Macklroy 2 Posted May 6, 2009 Richard Macklroy was on another routine patrol with his best 4 wingmen. A fight had ensued between Macklroy's flight and 5 enemy Albatross DIII near the front lines. When the battle was over and the dust was settling, Mack was watching the last bosche scout crash into a wooded area just outside of la lovie. He scaned the skies for his pilots. Jem, Adam, Jam....*BOOOM*. Slamed by a direct hit from archie Mack's cripled sopwith camel dropped from the sky like a stone. Fighting the controlls and looking frantically for the front lines to set her down in friendly teritory. But it was no use. The ol' bird had bought it. And try as he might the nose would NOT come up. Shortly after the explosion a small fire had started in the cockpit and now things were looking grim. So stressfull was the situation inside the cockpit, that Macklroy had failed to notice tree branches wizzing past his head.... Richard Macklroy spent the rest of the war behind the lines a prisoner of the german army. His tally of 22 confirmed kills in the course of one bloody week in July 1917 shall be remembered as the summer that 'could have been' for a popular british ace. ..................... Well, i guess i can start my french pilot now. I was really on a roll with this one too. My first 5 kills were confirmed. And this pilot had a streak of 17 straight confirmed victories. I think he was Irish or something. No one gets THAT lucky. Even in his last moments he walked away from a crash that would have killed any normal man. S! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted May 6, 2009 Yes, German Flak is verrry effishent! Mmuahahahaa!!!! Next time, when a pilot reaches 20 confirmed kills, put him to rest/retire him. That way you could keep the result. But 17 kills confirmed at once? That bloke must have had a relative at headquarters! My best pilot has 34 claims undeway by now. From those, some ten or twelve were rejected, eight were confirmed, and the rest is still "pending". I only hope to get some more confirmed, BEFORE he bites the dust. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hasse Wind 46 Posted May 6, 2009 I know how you feel Macklroy. I lost my best pilot when Hun AAA decided to blow his Pup into thousand small pieces. This was before the latest patch though, so back then AA fire was REALLY deadly compared to what it's now. Olham, your pilot is living in the summer of 1918, right? Maybe he's a lucky bastard and lives a few more months to see the end of the war! My Jasta 9 pilot now has 12 confirmed kills and 4 in waiting, so if he lives a while longer he'll become my best pilot ever. The Albatros is a great fighter indeed! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted May 6, 2009 The Albatros is a great fighter indeed! Aaaahhhh!!! These words feel like ice cream on a hot summer day! Sure she is - but let's not tell ever'ybody, okay? They might all fly her otherwise, and would succeed more! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted May 6, 2009 Yes, German Flak is verrry effishent! Which raises the question: How efficient was it? [which is to say, flak in general terms.] While flyers in OFF complain bitterly and often about flak, from what I've read, it was more of an annoyance than a danger...assuming you didn't just fly low and slow and offer your butt as a target. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zoomzoom 2 Posted May 6, 2009 The Albatros is a great fighter indeed! Aaaahhhh!!! These words feel like ice cream on a hot summer day! Sure she is - but let's not tell ever'ybody, okay? They might all fly her otherwise, and would succeed more! YES, YES THE ALBATROSS IS "GREAT INDEED". Thats why I just flippantly killed my career Pfalz pilot in a "head on" with an SE5a, because they would never transfer me outa that crate and its SEPTEMBER 1918 ALREADY!!!!! ZZ. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted May 6, 2009 Thats why I just flippantly killed my career Pfalz pilot in a "head on" with an SE5a, because they would never transfer me outa that crate... Ooooh, that's cold! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zoomzoom 2 Posted May 6, 2009 Ooooh, that's cold! Ya....poor Gunner von Graf. His name will be resurrected and live on in the future I'm certain. Just not as a PFALZ PILOT!!!! I got tired of running every time I saw an enemy. He got stuck in that bird for over 5 MONTHS!!! Can't blame him for going batty....watching Fokker Dr1's and DVII's taking off all around him. Always a bridesmaid and never a bride. He simply cracked. ZZ. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bullethead 12 Posted May 6, 2009 Which raises the question: How efficient was it? [which is to say, flak in general terms.] While flyers in OFF complain bitterly and often about flak, from what I've read, it was more of an annoyance than a danger...assuming you didn't just fly low and slow and offer your butt as a target. That's difficult to say. The Gothas usually lost 1 or 2 planes per daylight raid on England from flak, but that was probably the most heavily defended spot in the world at the time. In the 2nd half of 1918, the DH4s and DH9s of Independent Force were doing deep daylight raids. They would get archied at the lines and then over every town they used as a waypoint in and out, plus over the target area itself, but had gaps in between such defended areas. It's safe to say they were under fire for 1-2 hours at least on most occasions (missions usually lasted 4-5 hours in total). The flak was quite often (until the last month of the war) described as "heavy and accurate", even at their usual altitude of 15-16000 feet, and many or even all planes were hit by fragments every raid. Only occasionally, however, did this cause any important damage. From what I can tell, they never lost a plane to immediately fatal flak damage (direct hit, dead pilot, flaming engine, etc.). The planes downed by flak mostly lost power due to engine or fuel tank hits, or sometimes went down due to a pilot wound. They'd be seen to go down under control, and quite a few managed to glide back across the lines. When they didn't, the crews often survived as POWs. However, crews of a number of planes last seen under control ended up dead, usually from being finished off by a fighter once they left formation. It's hard to quantify without rereading the entire book and keeping score, but the vast majority of IAF's combat losses were from fighters. Serious fighter attacks weren't that common, however. Mostly, they'd meet a couple of Huns who were intimidated by the IAF's large formations, and who only sniped from long range. But every few weeks, they'd meet a large number of Huns who attacked with gusto and would knock down many bombers. Hardly ever do you come across a definite flak victim, even when the archie was "heavy and accurate" for an hour or more. However, quite frequently you read that planes were so badly shot up by flak as to be written off upon their safe return. Occasionally, a squadron would be out of action for a day while most of its planes were under repair from flak damage. Thus, even though the flak didn't get many kills, it was still doing frequent non-fatal damage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted May 6, 2009 Thus, even though the flak didn't get many kills, it was still doing frequent non-fatal damage. Good over-view. That pretty much told me what I wanted to know. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted May 6, 2009 I must say I find the new Flak very moderate on "normal", and you could still push it up to "realistic", or down to "easy". Well done, devs! ZoomZoom, sorry about your Pfalz man, but he had gotten all that crate could give him. Now, enjoy your life as an Albatros fighter pilot! It will be much more fun! (But don't get too carefree!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
