Albrecht_Kaseltzer

(Out of character: that meeting was inspired by Jean-Fidele getting "promoted" to Sous Lieutenant in game, finally matching his DiD rank).

SLt Jean-Fidele Hierrot: December 1915, Part 1 The month of December started out with rain, and a letter. The former kept Esc N12 out of the air for the first two days of the month, and the latter notified Jean-Fidele that he was to attend a very important meeting on 3 December. In his diary, Jean-Fidele wrote the following regarding this meeting on the morning of the 3rd: It is believed that this meeting is what prompted Jean-Fidele to craft le Code de Pilote de Chasse, "the Code of the Fighter Pilot," which consisted of the following tenets: And Jean-Fidele followed this up with le Code de l'Arme, "The Code of the Gun": These codes were to form the basis of instruction for Jean-Fidele's last month in Esc N12. TO BE CONTINUED

If you're not using it already, the F6 gunsight view is SUPER helpful on that Bristol Scout. After a little acclimation, it's not too difficult on anything you'll be facing in 1915/early 1916 - you just have to be able to approach in a straight line for a couple seconds.

To be honest, the secret of my success has been that I've gone up solely against Aviatik two-seaters. I literally just crawl up behind them in a straight line at like 60-65mph, go pow-pow-pow, then pull to the side. Very low G stuff, haha. I do have a feeling that 1916 in a Nieuport against German single-seaters will be what snaps Jean-Fidele's wings in half. Just remember, all you Nieuport pilots...the blip switch is your friend.

Yeah, not gonna lie, that mission with the broken wing was the single hardest moment in the campaign so far. Surviving that was a VERY lucky break. Even the time Jean-Fidele actually crash-landed and was in the hospital for a week wasn't as bad, because the situation didn't demand as much precision - just land normally but very very slowly and you'll at least come out of it alive. With the Nieuport 10 monoplane incident, I had to work my way out of a spin very very carefully and I'm not sure I could have pulled it off had I been anywhere under 5000 feet - I would have just run out of time before I could stabilize. Hell, to be totally honest I'm not sure I could reliably replicate the feat if I had to do it over. Maybe a 3 to 1 shot.

"Crossfire: A WW1 Tale by Paroni"

Thanks for the comments on Jean-Fidele's Nieuport 10, everybody! Here's a better (and unedited) shot at what his aircraft looks like now:

Jean-Fidele Hierrot, Escadrille N12: November 1915 Jean-Fidele woke up on 1 November to find his Nieuport had been painted over in a green-and-brick red camouflage pattern, along with elongated daggers on either side of the fuselage. Adjutant Raymond de Bernis (“Bernie” for short) explained that given Jean-Fidele’s success taking down German two-seaters from very close range – sometimes as close as 30 yards – he was building a reputation as Le Poignard (“The Dagger”). Photograph of Jean-Fidele’s Nieuport 10, 1 Nov 1915 “So, what do you think?” Bernie asked. “I liked Petit Sous better.” That first week of November was highly productive for Escadrille N12, especially for Flight B, and particularly for The Dagger. Later that very morning, on 1 November, Jean-Fidele and Armand Callinet led an attack by Flight B onto a formation of Aviatiks from Kasta 6, resulting in Jean-Fidele’s ninth victory. Three days later, Jean-Fidele and Armand had the honor of serving as witnesses to Bernie’s first confirmed kill. Raymond de Bernis takes down an Aviatik, 4 Nov 1915 Flight B of Escadrille N12 continued its hot streak a mere 48 hours later, as Georges d’Oisy and Jean-Fidele combined to down a pair of Aviatik C.I’s in formation on the French side of the frontline. This was the first kill for Georges, the tenth for Jean-Fidele. Georges d’Oisy’s view of Jean-Fidele’s 11th victory, 6 Nov 1915 As Flight B landed back at Rosnay, Georges was surprisingly – and clearly – shaken up by the encounter. Upon returning to the duty room, Georges reported that he’d been right in front of one of the Aviatiks as Jean-Fidele gave his patented dagger shot from 40-50 yards – and in the process, Georges caught sight of the German pilot slumped over, dead in his seat, with a visible exit wound coming out of his forehead. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen what becomes of Les Boches when I shoot then down, to be honest,” Jean-Fidele confessed. “You’re a lucky man, then. I don’t know if I’ll ever forget that image.” Jean-Fidele continued, half-listening to Georges. “I just see my brother Etienne, blown apart in some ditch in Arras. Not so lucky.” Also not so lucky was that Jean-Fidele’s special Nieuport had taken some damage in that day’s encounter, leaving him with a plain Nieuport 10 for the next day. That next day’s flight, on the 7th, would put an end to Flight B’s hot streak – for, while trying to down another Aviatik, Jean-Fidele realized he had misjudged his position and was too high to dive under his target. He had to pull up and skid over the top of the German two-seater. In the process, half his landing gear busted off, resulting in a crash landing as the formation returned to Rosnay. Crash landing, 7 Nov 1915 Fortunately, Jean-Fidele had anticipated the crash, and was going maybe 45 miles per hour at the time of impact. He did sustain some injuries, but they amounted to just a collection of cuts and bruises, with the occasional gash. While hospitalized for a week, Jean-Fidele received news that his claim from 6 November had been confirmed, while his claim from 7 November – the one that took off his landing gear – had been rejected. In the meantime, Jean-Fidele read accounts from the Flanders region: tales of the Fokker Scourge, how Entente pilots referred to themselves as “Fokker fodder.” I’d love to have a chance at one of those, Jean-Fidele thought to himself, and found himself dreaming of fiery duels against the dreaded Fokker Eindecker. Jean-Fidele dreams of taking on the Fokker Scourge. Upon Jean-Fidele’s return to the airfield on 15 November, he received notification that Escadrille N12 had received a new pilot: Joseph Marie Xavier de Sevin, who’d been described as a confident flyer with good self-control. “Jo” was an eager student, especially when it came to gunnery, but Jean-Fidele could tell that the new recruit was put off at the idea of receiving those lessons from somebody several years his junior. Alas, the second half of November consisted mostly of multi-day rain-outs and non-descript patrols along the frontline. There was definitely reduced activity from the neighboring German reconnaissance units – which was just as well, as that meant reduced intelligence to gather on the infantrymen Escadrille N12 was commissioned to protect. With a scramble mission in the morning, the doldrums came to an abrupt end on 24 November. Three Aviatiks were sighted crossing over the frontline a mere seven miles away, and Jean-Fidele led a flight with Bernie and de Sevin in pursuit. (This, by the way, happened to be de Sevin’s first encounter with the enemy). Jean-Fidele & Flight B back in action, 24 Nov 1915 The German formation had over-committed itself to the attack on the airfield at Rosnay, and didn’t have enough time to slip away before finding itself under attack from Flight B. The three men of Flight B quickly disposed of the three Aviatiks, and all three were credited with a kill: Bernie’s second, de Sevin’s first, and Jean-Fidele’s eleventh. Due to deteriorating weather conditions, the commanding officer was reluctant to send out too many patrols, so Jean-Fidele wound up doing an occasional lone wolf patrol to scour the sector. Apart from an unconfirmed downing of an Aviatik on the 26th, however, the rest of November was uneventful. END OF MONTH STATS Confirmed Claims: 11 Missions Flown: 72 Flight Hours: 86.02

If the Lewis worked for Albert Ball, it can't be all bad! My absolute favorite of the Nieuports - apart from the underrated N28 - is the 17 Bis with the SE5a-esque hybrid Vickers/Lewis setup. Dogfights in that plane feel like catching enemies with a pair of pinchers, and I like the ability to do damage along a vertical line (hitting the tail & top wing together, or engine & top wing together) rather than the horizontal path of the twin Vickers setup.

I learned two lessons. #1: in terms of gunnery, focus on aiming within the enemy's propeller arc. It's an easier target to aim at quickly, so you can make the most of what little time you have before you have to turn away - and if you're already firing within the propeller arc, you can correct your aim to be even more precise without too much trouble. If you do that, not everything will hit the engine, but everything will be in the general area of the engine and you will get some direct hits in there as a result. #2: in terms of piloting, focus on speed & momentum control as well as positioning. You want to be going at an even, steady pace: not too fast or else you don't have time to really do anything, and not too slowly either or else you'll stall when you attempt to strike. I often hit with my engine throttle at 50% or less, or while hitting the blip switch repeatedly. When I need to pull out, I usually just dive and then switch the engine back to full throttle when I'm catching back up with the target for a second go-around. As for positioning, below and behind is my go-to. I try to make sure the enemy's tail is always between me and the rear gunner. This minimizes their firing lane. *** That's the general approach that's worked for me. Of course, all of this is contextual, and I would completely re-write this if we were talking about combat in late 1916. This is very very particular to wing-mounted guns pursuing slow, ungainly Aviatiks with little-to-no escort presence. There have also been times when I was in a bit of a rush and was low on ammo, so I went ahead and struck at the enemy's top wing while swooping in from above. It doesn't always work, but sometimes it does - and when it does, it's usually snapping victory from the jaws of defeat.

It seems easy now - but just wait until the Germans fly literally anything in my sector that isn't an Aviatik! I haven't so much as seen a single Eindecker yet, and I'm dreading the Rolands, the Halberstadts, not to mention the Albatros fighters. My pilot's current situation also happens to play to my particular strengths. I've played as a lot of RNAS pilots who started out in the Nieuport 10's and Nieuport 11's, and I spent weeks - maybe even months - practicing how to aim with that wing-mounted Lewis gun. I had maybe 10% accuracy on the wing-mounted Lewis's at first, and now I'm at around 30-40%. So now on average, a 47-round drum will give me ~15-20 direct hits right at the engine. (Little rough on the math, whatever). If you can do that on a consistent basis without getting hit by rear gunners too much, AND if you can keep a good altitude while doing it, then it's not that difficult to take down those Aviatik two-seaters. The Aviatiks just don't put up much of a fight compared to literally anything else the Germans fly. It's a very favorable matchup at the moment. But over the next year, German aircraft gets a lot better while my pilot's aircraft is only going to move ahead marginally. I'm expecting 1916 to get really ugly.

Jean-Fidele Hierrot's end of month stats, Oct 31, 1915: END OF MONTH STATS: Missions - 55 Hours - 70.23 Confirmed Victories - 8

Jean-Fidele Hierrot: October 1915 Report, Part II When Jean-Fidele woke up to join an October 10th patrol over the frontlines, he didn't realize his life was about to be changed forever. Jean-Fidele immediately noticed that Callinet, the leader on that flight, was far more aggressive, far more vigilant, with the keenest eye of anybody he'd flown alongside - surpassing even beloved Aldric. Based on a mere discoloration in some clouds along the front, Callinet knew some German two-seaters were trying to sneak into French territory. Rather than chase the Aviatiks directly, Callinet directed the flight to remain along the frontline so the Nieuport scouts could cut off the enemy's escape route. Once Escadrille N12, Flight B was between the Aviatiks and the front, Callinet gave the signal to let loose. Unlike last time, there were no dirty German stalling tricks: just a young man, his Nieuport, and a decisive surgical strike of 47 rounds straight into the bad guys' belly. Thanks to Callinet's observation skills, Jean-Fidele even got credit for the victory - while Callinet bagged the Aviatik's flight partner. Over the next two weeks, Jean-Fidele and Callinet became a potent combination. They weren't able to get every claim confirmed, but as a pair, they were taking down at least one Aviatik every other day. From the 10th through the 21st, Jean-Fidele was credited with 4 new confirmed victories, raising his overall score to 7. The most dramatic of these four victories was easily the last one. By the end of the day on the 20th, Jean-Fidele had reached 60 flight hours, qualifying him to lead a flight. He found out about this on the morning of the 21st, as de Bernis woke him up with an abrupt slap to the face. "Sous-Lieutenant Peti-Sous! Guess what!" "...Whaaaaaat..." "You're now eligible to be a flight leader!" "Oh okay, nice..." "There's some German two-seaters spotted over our aerodrome. Go lead a flight now, flight leader! Scramble!" "...Thanks?" the seven-victory ace muttered as he got up and readied himself to go to the airfield. A pair of Aviatiks were indeed flying overhead, perhaps a mile or two away and crawling within range to strike the airfield. Charles de Rose and Jean Marie Navarre joined Jean-Fidele as they formed up to try to catch up with the two-seaters. Jean-Fidele waved them both to attack the Aviatik further back; he knew he had to take on the more present threat himself. A member of the ground crew caught the results on film as seen above. As the month of October drew to a close, Jean-Fidele focused on setting up his flight mates for victories of their own. He'd already reached ace status, after all, and he was leading his own flight. The next step to grow, he figured, was to become a trailblazer of sorts - not just an ace, but a mentor to aces. There were a couple successes along the way, and Adjutant George d'Oisy even got a confirmed victory in the process. On the 26th, however, the weight of responsibility became all too clear to Jean-Fidele, as he faced the Germans' most cunning tactic yet. While Escadrille N12, Flight B was out on patrol still within earshot of Rosnay, the flight caught sight of an unarmed Aviatik B.I drifting aimlessly in the general direction of the frontline. Navarre and Quellenec went in pursuit. The thing is, given that the Germans were using inline engines for their two-seaters, their engines had a very distinctive sound that stood out in contrast to the dinky little Le Rhône rotary engines powering N12's namesake Nieuports. And the noise from the Aviatik's engine felt too wide, to spread out to be just that one engine on that one aircraft. ...Jean-Fidele caught a glimpse of a C.I poking out from behind a cloud. It was now obvious what the Germans were doing: lure N12's scouts away with a B.I as bait, while the C.I sneaks in through the back door to gather more intel or wreak havoc on French targets down below. Jean-Fidele screamed at his flight not to take the bait, but it was too late. Navarre and Quellenec couldn't hear him. It was on Jean-Fidele to take this on himself. Much to Jean-Fidele's good fortune, Callinet's Flight A happened to be in the neighborhood. providing the necessary eyewitnesses to corroborate Jean-Fidele's claim: his eighth victory. After the confirmation came through, Quellenec approached Jean-Fidele to run him through the standings. "So this puts you two ahead of Pegoud, who got killed in action two months ago...God rest his soul...You're also three ahead of Immelmann on the other side, and you just pulled ahead of Hawker for the English. Your greatest rival right now is probably Theodore Andrews, a pilot for one of the English naval units up north..." "Frederic..." "Yes, Jean-Fidele?" "...I don't care." "But surely it must mean something to know where you stand!" "I know the count. I know what happened. I was there." "Very well. I'll have to give you a run for your money one of these days." "Yeah, well, you'd have to learn to hit the broad side of a barn first," Jean-Fidele retorted. Both men cracked weary smiles. "Well, fortunately for me, barns don't fly."

Jean-Fidele Hierrot: October 1915 Report, Part I The month of October got off to a slow start due to bad weather. On October 2, Jean-Fidele had a claim get rejected: while he'd downed an Aviatik C.I two-seater, his flight mates had gotten stuck in a cloud and weren't able to confirm his account. Escadrille N12 would go on to get rained out multiple days in a row that week at Rosnay. During this downtime, however, Jean-Fidele received word from de Gennes that his last two claims from the end of October were confirmed, increasing his total to 3. Sadly, that was going to be the last conversation Jean-Fidele would ever have with de Gennes. Days later, Escadrille N12 was rocked with the news that the squadron leader was killed in a patrol over enemy lines. Enemy anti-aircraft fire was only growing in its intensity, raising the imperative for all patrols to ascend to as high an altitude as possible, as soon as possible, upon takeoff. Raymond de Pierre de Bernis assumed command. Day 1, he declared to be "a day of mourning"; day 2, he declared to be "a day of revenge." In Jean-Fidele's case, that "day of revenge" came to an abrupt end when he dove too hard after some Aviatik two-seaters over French lines, and broke off the left half of his lower wing. The Nieuport threatened to spin. To gain back control, hoping it would even out the overall lift and allow him to land safely, Jean-Fidele repeated some tight high-speed, high-G turns to deliberately break off the right half as well. The gambit worked, and Jean-Fidele made it back to Rosnay on a modified Nieuport 10 "monoplane." On day 3, the second day of revenge, Jean-Fidele stayed on the ground while mechanics rebuilt to lower wing on his Nieuport 10. On day 4, the third day of revenge, Jean-Fidele was once again sent back to the ground. While attacking a formation of Aviatiks, Jean-Fidele came up from below and behind one of the two-seaters, when the enemy pilot pulled the Aviatik's nose up to induce a stall. For that one moment before the stall hit, though, the rear gunner had a clear shot at Jean-Fidele, and that one moment was all that this particular gunner needed to damage Jean-Fidele's engine and put our intrepid hero out of commission for the day. By the time Jean-Fidele crawled out of his cockpit, de Bernis commented, "Maybe the good lord is telling us what happens when we go out in search of vengeance." "Yeah, les boches give us more c--- to get revenge for..." The next day, a new transfer, Armand Callinet, joined the unit. While de Bernis remained nominally in charge of day-to-day operations, Callinet became de facto flight leader for the squadron - much to Jean-Fidele's benefit, as he would soon see. TO BE CONTINUED