Watch Your Six AAR
Mine Laying Support
2/5/10
REPORT FROM THE DESK OF LEUTNANT PIPPART,
COMMANDING KEK WERTZ
The wind blows bitter cold across the Zeebrug Mole in these late days of winter. The is particularly so when we conduct a final farewell to a fallen comrade who's body has been swallowed by the north sea.
Two days ago KEK Wertz was ordered to over fly a destroyer flotilla laying mines off the Belgian Coast. Our intelligence has warned of an impending bombardment of the Mole by British monitors. Belts of mines are being laid to discourage or prevent such an occurrence.
Shortly after we left the airfield Laraud and then Jacobs turned back with engine trouble. Laraud is a fine pilot with a good record. Jacobs, on the other hand, seems to have nothing but mechanical problems every time he goes out. He blames his troubles on bad gas, incompetent mechanics, and poor quality engine parts. Each and every time we investigate it seems there may be some merit to his claims but no one has the continual misfortunes that Jacobs seems to experience. Further, more and more there have been suggestions that perhaps Jacobs is the cause of these problems. I'm beginning to question this man's integrity and courage.
The departure of these two aircraft left four Albatros D.IIIs in our flight. The first thirty minutes of this patrol were uneventful with the destroyer making about 30 knots as they headed to the area where they would begin laying their mines. Normally a warship has little to fear from aircraft but a destroyer with it's deck covered with mines is extremely vulnerable. Even a single bomb can set off a series of explosions that could cripple or sink the mine laying destroyer.
Our solitude in the air was not to last. First one and then a number of black dots began dancing on the western horizon heralding the arrival of enemy aircraft. I lead my formation directly at the intruders keeping to 10,000 feet. As we closed, a flight of three Sopwith Pups situated over a single low flying Sopwith Strutter came into view. The Pups were situated in a position that would allow them to intervene with considerable advantage if my flight were to engage the Strutter. The enemy would dictate my next course of action as our two flights approached head on.
Horsa (a very talented but impetuous pilot) and one of the Pups approached nearly head on. Each was blazing away while throwing their machines around in an effort to avoid the fire of the other. That Pup did not appear to suffer any appreciable damage but Hengst's aircraft entered a shallow dive and went rocketing off to the north, apparently out of control.
Our civilian trained pilot, Wirtz, went head to head with the Pup flight leader. Wirtz was never much of a pilot and lacked the skills and talent of someone like Hengst. In his encounter his engine suffered considerable damage. For some time thereafter his aircraft proceeded north on a level course before eventually turning back for the Belgian Coast. Wirtz' failure to turn back sooner would cost him his life.
Hengst's (a very good talented pilot) aircraft spared with the remaining Pup but neither aircraft could gain much advantage and the Pup broke off soon there after to escort the Strutter.
For my part, I (Pippart is the KEK commander noted for his shooting ability -- his flying is nothing special) had lined up a shot at the Pup flight leader but had to hold my fire to avoid a collision with Wirtz. By the time Wirtz flew over the enemy aircraft I was unable to bring my guns to bear. That and I had detected yet another Allied aircraft – a rather familiar looking Sopwith Triplane!
This particular Triplane is well known to my unit. It sports a Lewis gun on the top wing. The pilot is very good and has accounted for more than a few German airmen. The question was, "what was he doing out here all alone?" Well this new threat could not be ignored, especially if there was an entire squadron of Triplanes lurking in the clouds!
With my formation scattered to the four winds, I reversed course in my Albatros and went to investigate the lone triplane. As I scanned the evening skies carefully I could see no other aircraft abroad at that time. Unless they were well hidden in the setting sun, there were no other Allied aircraft in the area.
The Triplane closed aggressively. I took care to keep him on my left as he approached. I was still at about 10,000 feet when I first clashed with the Triplane. Under these circumstances, the Triplane was probably marginally better than my Albatros but I was the better pilot. As we spiraled down, I managed to loose a burst that seemed to catch his left wing. Unexpectedly the Triplane broke off the dogfight and abruptly turned to the north. At the time my own heading was south and there was no opportunity for me to follow my nimble opponent.
Looking around, I noted Horsa was no more than a black spot on the horizon Wirtz had managed to turn his aircraft about but his engine had stopped and he was losing altitude quickly. Only Hengst was still in the fight – shadowing the trio of Pups and the Strutter.
There was nothing we could do to stop the Strutter from bombing one of our destroyers. Fortunately the Strutter must have been feeling a bit nervous as he released his bombs from about 4,000 feet. Hitting a destroyer doing 30 knots and executing evasive maneuvers is not easy when you are very low. At 4,000 feet it would take a miracle to make such a hit. It came as no surprise when the bombs plopped harmlessly into the sea.
Then the Triplane attacked Hengst. The two were involved in a two plane duel stunting and spinning as each tried to gain an advantage. This time the Triplane was more successful and put several bullets through Hengst's radiator. Hengst attempted to return fire only to see his guns jam before he could begin to score on his opponent.
Both Horsa and myself were closing on this combat when Hengst surprised us all by rapidly climbing. This move was not anticipated by the Triplane who had actually dived and spun about looking to place himself on Hengst's tail.
At this point in the fight, the Triplane could have broken off and joined with the Pup formation. Instead he turned away and began a pursuit of Hengst's wounded Albatross. This move not only separated him from potential support but it also quickly brought him into contact with Horsa's Albatros.
Horsa is a talented but poorly disciplined flyer. The Triplane pilot had little trouble avoiding the Horsa's guns but in so doing repeatedly lost altitude . It was becoming obvious that the Triplane's pilot was intent on bringing down Hengst. During these maneuvers, I steadily closed on the Britisher.
Horsa engaged in a number of extremely difficult aerobatic maneuvers which pressured the Triplane considerably. To counter the Triplane performed his own aerobatic maneuvers which left him just a few feet over the waves of the north sea when he finished.
It was at this moment I finally closed with the Triplane, once more! I delivered a short burst at a deflection angle. It wasn't much of a shot and really wasn't a very good shot, but it was enough. The Triplane's pilot spun out of control for just an instant, dipped his left wing into the surging seas, and went cartwheeling along the ocean surface as his plane disintegrated around him!
In an hour I am to report for a special recognition ceremony. The triplane was my 5th confirmed kill. I must admit, I care little for these events but this has been a long war and there is no end in sight. I suppose awards such as this give the men something to celebrate or perhaps to which they might aspire. My mind will be occupied by the letter I must right to Wirtz' family.
ANALYSIS:
You don't always get to the engagement with your entire flight. In this game the Brits saw 5 or 6 aircraft develop engine trouble and the Germans lost a couple. The Naval 10 (Sopwith Triplanes) could only deliver a single aircraft while the bombing squadron was similarly affected.
If you are able to scatter your opposition and dominate a particular area on the table, you can generally achieve a degree of success in Watch Your Six! In this game, neither side broke formation until they were right on top of each other. In this case a flight of three Pups came out on top when going head to head with four Albatros D.IIIs. The Pups accomplished this by utilizing their maneuverability to offset the better German fire power. To make matters worse, Horsa browned out as a result of his defensive maneuvering (a very rare event – never happened before). With Wirtz effectively out of the fight and Horsa temporarily incapacitated, that left just a pair of Albatri to oppose four British Scouts. Given the altitude differences and numbers there was nothing the Germans could do about the bomber except hope for a good outcome.
The Sopwith Triplane mounted a second gun over and above the usual armament. This reduced the maneuverability of this aircraft. The Brit Player (John) has his best pilot fly this plane. His thinking is the better pilot will offset the reduced maneuverability of the two-gun triplane – generally true.
Pippart stayed on the left side of the Triplane making it even more difficult for the Triplane to gain any advantage. Despite a slight net advantage to the Triplane, Pippart's luck held and he managed to get a short burst into the Triplane as the two spiraled down in a individual duel. Pippart, if nothing else is a great shot and managed to damage the Triplane just enough to tip the net balance to his favor. But, before Pippart could take advantage of the situation, the Triplane broke away and went seeking easier prey.
This presented in the form of Hengst. Hengst is not the pilot that Pippart is and the Triplane was able to take advantage of this situation to riddle the engine and radiator of the Albatros.
It was at this juncture – for at least a couple of turns, the Triplane could have easily broken off and escaped. Both times the Triplane hung around attempting to evade Horsa while getting in that one killing burst into Hengst. All this maneuvering left the Albatri grasping at air but also cost the Triplane a great deal of altitude and momentum.
When the end came Horsa had pinned the Triplane on the surface of the ocean just as Pippart arrived to deal the killing blow. Being so close too the surface the Triplane was unable to recover and went spinning into the waves!
The only other thing of interest from this game is how you can use historical tactics in Watch Your Six to get historical results. I've been using some basic Kette tactics the last 6 games. Part of these require one aircraft stays on overwatch while the other aircraft protect and set up the flight leader. Pippart now has 5 confirmed victories – none of my other pilots have managed to score. I suspect this may change in future games as my opponents come to realize that it may be better to take your chances with lesser pilots than to wind up on the end of Pippart's burst into your tail (well all of Pippart's victories have come off of deflection shots but I can hope for a better shot in the future!).
mjc
