#4066820 - 01/20/15 10:29 PM
Re: The "DiD Campaign Revival" - Intro, Rules, Reports & Records Chart
[Re: Olham]
|
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,739
Olham
Barmy Baron from Berlin
|
Barmy Baron from Berlin
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,739
|
Don't hide your light under the bushel, Scout! Congrats to your promotion! There must be a good mix of luck AND skill AND careful, aware operations. 71 missions, 78 hours - what a fine example!
Oh, and I think I'll try one or two of that Loch Lomond whisky they delivered!
Vice-President of the BOC (Barmy OFFers Club) Member of the 'Albatros Aviators Club' - "We know how to die with Style!"
|
|
|
#4066830 - 01/20/15 10:54 PM
Re: The "DiD Campaign Revival" - Intro, Rules, Reports & Records Chart
[Re: Olham]
|
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 2,105
Raine
Member
|
Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 2,105
New Brunswick, Canada
|
Cam Fraser's continuing adventure...20 January 1917 Farnborough, England Hi kid, It’s been an eventful day. I was able to get on a civilian train despite my free warrant by playing the ignorant colonial with the Transport Office and saying that I was going to miss my ship in Southampton. As it is I don’t sail for Havre until tomorrow afternoon. After boarding the train at Waterloo Station, I found an empty compartment, lit my pipe, and settled into the morning paper which was full of sad stories about the explosion at Silvertown yesterday. We had barely started to inch out of the station when a middle-aged balding fellow with a waxed moustache entered the compartment and sat across from me. Somewhere near Woking he coughed and asked me if I’d been in France yet, and pointed to the eagle on my sleeve knowingly. I told him I had been and then he started to ask me very probing questions about the Pup and Strutter. For a minute I wondered if he was a German spy, but noticed the concern on my face and laughed. He then introduced himself as a Mr. Fowler. Turns out he’s a senior railway engineer who has recently been named as the new head of the Royal Aircraft Factory. We talked at great length about air warfare and aircraft, and he suggested I visit the factory at Farnborough, which was on our route! I hesitated for a moment, as it would invalidate my warrant if I got off the train, but I decided it was worth it as I could afford to pay for another ticket to Southampton later today. Alex, it was a true thrill. There were things going on at the factory I can’t talk about but the visit made me feel much more confident about the future of the air war and about our chances against the Zeppelins. There are some encouraging developments, although building new planes has its attendant risks and obstacles. The factory had recently lost a top test pilot while testing a new scout. Mr. Fowler grilled me for information and opinions the whole time. I was itching to fly a couple of the things I saw there, but was not allowed to. “Good God, no!” Fowler said with a laugh when I asked to fly. “We have enough problems with the Admiralty without having to explain why one of their officers killed himself buggering about the sky in one of our prototype machines while medically unfit for duty.” I saw their wind channel, or tunnel, and much of the modern science that goes into predicting how a certain shape will react to the stresses of high speed and manoeuvre. When we were done for the morning he walked me over to the Inn and we shared lunch before Mr. Fowler had to excuse himself and head back to work. I had the afternoon to kill, as I won’t get another train until after supper tonight. I headed along the road and bade good afternoon to a gentleman who was walking his dog. We exchanged some small talk and I asked him if there were any sights of historical interest in the area. He told me to continue along, turn left, and go until I saw a high stone wall with a gate in it. He said to knock on the gate. “And then?” I asked. He laughed, bade me good day, and said the mystery would make it more interesting. I found the place he had described and took some time outside the gate to work up the courage to knock. After a moment, a small sliding panel in the door opened and I was astonished to see a monk in a white cowl staring at me! He asked what I wanted and I explained about being a Canadian pilot who had been told that there was something of historical interest here. “This is a private estate,” he replied. “Visitors are not privileged.” I was turning to leave when I heard the bolt slide back and the gate opened. The monk said he shouldn’t really do this, but invited me in. “You want to see the crypt, I presume,” he said, and I followed him. The estate was sprawling, with gravelled walks, extensive gardens and a handsome two-storey gabled house, painted brown. There was a stone dormitory, presumably where the monks lived, and a chapel. The chapel was ornate. I followed the monk inside and noticed immediately the heavy Spanish style of the place. Then we went outside and around the back to another door. The room inside was white marble with a vaulted ceiling and a floor of black and white marble tiles. On either side was a sarcophagus, one larger than the other. I read the plaque on the larger one. It was inscribed “Napoleon III.” The plaque on the smaller read “Prince Imperial.” I had always thought of the Napoleonic wars as remote, like the Trojan War. But the monk explained the estate belonged to the Empress Eugenie, widow of the last Emperor of France. The Huns licked Napoleon and took him prisoner in 1870 and he went to England afterwards, since the French had declared a republic in his absence. His son, Napoleon IV the Prince Imperial, had joined the British Army (imagine that – a Bonaparte in red!) and been killed by Zulus in 1879! And all that was in front of me here in the countryside around the Royal Aircraft Factory. The Empress Eugenie was still alive, he said, and the estate played host to his community of Benedictines. Apparently she is Spanish -- hence the monks and ornate crosses and such. As I was leaving, the monk pointed to a small figure stooping over some rose bushes in the distant gardens. It was the Empress, last of the Napoleonic line! This kind of stuff doesn’t happen in old Halifax, does it? Kick the cat for me, Cam The Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnborough The death of Napoleon IV
|
|
|
#4066920 - 01/21/15 03:53 AM
Re: The "DiD Campaign Revival" - Intro, Rules, Reports & Records Chart
[Re: Olham]
|
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 6,659
carrick58
Hotshot
|
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 6,659
|
Date: 1/20/17.
To: Intell Officer
Equipment: BE2c,s with 4 25 pounders.
Target: The lines west of Monchy.
A Flt: Escort 1 a/c B Flt: Bombardment 2 a/c
Remarks: Our escort was 4.5 NM in front and was jumped by 2 or 3 enemy scouts. My gunner samwise saw him burn all the way down as we headed for them. At this time, I spotted 2 dots off to our right closing so pickled the bombs over no mans land and beat a hasty retreat.
Ed Pell Sgt, B flight 34 Sqn ( Bombardment)
Last edited by carrick58; 01/21/15 03:54 AM.
|
|
|
#4066989 - 01/21/15 10:23 AM
Re: The "DiD Campaign Revival" - Intro, Rules, Reports & Records Chart
[Re: Olham]
|
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,739
Olham
Barmy Baron from Berlin
|
Barmy Baron from Berlin
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,739
|
For a Canadian flyer with a relatively young history of his own country, the visit to Europe must have been like strolling through an illustrated history book. And your letter is another nice little history lesson, Raine. ... it's dangerous out there in Albatros Alley for a wee little Strutter these days!!
Well, we do our best to keep you guys entertained - Mmuahahahahaaa!!!
Vice-President of the BOC (Barmy OFFers Club) Member of the 'Albatros Aviators Club' - "We know how to die with Style!"
|
|
|
#4067064 - 01/21/15 02:30 PM
Re: The "DiD Campaign Revival" - Intro, Rules, Reports & Records Chart
[Re: Olham]
|
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 2,105
Raine
Member
|
Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 2,105
New Brunswick, Canada
|
For a Canadian flyer with a relatively young history of his own country, the visit to Europe must have been like strolling through an illustrated history book. Olham, I've often had the same thought. A lot of English Canadian towns and cities were rather dull and Calvinist in outlook in those days, and most English-speaking Canadians were only a generation or two removed from the UK. Continental European immigration had just started to increase in the pre-war years, although there were pockets of European culture in Canada (Berlin, Ontario was renamed Kitchener after the war started). European migration really boomed only after the war. French-speaking Canadians, by contrast, could usually trace their family tree in Canada to the mid or early 1600s. All this is to say that a young man like Cam wouldn't have been exposed to much excitement before the war, and the history and colour of the "old country" and of France would have been quite an adventure. The Canadian WW1 experience is interesting. In Australia or even Newfoundland (a separate British colony until 1947), WW1 is often seen through the victim's lens: poor colonials being fed into the meat grinder by stuffy British high command. But in Canada WW1 is commonly seen as the birth of nationhood. The impact of having our soldiers in separate Canadian divisions was huge, and the pride Canada took (and still takes) in the success at Vimy Ridge was a formative experience. This led to the reforms of 1922 in which statutes of the Canadian Parliament no longer needed to be approved by Westminster. Cam is having a good time. Like the Americans say, "How are you going to keep him down on the farm now that he's seen Paree?"
|
|
|
#4067119 - 01/21/15 04:28 PM
Re: The "DiD Campaign Revival" - Intro, Rules, Reports & Records Chart
[Re: Raine]
|
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,739
Olham
Barmy Baron from Berlin
|
Barmy Baron from Berlin
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,739
|
"How are you going to keep him down on the farm now that he's seen Paree?"
Haha, yeah - the drawbacks of "being kissed by culture"... Mmuahahahahaaa!!! Good insights into the Canadian sould; thanks, Raine. Now I'm wondering if perhaps the "older", French-rooted Canadians may often think they were the true, historical Canadians - or did you all rather mix quite well now?
Vice-President of the BOC (Barmy OFFers Club) Member of the 'Albatros Aviators Club' - "We know how to die with Style!"
|
|
|
#4067274 - 01/21/15 08:44 PM
Re: The "DiD Campaign Revival" - Intro, Rules, Reports & Records Chart
[Re: Olham]
|
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,739
Olham
Barmy Baron from Berlin
|
Barmy Baron from Berlin
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,739
|
Wasn't Ed Pell YOUR new pilot, Carrick?
Vice-President of the BOC (Barmy OFFers Club) Member of the 'Albatros Aviators Club' - "We know how to die with Style!"
|
|
|
#4067325 - 01/21/15 09:54 PM
Re: The "DiD Campaign Revival" - Intro, Rules, Reports & Records Chart
[Re: Olham]
|
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 729
Maeran
Member
|
Member
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 729
UK
|
It was. Crikey Carrick, what happened?
Edit - got an Eindecker today. I'm amazed that they are still around. So is the claims system, which no longer has an Eindecker option, so it had to go in as 'single seater'. I'll write it up at some point but am tired right now.
Last edited by Maeran; 01/21/15 10:35 PM.
|
|
|
#4067355 - 01/21/15 11:04 PM
Re: The "DiD Campaign Revival" - Intro, Rules, Reports & Records Chart
[Re: 77_Scout]
|
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,340
HarryH
Member
|
Member
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,340
|
Thanks for the encouragement guys! I can only attribute my survival to a cautious attitude ... it's dangerous out there in Albatros Alley for a wee little Strutter these days!! ...as Alphonse can attest! Congrats, Scout! Harry
System: i5 8600K @ 3.6GHz,16GB DDR4 @2666MHz. RTX2080, MSI Z370 mobo, Dell 27" G-SYNC @ 144Hz. 2560x1440
|
|
|
#4067357 - 01/21/15 11:11 PM
Re: The "DiD Campaign Revival" - Intro, Rules, Reports & Records Chart
[Re: Olham]
|
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,340
HarryH
Member
|
Member
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,340
|
HarryH, you can fly the DFW C.V with some two-seater units. I got one in FA(A) 260.
Thanks, Olham. Berndt Moeller made his first sortie in the DFW C.V yesterday. Planning to transfer to a fighter unit just as soon as he can rack up the required hours, and get a transfer approved. It's not that 2-seaters aren't interesting, they're just plain scary!
System: i5 8600K @ 3.6GHz,16GB DDR4 @2666MHz. RTX2080, MSI Z370 mobo, Dell 27" G-SYNC @ 144Hz. 2560x1440
|
|
|
|
CD WOFF
by Britisheh. 03/28/24 08:05 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|