homepage Forums Air Combat & Civil Aviation Wings: Over Flanders Fields The "DiD Campaign Revival" - Intro, Rules, Reports & Records Chart

Casey, thanks for the link.


After only two sorties we have again too little Rolands ready, cause my comrades seem to try
to catch up with my 5 victories. The result of their aggressive behaviour is, that three
aircraft are in repair; mine being one of them - cause I went to fight them out.
Now I cannot fly tomorrow. Tch!
But apart from that, life is good in Pronville.
We have developed a hobby - when we cannot fly, we take turns at baking cakes, which we then
eat outdoors at our looong coffee table.

Maybe you should invite Hauptmann Boelcke for a visit? I hear he likes cakes, and that he's currently working on creating some new fighter formations. Perhaps if he likes your cakes, he'll invite some of your pilots to join him?

Funny that you mention that - I wanted to use this idea for my "DiD Campaign" -
that Boelcke came round to recruit my pilot, because of his 5 victories.
I thought I'd write it mid-August - if I lived so long.

This is a question for the rule maker. Thats you Olham. Since I am grounded until the 15th due to lack of planes and pilots I have started another campaign in a fighter flying the Niep to see if I may want to go to that in the future befor our Pups arrive. Well quess what. It has no compass. Not much of nothing really! When the sun is out I can maintain a good enough direction to stay found, but on a cloudy day it is hopeless. I know they carried some sort of compass with them. Inacurat or not, it was still better than nothing. My question is, if we are flying A level in a plane without a compass, can we bring up the compass on cloudy days. I can and will respect any dicision, just want to know.

OK, I give up!

I'm practicing to join this DiD Campaign and I'm getting my behind kicked! ...I've been trying for a week now on A settings (which aren't bad) to get past 3 missions (~3.5 hours) in either a BE2 or FE2b career without getting shot down... I've figured that I can't run away at the sight of an EIII (which I can spot at about 1km) before finishing a mission, because I'm assuming that would get me a courtmarshel if it was in RL. My gunner is uselss and I can't take gunner seat and fly at the same time, so I need to use autopilot (which seems to be cheating to me) but still have a hard time shooting at the EA.

I've tried to stay high above my flight, but eventually they get me and shoot me down. I'm trying to rack my fried brains on what I need to do to stay alive in either of those machines. Otherwise, I'll just stick to the strutter as those are waaaay easier to survive...

any tips ANYONE??

MFair: I'm thinking the answer is no, since the HUD is 'locked' in Workshop, but I'm curious what Olham thinks as well. It's a definite consideration I've made when choosing possible replacements for my Strutter.

Code: Well, as you can see the Strutter is a campaign favorite right now, and you're seeing why.

My first character did reasonable well with a FE2.b, but you hm.. with pretty much any non-fighter except said Strutter you should be prepared to run. Perhaps it's not realistic, but even on 'light activity' there seems to be an awful lot of encounters. (You are on light air activity?)

He who fights and runs away might just surprise people some day. Certainly better than a grave.

Also, if you haven't already, take the BE2/FE2b/etc. on a few QCs - even free flight mode - to try and get a feel for your crate and what it can and can't do well.

Yea, I think you're right about running away. I just wanted to be as realistic as possible so I don't get a guilty conscious of cheating death. BTW- I'm on normal air activity.

I guess whoever can survive long in a BE2/FE2b career on "A setting" must be some kind of awsome pilot ....or the luckiest man alive.

9 August 1916
Achille Coppens
Quatrieme Escadrille (RFC 25), Belgium
Farman Pusher (F.E.2b) - Dawn Patrol at Abschnitt

With the sun rising over the hills around our field we took off - 6 of us in B Flight and 4 in A Flight flying top cover. Our assignment was once again a fighter patrol on the front lines directly to the west. Lt. Maurice De Hauwere lead B Flight, his first time in the role of flight lead. None of the pilots of B Flight were seasoned veterans, but A flight consisted of 4 proven aces to watch over us.

As we approached the lines at about 5500 ft there was activity everywhere. A contact approached us from our low 12 o'clock and then 2, then 4 contacts. As the closest contact came into view it became obvious it was one of ours - a biplane of considerable size, either a BE2 or a Strutter, I could not tell (too large for a fighter and it was not a Farman as it had a complete fuselage). Then quickly the 2nd contact came into view and it was a Fokker in hot pursuit! The other 2 contacts then came into view - two more Fokkers all in pursuit of our biplane. The procession passed about 1000 yards to our left just below us, and yet we did nothing. Could it be our new flight leader didn't see this?

As we reached our patrol destination there were contacts everywhere, but I couldn't make them out as friendly or enemy. B Flight pulled into tight formation with A Flight, about 500 yards behind and several hundred feet below them. I think our new flight lead had become nervous with all the activity and sought the protection of the aces watching over us.

We completed our patrol without event until the last circuit when a group of contacts began to close. I counted 7 dots in two groups. Not knowing what to expect my heart began to pound as they approached. Then at about 1000 yards I could make out the shape and cold grey fabric of the wings of 4 German biplanes! They passed directly over our head but seemed to not see us. The other dots right behind them were higher and I could not tell what they were, but they took no action so I assumed they were an escort. Neither the aces of A Flight nor B Flight did anything. Could it be that they, like I, feel that the Farman should not be flying in the role of a fighter? With no fixed forward firing gun, well proven in design now with the Fokkers and Nieuports, should the Farman be expected to attack other planes? Or would it be better suited for the role of recon and fighting only in defense...only time will tell.

Im flying the nuieport11 in my campaign lately. but I'm a level B pilot. I Try to comitt to lvl A rules, but IF Im in need, I can use aids.

I recommend using 'Z'key. It gives me the feeling of wearing an additional compass and a watch for proper navigation. But as I said, Im on B lvl.

Same here, I'm flying mostly Level B, but enjoy looking around at the names of bases and airfields, etc so I registered at Level C

I think you should be allowed to use a compass. Real life pilots had them, and the Nupe cockpits in WOFF are lacking all the instruments that were usually added to them in the field.

Everybody having trouble with staying alive in a crate like the Fee should try to do what I'm doing in my Aviatik career. If you're attacked and overwhelmed, try to go as low as possible and head back towards friendly lines. Watch out for MG posts on the ground though! When you're low, the AI planes can't attack you from behind and below, and you have better chances of survival. It's not perfect, but so far it has worked pretty well in my DID Aviatik career.

I'm sure that escaping the EA encounter would let you survive the war for a long time, but I'd like to know if that is what actually happened in RL (i.e. Did recc/bomber pilots continuously ditch missions for their survival)?

I may be wrong about this, but I'm begining to believe that the game throws more fighters at you then what actually took place during mid 1916 - even for Flanders area.

It's WAY more dangerous and deadly than in real life. Especially in 1916, air combat didn't happen all that often and casualties were usually very light, actually almost insignificant compared to the slaughter taking place down in the trenches. I suspect that most people would complain if they had to fly ten missions in a row without any encounters with enemy aircraft, so we're seeing much more action than the real life pilots did.

You'll just have to adapt your tactics to the game.

Two-seaters did try to run away when they couldn't do their jobs in peace. It was better to live and try again another time than to get uselessly shot down over the front.

My flight managed to shoot down another lone Nupe early this morning. It came to harass us after our bombing mission, and we didn't like that!



This time I didn't get the kill, but my wingman did.

Hasse: I'm still really impressed you're doing so well in an Aviatik. How the heck do you see to the front?

Hey, I should keep telling myself that it's only a game.... Even after I get shot down for the upteenth time and feel like throwing my computer out the window down 5 stories...

I'll calmn down, take deep breaths and just keep "running away to live another day"

Thanks for the advice guys...

I'm not even a particularly good pilot (and a terrible navigator - the coastline helps immensely with that)! You just have to be very very careful and a little bit of luck won't hurt either.

LtCasey - you have done 10.8 hours in ONE (1) sortie. Must be a mistake here.

The continuing career of Albert "Mushroom" Ward:



10 Aug 1916 @ 06h14 Bombing of Nieuwmunster aerodrome NNW of Bruges

Escorts of 6 Nieuport 11’s from RFC-29 out of Abeele

I lead the flight with Huskisson accompanying. “A” flight sent 5 strutters flown by Hervey, Shook, Parsons, Booker, and Chadwick. We took of in rain with heavy cloud cover between 7 to 10 thousand feet. We stayed under the 7000 ft range for visibility. The flight to the target was uneventful but upon approach I spotted 6 enemy craft which our escort also spotted and engaged. I continued to the target and bombed it. Huskisson failed to release his bomb load. “A” flight followed up and nailed the target well. We returned to base un-molested having completed a successful run. I had a talk with Huskisson and he indicated that his bomb release malfunctioned and he couldn’t release his load. It had him a little worried upon landing at the base for fear of the bombs coming loose.

YouTube Video:


10 Aug 1916 @ 14h30 Artillery spotting south of Nieuport

I lead the flight with Hervey, Booker and Shook. Parsons of “A” flight followed.
We had heavy strato-cumulus cover between 5000 to 8000 ft with scattered cumulous above 8000. I thought the mission would be a washout but things cleared up as we approached the lines. We circled the spotting area and I noted three enemy craft far below circling but they finally broke for home leaving one straggler. I took care of him after a chase into no-mans land. I circled back and we formed up but not before Booker had sent 4 more EIII’s scurrying home. We headed back to base and all landed safely.
Hervey confirmed my kill as he was my wing with me at the time. My kill was confirmed before days end by the front line troops. Turns out it was Adolph Bottler a german ace.

YouTube Video:

Seems everyone is shooting poor Vizeflugmeister Bottler down.
He wasn't even an ace though, with "only" 3 confirmed and one unconfirmed kills.
(He shot down 1 Sopwith Triplane, 1 DH.4 and 1 Sopwith Camel)

Na, its no mistake.

This is the problem facing training campaign as a french pilot. There is no two seater escadrille until december 1916.
Accordingly to the rules, you have to take the training campaign. But Trainingflights are not recorded as missions. you just get the hours credited.
After training, I have flown my first mission yesterday for the esc americaine(Laf. This is the first reported.

You can see my logbook here:
Johnsons Logbook

Hope this clarifies