Today I bring you something new, at least for me, a two-seater. I will be flying my favorite Sopwith Camel flown by Belgin Jan Olieslager and I will be going up against an Albatros D.III that was flown by German Emil Meinecke with an unnamed ally in the back seat. This will be my first battle against a two-seater plane that will fire at me if I get behind it to line up the perfect shot, get ready for some excitement.
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| Jan Olieslager |
As I already mentioned I will be piloting the Sopwith Camel while the Albatros D.III will be flown using the solo rules developed by Herkybird of the Tyneside Wargamers website. I will be using all of the optional rules in the rulebook except for the height rules which I'm not a big fan, but in the future, I may reintroduce height.
After a quiet patrol, Jan Olieslager is ready to turn his crate around and head back to his aerodrome when out of the corner of his eye he spots a lone Albatros D.III and sets off towards him. The two planes close head-on and fire at each other at short range. The Sopwith Camel takes 4 damage while the Albatros D.III takes 6 damage.
The Camel pulls a hard right and is able to get behind the Albatros to line up a perfect shot but due to the Albatros D.III being a two-seater the rear gunner gets a shot off at the Camel. Olieslager fires into the fuselage causing 2 more damage to the Albatros. The rear gunner in the Albatros lines up a shot but is unable to fire because if he fired he'd shot the tail of his own plane so he has to hold his fire.
Sopwith Camel 4 Damage
Albatros D.III 8 Damage
The Camel pulls an Immelmann turn while the Albatros turns left in the hopes of reengaging their enemy. The two planes end up going at each other head-on again and both pilots fire at their enemy at short range. The Sopwith Camel fires and causes 0 damage as his machine guns jam. The Albatros pilot fires hitting the Camel doing 2 Damage.
Sopwith Camel 6 Damage + Gun Jammed
Albatros D.III 8 Damage
Both planes swing around and come at each other for a third pass. Unfortunately for both pilots they just miss getting a shot off at each other as they nearly crash above the trenches.
Olieslager throws his plane into an Immelmann turn to get behind the Albatros but Meinecke pulls the exact maneuver and both planes come at each other for a fourth time in this dogfight. Both pilots fire with the Camel taking 3 Damage while the Albatros takes a further 4 damage.
Sopwith Camel 9 Damage
Albatros D.III 12 Damage
The Camel pulls a hard right turn while the Albatros turns left and gets behind the Camel but is too far away for a shot.
The Camel goes into another Immelmann turn and gets pointed toward the Albatros. Both planes close on each other but neither pilot can get their guns aimed at their opponent including the rear gunner in the Albatros. Both planes turn right and continue the dance in the sky.
The two planes continue trying to get a shot off at their opponent but both continue to miss and pass each other so the two pilots both pull Immelmanns and Olieslager finally lines up a long-range flank shot to the Albatros's left side and fires his guns causing 3 Damage which causes the Albatros to crash for a victory for Jan Olieslager and his Sopwith Camel.
I had fun in this dogfight and it was interesting going up against a plane that can fire from both the front and rear arc. In the dogfights I've flown I think I've gotten pretty good at getting behind my opponent to do some damage but when the enemy can fire behind it adds a great new element and I'm looking forward to piloting a plane with a rear gunner. At this point, I think I'm pretty comfortable with the rules and the planes that I've purchased so I'm interested in starting a campaign. I will still fly one-off dogfights to try out new planes or maneuvers but look forward to a campaign in the coming weeks. See you then!
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