I've also tried Aviatiks careers from Metz Frescaty and they have been short ! I must say so have been my BE-2 careers ! Never exceeded 3 or 4 missions in both planes !

My congratulations on promotion RAF_Louvert!

2 uneventful patrols. Once again we find a Nieuport visitor. This one is definitely French.





Yes, the weather was dreadful.

I've checked him out - a (future) French ace called Paul Tarascon. Has a wooden foot following an accident back in 1911. Flies for Esc 62 from Cachy near Amiens. I'd love to know what brought him all the way up here.

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Apparently a relatively reliable Le Rhône 9C, which in and of itself is a rarity.

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Congrats to Lou on the promotion. Seems likely this is a first for the DID challenge? Well done.

As to the slaughter of various two-seater squads, I chalk it up to the AI vision distance. The AI have such good long-range vision that scouts can see and chase-down two-seaters with ease, when in real life I suspect they were often passing each other by without knowing any better. Just a guess.

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Also in RL, a fair number of the two-seaters were able to fly higher than the scouts which made staying alive much easier. I have flown two-seater missions where I have climbed to the absolute ceiling of the bus I was flying and it did allow me to keep above my attackers more often than not. However, you need a LOT of patience to climb to said height.

Also, thanks everyone for the kudos on the promotion of Artemus Burroughs. It was a pleasant surprise, unlike so many others we receive when serving in this sim.

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Congrats on the promotion Lou...well deserved!

That unreliable engine cost my first pilot his life while deep over enemy lines. It made me a bit reluctant to trust it again, but I have a choice you see where RL pilots did not.

Flight Sub Lt Alex Ackworth - RNAS 4 - Coudekerque - 8 July 1916 (Mission 14)

This morning is sad looking and rainy, but the brass decides to get everyone out. We send 6 Strutters on a reco mission over enemy ground units south east of Ypres. Like if that's not enough to take care of ourselves, they add four Nieuports from RNAS 1 to look after us.

We get to our recon zone and do our job when four Fokker EIIIs feel bold enough to come our way from under us and the fight starts. I quickly calculate this is going to be fourteen planes in a dogfight, so I stay above by fear of collisions. After a few minutes, two of the Fokkers are down and the two other running home.
By that time everyone is spread out so we don't take time to form up and we all go to the good side. The weather is getting worse so some of us decide to land at La Gorgue and wait for the weather to clear up a bit before flying back to Coudekerque. (*)

We will learn later that Whealdon and Davies have shot down one of the Fokkers and sadly that Wickham and Foss will never come back again, after a collision with the second.

(*) and also because the historical Germany-Brazil game was starting 15 mns later...

Sweet screenie Maeran !
Cock a doodle do....

Just for laughs and giggles while Charles C. is in the hospital I have been flying a DH2 in Nov. 1916. Enjoy the EIII as an opponent for now gentlemen. Once the Halbs and Albs take to the skies it is a whole different ballgame.

I'm learning to pilot the EIII decently. She is always on the edge of a stall when DFing

Love the cockpit view and the gun. The rotary, although a tad underpowered, is dependable.

"Squirrley Shirrley" is no Strutter, but I'm learning some dance moves with her.

MudWasp: I thought I would love the E.III when I started a campaign with them, but on my second mission I was just climbing out of my takeoff and thought I'd begin my 'circle to altitude'. Spin. Stall. Boom. Ugh.

Hasse: Bad luck with the Aviatiks. I've come to the conclusion that running away is bad (unless you know for a fact you have a speed advantage, or are injured and desperate.) Try wearing them down by making them chase and turn with you. I've never tried the Aviatik so even that might not work... I've saved my life a few times with the 'dive to tree-top level and run' strategy.


July 9, 1916
Sgt. Bilbo Baggins, RFC 70


Today we flew a six-plane mission intended to patrol the border and recon for a bit. As usual in these things, we didn't make it.

While flying near Loos, Flight Leader Cruikshank suddenly began diving and weaving back and forth, trying to drain his energy. We weren't very high to begin with (6K feet), so this drop was a bit surprising.

After a few quite graceful arcs on his part, we saw his prey: Four Eindeckers. One thing I've learned in QC is that, whereas in many situations the disadvantaged machine will run for it, the AI doesn't realize the Eindecker really is that much worse than the Strutter. The two flights charged into each other.

That's when I noticed...these aren't Eindeckers. Monoplanes, yes. Hostile, yes. But the fuselage is wrong. Who are these guys?



Oh dear.

The next few minutes are a blur. I get behind one of the Nazgul and fire a few shots into it, but there's another Strutter flying a little too close to my comfort, and he's leading me away from the melee. Both of us let him go, and I realize we're in a full fledged furball.



One of them turns away, so I begin settling in to a rear chase but my Strutter buddy is right there with me. In fact, he cuts me off at about 10 or 20 yards distance. No, this is far too dangerous. I turn away, disgusted.

Two left: I fire one burst into Nazgul # 3 and he goes into a death spiral - I must have hit the pilot. # 4 goes into a flat spin before I can even get to him. I follow him down: He tries twice to reverse his spin, but can't quite pull it off. Down he goes.

The melee left me at about 700 feet altitude, so I slowly circled my way back to 5000 waiting for my flight to form up. Two of the Strutters are still with me. I don't realize it at the time, but a third crashed and burned. This leaves two friendlies missing.

I stick around for a good 10 minutes, as do my Strutter buddies, but the call to form up never comes. I finally go home and submit a claim for two Nazgul. Following interviews with witnesses and a visit with the flight surgeon to determine whether I've lost it, Command awards me one E.III instead.

Augustus Snodgrass
Sgt, Rfc
70 Sgn

9 Jul 16.
B flight had the morning flight to Vimy Jct near Douai Airfield. I was tail end charlie to 6 A/c.
We were on the bomb run at 8,000 ft and got hit by e/a. Bullets flying, bombs falling a E'LL of a mess.
nothing hit the Target. I did get a part of a Fokker while doing a corkscrew down to 2,000ft. Alone, I ran for home and counted 12 holes in my Kite.

Sqn Results: No hits on target. 1 Spowith Destroyed, 1 forced down, 2 lt damage. Claims: 2 Fokkers.
FootNote:

I saw a E-III in a spin Out of control ?
Spotted a Sopwith making a force landing close to Douai

TO ALL PILOTS

Gentlemen, I have kept the rules quite open about the frequency of your flying, but it doesn' make sense
when some of you don't fly at all. It should be possible for everyone to fly at least once per week.
So please try to fly a little more often. I wouldn't like to take pilots out of the campaign due to
inactivity, but I might have to make such an additional rule, and do so.

Last, but not least, we have a promotion.
RAF_Louvert's pilot has been promoted from Sergeant to Lieutenant - congratulations, Lou!

Here comes the latest update of our DiD Campaign Chart. I hope I have everything correct this time (but I doubt it ).
(A larger version is to be found in post #1 of this thread)

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Pursuant to Army Order 204, dated 6 July 1916, the following individual is hereby presented the Wounded Stripe:



Your King and Country thank you for your sacrifice and faithful service.

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Well thank you Sir! The doc says I am improving and if it continues I will be back in action sometime next week.

@lederhosen
Hi there, kudos for surviving 19 missions in a Morane !

Awsome, 19 Missions on a French Morane. Great flying

Flight Sub-Lt Alex Ackworth - RNAS 4 - Coudekerque - 09 July 1916 (Mission 15)

This early morning 06:48 take off in a group of 3 Strutters for bombing of a railyard north of Lens. Beautiful weather. On the way we pick up our escort of 3 DH2 from RFC-32 and climb to 10.000 ft.
Bombing run, turn around, fly home. We saw 4 Fokker EIIs on patrol but much too low to catch us. Back on time for tea, bacon and eggs.

Augustus Snodgrass
Sgt, Rfc
70 Sgn

July 10th 1916.

During morning parade, The C.O. pointed out that my Kill was confirmed I now have 2 Victory's. ( Fellow pilots had witnessed the fight and stated that After I shot off a part of the Fokker the rest of it fell apart and the a/c smashed into the ground.)

I'm chomping at the bit to fly more Olham but I'm 7 days in on a 10 day hospital stay. Congrats Chatterley on your award!