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Thursday, December 2, 2021

von Freitag Gets Kill #6!

For Tuesday's weekly remote game, Richard hosted a return to the skies over the war-torn landscapes of WWI.  Once again, I reprise my role as Ace Rittmeister von Freitag as the outnumbered German patrol attempts to intercept a larger British sortie.  Rumors quickly drift down to German command that a flight of four allied aircraft are flying over German lines.  The mission seems to be focused on the rescue of downed Allied pilots, lost in previous missions.  Regardless of the allied mission, the German mission is to stop these intruders.  As von Freitag lifts off from the airfield in his DR1 Triplane with his two wingmen flying DV Albatrosses, let's see how the action unfolds.

With a flight of four Allied aircraft coming into view, von Freitag's squadron prepares for action.  The enemy are flying a pup, a camel, and two strutter two-seaters.  On the ground, can be seen two planes.  German infantry are advancing toward these aircraft.  
Von Freitag pounces upon the pup as the enemy plane banks hard left to evade the German squadron.  The triplane puts a burst into the pup as tracers fly into the wing.
The pup tries to evade but the triplane keeps the pup in its gunsights.  Another burst goes into the enemy plane.  The two strutters are beginning a slow descending circle over the downed aircraft.  A flare goes up signaling the location of the downed enemy pilot. The two Albatrosses close in on the strutters and deliver a few long range bursts.  Neither strutter is carrying an observer!  This must be a rescue mission.  
While the two strutters fly in tandem, both descend to a very low level.  Are they planning to land?  The pup cannot shake von Freitag and the German ace puts two more bursts into the pup.  The pup's wing disintegrates and the plane crashes to earth.  Kill #6 for von Freitag!  
Seeing the enemy go down, Freitag sets his sight on the camel in the distance.  Let the wingmen take care of the strutters, the ace goes after the camel.  On the horizon, another pup is seen approaching the dogfight as the strutters prepare to set down in the field.
As the triplane swings around to get into a tailing position on the camel, the pup dives onto the triplane and sends a long burst into the ace's craft.  Structurally weakened from enemy fire, the ace watches helplessly as a freak accident causes the upper wing on his triplane to bend and then tear away.  My God! The upper wing is gone!   
With the pup still on his tail, the hunter has become the hunted!  Is this effort focused on avenging the death of his comrade?
With both the camel and pup on his tail, von Freitag skirts the mountain and comes up behind the strutters as they lift off.  The observer seats are now occupied in both crafts and they begin manning their guns.  This is a congested and complicated situation.  Where are Freitag's wingmen?
Flying passed the two strutters, the ace puts himself into a dangerous position.  Both strutters are pouring bursts into the triplane.  Besides missing the upper wing, the ace's airplane is taking a lot of damage.   
Von Freitag banks hard left hoping to evade his pursuers.  The ploy works!  The strutters break off and head toward allied lines. 
Unfortunately, not before the allies manage to force both albatrosses down to the ground.  Von Freitag limps back toward base while his wingmen have successfully set their planes down without serious injuries to themselves.

The Germans picked up two kills but this was another hard day at the office, for sure.   

Friday sees another playtest of Rein-Bow Warriors with the Egyptians and Hittites locking horns once again.

44 comments:

  1. Very cool, Jonathan. I love biplane and triplane wargames. I hope you were put in for the Blue Max.

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    1. Thanks, Dean! For Blue Max, I need two more victories. With good fortune, Rittmeister von Freitag will one day receive this award. With seven airplanes, this battle was great fun and very dangerous.

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  2. Challenging sortie! I do like me a Sopwith Camel, reminds me of the Biggles novels I read as a lad.

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    1. Challenging, for sure, and magnified by the number of aircraft whizzing around. Good fun, though!

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  3. Good story, well told. Does the remote aspect of the gaming add to the sense of you not being 100% sure is happening and why?

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    1. Thank you, Norm!

      Playing 3D aerial combat remotely does add some uncertainty to the game. Many times, one is unsure of relative altitudes, firing arcs and headings.

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  4. Doh - should be ‘sure of what is happening’!

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  5. Well done to our man Freitag on getting another kill! A great looking game as always and you really get the impression of a confused aerial battle, which is good.

    In the first photo, our Rittmeister appears missing from his plane. I know this was remote gaming, but ... ;). I'm pretty sure this is a model I have but need to put a Peter Pig pilot in it before I get round to painting it.

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    1. Yes, this was a hazardous encounter. Four kills were scored in this action, more than we have seen of recent memory.

      The first photo of the pilotless triplane is one of my models. I did not know PP made pilots. I must look into that! Thank you!

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  6. A close thing for Von Freitag this time… will his luck hold?

    All the best. Aly

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  7. Just posted my account over on Wargaming for Grown Ups blog. Keeping track of everything going on isn't easy. Yes, this wing man went after the Strutters, and ripped lumps out of both of them, despite them being flown by Ian "lucky" Lowell. Flying close to the ground to attack them was a hairy business.

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    1. You are right in that it is difficult to follow and absorb all of the action across the board. Keeping your own aircraft aloft requires some concentration. I landed a few bursts into those strutters too but not enough to knock them down. Ian "Lucky" Lowell is an apt nickname. I do not want Ian on my tail; nor Phil...

      I was wondering if you might try a "touch and go" when the strutters were on the ground and strafe them as you passed.

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    2. I did strafe one of them on the ground. Do you not remember the discussion about which was white and which was blue before I opened fire? I couldn't turn and get on the other before they took off again.

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    3. Yes, I remember your low-level pass, strafing run. I did not recall you actually touching ground and taking off again.

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  8. Von Freitag came close to disaster on this outing Jon....can he survive much longer? Even his great rival, the egomaniac Red Baron, came a cropper in the end!

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    1. Keith, my plane was shot up and the little triplane cannot take a lot of punishment. I am learning how to fly the nimble gnat, though. I hope my luck holds.

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  9. Those are rather spiffy - what size are the planes?

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  10. Rather nice but I’m not sure it would be my first choice for remote gaming, good if it works though 👍

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    1. Matt, WWI dogfighting works quite well in a remote setting. The play adds just enough uncertainty to make the game challenging and interesting.

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  11. One can't beat a bit of wood, string and fabric action.

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    1. So true, Phil, so true. It is a good, light-hearted action that all can enjoy.

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    1. Indeed! There was a lot of jousting for position.

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  13. That looks like a lot of fun. What are the chances of a triplane losing its top wing, and does it officially become a bi-plane after an incident like that?

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    1. Lawrence, the game was a lot of fun and dangerous too. Some very tense moments in this one.

      The event of losing the top wing was a result of the umpire dropping the plane from its stand and falling onto the table. This event is not in the rules...

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  14. A lovely looking game Jonathan and a period I'm interested in trying someday.

    Christopher

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    1. WWI aerial combat is a light game perfectly suited to large groups and few models. Give it a try!

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  15. Fun to see the tri and Bi planes in action. Herr Freitag sounds formidable.

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    1. They are fun, Joe! Herr Freitag had a tough scrap this time out.

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  16. Nice job! You were lucky that your plane came with that spare wing. 😀
    How detailed were these rules? We’re you flying multiple planes or just the one?

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    1. Well, for the Baron, it was a near run thing.

      The rules are simple and easy to put into practice. With a seasoned umpire (the author), games speed along at a comfortable pace. We each typically fly one aircraft only.

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  17. Lovely entertaining, if bruising encounter!
    Best Iain

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  18. I seem to recall von Richtofen had his picture taken before leaving on his last mission. From then on it was considered bad luck. So beware the paparazzi I say!

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