This is what I love about OFF

[Olham 164]

This is so great about OFF - that you never know what comes next! My last sortie with Jasta 11

was so special, that I want to share it here with you.

 

Jasta 11, Marckebeeke, 19. August 1917

Lt. Mahlo

 

I had climbed my crate, to fly with Manfred von Richthofen, Eberhard Mohnicke,

Hans-Joachim Wolf, Karl-August Schönebeck and Gisbert-Wilhelm Groos. We took

off and circled our field, climbing. Our mission task was to fly a defensive

patrol over Halluin Rekkem airfield.

 

The weather was nasty; slate grey rain clouds all around almost hid the Flak

bursts. I was highest of all and noticed them, but before I could warn every-

body, 6 - 8 silver British Nieuport 24 with Lewis guns came down on our Staffel.

A big turmoil began, and it so dense that it was dangerous to go down to help.

 

But then I saw von Richthofen in serious trouble. He had not gained much altitude

yet, and got under attack by two enemy fighters. His wingman Wolf was in trouble

himself and could not help. I went down and could chase a craft with a striped

cowling off von Richthofen's tail. But I realised, that his craft was already

hit and damaged.

Shielded by Horstmann, I chased the Tommy around. He was squirming like an eel,

but I got a good burst into his craft at last, and he performed a crash landing.

 

Von Richthofen could not follow us, and one of my wingmen, Hugo Bucher, had landed

a kilometer north of our field with engine damage. But Mohnicke took over and we

continued our patrol. We shouldn't have after that incident. We had not gone very

far and were at an altitude of 2.000 m, when suddenly the last craft of 1. Kette,

which flew forward higher, turned around in a strange way.

 

First I thought, he wanted to turn towards an unexpected enemy, and checked all

around, but found nothing. The craft came down in a wide shallow spiral. It was the

Albatros of Gisbert Groos.

When he passed me, I saw that his lower right wing had broken away right at the

V-strut. I followed him down with desperate thoughts, how to help him, but I could

not do the least. Helpless, I had to watch him circling close over the meadows and

trees, until he crashed.

 

I fired a flare to signal to 1. Kette, that we would break off the patrol. Flying

on with these craft, that had been in combat short before, was just too risky -

Groos had probably not noticed a hit in his wing.

 

My victim was Tom Falcon Hazell from RFC-1, as I found out by switching the Labels on. there were more

aces fighting us.

 

This event could be a good solution for the unrealistic "Scrambles", which no-one would have done really.

Instead of announcing it as a scramble, you devs could send us out for any other mission, but then drop

enemy planes on us short after take-off.

 

 

Edited September 3, 2010 by Olham