RFC scout vs Hun two-seater

This is an attempt to use Wings of Glory on a hex mat. We use hexes in order to simplify play over the Internet while staying isolated at home. Each aircraft has a number of different manoeuvres it can perform, but instead of being represented by arrows they are represented by hexes traversed.

This scenario was designed to test the effectiveness of a Sopwith Snipe single-seater scout against an LFG Roland C.II twin-seater. The Snipe has two machine guns firing fixed forward compared to the Roland with one machine gun fixed-forward and a second machine gun on a ring mounting in rear cockpit with an almost all-round field of fire.

Lieutenant William Algernon "Billy the Bishop" Tempest was patrolling behind the allied lines when he spotted a Hun LFG Roland C.II Walfisch reconnaissance aircraft flying towards him. The Roland was flown by Leutnant Florian Meier with Leutnant Jörg Fritzl-Falconi as his observer, having orders to photograph a railway marshalling yard.

Billy the Bishop side slipped his Sopwith Snipe to his left, in order to get the Roland C,II on his right hand side, forgetting that he was no longer flying his trusty Sopwith Camel.

The adversaries continued to close in on each other.

Both aircraft turned to starboard to meet each other face-on. 

The twin Vickers machine guns in Billy the Bishop's Sopwith Snipe shot large holes in the Roland. Florian Meier in the Roland C.II left enough room so that his observer, Jörg Fritzl-Falconi, could shoot his rear machine gun over the starboard wing, Fritzl-Falconi's single Spandau machine gun did some damage to the Snipe, while Meier's Parabellum machine gun did almost no damage before jamming. 

Meier immediately hit the gun with a hammer that he had placed strategically in the cockpit, and it immediately unjammed, probably because his mechanic had carefully checked all the bullets prior to loading for this mission. 

Note: The was a special single-use "skill" obtained in a previous scenario.

Presuming that the Hun would head for the railway marshalling yard, Billy the Bishop turned his Snipe towards the presumed target.

But Meier in the Roland had decided it was no longer a good idea to photograph his target, until he had first removed the troublesome Snipe. Taking photographs while being tailed by a Snipe was not a desired state to be in.

So Meier didn't turn for the railway marshalling yard, instead he turned behind the Snipe, giving Fritzl-Falconi's single Spandau machine gun a good shot at the Snipe. Flames started shooting from the Snipe's engine cowling.

Note: As a house rule, we only allow Aimed Fire for fixed machine guns, not for observers.

The aircraft we performing an areal ballet, with the Snipe side slipping to starboard and the Roland side slipping to port. 

The flames shooting from the Snipe's engine cowling seemed to be having no effect on the aircraft.

Fritzl-Falconi's single Spandau machine gun got a good shot at the Snipe. However Billy the Bishop was lucky and despite all the bullets hitting his Snipe, little real damage was done.

Note: Billy used his "Luck of the Devil" skill and chose to replace one damage card with a zero.

The Snipe turned to port, hoping to get a shot at the Roland, but the slower moving Roland stayed behind the Snipe.

The flames shooting from the Snipe's engine now started to slowly eat through the fuselage.

The Roland's observer/gunner, Fritzl-Falconi, continued to fire with his Spandau machine gun. 

The slower moving Roland, had no problem staying out of the Snipe's field of fire.

The flames shooting from the Snipe's engine now started to slowly eat through the fuselage.

The Roland's observer/gunner, Fritzl-Falconi, continued to fire with his Spandau machine gun. 

This was too much for the Snipe to take, and it plummeted flaming earthwards!

Leutnant Florian Meier lined up the Roland C.II with the railway marshalling yard while Leutnant Jörg Fritzl-Falconi readied his camera to take a photograph.

Having taken a photograph, Meier slowly circled the Roland while Fritzl-Falconi prepared the camera for a second photograph. They then flew over the railway marshalling yard for a second time to get another photograph.

Meier and Fritzl-Falconi returned to their aerodrome to a hero's welcome and celebrated with a few bottles of looted French champagne.

Dogfight 1918

This is an attempt to use Wings of Glory on a hex mat. We use hexes in order to simplify play over the Internet while staying isolated at home. Each aircraft has a number of different manoeuvres it can perform, but instead of being represented by arrows they are represented by hexes traversed.

Lieutenants William Algernon "Billy the Bishop" Tempest and Terence “the Rook” Turner were flying a dawn patrol over the front in their brand spanking new Sopwith Snipe scouts when they spotted two rather colourful Fokker D.VII scouts coming straight towards them.

The RFC pilots held formation and slipped to starboard with The Rook flying on The Bishop's port wingtip. The Huns tightened up their formation. The enemies closed the distance separating them.

The RFC pilots side slipped to port. The Huns turned gently to port.

The Blue Fokker opened fire at close range on Terence “the Rook” Turner. The Spandaus tore up the Snipe and flames started to pour out of its engine.

The Rook opened fire on the Red Fokker at close range, doing a little damage before his twin Vickers machine guns jammed.

The Red Fokker opened fire on William Algernon "Billy the Bishop" Tempest at long range but totally missed the Snipe, perhaps he was distracted by The Rook's bullets. 

The Bishop turned his Snipe towards the Huns who were now moving slowly towards him.

The Rook turned his Snipe to port, dodging the incoming Fokkers as the flames shooting out from his engine started to damage his airframe.

The Bishop opened fire on the Red Fokker and both Fokkers returned his fire. A bullet from the Red Fokker, fired a close range, hit Billy the Bishop half-an-inch below his heart. But luckily he had a pewter hip flask in his breast pocket and he we only slightly bruised rather than being seriously wounded. 

The Bishop stalled his Snipe as the Fokkers slowly closed the distance. He continued all the time to fire at the Red Fokker, tearing up large holes in its fuselage and wounding the pilot. 

The combined fire from both Fokkers was surprisingly inaccurate.

The Rook circled round behind the Fokkers, trying both to put out the flames coming from his engine and unjamming his machine guns at the same time.

Billy the Bishop and the Red Fokker flew past each other with inched to spare. The Blue Fokker stalled while The Rook flew in front of it, being too busy unjamming the machine guns to notice.

Having unjammed his machine guns in the nick of time, The Rook opened fire at the Red Fokker, but his Snipe took heavy damage from a combination of flames from its engine and machine gun fire from the Blue Fokker.

Both The Rook's Snipe and the Red Fokker were kills.

The dogfight continued with both pilots wanting to avenge their fallen comrades. The Blue Fokker got in a rather nasty close range shot at Billy the Bishop, but before it could do too much damage, both machine guns jammed.

Neither pilot was now particularly interested in continuing the fight. The Snipe was badly shot up and the Fokker was in pristine condition but with its Spandaus jammed. The Hun waved at Billy, who waved back with a strange two-fingered gesture, and both planed turned for home.

Lieutenant William Algernon "Billy the Bishop" Tempest returned safely to his aerodrome. Much to the amusement of his ground crew, when he hopped out of the Snipe's cockpit, everyone could see that his trousers were wet. The ground crew spread the rumour that the Billy had wet himself during the action. Actually it was cognac from his damaged hip flask that had leaked, Billy offered up his trousers asking everyone to smell the crotch, waving them under the nose of quite a few airmen, but nobody wanted to take him up on his offer! 

Lieutenant Terence “the Rook” Turner managed somehow quench the flames coming from his engine and glide the Snipe back towards his own trenches where he managed what was either a hard landing or a surprisingly gentle crash. Luckily he was stopped from plummeting into a trench by its protecting barbed-wire. Even he returned to the aerodrome, although somewhat the worse for wear. He was however greeted with less mirth than his comrade in arms.