Albert, agreed, the kills you’ve worked for the hardest are the most satisfying confirmations. All Bréguets fall under that category. That first DH.4 did go down without much fuss, but the second one definitely required more cajoling. And as to that other Fokker - no words. Sometimes those wingmen are more dangerous than the enemy. I’m surprised the Bréguets on your side are this docile. Perhaps they’re just getting complacent seeing that Andrew and his crew take care of business so efficiently? Why risk their own skins? And speaking of skin, yes, definitely Bella needs to know of the promotion. Perhaps she can even think of a reward? Looks like another run of the mill morning mission for Andy. Two two-seaters thought otherwise. Then the afternoon show, more clouds and more sneaky Huns trying to catch our hero unawares. Murphy was to sly to fall for it and dispatched his foe with style. Congrats on the latest confirmations. At this rate Andrew’s going to hit that 100 mark before the war is over. Finally, using the briefing in town as an excuse to meet up with his sweetheart. Use a condom Andy, use a condom.
Trooper, DH.4’s dogfighting - that alone raises eyebrows. Add to that “while carrying bombs” and you have a fully blown jaw drop. The two-seater flight model is very generous and the AI is exploiting it to the fullest.
29 September, 1918 06:45 morning mission Montingen, Verdun Sector Jasta 18 Rittmeister Klaus Gustav Raben RAO AO PLM HHO EK1 EK2 Fokker D.VII 136 confirmed kills
Only one of the two bombers from yesterday had been credited to Klaus. This morning Jasta 18 was sent to patrol over friendly troop camp west of Mars-La-Tour aerodrome. The patrol over the assigned aerodrome was eventless, but on their way back along the frontlines the Schwarm encountered a solitary SPAD. At first, Klaus couldn’t even see him. It was only after the rest of his Schwarm started to shoot over his wings that he realized something was up. The SPAD, who must have been coming back from a mission, as they usually do, in singles after a dogfight, was flying head on straight at Klaus, but the enemy machine was hidden from view by the top plane. Raben was lucky he wasn’t hit during the initial merge. He then looked back as the enemy went by to see the rest of his Schwarm attacked the single enemy en masse. Klaus watched from the sidelines. What he saw was painful. His wingmen were tripping over each other while chasing the SPAD. It was a miracle those clowns didn’t collide with each other. Klaus had to step in and end this circus. He swooped in right behind the enemy plane and sent it careening into the ground after blowing off one of his bottom planes. The engagement was over and the Schwarm returned to base.
29 September, 1918 13:45 afternoon mission Montingen, Verdun Sector Jasta 18 Rittmeister Klaus Gustav Raben RAO AO PLM HHO EK1 EK2 Fokker D.VII 136 confirmed kills Awaiting one claim confirmation
In the afternoon it was back to ground forces support between south of Pont-à-Mousson and Marbache. Raben’s flight was quicker and lost Schwarm Eins somewhere in the clouds. They spotted some bogeys approaching head on. From now on it was Schwarm Zwei show, all four machines worth of it. The Bréguets were the first ones to attack and the SPADs followed. Klaus ignored the Bréguet, hoping the rest of his Schwarm would keep him occupied and concentrated on the approaching SPADs. He let them all go by, hoping some would collide with each other while turning back. They were Americans after all, but no such luck. He had to do it the old fashioned way. He juggled the SPADs and the Bréguets, had a very good run at one of the Indianers and eventually settled on one of the Bréguets, which was getting uncomfortably close. Klaus made sharp turn, lost a lot of speed and watched the pesky bomber fly by and in front of his guns. The French pilot realized his mistake and attempted to roll out of the way, but it was too late. Raben’s guns found their mark and left the enemy plane falling to his death below in flames. The rest of the planes have suddenly disappeared and Klaus pointed the nose of his Fokker north and headed home. The rest of his Schwarm caught up with him on the way. All of them. They’ve got out of this scrap without any casualties. The weather was closing in again.
"Take the cylinder out of my kidneys, The connecting rod out of my brain, my brain, From out of my arse take the camshaft, And assemble the engine again."
