About This File
New mission types, new flak (Allied now switchinh from Shrapnel to HE).
1916(2) will cover July-August 1916. In the July-August period the E.IIIs appear to have been mostly held back by a combination of the lack of leadership and example (the death of Immelmann and the temporary grounding of Boelcke), problems with the synchronisation gear of the gun (thought to be the reason for Immelmann's downfall), reorganisation, and low moral as a much reduced number of Fokker pilots were faced with the Allied build up to the Somme offensive. During the first two months of the battle of the Somme the Allies gained almost complete control of the air above the battlefield, until the tide started to turn again at the end of August with the introduction of the new German scouts, a new influx of pilots, and reorganisation of scouts into the more effective organisation of the Jasta system. 1916(2) will therefore present a two-month hiatus for the 'German' player, with mostly 'lone wolf' and solo defensive patrols over friendly territory (still one or two line patrols, but not as many). For the Allied player it will be more or less a continuation of the earlier period, January - June.