homepage Forums Air Combat & Civil Aviation Wings: Over Flanders Fields DiD Centenary Challenge

Are you guys dive bombing or level bombing. If level, are you using the F6 view or just winging it?

Thanks! rr

I've been level bombing in the Aviatik BI. Experimenting in QC I think I should be able to get decent results from 1000 meters by looking through the hole in the floor.
In practice I haven't hit anything outside of QC but I've only had 2 bombing missions yet. Dive bombing probably wouldn't help as I have the observer blocking my forward view anyway.

Yeah, Alvin is flying with Rex Warneford in 1 Naval Wing (which will become 1 Sqdn RNAS in August) - Reading up on Rex, he was very interesting. I think Alvin will have some thoughts on Rex in Wednesday's letter home.

Deadline:

Hm. I hadn't really thought of it. Let's go for Sundays at 5 PM UTC

Kuroken, my pilot is also in 1 RNAS and I was wondering if you would mind if I start including him in my reports. I thought it might be kind of cool.

Salute

Alfred has been a bit buisy but having fun.

By all means. Alvin is not exactly a friendly kind of guy, and tends to shy away from close personal contacts, but use him as you like. Probably won't be much to say about him unless he a) does something heroic (unlikely) or b) is killed by his BE2 well before the first E I hits the sky (more likely).

Ken

Lederhosen: Very nice post! I like the 'chalkboard' graphic!

The flare picture looks like someone's shooting at you with a laser from above.

me too

Ken, Arthur was thinking maybe Alvin can introduce him to Alice sometime. I still haven't decided how I want to portray Arthur. I'm so busy with trying to create a story for Abner my '17 DID pilot that I haven't been able to come up with anything for Arthur.

Liedenbrock and Kampe were sent up to spot for artillery near Ypres. They had reached the target area and signalled for the first battery to fire when Liedenbrock noticed a change in the engine noise.

A few circles were made, with Kampe noting the shell bursts and dropping corrections to the artillery below. The engine became far hoarser and Kampe looked at Liedenbrock. Axel shook his head and pointed down. Kampe agreed and dropped a final note to the artillery commander explaining their trouble. Axel determined to head for Menen as it was the nearest airfield.

About 10 kilometers from the aerodrome, the engine clattered to a stop the propeller began to slow.
Axel hoped that they had enough height to reach the airfield. They did not. Liedenbrock put the Aviatik down safely, but only narrowly missed a fence. The aerodrome was only across the far side of the next field. Axel got out and went to get assistance while Kampe waited with the machine.



Liedenbrock returned with men from the aerodrome to bring the Aviatik in. While they did so, Kampe walked ahead and telephoned Phalempin. Ritter and Henke were sent out to complete the shoot while Liedenbrock and Kampe got "number 3" in order. It turned out that a seal on the carburetter had failed, thinning out the mixture with extra air until the engine choked out. With a replacement seal the Mercedes engine came back to life.


That afternoon, Steinborn ordered them to bomb enemy trenches near Fricourt. Liedenbrock and Kampe took off with Bruechner and Henke in 'number four' behind them. After twenty minutes in the air, Bruechner turned back for home. Liedenbrock dropped his bombs at the prescribed location, but could not discern if the two 5 kilogram bombs had acheived anything at all compared to the artillery bombardment that was also taking place.

On the return to Phalempin it was getting dark. A pile of debris was on the field, but there was space to land. Apparently Breuchner's landing had been heavy and a bomb had detonated. The two airmen were dead. Liedenbrock never saw the bodies. Probably for the best.

I enlisted " Akin Daniels " in the 3RFC at Abeele on Feb 8th as a Sergeant.

I sure hope I do not shoot down my self some mission. This should be great fun to see I do fighting on both sides.

Report on Sunday. Is about 10 pm Mt. Standard time ( Colorado ) OK , or do I need to report at an earler time?

That would work - Alice is quite the little trollop who loves her some airmen.

Of course, I don't know what will happen with her budding romance with cousin Ambrose's buddy, Greg Ryan - with any luck Ryan will die, embittering Alice and leading her to a "live for today" lifestyle. If not, they'll just have to break up. These things happen in war....

Arnold has flown two recce missions from Colmar, one northwest towards St. Die and the other southeast over the front lines. No enemy aircraft encountered and all craft made it back home safely. A couple pics of the nice flying weather.





Time advanced a couple of days after his last flight.

Sorry i cant join this Extraordinary challenge as work commitments keep me busy but WOW......Im loving the stories ,screenshots,reports etc..great great work fellas

Scoring question. I just completed a bombing mission with my German pilot. The debrief says I had two "hits" . Is that 2 points? I have no idea who hit what on a bombing mission.

Having fun Gents. A tip of my "old hat" to OldHat and CatKnight,

Sgt, Almost There
2 Sqn, Rfc
Flanders


9 June 1915.


Assigned to Two flights today both short hops near Loos.

Recon: Clouds over target area (Troops) so dropped down to 1000 meters then home. On Landing, the # 4 Be2 . Pranged on the field and should be down for a few days with Heavy damage. 3

Afternoon: The flight went back to the same spot and dropped bombs from our 3 a/c some said there was a little damage but HQ Army is not happy.

2


image search

Diary entry from Sgt Alfred Eagles, 4 Sqn RFC:




8 June 1917

Off to the great adventure! Quick brekkies of eggs and toast and out to the old BE with Captain Nash. We took off from Biggin Hill just after six and made course for Dover, where we turned southeast for the French coast. After about a half hour we spotted the curve in the coastline between Boulogne and Calais -- we'd veered a little west of our intended landfall.

Just as we crossed the coast, the engine began making odd noises. I turned east along the coast and searched for an airfield but saw nothing. The banging and thumping from the engine grew louder so I switched off and landed on the coast road. We phoned to St Omer and were ordered to make for the emergency field at St-Inglevert, which was only about three miles off. A maintenance team would recover the BE and bring it there for repair. It looks like we may be on our own for two or three days until a new engine can be fitted.

The field at St-Inglevert is under the command of a Flight Lieutenant and houses only a few mechanics and administrative rankers. The head man there had no accommodation for us so we got a tender to drive us to Calais and took rooms in the Terminus Hotel. I am trusting the RFC to pay for our lodging, as I shall be quick broke otherwise. In the meanwhile, we are both quite comfortable, but wish we were reunited with our trunks, which were sent to the squadron ahead of us.

Now to wait...

"The banging and thumping from the engine grew louder so I switched off and landed on the coast road."