Olham

DL: How did you make your approach? Flying with Jasta 4 I hope? Not yet, Duce. I'm flying with Jasta 26 first, cause I just learned I had a relative there; Hans Jeschonnek. We are based at Wasquehal, 1. May 1918. A lot going on there; the British have built Brisfits and Camels in masses, and we have a very hard stand. I have now made 4 sorties with them, but did all the right things so far - even killed a Bristol Fighter! I was lucky it was seperated from the rest; my wings had shot down his wingman, before I reached them. Now they chased the other, and so I was one of four craft. The rear gunner couldn't fire at all of us. So I let my wings get nearer. He was stump jumping at very low altitude and had no time and space for a climb. My first two hits where from 600 feet distance. Coming out of a full turn to approach him again, I found him banked to the left, in a 30 degree climb, and very close. I could look into the cockpits and fired into pilot and gunner from their above so to say. After that, there was no more rear gunnery. I flew another full circle to approach again. The F2b merely crawled across the lawn ahead of me, showing her undefended back, and the rest was nothing heroic. PS: Are you with Bullet there already, at Jasta 4? How is it, when artillery rocks you to sleep?

I had warp issues the last days, always when I did warp a second time after some combat or flying. First one brought me to Germany's Saarland. The second changed the colours of airfields in the map - our side, all was red suddenly, and I was afraid to land, cause I didn't know if the sim would regard them as enemy fields. The third warp, my Albatros came out vertical, and no matter what I tried, the wings broke faster than I could save her. After warp, A flight is always in front of me and higher, but I can often catch up to them.

The Albatros is a fine, sturdy battle hawk, except for the weakness of it's lower wings. As the control cables for the ailerons go through the lower wings, I'm not sure, if you could really control an Alb with only the right one. But surely some fine piloting, Sir! AI can perform things you shouldn't dare to try, so I don't know about a missing wing on a Fee. The Nupe 11 and 17 regularly dive away from me with full speed without breaking their wings. If I'd try to follow that, my wings would just fold backwards.

Oh no! Bullet, we can become as good as possible in coordinating and focusing things - fate is a kung fu fighter. We don't see them coming. Burning Beard, you make very good skins, Sir. Your presentation looks also fine - I assume you are a graphic designer or something that direction?

Today I shot down my first Brifit, that did NOT hit my engine! I had ordered my wingmen to attack it, and came in for the kill. The rear gunner had three craft to fire at, and I was lucky - I was not his choice. I think I shot him, cause after my second approach, he didn't seem to fire back at all. (See: Screenshots) Great to make the experience, that they are no "wizards".

That's right; a craft in a distance of 20 meters might already appear with a brightness of 15 - 20 %, and further away, it would be 25 - 30 % I'd say. Also, yellow "dies" first, then orange, then red. The further away, the more blue every colour turns. The light blue undersides of my WW2 models I always mixed with white to get much brighter, cause a model in a scale of 1:48 would appear like being 20 - 30 meters away.

Jasta 40, Wasquehal, 1. Mai 1918 Leutnant Karl Alfred Mahlo Afternoon task: escort 5 Hannover recon craft to mil. def. 429 north of Lille. West of Ste. Marguerite, we saw three flights of Brisfits at various alt. and two flights of Camels; one higher, one lower than us. The nearest flight of Bristols attacked our Hannovers, but Hertel's flight drove them off; they all went down towards the deck fighting. I stayed high with the Hannovers. Now the high Camels turned in to attack them. I led my flight closer and ordered free attack for everyone. I fought with one Camel, and we spiraled all the way down, before I finally hit him so hard, that the lower left wing came off. He crashed west of Ste. Marguerite. He still kept it flying, but my wingman finished him. I attacked a second Camel and shot off a wing again; this guy crashed right after that. Then I turned round east, where I saw three of my wingmen in a fight with two F2b. They succeeded to shoot one down, before I joined in. I hit the other Bristol twice with long range bursts; then I got so close, I could kill the rear gunner from above. Now the pilot tried to escape, but I fired more than 200 rounds into the craft, until it crashed north of Lille.

Okay, I just found the file of the RLM Colours; I had them already done a year ago. So, here they come.

Following the logistic supply logic, I would think, the silver was all the same on German side: the Pfalz Silberbronze, which was certainly supplied to the front, to repair aircraft, and give them a new coat of the colour. In the Third Reich, one of the Luftwaffe painting colours was Silver. It's a silver bronze, not at all shiny chrome like on cars, but more like a light grey with metal grain in it. I have a colour chart of the RLM colours of WW2, and I'm pretty certain, that many of them haven't changed since WW1. The French of course had an own factory production, but surely, their silver bronze was made in a similar way and tone. When I find my RLM colour chart, I will try to pin down the red, yellow, blue and green in CMYK. Perhaps you want to know what comes out?

Wow, historical detail - I thought, when looking at the picture, that the painter was from the Allied side, as the British craft shows all the details you only know when you look at it closely, while the German is rather a rough sketch. Confirmed or not, it is very likely, that it was this J. Willey, who was killed in January 1918. It makes an aching feeling round the heart in my body, to see a painting (I am a designer myself) from a very young man, who was killed not much later - he may not have seen his 25th birthday. But his painting still there, there is a trace of him in time.

The FE2 is rather easy to get down (in OFF), Iti. But a fighter type two seater like the Roland surely was, will defend itself much better. (Now I hear Bullethead bark: The Fee WAS A FIGHTER!!! Surely right - I only know her from OFF). To fight such 2seats, you should kill the rear gunner as quick as possible. But easier said than done - those pilots want to bring him home alive!

Yes, green/red would be possible too. I read in Kilduff's book about MvR, that the Red Baron himself had problems of getting enough red colour for painting his craft - red colour was not produced in large amounts, and I assume the same for yellow. I used to have an old paint colour chart from 1954 (hope I'll find it again), and there where only very few "shiny" colours. It had a light yellow with white in, and a Chrome yellow; 1 orange, 3 reds (incl. wine-red), but several greens and browns and sand type colours - the colours used for house and garden, I'd say. Bright shiny colours where just not used much, even later.

Thanks for the skin picture, Paarma. That's interesting, that in such a most exposed Jasta like Jasta 11 was, they still don't know all the colours, or who's craft this was. My personal guess for the fuselage bands after the b/w photo was blue/red.

Never fought a Roland yet, but I can speak for the Bristol Fighter, which is a beast in the sky. On the Bristol, you must avoid under all circumstances, to get into the rear gunner's range. Now, that sounds easy, but the pilot will fly the craft like a fighter, and he will do his very best to fly in a way, that gives the gunner a good view at you. If the Rolands do similar, it must be extremely dangerous to attack them at all. If you want to know more, take a flight in a Roland, switch over to the gunner's position, and now check out, where you have "blind spots" for your guns. Remember, those are your directions to attack them from. But: they may move and change it!

Hi, Paarma Here seem to be the old green-mauve-green camos, and the Lozenge pattern on the front craft. Can you tell me, who's fighter the first one was - the one with the two colour bands around the fuselage?

The 16 Squadron RFC must have run into Jasta 11 several times. I have compiled Manfred von Richthofen's victories about them here. His wingmen must have shot some more of them down. But MvR's kills alone make 12 people from our photogrhaph. And when I wrote the lines, I thought, they also where victims of the RFC decision to carry on to send out two-seaters without rear guns for the observer. 19. vict: 1. 2. 1917 16:00 h SW Thelus B.E.2d Lt. Murray(DoW), Lt. McRae (DoW) 16Sqdn RFC 24. vict: 6. 3. 1917 17:00 h Souchez B.E.2e 2/Lt. C. M. Gosset-Bibbey (KiA), Lt. J. G. O. Brichta (KiA) 16Sqdn RFC 28. vict: 17. 3. 1917 17:00 h Souchez B.E.2c 2/Lt. G. M.Watt (KiA), Sgt. E. A. Howlett (KiA) 16Sqdn RFC 29. vict: 21. 3. 1917 17:25 h N of Neuville B.E.2f Fl/Sgt. S. H.Quicke (KiA), 2/Lt. W. J. Lidsey (KiA) 16Sqdn RFC 39. vict: 8. 4. 1917 16:40 h Vimy B.E.2e 2/Lt. K. I.Mackenzie (KiA), G. Everingham (KiA) 16Sqdn RFC 47. vict: 23. 4. 1917 12:13 h E of Vimy B.E.2f 2/Lt. E. A.Welch (KiA), Sgt. A. Tollervey (KiA) 16Sqdn RFC Poor fellows - they died absolutely defenseless by those decisions. May they all rest in peace.

It needs trainig like the most things. Today I tried again, and the third attempt made a Rockting Rabbit of the Bobbing Bobcat. Feels like another tin medal in a war.

Well, after having seen World War One, drinking could be excused as a late term consequence, I'd say.

About Hans Jeschonnek: German and English Wikipedia contradict about him. In English, I read, he was a Leutnant in Jasta 40, and had two kills by the end of the war. In German, they say, he was a Flieger in Oberschlesien. Very confusing. Thanks, Arto - I will work on the wings again. I will also do an own Lozenge version with the clolours of that site you posted earlier.

You'd be disappointed, Widow. I did that, and it looked - well, very old. I think it would be a great idea to make a second Edition of it, on the basis of modern 3dtechnology and vid cards. It could be a most impressive game - a mix of roll play and flight sim, adventure and racing. And it may come one day. If you type in U.S.S. Macon in Google picture search, you get more impressive pics.

Wow! I'm speechless! Thanks for the name of the airship - that way I could find more in Google. Here's a Curtiss Sparrowhawk, docking on, and today in it's wet grave.

Update 09/22/09 15:51 Berlin time (GMT +2) Tuba2, Ohio, added. the maps are in post 1 of this thread

Must be frustrating for the kids of today - we have done all the really bad things ourselves and long before them.

Just to comfort you - I sometimes (under the stress of intense fighting) press all the wrong buttons and keys; and then I shout and scream against the monitor, that after calming down I wonder what the neighnours may think has happened here. You wrote it: Intel inside... etc.

The escort mission must have been great! Meeting single Camels, all lower than you - I wish I would have that once! You "driving into the hangar" was - not a good idea. Next time you want to see them land, just circle over your field - they will come. See my post with pics in that "WW1 relative as pilot" thread - the Pfalz made it. The Albs crashed though; one of my wingmen was at least only semi-crashed. Jasta 4 has funny black spirals round their crates - probably to avoid being mistaken for an enemy craft by their own ground crew. So close to the front, anything is dangerous.