Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-wing open crate

[Olham 164]

Gee, this was big fun - thanks for the inspiration, Fliegenhund (and Rickitycrate earlier).

Sitting in the open Eindecker in May 1916, in the sunny wheather was great fun, and

looking around with TrackIR - I could have flown to Paris!

Our attack on three FE2b went well too; I took one out, and my wings shreddered another.

The third escaped - lucky blighter!

As it all felt so wonderful, I decided to do the whole landing proceedure and joined in behind

my wings. And what do you say - the landing went pefectly fine; they hopped over the last

trees, touched down and happily rolled out in line, without touching each other.

 

Touched was I, and had to make a picture for you. If you find your other campaigns too busy,

have a rest in an Eindecker, or a Bristol Scout. Times where much quieter back in early '16.

Enjoy!

Edited August 7, 2009 by Olham

[Launchbury 1]

May 1916? You'd better watch out. The Nieuports will be along soon and then you're meat.

[Olham 164]

Hmm - I knew, someone would spoil my joy!

[Fliegenhund 0]

Nice shots Olham, glad to see you are giving it a go. Just stay high and keep some speed and you can dominate in that plane! My next try I need to work on my claims, I had alot of rejections in my last one and with my wingman right with me witnessing the majority of them, I dont know how they got rejected. Horrido!

[Olham 164]

I assume, the more names you fill in and the more of those men really return, the better your chances.

But even with 7 names I don't seem to get more than: Pending: 68 And I always get a lot rejected.

Edited August 7, 2009 by Olham

[Hasse Wind 46]

That cockpit does offer a remarkable visibility. I think that's the best part of the Eindecker. I once tried the Eindecker in QC and then tested the Spad - the difference in visibility made me almost claustrophobic in the French cockpit!

 

But watch out for the Nupes, because they are there already in May 1916, in the form of Nieuport 11. And later in the summer, the N.17 comes into service, and it's superior to Eindecker in every possible way (well maybe not the visibility!).

 

I imagine switching the TAC off completely will also prolong the life of an Eindecker pilot. You don't want to go chasing after every enemy in that crate like you do when you're flying the Alb, Olham!

[carrick58 23]

The nueiports are nasty to E-3 Fokker pilots. been trying my hand in them but I mostly get shot up and forced to land or run for the closest german airfield. The pilot Linberger Cheese has one rejected kill and 8.5 hours and was in the nastiest furball between N-11, N16 s and two 5 aircraft flights of E-3 s holy smoke shoot and dodge was the name of the tune. As the a/c danced ,all I could do was pot shot as the frenchies flew by I fired in bursts of 10 and twenty till I was down to 100 rds. I got 1 hit one one a/c the 2 hits on another the rest went into thin air. During the turning swriling mess I saw one E-3 after another go down as the Nueiports skided under the guns. Finally some one got lucky and two N-11s began smoking off to the left Then my wingman went down and I ran for it with a N-16 303 cal machine gun barking after me. After getting down ok found I had been hit three times in the wing 1 in the fuel tank and had a cable cut.

Totals: 5 E-3s destroyed for 2 N11s and one N16. I hate fur balls.

[Olham 164]

Hmm - maybe one should start an Eindecker campaignas early as possible, when there where

only Bristol Scouts and maybe DH2 - before the Nupes.

[sgran 0]

Only problem is that it gets boring fast doing that. Good to have diversity (yet still noops) but that just makes things more exciting.

[Launchbury 1]

That's what I did. I had good success with 12 kills, though if you want to be greedy you could probably kill 40 or more, flying twice a day. I flew all November, took leave for all December, came back in January - shot down in flames - 48 days to recover - came back for a week - shot down again, out for another 2 weeks. I attacked a formation of 6 Nieuport 11s against my better judgment and was lucky enough not to die during the encounter. Fuel tank with more holes than a cheese grater, wings, tailplanes, engine all shot to bits, put her down in a field. Nieuports hadn't seen me before I jumped them, and what I should have done was kept on going the other way. "Go right home and don't talk to any strangers" as they say.

 

I took someone's suggestion from these forums and skip 1 day for every point of damage I take to my pilot during the flight.

[Rickitycrate 10]

Olham, good to see you've given the EIII a try. I tried the Brisfit yesterday for the first time. Unbelievable, I know. Anyway, don't be afraid of the little Bebe's. Remember who you are and that that little kite only has one gun and very limited ammo. Happy flying!

[Olham 164]

Could you fight Bebes in the kite successfully, Jim?

[Rickitycrate 10]

Seems like a long time ago but I had limited success with the usual b/z tactics. If you can get a few rounds into the Bebe you sometimes decrease the maneuverablity advantage. So deflection shooting is helpful if you can avoid the stall. I would suggest earlier campaign to get a handle on the fliight characteristics. You will know when you are ready for the N11. Use your wingies wisely as I know you do.

[Stickshaker 0]

How about this? Three years and several generations later: the Junkers D.I all-metal monoplane. The Me-262 of the First World War.

I recently commissioned this 1:20 model with Factory Direct Models in the U.S. and can only hope that one day we’ll see this beauty in OFF or some other WWI sim. 30 or so were actually used at the Western Front in late 1918.

I have more photos and information on this plane amd on the makers of the model for anyone who wants them.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Stickshaker

[Hauksbee 103]

Now that's one beautiful model! But...where do you keep it in the house?

[itifonhom 6]

I started at Jasta 13 at Seotember 15!! Empty skies after three missions but I enjoy it after loosing Herr Mainfeld in a dogfight. The Eindecker is wonderful indeed, too bad there are no Morane- Saulniers around to play.

 

Good choice Olham, Hals und Beinbruch! itifonhom

[Check Six 2]

"Good choice Olham, Hals und Beinbruch! itifonhom"

 

I haven't seen this quote for many years. I understand it to be the German pilot equivalent of the actor's good luck call of "break a leg" and roughly translates to "break your neck and leg" if I recall correctly. Why I haven't heard it for a long time (I thought) was that it was peculiar to Luftwaffe pilots (ie WW2) only. I have never heard it mentioned at all in relation to WW1.

 

So I Googled it and apparently it's just a "German thing"...a way Germans wish each other good luck, and it appears to be in general (not just mainly used by pilots (either private aviators or combat pilots).

 

Perhaps it was not popular at the turn of the century or during WW1. Any of our German friends know any more about this custom?

[itifonhom 6]

Not sure what it means exactly myself or even where it comes from. I've heard it once or twice at german tv, never at private conversations though, and I understand it to be something between "good luck" and "strength and courage". Suppose it's only still used from elderly people so maybe it was acustomed more around the WWII. I'd like to learn more about it myself, maybe Olham knows something?

 

itifonhom

[Olham 164]

Great model, Stickshaker! Looks big, too. Hope you have the space?

 

Iti, I believe, they will do a Morane Saulnier in a future version of OFF.

The Eindecker is fun - until you meet the N 11.

 

Wikipedia said about "Hals- und Beinbruch", it might be a German malapropism of the

Jiddish „hatslokhe u brokhe“, which means "luck and blessing" for business actions.

But it's not sure. It could also result in an old belief, that the powers of fortune love it,

to transform a wish into the opposite - which you can counter by wishing something

really bad. It is not said, how old the saying is, but they write, that the English "break

a leg" may come from the German version. There are also "Mast- und Schotbruch" for

mariners (break your mast and sheet), and "Holm- und Rippenbruch" for aviators

(break your spar and fin).

Edited September 26, 2009 by Olham

[Check Six 2]

Great model, Stickshaker! Looks big, too. Hope you have the space?

 

Iti, I believe, they will do a Morane Saulnier in a future version of OFF.

The Eindecker is fun - until you meet the N 11.

 

Wikipedia said about "Hasl- und Beinbruch", it might be a German malapropism of the

Jiddish „hatslokhe u brokhe“, which means "luck and blessing" for business actions.

But it's not sure. It could also result in an old belief, that the powers of fortune love it,

to transform a wish into the opposite - which you can counter by wishing something

really bad. It is not said, how old the saying is, but they write, that the English "break

a leg" may come from the German version. There are also "Mast- und Schotbruch" for

mariners (break your mast and sheet), and "Holm- und Rippenbruch" for aviators

(break your spar and fin).

 

(A 1:20 scale model of a Junkers D.1 would have a wingspan of 45 cm and a fuselage of 36 cm)

 

 

I think the first time I saw the phrase mentioned was in the biography of one of my all-time-favourite pilots...Adolf Galland (The First and the Last). Hell, maybe he's one of my all time favourite people...a great man. If I recall correctly (it's been more than a decade, and I am at work, not at home, so no access to my copy), the "yellow-nosed bastards" (or the Abbeville boys if you were German) pilots of JG26 routinely wished each other good luck by saying that to each other before each sortie, more along the lines of "I hope you make it back" type of good luck wish as opposed to "I hope you get a victory".

 

And the call as they began to dive on their hapless enemies was "Horrido!!"...Kind of a German equivalent of the British "Tally-Ho!".

 

OOPS! Sorry to have hijacked your thread. I'll shut up now.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Check Six

[Olham 164]

No problem, these threads often florish in a most creative and surprising way,

and I like that. I have read Galland's book and think he was a great pilot.

What impressed me most, was how he frankly admitted, that he couldn't stand on his legs after

a bail-out: he had first got stuck in the rear fixed canopy part with his parachute, and when he

came free, he almost opened the lock, that holds all the parachute belts together on your chest,

instead of pulling the rope. He just realised the mistake he was about to make, and when he was

down, he sat down under a tree. When a truck with soldiers came to look after him, they asked

"Are you alright, Herr Hauptmann (or was it Herr Leutnant?)? Can we do anything for you?"

And he replied "Yes, if you could bring me a large brandy, please."

He wrote, that his knees were too weak to stand on his feet.

[Check Six 2]

All that would be going through your mind when you were in a stricken crate would be "GETOUT! GETOUT! GETOUT!". (Not even "Am I over enemy territory?" would pass through your mind...Prisoner of War or not, your first and only thought is survival). To be fumbling about with your seatbelt harness and finally get free, and the RUSH that must hit you to think "Mein GOTT! I almost undid my parachute harness before I jumped!".

 

What impressed me most about Adolf Galland was him standing up to Goering (and living to tell the tale). It cost him a demotion only (from General of the Fighters to commanding his own squadron of hand-picked pilots flying the Me-262. Did I say demotion???), which shows you how much respect Goering had for his capabilites as a pilot and leader of men.

 

I can fondly recall an interview with another great Luftwaffe pilot, General Gunther Rall (with 275 victories, the third highest scoring fighter pilot in history), where he was describing weaving and breaking left and right attempting to shake the fighters on his tail, tracers whizzing past him, holing his wings, then the searing pain as he had his thumb shot off. He calmly and matter-of-factly stated "I thought this would be a good time to get out of my aircraft", adding later that "I couldn't fire my guns anyway. I had no thumb".

Edited September 26, 2009 by Check Six

[Olham 164]

Yes, Rall was a lucky one like Udet - he only lost a thumb after shooting 275 opponents down.

 

Don't know about Goering's respect towards Galland. Maybe it was respect. But also, that he

couldn't really do much more - Galland was a national heroe; they had made propaganda with

aces like him. Maybe Goering thought, he would be shot down sooner or later anyway, when

he tried to stop the bombers to show the real value of the Me 262.

 

What also touches me, is that Galland was often invited by British pilots, who had been his

opponents in the Battle of Britain. Opponents - not enemies.

[Check Six 2]

They say that the "Gallant Knights of the Air" died after the "Fokker Scourge" and "Bloody April" periods, but that isn't so. If you've read Galland's book, and seen interviews with him, he is the most pleasant, personable man it would be your privilege to meet. (Hmm...maybe the SECOND most pleasant. Saburo Sakai tops him I think. Impossible to see or hear him and not smile - his autobiography is also a GREAT read). Both of them true gentlemen, and whilst they were enemies, you were FORCED to respect them for their very nature.

 

When the news passed around the mess that the Rittmeister was dead, they charged their glasses to drink a toast to him, but Mick Mannock (who had been interned by the Turks when the war broke out) refused, and said "Sizzle Sizzle WONK! I hope he burned ALL THE WAY DOWN!". But I really think Mick's hatred was not the norm. Whilst many listen to the propaganda of their war ministeries, they don't believe many of the lies they spread maliciously to instill hatred of your enemy, and perceive the "other chaps" as merely soldiers doing their job, just like them.

 

"Opponents - not enemies" Yes, well said Olham mate.

 

The Poor Bloody Infantry saw it up close and personal...body parts that used to be their best mate strewn all about the place. Seeing thier comrades shot through the head. Shooting their enemies through the head. Whilst fighter pilots KNOW there is a man burning to death in that machine you just shot down, some choose to think of it as just a machine. They don't have to see the face of their enemy, nor to see the grimaces of their comrades in the throes of death or hear their screams.

 

Yes, there are still "Knights of the Air", though they are few and far between sadly.

[Stickshaker 0]

I have a glass display for my 1:20 sale WWI models in my living room. My house is not big but I live alone so it is no problem.

 

There is a beautiful replica of a D.I (and of a Siemens-Schuckert D.III) in he Luftwaffemuseum in Berlin. Well worth a visit; you can get there by bus from the railway station. Lots of ex-Soviet planes too.