The Quick and the Dead

[CaptSopwith 18]

As I said in one of my other posts, I have finally gotten back to OFF after a few months away. I've kept my "good" pilots - those with a history, some kills to their credit, and some chance of success - in suspended animation; both for their sake and mine. I've brought out two new pilots, one flying Sopwith Camels in summer 1917 and another pilot flying the Fokker Dr1 in late 1917. I can't quite remember what Jasta he was with - their pattern is all blue with a blue cowling cover on the engine.

 

At any rate, his career didn't last long. I don't even remember his name at this point! Our poor pilot lasted exactly two missions: a successful patrol over the lines which saw him get lost in a thunderstorm and finally cut for home. The second patrol was far less successful and ended with a quick and sudden death - yet another reminder of just how dangerous the skies of OFF are.

 

Our patrol was once again in bad weather - heavy, thick cloud cover hung fairly low over the lines as we climbed up to start our patrol on the day after Christmas. We made it out towards the edge of the lines - this was a friendly aerodrome defense mission - and as we approached, I saw my lead flight of three Dr1's flying at about 2000 ft above me, begin breaking right. I wasn't sure why until I looked off of my right center wing spar and saw a field of black flak blanketing the skies. Leaning forward I could make out a few specks against the sky and knew we had company. I kept a close eye as our lead flight and the enemy flight of unidentified specks began to merge. I could make out the tracer rounds flying back and forth.

 

And that's when it happened.

 

I was so fixated on the merge and which target I could pick out of the furball that I hadn't checked my six in a few minutes. My wingmen were all a few hundred feet below me - the Dr1 has a nasty habit of climbing to the moon unless it's kept in check - which it wasn't during my period of being entranced by the start of a dogfight (a real rookie mistake given I've been playing flight sims for fifteen years now). And then... the hail of gunfire that you always dread as a pilot came blasting through my cockpit from somewhere behind me. I had drifted high and away from my flight - leaving me incredibly exposed and utterly unaware that a second flight had crept in behind us and caught us completely unaware.

 

 

Wing spars, support wires, part of my controls, and my engine were all hit in the first past. Out of reflex I kicked the rudder right, shoved the stick down, and attempted to dive away as quickly as possible. In an Albatros or a DVII, this might have worked - but the Fokker just stalled, hung on its oversized wing, and went nowhere. Thankfully, the stall allowed my assailant, a DH5, to overshoot me.

 

It didn't matter though, the damage was done.

 

I circled again, lined up another DH5 in my sights, and peppered him with gunfire until he had stream of fuel spraying out of his overhead fuel tank. And then came the inevitable - the final blast of gunfire which finished off my Dr1 - left it uncontrollable and spiraling towards earth.

And just like that, my pilot was dead.

 

But that's life in the skies of OFF - quick, violent, and always dangerous.

Edited April 15, 2013 by _CaptSopwith

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Nice write up CaptSopwith.

 

I'll have to get OFF installed again soon

[CaptSopwith 18]

Hey Widow! Nice to see your name again! How are you these days? What happened with the OFF install?

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

I'm good thanks. Just a reformat of the rig m8..... it takes SOOOOOO long to install my FSX stuff..that it puts you off installing anything else for at least two weeks!..hahahaha

[CaptSopwith 18]

I know what you mean! I'm due for a reformat once this semester wraps up and I have some spare time. The rig has been showing signs of doing some flakey things lately and I've mucked about with it enough installing and trying out a lot of new games - Red Orchestra 2 being one of them! Desperately needs to be cleaned out.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Good luck! :)