RAF_Louvert

Morning Everyone, I just returned from a business trip to St. Louis and read the news...well done fubar! Your winning skin is outstanding Sir, and now we each get to share not only your efforts but the efforts of all who entered designs for this competition. A great idea and my hats off to the OFF team...again! Now then, that comic strip post of Red-Dog's looks like it could be the next contest. Might generate some excellent OFF advertising material. Cheers! Lou

ZEPPELINS OVER PARIS ! Greetings All, I spent some time this weekend trying my hand at creating a custom mission for our favorite sim, and I have just placed it in our download section for you folks to try if you like. Here is the scenario: A pair of zeppelins are staging a daring dusk raid on Paris. You must scramble your Camels, which are stationed on the northern edge of the city, and climb to intercept the airships before they can reach the Eiffel Tower. But beware, they have waves of escorting Hun fighters tagging along, and despite the help you will receive from the Spad VII's of ESC15 you will still have your hands full. Remember, your primary objective is to destroy the brace of zeppelins before they can reach the Tower. And one more warning, a certain ace from Jasta 37 and his wingman have been reported in the area as well, so watch out. Don't forget to use the Camel's outstanding climbing abilities to stay above the enemy fighters as best you can, and to reach the airships as quickly as possible. And if you are skillful enough to down your targets you will still have to fight your way back home and land safely. I have flown it several times as a "DiD" mission with no TAC screen and no warp, and it was a BLAST! Very challenging and a lot of fun, and even more so when you can actually knock down the Zeps. The two screenies I've posted are of me getting my tail salted by an Alb that snuck up on me whilst I was snapping the pics. Enjoy! Lou P.S. You will need the "ZeppelinL30" folder in your "aircraft" folder, and you can download that file from the following link: ZeppelinL30 files .

BH, don't forget to mention the Lilac Vegetal dispenser. Always nice to give a splash of that on your face after landing to dissolve away a bit of the grime and spruce you up for the m'selles that are sure to abound upon your return. Cheers! Lou

I really LOVE coming here to enjoy my morning coffee whilst I look over these outstanding screenshots. Many thanks to all those who take the time to capture and share these, along with their stories. Very entertaining stuff! Cheers! Lou

Bzhyoyo, great info on this issue! Thank you very much for sharing. I will be noting it in my paint folder for future reference. Cheers! Lou

Ah, so the Zep is not useable in Phase 3 then. Too bad, I'd like a crack it myself. Perhaps someday, eh? Until then I will just have to take out my aggressions on the obs balloons. Cheers! Lou

I agree WM, this has been a lot of fun, and it produced a wonderful assortment of new skins we can all share. I will be getting to work on a few new ones in the near future to further add to the already outstanding collection. Best of luck to all those who entered their work in the competition! Cheers! Lou

Fielder, if you like you can also stop by the RAF 209 and visit our trophy room. The Victrola there has a nice selection of WWI tunes as well. Just hover over the different records lined up in the cabinet and click on the one you would like to hear. Enjoy. RAF 209 Squadron Click on the "Trophy Room" tab in the nav bar and go from there. Cheers! Lou

I want to go to there. So many improvements to be made...so little cash. Cheers! Lou

Makes sense to me, and I've only had one cup of coffee so far this morning. Thanks for the info Winder, I have noticed and wondered about this same thing when flying. Cheers! Lou

BnZ tactics are nearly impossible for me because I have flown the turn fighters so much over the years. Every time I climb into a Spad I have to tape a note on my monitor... "DO NOT TURN FIGHT!" It seldom works. I inevitably wind up trying to outturn a DR1 or some such ridiculousness and I get my large Spad arse handed to me. :black eye: I will also say again that, based on all reports I've read by RL flyers, I find the Camel in BHaH to be as close to the real bird in flight characteristics as any sim I have ever flown. I think it is a valid point others have made here that most of us are now "experienced" WWI pilots and so we tend to find the quirky buses such as the Camel and DR1 easier to fly than we feel they should be. Kudos again to the OFF development team on their top-notch efforts and results with the FM's in this sim, and every other aspect of it as well. Now then, speaking of quirky buses, where can I find a Zeppelin around this place? Cheers! Lou

As always, the screenies and discussions here are first-rate! Rickitycrate, I quite like your tip of the hat to your old canine pal...well done Sir. Olham, nice of you to take on the paint project for Prop-Wasche. That'll buy you some good karma in the skinning contest. Cheers! Lou

Siggi, it was nearly always the Croixe de Guerre, and likely with a bronze palm for being mentioned at the army level. You might also see it with the bronze star if the recipient was mentioned at the brigade level, (a lower award). The French CdG was the equivilent of the British "Mentioned in Despatches" and as such was awarded regularly, and often multiple times to the same soldier. With a few of the WWI aces, such as Guynemer, they had to wear two medals on their tunics to hold all the bronze palm attachments due to the number of times they had been presented the award. Cheers! Lou

Good Morning All, (I posted this in the screenshots but decided I should also share it here in our actual paint forum.) In my spare time as of late I've been busy working on my entry for the OFF Plane Skinning Contest, and while I still have MUCH to do on it terms of tweaks, color adjustments, blending and such, I was able to take my new Camel up for a toodle over the lines this AM. Here are a couple of screen shots just to peak you interest. I am again attempting to keep this looking as vintage as possible even though it is a complete fabrication on my part. But as with the Strutter project I have taken ideas and guidance from actual WWI aircraft in order to maintain the period feel of the overall design. I can't wait for this one to be completed. Even unfinished it is so very cool to fly it. Cheers! Lou

Happy Birthday Samuel Morse! I intercepted your cryptic creation for four years as a ditty bopper for Uncle Sam. S.N. Larson United States Air Force Security Service 1974-1978 (active) Area of Operations: Here, There, and Everywhere "Freedom Through Vigilance!" Cheers! Lou

Hey Jammer, Yes Sir, I was aware of that. So on the U2r's, were you ground support or did you fly them? I spent some time working on the occasional joint support mission with the Det 4 SR-71's out of "The Hall". I was parked for a spell at the 6950th up at "The Sands", and I also took the odd ride now and then in the RC-135's, (and an EC-135 as well as I recall). Still have most of the badges I got to wear when we pulled temporary duty assignments for the various exercises. Europe was great, the tours were very interesting, and the beer was the best! Good times...good times. Cheers! Lou

It is at that Rickitycrate. Now, let's see if I can finish up for you here Sir. The small “E” pin with stripes is, I believe, a WW2 European Service Commemorative pin that was meant to be worn on civilian clothing. And I think the Naval Ordnance Development Award pin is also a civilian apparel item. The medal with the blue-and-white ribbon I am quite sure is a WWI “commemorative” medal and as such was not issued by the US Government, but more likely by a state or local organization. The medal to the right of it in the same picture is another WWI Allied Victory Medal, (US version), and the one below that is simply the obverse of the same. The spearhead-shaped medal in the lower left is another “commemorative” I think, and might not be a medal at all but in fact a watch fob. In your picture of the brass, the silver and gold leaves are collar brass for US Major and US Lt. Colonel. The buttons are standard US Army WW2 uniform items. The “US” disc is more US Army collar brass, as is the “CU”, (though for the life of me I can’t remember what branch that one is for). The crossed rifles are the 1st Infantry, and the crossed cannons are for the Field Artillery, and again these are both US Army collar brass items. Hope all this info helps you out Sir. Cheers! Lou

Actually Jammer, the "Ruptured Duck" was worn on returning WW2 soldier's uniforms, (first as a cloth badge and later as a pin), to show they had been honorably discharged form active service. It was to indicate to the MP's that all these returning GI's were legit and not AWOL. So...no...not the same as the Tokyo Raiders Ruptured Duck. Cheers! Lou

I have a bit of free time at the moment, so that is why I can get back to you ASAP on these Sir. To continue with the ribbon rows you picture: The short row shows the American Defense Medal, and Bronze Star, (and they are not in the correct order), and the long row shows the American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle East Campaign Medal with bronze campaign star, and the WW2 Victory Medal. These are both WW2 groupings and are not for the same individual as the row of medals, (or at least I HIGHLY doubt that they are). Cheers! Lou

OK Rickitycrate, the large row of medals are as follows, from left to right: Distinguished Service Cross, Indian Campaign Medal, Spanish War Medal, Cuban Occupation Medal, Philippine Campaign Medal, Mexican Border Service Medal, Allied Victory Medal with clasps, French Croix de Guerre with Palm That is quite a long and impressive record of service for whomever those medals belonged to. They span over 20 years. Cheers! Lou

Very good Rickitycrate. I can tell you right now the large wings are relatively current and are for the Civil Air Patrol, the small bird pin is the "Ruptured Duck" from WW2, and the small wings-with-prop is pilot collar brass for the US Army Air Corps, also from WW2. Cheers! Lou

Bullethead wrote: echo...echo...echo... BH, I noted that very thing just a few posts ahead of your Sir. But thank you for supporting the information. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Cheeres! Lou

Rickitycrate, I would advise you do not clean the medals. If they have a nice patina of age they are worth more than if they are bright and shiny. That being siad, if you wish to clean them, use a quality dip-type cleaner that is NON-ABRASIVE! Also, there are several good sources for replacement ribbons for the old medals and I will see if I can locate those again, (I have the info around here somewhere). As you mentioned the real ribbons were often silk, so be very careful if you try to clean those. If you could send me some pics of the medals I can ID them for you if you like Sir. ADDED: OK, I found one of the sites I was looking for Rickitycrate: My Collectors Medals Links Cheers! Lou

You are correct Paarma and Vontobler, the Purple Heart was not established until 1932, and the Wound Stripe was only used for two months in the fall of 1917. The Wound Chevron was the US Army's award for injuries suffered in the line of duty throughout the remainder of WW1. The only other awards given by the USA during WWI were, in descending order: the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Distinguished Service Medal. A bronze oak leaf cluster was attached to the ribbon of the medal for each subsequent award. There was also the Citation Star, which was not a stand-alone medal but rather a star attached to the ribbon of the Allied Victory Medal, (the US equivilant of the British "Mentioned in Dispatches"). It later became the Silver Star. Cheers! Lou