Algy Zooms

Settle down chaps, 

Smoke if you wish, I am on Turkish purple tips.  Lucky to get 'em.  It's the railway yards at Courtrai again.  One of you must take a BE2 over there and get a photo of the Hun munitions build up.  The others have to protect him.  

Settle down now...  a simple escort.  We will kick off at 0900 after breakfast, wouldn't do not to be predictable...  Army Intelligence indicates that the Pumphosen Staffel has moved into the Jabbecke area, lead by the Baron himself.  Take them on.

Mine Herren,

Champagne if you wish.  The Englanders are having a build up over the Somme.  We are moving munitions into Courtrai.  They will be sending a photo reconnaissance patrol over at 9am.  Bring them down.  

I give you the hunt gentlemen!

You have a choice of aircraft: 

DH2	Fokker Eindekker
FBE2*	Roland C10
BE2	Rumpler B1
Sopwith Pup	Albatross D II

I`m not keen on these beasts in 1:144.  They are huge and unwieldly.  

Note there is a mistake on the size  rating of the DH2.  I reckon it to be a 2 not a 4 and play it accordingly. 
 

The Bullingden Boys cross the Lines.
(One band too high for that type of aircraft)

DH2	Fokker Eindekker
FBE2	Roland C10
BE2	Rumpler B1
Sopwith Pup	Albatros DII

Not available for this game are my Armée de l'Air, Nieuport 11 and 17.

A Squadron Forward example of pilot generation from my German Staffel

Eindekker A1

Major, the Baron, Manfred von Pumphosen
Ace, Aristocrat, Jovial, Popular.
Interests.  Gluttony
Special Skill Leadership
*(Aircraft A1 has the new twin Spandau configuration that all Eindeckkers are to be converted to in the near future.)

Eindekker A2 (Parabellum machine gun)
Lt. Max Todtraum
Cunning, popular
Supports the Kaiser
Up from the ranks
 
Roland C10
OberLeutnant Fitz Sexpest
Fanatic, Revenge
Up from the ranks
Special Skill Crack shot
 
Rumpler B1
Lt Hans Untergloves
Inept, Religious
Up from the ranks
 

My own campaign has thrown light onto the otherwise unknown career of Lt. Maurice Le Coc of the Armée de l'Air goes head to head with the Blue Rumpler, the Somme 1916.
Some call him the French Cowboy, some call him the hamster of love, we call him Maurice!

Whilst acknowledging his superior pilot skills Capitaine Le Coq's fitness report in 1916 showed that, in his Commanding Officer's opinion, Maurice was "Lovey Dovey, Lovely Dovey all the time," and only sought to enjoy a "good time..."

Lt Kenny Clarke RNAS in his Sopwith Pup.  A well armed aircraft, fast enough to match the Eindekker.  Note that I use a red dice to track ammunition use.  This saves paperwork.  You get  bursts of two points.  A Pup carries only three drums for the Lewis. 

So my (Original) Algy games use a micro dice to track ammo use. According to the sources typical burst would be recommended as dozen rounds.  A Lewis drum holds 47.  I take this to mean three bursts before its time to change the drum, using one dice pip for each dice rolled.  The German Parabellum and Spandaus have six bursts to play with. 

I also roll the d4 variation in speed at the end of the move.  This prevents me knowing exactly which hex I will end up in.  Aces still choose the 1-4 addition.  These aircraft had no speedometers or real aerodynamics and frequently overshot a target.  This prevents the game becoming a chess board fixed move contest and adds in some randomness.

If an aircraft leaves the table don`t panic, my table is narrow but even W E Johns notes that a dogfight suddenly spread out leaving pilots in individual battles.  Pilots who fly off table may rejoin on the same edge, on the side f the lines they exited on, after missing a turn, or choose to return to the aerodrome honour intact, but only if on their own side of the lines!

Archie.  Over the lines planes are targeted by Archie being vulnerable at lower height.  Don`t roll an 11 or 12 within three hexes of the lines..

My variation on height bands.  A plane on my table may shoot up or down one level, counting that as an extra hex.  To get on the tail you have to be on the same level however.

Some additional points relevant to my aircraft types.
Pushers fire in an arc to the front, but the FE2B can also shoot behind with an over wing Lewis gun mounted to fire rearwards with the observer standing on his seat to do so.  It`s just a pig of an aircraft on my table due to the model size.

My mix of aircraft reflects the situation from May 1916, as the RFC had effectively won over the "Fokker scourge" period, in large part due to Lanoe Hawker and his DH2 squadron and the tactics he championed, and the morale blow the loss of Immelmann gave to the Fliegertruppen. (known after October 1916 as Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte)  The Germans however have a new scout aircraft, the Albatros DII which slowly comes to dominate the air over the Somme with its twin spandaus.

The Game

 I'm looking at a "winner stays on" style of game.  Players who are shot down will come back over the lines in another aircraft, but joining the other side. 

The Germans have no sitting duck aircraft, they arecall reasonably effective, and their scouts seriously so, which means that in the event of an odd number of players the RFC will have the additional pilot.  I have multiples of all aircraft except the Pup and the Roland so it should be possible, to prevent shot down players sitting out with nothing to do.  Eventually one team will outnumber the other side and win the game.

Few 1916 squadrons flew just one type of aircraft.  This gives 1916 games a nice mix of types, and missions.

DH2

 

Fokker Eindekker

FBE2

 

Roland C10

 

BE2

 

Rumpler B1

 

Sopwith Pup

 

Albatros DII