1917 Algy goes balloon busting

At last year's Border Reiver show in Gateshead I bought in some 1:600 WW1 aircraft from Tumbling Dice.  These fit my ethos about ease of storage really well, but it's taken me 12 months to get them painted... Just in time for the next show!

I "invested" in a spread of 1917/18 planes, intending to form a DH2 squadron, a Camel squadron and a German Circus type Jasta.  Trouble is I didn`t get enough hex bases, so at the moment I have 20 planes for each side but only half a dozen bases apiece...

The rules I'm intending to use are the Toofatlardies "Algernon pull it off," and the fledgling idea behind the game is to follow the fortunes of the 1917 class of sprogs from the University of North Durham.

In a mechanism similar to the role playing game Traveller my recruits must survive Flight Training school tables before being posted to the Squadron.  Several have failed to make it already.

The first 29 Squadron RFC volunteers from the North Durham University Boisterous Student's Society are:

"Jacko" Black  Society President
"The Badger" Brown
Bumfluff Farthingdale
Bertie Farthingdale
Sticky Lyle
Whizzer Wilson
Gubber Gosling
Drippy Dawson Tate

"A" Flight St Mont, France 1917
Lt Black
2nd Lt B. U. Farthingdale
2nd Lt B.T. Farthingdale
2nd Lt Lyle
2nd Lt Gosling
 
DH2 pusher pilot 2nd LT Dawson-Tate


The Camels are Coming; scenario cards (shown on the map)

Plus 6 plot cards
1.  Quiggles and the Kraut Countess
2.  Bertie between the lines
3.  Ginger gets lost
4.  Colonel Raymond's gin supplies
5.  Algy takes it rough
6.  His bottle is gone!

The Scenario was balloon busting.  The RFC would be able to put up 5 Camels and a DH2.  It's Drippy in the DH2 that has the mission to bust the two balloons.   The Germans have four Albatros and two Fokker Triplanes up guarding the balloons.

The Camels.  Cloud is at level 7 so our operational height is level 6 today.

Drippy aims his pusher at the balloons

Leo Pumpernickel and his German American mate from Jasta 7

Albatros from Jasta 3

The forces close in

A melee breaks out

Drippy gets his balloon and turns to run, an Albatros on his tail

Two Albatros are down

Oh that's got to hurt!!!

The Yankee Otto, the German Fokker pilot downs poor Drippy, but our hero walks away from the crash

Bumfluff goes for the second balloon, and drops it, as the Germans bug out

Yankee Otto in his red white and blue triplane shoots Sticky Lyle down, in a fluke long distance burst as he turns for home at Bellevue.  I have a new German anti hero it seems!

The Four remaining camels turn for home.  Poor Sticky will be missed in the mess!

The Roll of Honour:
1917  Cadet Whizzer Wilson.  Crashed a Shorthorn basic training.
1917  2nd Lt  "The Badger" Brown.  Pranged a FB2 in Fighter School.
1917  2nd Lt "Sticky" Lyle.     Shot down whilst balloon busting.