first choice the game gave!)...Excellent day for flying, and I did manage some hits on a hangar from very low altitude. After returning, I was granted a 48 hour pass! I will have Good Friday off to pay my respects, but I will have to fly on Easter Sunday....no holidays in war!









Regards,

Jeff

(Writers note: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! It has happened! I died because of a flame-out! more to follow)

Oh noes!! Geoff, we barely knew ye!

Maybe he has a brother??

(writer: the end has come, rather quickly and in the way most feared, an engine fire!)

Twenty-second mission 4 April AM...well, Happy Easter! We have now gone to two-a-day flights...not exactly sure what I think of this, but I can say that I have seen no enemy aeroplanes since my first week of service, so perhaps Command is looking for us to have a better chance of engaging the enemy. This mission was yet another run at the Ghistelles aerodrome (alternative target)...I was given permission to use Cooper bombs again (a little Easter gift you might say), however, I was instructed to bomb from high altitude. Intell informed me that while I was close to hitting a building, I ultimately missed. I was not quite lined up correctly, and next time I will line up using the hangars as my guide.



Twenty-third mission 4 April PM...A flight patrolling La Gorgue aerodrome just inside our lines. It has clouded up since morning, but fortunately no rain or lightning. Uneventful otherwise.



Twenty-fourth mission 5 April AM...weather looked even more ominous, but the rain and lightning held off. Unfortunately, B flight leader had engine failure, and both crew were injured in a crash landing.



Twenty-fifth mission 5 April PM...(installed JJJ65 roll mod 2.1 and Consolidated Airfield Mod)...Was given a solo flight! Reynolds and I went up and patrolled the front for a bit of time...did come into contact with French Morane Parasols, but other than that, a fine day for flying with low lying fog in certain areas. (writer's note: turned off computer too soon, so video was deleted )

Twenty-sixth mission 6 April AM...Action! Beautiful take off at dawn, arrived for front line patrol and came across two Pfalz A.I enemy machines. I decided to engage...they were heading west (!) and then south. It took me more than a few minutes to finally get in front of the lead EA, but my gunner Tock Reynolds did not feel like he had a good shot for most of our engagement. The trick with this is to avoid being behind the rear firing gunner, and to position one's aeroplane so that they are behind you. The enemy were moving to try to avoid this position, and they definitely got off more shots than we did. The battle was inconclusive, with no help from my squad mates. Nonetheless, I was a little more than gently scolded for breaking formation and engaging, but I pleaded the doctrine of “not allowing the enemy to pass our lines”. In the end, no one from our side was hurt, so we fight on for another sortie, another day.



Twenty-seventh mission 6 April PM...This will be recorded as a quick flight to test out the replacement machine I will be flying for a day or two. I just took it up for a quick spin to see how it handled. (Writer's note: Hmm, I was not aware that QC free flights would also be recorded in my pilot log. It does make sense and can be put to good use, especially when new planes become available, and I can simulate flying some of these planes around to get used to them)

Twenty-eighth mission 6 April PM...I was assigned BE2c 2222 (freshly stenciled nonetheless), and I hope that is a good omen! Fairly uneventful mission, a patrol of the front lines.



Twenty-ninth mission 7 April AM...(Writer's note: Geoff Williams' career ended how he most feared it would...a flame out! Flying the replacement craft 2222 [apparently a bad omen!] things started out well enough. Because it was a bit before dawn and very dark due to cloud cover, Williams decided to try out the panel lights [Cntl-Shift-L] and this perhaps was his undoing...his wing men saw the lights in the cockpit not long before the flame out started at about 3000 feet, and then there was not much to be done [ha ha, in reality, I did not realize for a few precious seconds that my auto pilot was still on, and THAT might have been my ultimate undoing...also, I cannot exactly explain how I went from 1500 feet into the water right away...perhaps I died up in the air or something]...after gliding for a while, it seems Williams put his fiery bus into the Channel, but it was too late for him and his trusty [and roasted] observer Tock Reynolds. Meanwhile, a note was put into the BE2c file to check out the panel lights and to see if a short could cause a flame out.



Williams was buried at a Royal Naval Cemetery in England:



....the end, for now )

Regards,

Jeff

(Post Script....I will start a new pilot soon, but I will put his exploits in the “REPORTS FROM THE FRONT” thread so I do not clog up the regular board...I realize I have may have been a bit rude in setting up my own personal thread, sorry about that! ...I will use the same basic format and start this person on April 8, 1915. Oh yes, I should mention that I will still be flying British, but I am going to figure out what squadrons are available on the above mentioned date and use a random number generator to pick what squad I will fly for....I hope I do not have too many pilots, I mean I only have so many pictures of myself! And @ BuckeyeBob...Geoff Williams has a much younger brother, not old enough for the great war, so it will be someone that looks familiar, but not a close relative of the deceased )

We will look forward to meeting him -- whoever he is!

+1

Too bad

RIP, Williams.
Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!

Thanks for the "condolences" everyone! I have started a new pilot (George Lyons) over on the "Reports from the front" thread. I did randomly pick RFC-3, and consequently, it uses Morane L planes...lets see if I survive longer

Regards,

Jeff

The board here is hardly jumping. Post here if you like IMHO - that way your stuff is all in one place. Makes it easier to follow.
And great story and pics!

Best of luck with your new fellow. Really enjoyed Geoff's story.

Thanks a lot folks! I'm enjoying your stories over on the DiD thread Raine....I see you like to have a detailed historical background too! Another great thing about today is that there is so much out there on the internet. Makes our storytelling jobs much easier

I think I will insert here that I have been reading quite a bit WWI aviation books lately, including Sharks Among Minnows by Norman Franks, Early German Aces of WWI by Greg VanWyngarden, Marked for Death, The First War in the Air by James Hamilton-Paterson (a decidedly British take on things, and very insightful for my current British pilots), of course The War in the Air series mentioned earlier in this thread, and A History of No. 10 Squadron RNAS by Mike Westrop, who can be found over on the aerodrome forums on occasion...

@ DukeIronHand...thanks very much for suggesting my own thread, I do appreciate it...I would feel too presumptuous now better knowing the format here...I do not want to grandstand with my own thread when so many others use the DiD or Front Reports thread and do much better than me...of course, you are more than welcome to start your own thread! I am interested to see what you have cooking

Regards,

Jeff

Jeff, will you be joining the DiD, or doing another campaign on your own timeline? Either way, I'm looking forward to it.

@ Raine....yes, I have started a new pilot almost right after poor Geoff Williams flamed-out. Could not get it quite lined up because I wanted to go through the obligatory training but only off by 5 days into the future...good enough! The first post is over in the "REPORTS FROM THE FRONT" thread here: George Lyons 3 RFC

I am basically going by my own timeline, but definitely doing it DiD style...unfortunately real life intervenes too much I think to be able to keep up with the DiD pace, however, I do plan on flying consecutive careers into November 1918. Of course I hope my current pilot is my last, but I am already seeing how difficult it was for flyers of this era. This simulation has taught me much, even more than I already knew about from flying previous and other WWI sims. I'm a sucker for career mode stuff

Regards,

Jeff

congrats!!! really nice aar.

Ha ha, well, looks like I have been blighted with the "curse of the photobucket"...I am rather disappointed as I have a modest amount of images going back to at least 2005, but fortunately for me it is nothing vital. Can anyone suggest some alternatives? I'm going to ride it out for a few days or weeks to see if they reverse their position, but to continue my Geoff Lyons career, I will need to find something else.

Guess a free lunch does not exist, lol

Regards,

Jeff

PS

Thanks Packham....glad you liked it!