Dammit! Early British Campaigns are tough

[Olham 164]

Damn, I didn't get far!

Started a campaign with 24 RFC.

First sortie went fine - an escort for bombers. The BE2d didn't hit target (Ennemain field), but one destroyed a bridge.

No enemy fighters anywhere.

 

Second flight, a patrol, was also great. I even shot an Eindecker down.

 

But our third flight was an escort of bombers again. Target: Douai airfield.

All seemed fine first, but then came 4 Roland C.II and showed us a "Blitz" attack. Man, they are fast, and all over the place!

But my wingman and I shot one down. Flak bursts all around us.

And suddenly my engine fails out!

I check the tank: still 83 % of petrol. What happened?

Had to put the crate down west of Douai, and tried various ways to start the engine again. No way.

So I am a POW now. Dammit - that was short!

Edited January 31, 2011 by Olham

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Short...but probably very accurate

[carrick58 23]

Ahhhh Well, ya probably would have had trouble playing Cricket anyway.

[Olham 164]

Good one, Carrick!

 

Man, Widowmaker - now I know, why you sometimes fly German side. I must fly way more careful next time.

I could have escaped - but I cannot leave my wingmen alone in a desperate situation.

[Olham 164]

I still wonder, what else could have happened. Tank filling remained stabile at 83%.

Magneto still worked. But when I pressed "E" for automatic engine start, I got a yellow

message saying: "Automatic engine start failed. Try manual start."

What did they mean?

[tranquillo 10]

Btitish Campaigns sort the men from the boys all right .

It's those damn Germans putting sugar in the tank .

[Olham 164]

Uuuuhhh! That was nasty!

But maybe you're right - I'm still too much a boy in the air. Dammit!

 

Interesting idea about the sugar.

They must have used sugar rounds. When one gets into the tank - brblllppp...pop! - engine out!

Interesting idea for a weapon. Not quite the German standard, but interesting.

[Lewie 7]

For a career flying a plane commonly known as the "spinning incinerator" I think you had a pretty good run and a fair stroke of luck.

 

DH2's were known for occasionally throwing a cylinder off. I'm wondering if this was an attempt to model this in the damage modelling?

[Bullethead 12]

Damn, I didn't get far!

 

Well, it really depends on when you fly. 1916 is kinda meh due to a lack of activity in general, the main difficulty being flying a DH2. I'd take the Fee any day over the Spinning Incinerator. Fees have it made in this period. Then Bloody April comes along. Your plane is slower and lower, has only 1 gun that doesn't fire very fast, and you're usually way outnumbered. Real men fly keep flying a DH2 or Fee in this period, but those who need training wheels can fly Pups and Tripes. or perhaps Nupes. There's even a Brit Spad VII squadron if you realy can't hang otherwise. Things continue like this until say June/July 1917, when SE5s, Camels, and Brisfits start making a big appearance and outclass the Germans. I recommend the DH5 in this period. From this point until the Kaiserschlacht, it's pretty easy to be a Brit. In the Kaiserschlacht, the Brits still have better planes but the German numbers tend to make up for this. After the Kaiserschlacht, the D.VII comes out in ever-increasing numbers, but by then the Brits always have the numbers so it's fairly safe if you pay attention.

[Olham 164]

UncleAl, did you mean the "Auto Mixture" in "Workshops"? That was switched "on" in my case.

 

Bullethead: Real men fly keep flying a DH2 or Fee in this period...

 

That's what I will do - get back on the horse once you fell off.

The British SPAD VII is very alluring, but I find the DH-2 quite attractive. Her only Nemesis is the Roland C.II.

That beast should be called "Hai" instead of "Walfisch", and the DH-2 often finds herself in the defensive.

[Creaghorn 10]

UncleAl, did you mean the "Auto Mixture" in "Workshops"? That was switched "on" in my case.

 

Bullethead: Real men fly keep flying a DH2 or Fee in this period...

 

That's what I will do - get back on the horse once you fell off.

The British SPAD VII is very alluring, but I find the DH-2 quite attractive. Her only Nemesis is the Roland C.II.

That beast should be called "Hai" instead of "Walfisch", and the DH-2 often finds herself in the defensive.

 

there was a roland haifisch. a single seat scout.

 

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_D.II

[Olham 164]

Yes, I know, Creaghorn. What I meant was, that the Roland C.II also rather behaves like a shark.

In my fight above Douai, they controlled the situation most of the time.

They are just so much stronger, and they climb and dive like a Helter Skelter, while you in your

DH-2 could only try to follow without getting into a spin.

 

Flying and fighting in the DH-2 is a challenge. Everyone can be pretty good in a Fokker D.VII.

But to make it for a longer period of time in such a crate is tough.

She has a good lift, but you can only turn tight, when you gain energy in a diving movement.

So you have to either regain height every now and then, or you will end up low.

 

I have already signed a new pilot in with 24 RFC - now I want to know it.

It may be the right craft and squadron, to get me more in the direction of flying careful and less

aggressively - more, as if it could cost my life; or at least my freedom.

Edited January 31, 2011 by Olham

[Olham 164]

Another pilot has bitten the dust - this time due to a collision with an Eindecker, who insisted in having right of way.

I see, that I will have to learn to fly the kite much more, before I can think of scoring in her.

[tranquillo 10]

Uuuuhhh! That was nasty!

But maybe you're right - I'm still too much a boy in the air. Dammit!

 

 

 

You do know I was joking, Olham? I would never be rude to anyone let alone a fellow OFFer .

[Bullethead 12]

I have already signed a new pilot in with 24 RFC - now I want to know it.

It may be the right craft and squadron, to get me more in the direction of flying careful and less

aggressively - more, as if it could cost my life; or at least my freedom.

 

You know, if you live long enough in DH2s in No. 24, eventually you get the DH5 just in time for Paschendalle. That's a squadron for true ironmen .

 

I myeself can't fly the DH2 without getting into an unrecoverable spin that's so fast I can't even tell which way I'm going. Thus, I have no hope of completing such a tour. As such, usually fly for No. 20 in Fees in Bloody April, which is about as long as I usually live. Then my next pilot starts in No. 24 in DH5s.

[Wodin 0]

I wish the FE 8 was modelled....not keen on the DH 5....hate ground attack...

Edited February 1, 2011 by Wodin

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

I actually enjoy the challenge of the DH2 and had a campaign pilot crack the 100 hour mark with 24 RFC throughout Bloody April and beyond. But he ultimately ended up digging turnips for the duration somewhere in the hinterlands of the German Empire. I'm with BH, "real" men do indeed fly the DH2 or Fee at this time of the altercation.

 

.

[Olham 164]

Bullethead, I could recover from the stalls and spins by taking throttle back to almost zero, and pushing the nose down.

So I can handle that good enough that I could make it - if only the Einies wouldn't also shoot at me all the time.

The way theybounce up and down and everywhere, I feel like a hopeless case - I never got that done in an Eindecker.

 

The DH-5 is one craft I have never been flying so far. Can they fight, or are they rather only for ground attacks?

Lou, to get to 100 hours in a DH-2 in "Bloody April" shows clearly: you must be a top notch pilot!

But I won't give up - you can always grow (I hope).

[Bullethead 12]

Bullethead, I could recover from the stalls and spins by taking throttle back to almost zero, and pushing the nose down.

So I can handle that good enough that I could make it - if only the Einies wouldn't also shoot at me all the time.

The way theybounce up and down and everywhere, I feel like a hopeless case - I never got that done in an Eindecker.

 

The DH2 has 2 types of spin. One type is the same as in other planes. It happens as you'd expect, following a relatively low-speed stall. This kind is no harder to recover from than with other planes. But the DH2 also has a unique spin of its own, which is pure evil. This one happens at high speed without any warning at all. It usually happens to me just after I give my wingmen the attack order and we're starting to swoop a formation of slightly lower enemies some distance away horizontally. One moment I'm in a shallow dive and very gentle turn to line up my pass, the next I'm spinning madly.

 

This spin is more of an extremely fast roll than a real spin. There is no noticeable pitch or yaw component to it--the plane just rotates extremely rapidly about its roll axis, pivoting about the center of the forward view. Once this happens, the DH2 follows a ballistic trajectory into the ground, the initial shallow dive gradually getting steeper and speed increasing. The roll is so fast that it exceeds my framerate so I can't even tell which way I'm spinning. None of the controls, nor any combination of them, have any noticeable effect on this spin, not even throttling back and killing the engine. And believe me, you'll have time to try everything if this starts for you at 10,000 feet or so .

 

This is why I don't fly the DH2. Other than this problem, it's not that bad a plane (for an underpowered pusher). But it's habit of abruptly ending promising careers for no apparent reason, and in a rather unrealistic manner, makes me consider it broken.

 

The DH-5 is one craft I have never been flying so far. Can they fight, or are they rather only for ground attacks?

 

Think of the DH5 as a slightly improved later model of the DH2, which essentially is exactly what it was. They had about the same power, weighed about the same, and used the exact same wing panels. The slight improvement in performance therefore seems mostly due to the more aerodynamic tractor layout of the DH5. The main improvement, however, is that the DH5 lacks the DH2's evil high-speed spin .

 

So yes, the DH5 can fight. But its performance is more suited to the opponents of 1916 than mid-late 1917. Thus, you're going to be low, slow, and have Albatri constantly dancing on your head, each and ever sortie. So you have to have extreme patience, playing dodgeball with the much more energetic enemy until you either get in a lucky snapshot or they slow down to turn with you. I find this a lot of fun. But you probably won't be able to catch 2-seaters unless they're low and carrying bombs, and even then you'll be forced by your tiny margin of speed over them into a long, slow sternchase right into their guns.

 

The DH5 bobs and wobbles like any rotary plane until you get used to flying it. Visibility is the same as in a pusher--excellent forwards and upwards, terrible behind due to the backwards wing stagger. But if you transition from the DH2 or Fee to the DH5, it's no worse than before so won't bother you. The main combat problem in the DH5 is being able to hit a maneuvering target in a dogfight, where you have to estimate the amount of lead to use. This is because the gun is off to the side and you have NOTHING AT ALL in front of you to use as a reference point when aiming. No sight, no gun, no engine parts, no struts, no wires, not even rivets on the top edge of the windshield. Test firing on the ground with head centered, the bullets appear to cross the center of the view slightly below the top edge of the windshield, but even hitting the TIR view center button just before firing doesn't help much in combat. Using the F6 iron sight isn't any better because its view is so restricted that you can't see the target in a situation where you need to pull lead. Thus, my advice is to not fire until you're much closer to the enemy than you're used to with other planes. Fortunately, the DH5 carries a LOT of ammo for a 1-gun fighter, so you can miss a lot and not run out .

 

Also remember than the DH5 is extremely durable. It needs to be, given you'll be wading through ground fire and getting swooped by Albatri all the time. It flies quite well with damaged parts, at least if you keep your speed up, and you can walk away unharmed from even the most horrific crashes. The main thing that brings you down is engine damage, so it's a good idea to learn the locations of villages with friendly peasant women in your area of operations

[Olham 164]

One moment I'm in a shallow dive and very gentle turn to line up my pass, the next I'm spinning madly.

Never had that sort of spin so far, but I'll be prepared (although that won't seem to help me much.

according to your report).

 

Fortunately, the DH5 carries a LOT of ammo for a 1-gun fighter, so you can miss a lot and not run out .

Also remember than the DH5 is extremely durable. It needs to be, given you'll be wading through ground fire

and getting swooped by Albatri all the time. It flies quite well with damaged parts, at least if you keep your speed up,

and you can walk away unharmed from even the most horrific crashes.

Lots of ammo are nice to have - if I should make it until the DH-5 arrives, I'll do my best - and kill Albatros!

[Hasse Wind 46]

Fighters, bah! If you're looking for a real challenge, join a BE.2 squadron in 1917. Even the Fees have it easy compared to the Quirks. Who needs a gunner when you're flying a slow and clumsy two-seater with the climbing speed of a sloth?

[Olham 164]

Fighters, bah! If you're looking for a real challenge, join a BE.2 squadron in 1917.

If you're looking for real trouble, you mean. Naw - I'm not a masochist.

[Lewie 7]

Fighters, bah! If you're looking for a real challenge, join a BE.2 squadron in 1917. Even the Fees have it easy compared to the Quirks. Who needs a gunner when you're flying a slow and clumsy two-seater with the climbing speed of a sloth?

 

You forgot to mention the most useful gun arc of any plane in the war...

[carrick58 23]

I think I already lost a pilot to the DH 2 s "Bullethead Spin."

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Gents, if you haven't already done so, you owe it to yourselves to stop by and read British_eh's primer, (penned by our own poet laureate Dej), on the DH2:

 

Flying and Fighting in the Airco DH2

 

The DH2 has a tell that will help you avoid the BH spin. If I may, I will quote myself from the above-mentioned primer:

 

"Fly it a bit and pull rather hard climbing turns to starboard and watch for the point when it almost seems like it wants to ‘shudder’, (hard to explain it exactly but watch for it a number times as you stall and fall into the spin and you will see what I mean). Once you can recognise that point you only need push forward on the stick to get some air speed back and continue the fight. The DH2 can assuredly hold its own and win against a good DII flyer if you practice with the little beast for a while."

 

Now to Bullethead's notes on the DH5, I wholeheartedly agree. And his assessment of the plane's durabililty may well be the first great understatement of 2011.

 

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