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Grinseed

Luftschiff Zeppelin 63...up close and too personal

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I've been testing the L63 (LZ63?) and when I fly it all the Zeps in the formation are huddled in so close and tight they over lap each other. Surely they werent that worried about enemy fighters?

Any solutions to making them all keep an appropriate distance apart? I know the Kaiser doesnt condone this sort of hippy-love-in behaviour from his combat forces.

 

Cheers, Grinseed

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There's a formation.ini download at CA that's designed for big bombers, IIRC to keep them apart on takeoff and in flight so they don't overlap and explode - might be worth a try for the Zepps. Given they tended to fly solo, not sure why you'd want to fly formation...visions of the 'Silver Arrows' doing (VERY slow) fromation aerobatics over Fanrnborough...have you by any chance tried looping or rolling a Zeppelin? :grin:

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I think I already have that bomber formation mod loaded. I best check.

 

I had not intended to fly in formation. I know I can edit the flight number downward.

 

However, I think you'll find that Zeps flew in formation as a rule. London and many northern cities were attacked by flights of up to 12-13 and as many as 20 or more in single raids. I think it was a matter of safety in numbers given their slow pace, their subjection to unkind wind and weather. Their only real protection was the ability to gain altitude very quickly, much faster than any aircraft at the time, virtually straight upwards.

No I havent done any acrobatics with them yet...they look like a pod of whales engaged in an orgy....somewhat off-putting...:grin:

 

Anyway thanks for the reminder about the bomber ini.

 

Cheers Grinseed

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They may have taken off roughly together in groups from each base and I realise that raids sometimes involved over a dozen a night, but I don't think raiding Zepps operated in anything resembling a formation. I'm not sure with such relatively low-powered and cumbersome machines, so subsceptible to wind and weather, that formation flyng would have been practical in daylight, let alone at night. The account in the link below is pretty typical, with the various Zepplins being described as navigating and manoeuvring independently and being only sometimes able to see another Zeppelin and even then, sometimes only when they were caught by searchlights or AA fire (or shot down!):

 

http://www.richthofen.com/dark_autumn/

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Right, I take your point, no Zeppelin crews could ever expect to form a Silver Arrows team, nor could they maintain anything like a formation such as aeroplanes could.

Nice site too, thanks for that.

 

Cheers Grinseed

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Yes, forget about formation loops and suchlike, this is more what you want. it's not just mossies and 633 Squadron who can go zipping down fjords - prosit!:

 

http://www.youtube.c...&feature=relmfu

 

..or if you fancy seeing off the Ivans on the Eastern Front:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=dfUaw0BfaZA

Edited by 33LIMA

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