Friday, October 2, 2020

Wings Of Glory Dogfight (Airco DH4 vs Roland C.IIA) AAR #8

After my last dogfight when I went up against a two-seater I decided I wanted to flight sortie behind the stick of one so I picked my new American Airco DH4 that I got in the other day I will be flying against an even newer plane, a German Roland C.IIA which will be flying using the solo rules developed by Herkybird of the Tyneside Wargamers website.

The flight begins for the Airco DH4 over the top of the trenches. On the horizon, the pilot spots a German two-seater. The German pilot also sees the DH4 and both pilots turn towards each other. The pilots line up their opponent in their sights and fire. Both planes are hit and take 2 damage each.


Airco DH4 2 Damage
Roland C.IIA 2 Damage

As the planes pass each other the Airco turns left while the Roland continues forward. The two rear gunners both get off a long-range shot at their enemy. The Airco narrowly avoid being hit while the Roland is hit on its tail and takes 1 Damage.


Airco DH4 2 Damage
Roland C.IIA 3 Damage

The Airco continues with its left turn while the Roland begins his own left-hand turn. As the Airco ends its left turn it's in a perfect flanking position against the Roland. The Airco pilot fires his machine gun hitting the fuselage and causing 4 Damage. The rear gunner in the Roland takes his revenge out on the Airco with his machine gun and causes 3 Damage to the Airco.


Airco DH4  5 Damage
Roland C.IIA  7 Damage

As the Roland passes the Airco on the left the Airco pilot turns left in pursuit. The Airco pilot has a short-range shot on the left flank of the Roland. The Airco's machine guns sing and cause 1 Damage to the Roland. The rear gunner in the Roland also fires at the Airco causing 2 Damage.


Airco DH4  7 Damage
Roland C.IIA 8 Damage

The Roland flies past while the Airco pilot turns left in an attempt to get on the tail of Roland. The Roland is just outside the firing arc of the Airco but the rear gunner has a shot and fires his guns and causes 2 Damage to the Airco but the rear gunner of the Roland has his machine guns jam.


Airco DH4      9 Damage
Roland C.IIA  8 Damage

The Roland disengages from the Airco but the Airco rear gunner will have none of it and takes a pot shot at the Roland and hits but causes 0 Damage. The Roland rear gunner is too busy trying to get his machine gun unjammed and has no shot this round.


The Airco pilot turns left towards the Roland while the Roland pilot turns right towards the Airco. The pilot fires his machine gun at the Roland as he closes and causes 1 Damage.


Airco DH4      9 Damage
Roland C.IIA  9 Damage

The Airco overshoots the Roland and flies past on the right side. The Airco rear gunner has a clean shot of the Roland and fires causing 1 Damage. The rear gunner of the Roland finally has his gun unjammed and fires at short range at the Airco causing 1 Damage and sets the plane on fire!


Airco DH4      10 Damage + On Fire
Roland C.IIA  10 Damage

With the Airco on fire, the pilot puts the plane into a left and turn while the turns right in an attempt to get on the six of the Airco. The Airco is too busy to fire at the Roland but the Roland's pilot has no issue and fires at the Airco causing 4 Damage.


Airco DH4      14 Damage + On Fire
Roland C.IIA  10 Damage

Time is about out for the Airco as the plane only has one damage point left. The pilot of the Airco turns left towards the Roland and fires one last shot at the Roland causing 3 Damage, so close but not enough to destroy the Roland. The Roland's pilot also fires at the Airco and hits causing 4 Damage and shoots down the Airco DH4 to win the dogfight.


This was a very good battle and I learned a lot. The biggest thing is with the Airco DH4 not being able to pull Immelmann turns which is my go-to move while dogfighting. Also, I found the DH4 being slowing than most scouts, particularly the Camel which I'm most familiar with. I also missed the very tight turns that planes like the Camel can make. I was really lucky that each damage card I pulled for the fire before each maneuver was a 0 which kept me in the air one more turn. If I had hit the Roland a little harder or if my plane didn't catch on fire I think I may have been able to pull out a win. Come back next week for another great battle in the skies over Europe.



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