3 July 1917, A Day that will Live in Infamy!

[Bullethead 12]

I decided to take a break from skinning and actually fly something. Naturally, I wanted to give my new random hex DFW a spin so I started a pilot in FFA 289b way over at the E end of the Western Front, where I've never flown before. 1st mission was boring, flying around in crappy weather, so I did another. Got something exciting, bombing an airfield! Yay!

 

So there I was at 11000' crossing the lines. The weather was total crap, all snow and clouds with a solid layer of nasty about 13000' so my plan was to fly right under it, but the French had the same idea. Suddenly, a whole French squadron loomed out of the mirk directly ahead, going the other way. Our formations flew through each other before either of us could react but, fortunately, they were Sopwith B1s and weren't interested in us, so we went our separate ways.

 

Shortly thereafter we turned on the Initial Point and started the 8-mile bomb run. From this point, we started taking continuous but light and inaccurate flak, almost all low. Only 1 was close enough to shake my plane but no harm done. Finally, the target airfield at Belfort came into the sight and down went the bombs. My flight managed to destroy 5 hangars, a truck, and an airplane on the ground, with several other planes probably damaged, and then we went home, climbing even closer to the cloudbase, which had risen a bit by now to about 13500'. We recrossed the lines just below that level and started our descent to our base at Sierwitz.

 

When down to about 9000' a few miles short of the field, we saw flak bursting ahead at about our level. Soon we saw another enemy squadron, again single-seater Strutters, again coming at us head-on, apparently just through bombing our field. I signalled the attack and made a pass through the formation with all our gunners taking potshots in passing, then cranked around and gave chase to trailing flight of 3. I attacked the one on the right while my gunner blazed away at the one on the left.

 

My shots struck home and my target started diving for the lines. I kept after him firing many bursts and getting many hits, but this pursuit took my gunner out of range of his target. My target was shedding pieces and trailing a thin stream of smoke. However, I'm not the best shot with the DFW's mearly blind gun, especially as the iron sights don't even line up on the target. Thus, I expended all 500 rounds and still the target kept flying, although getting lower and lower. By now we were about 500' up right over the front lines. Desperately, I flogged my machine as fast as it would go and eventually overhauled my quarry, allowing my gunner to get some broadside-on shots into him. The Sopwith turned away from me to avoid this fire and ended up heading back toward the German side of the lines. I did a pathetically weak high yo-yo to cut inside his turn again for another broadside gunner shot and finally the Strutter crashed in No-Man's-Land. Woohoo!

 

So, back towards Sierwitz, gathering up my wingmen. And once again flak appeared, this time slightly higher at 4 o'clock. However, we never saw the planes and reached our base without further incident. It appeared undamaged although there were a few craters scattered about, too far apart to be a problem for landing.

 

So, I was all set to fill in my claim form but NOOOOOOOO...... Instead, I got a brief glimpse of a CFS3 error message. Thus, while I had the replay of the mission and could see what all had happened, I never got a claim form and as far as the game is concerned, the mission never happened. My pilot still officially has only flown 1 mission, still has the same amount of hours from it, and no expenditures of ammo or bombs. AARRGGHH!!!! That was about my best DFW sortie ever and nothing to show for it except a couple of screenshots

 

Here's one of them. This shows the cloud of dust kicked up as the Strutter finally hit the ground and broke to pieces. Nice-looking DFW, though...

[Tamper 9]

Well, as much as I can appreciate your feeling ripped, I wouldn't say nothing came of it, or it was wasted. I enjoyed not only reading the short story, but the DFW is actually very well-done too, I think. Folks are often kind enough to share AARs here, but I have trouble reading some of the longer more involved stories. Yours was short enough to read 'casually', but had enough color and imaging to put the reader right there with you, IMHO.

 

So, thanks for the post. Like with so many veterans that would've told such stories to friends and relatives, it wouldn't be the claim form that rivets the listener anyway.

[Olham 164]

We recrossed the lines just below that level and started our descent to our base at Sierwitz.

Sierwitz is good! Sounds like a realistic name for a German field, but I guess you came home to Sierentz,

the most southern field of the Western Front.

 

I did a pathetically weak high yo-yo to cut inside his turn again for another broadside gunner

shot and finally the Strutter crashed in No-Man's-Land. Woohoo!

It's only pathetic, when your wingmates see it. Otherwise - don't give a damn, I say. Congrats on a fine hunting result!

 

AARRGGHH!!!! That was about my best DFW sortie ever and nothing to show for it except a couple of screenshots

This may not comfort you, but I believe your report.

It happens very rarely; I had similar - rare - non-events like this.

I wonder if the mission tracking thing (for later replay) might be responsible, when a flight is just too long

or too much happening? Can it be switched off in "Workshop"?

 

Here's one of them. This shows the cloud of dust kicked up as the Strutter finally

hit the ground and broke to pieces. Nice-looking DFW, though...

Your new DFW is really a beautiful lady, Bullet, and I wish you good luck with the next mission.

Edited September 11, 2012 by Olham

[Bullethead 12]

@ Tamper: Thanks for the props! It was fun to fly and while I flew quite a few other missions yesterday with other pilots, that's the one I kept replaying in my head when I got in bed. But to me, killing something in a DFW is the 2nd hardest thing to do in OFF, right after keeping the Pfalz from going sideways into the ground. I've only ever done it once before. Thus, I was so excited about doing it again that it was extremely frustrating that the whole mission went into campaign limbo :(.

 

It's only pathetic, when your wingmates see it. Otherwise - don't give a damn, I say. Congrats on a fine hunting result!

 

Thanks. The yoyo was pathetic because, first, the DFW isn't intended to do it. And second and more importantly, it's damn hard to do ACM at all when you can't see up, down, or forward, AND are maneuvering for your gunner's benefit, not your own. So my move was pretty embarassing all told ;).

 

Your new DFW is really a beautiful lady, Bullet, and I wish you good luck with the next mission.

 

Well, I've enjoyed my new paintjob and baptized it in blood, so I'll be content with that. Now I'm going to go back to fighters. DFWs are more of an ACM challenge than I want to face on a regular basis ;).