RAF_Louvert

. Hard to imagine they're nearly all gone now. I worshiped these guys when I was in grade school and read everything I could fine about them. I still hold them and all such brave, selfless souls in absolute highest regard. Our tired old world could use a few more such shining examples to look to and emulate. On this day in particular a most sincere and heartfelt salute to all our veterans, past and present. Thank you for your sacrifice. .

. Thanks gordohk. And thanks also to you Dej. Yes, my library has been growing; and no, I've not stopped by to share each new edition with my comrades here, (no doubt I'll be paying for that in the mess tonight). To Sir Patrick Gordon Taylor's work I must confess I'd not heard of it, or if I have I've completely forgotten about it. It is however now on my list of 'must haves' and I will be on the hunt. A big thumb's up for the tip Dej. .

. What a great story! Thanks for sharing Dej. And thanks as well Olham for those additional links. Really fascinating stuff. .

. A very good point Jim, WWI bomb raids amounted to nearly nothing when compared to those in the next war to end all wars. And I also never read a report from the German side that indicated anything other than "Ve zaw ze enemy bombers coming und ve despatched our fighters to interzept az fast az pozzible". .

. Yuppers von Baur, Keelser for five months before being shipped across the pond. Your mention of the C-130 reminds me that we boys would, on occasion, go to the end of the runway, lay on our backs with our heads towards the traffic, and wait for those monsters to come roaring right over our faces as they lifted off. I seem to recall that beer was involved in this practice as well. So were you a paratrooper v B, or were you jumping from them for sport. .

. Thanks Olham, I'm already having a good time with it. .

. We were all sworn to secrecy by DM. Thirty whacks with a very large mackerel for anyone breaking the silence. .

. Well good for Deutschmark, he's been working on this pet for many moons! Keep in mind it is primarily meant to be an online MP game that can be played on lower end machines with minimal lag time issues, (very low impact on your resources). What little bit of stick time I had in this some time back indicated that it does exactly what he was hoping it would do. Now, some folks need to set up a few servers and see if they can't get some online competition going. .

. He he, I can about imagine that pic Olham. And oh my God yes the brews we drank! How I dearly loved sitting in the biergartens and pubs and ale houses and enjoying those wonderful elixers. I recall this one magical evening in a little ratskeller in Bremgarten where ... well ... I'll just leave it at magical. .

. I know exactly what you mean mein freund. And I was 8 weeks in basic and 5 months in tech school where I was trained as a Morse radio intercept operator. Then it was on to various locations around Europe for both ground-based and airborne operations. Who is that man behind the Foster Grants? .

. von Baur, I went to college for two years before I joined the Air Force so I did not get down to Lackland until fall of '74. Man, do I remember Lackland. Rainbow, rainbow don't be blue, Rainbow, rainbow don't be blue, My recruiter screwed me too. My recruiter screwed me too. Rainbow, rainbow don't look down, Rainbow, rainbow don't look down, Ain't no discharge on the ground, Ain't no discharge on the ground. Sound off One Two Sound off Three Four Bring it on home now. One Two Three Four One Two ... THREE FOUR! .

. Thanks for the B-Day wishes Gents, much appreciated. And I remember 21 as if it were only 38 years ago. .

. This is a wonderful old document and I've studied it a few times in the past. I just wish I read French with any kind of proficiency. Thanks for sharing Olham. .

. No ace up my sleeve per se Robert, just watching to see what others here would contribute. Creaghorn has hit upon one of the very essential points in answering the question, which is that the German Air Service fought the entire war outnumbered when one considers the figures along the entire Western Front. However, by amassing units into specific AOs as needed for specific operations they were able to create a temporary superiority in that area. And while they had fewer pilots overall the pilots they had tended to be more experienced, and more cautious, because of this ongoing reassignment. They chose their fights carefully, tending to attack only when odds were as much in their favour as possible, and while Allied pilots ofttime saw this behavior as peculiar or timid, (or even cowardly), it was far from it. Another fact to consider is that jastas which were assigned to defend and patrol a certain area along the front did just that, and did not shag after incoming Allied bombers but rather left them to the AA and the defenders stationed farther back behind the lines. Hauksbee's observation about the prevailing winds is also spot on and again points to the German pilots using every advantage they had in an effort to swing the engagement to their advantage. Why battle against the wind and your enemy during said enemy's ingress when you can simply wait until they are attempting to return home at which point the wind would be in your favour. .

Well of course Robert, that should nearly go without saying. To the question, think along the lines of organization ... and caution. .

. Oooo, and some fresh almond scones to go along with it. .

. Come on folks, I've only given a small portion of the answer to Duke's question here in hopes of getting the conversation rolling. There is much more to it than this. .

. Duke, it wasn't so much that they were holding off the attack as it was the amount of time it took them to respond and reach the Allied bombers. German units stationed deep in their own territory for the purpose of protection were plagued with the same lack of 'early warning' systems that all the air forces in WWI suffered with, and because the attacking IAF bombers were coming in somewhere between 12,000' and 20,000' it took the German fighters so long to reach them that the bombers were normally on their return leg by the time the intercept was made. .

. Actually Olham, it wasn't an "either/or" situation for them. They each had their own kites with standard guns AND another bus at their disposal with the cannon fitted to it. I believe it was Guynemer who noted how gawd-awful it was to reload the beast in flight because as soon as you opened the breech block the pressure in the barrel, (due to the forward motion of the plane), filled the cockpit with smoke and gas and damned near chocked you out while temporarily blinding you at the same time. Now also imagine at that same time you're trying to get rid of the hot empty shell that is conveniently located down below your knees and then load a fresh round. Oh yes, and you have to keep tabs on your flying and your SA too. Good fun. .

. What an outstanding project! I'd love to go to that museum and see it for myself. Olham, to your pondering on the effectiveness of the cannons on those SPADs: I believe Guynemer had 2 confirmed kills with the 37mm while Fonck had 11 confirmed with it. I know there were a few others but I can't recall the figures on those at the moment. .

. Allow me to chime in on this one Gents. Ahistorical: Agreed. Anachronistic: Completely. Fun: Absolutely! A great way to relieve the stresses of the day by diving in on some poor souls schlepping along in a B/R bus and blasting them into virtual Valhalla before they know what hit 'em. BTW, it's my B-Day so drinks are on me! .

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No worries Robert, I knew you were joking Sir. None-the-less I honestly had thought about doing a version of the new medals for our OFF forums here. .

. Robert, I would love to make a WWI version of these honours and considered doing just that. But as Dej has so rightly pointed out, how would we ever come to a consensus as to which kite should be in the cross hairs. And Eric is being far too modest about these new baubles as he had an active hand in them as well with his valuable insight, suggestions, and feedback. Pol, apologies for this sidetrack from your initial post. I am waiting impatiently for the soon-to-be release of WOFF. .

. Gents, those are the new forum member medals to replace the old icons you currently see under your avatars/photos in the left hand column. If you pop over to any of the other CA forums you will see them displayed. You might wish to send a quick note to Erik and let him know that these are not displaying yet in our forums here. Hmmmm, I wonder who created all these new medals? Now back to your regularly scheduled topic. .