cubancoverunner

Salute gentlemen! Since we have an open weekend between the end of Jasta 5's Black September Campaign and the start of the Flanders in Flames Campaign next weekend, we will feature a Vintage Mission Weekend for all those looking for action with missions all day Saturday and Sunday. Mission Schedule - #1 Saturday- 1600GMT - Battle of Sissone - November 1916 Intel report: Recent Intelligence reports indicate that the Germans might prepare a counter attack after our failed offensive. A lot of troop movements have been spotted just behind their lines. French escadrilles stationed at Bonnemaison Ferme are operating from forward airfields at Vauxcere and Maizy. In a desperate attempt to prevent an immedaite counter attack, the scouts are ordered to strafe the enemy transports. German HQ is anxious to know what the state is of the French defences therefore a photo recon mission has been requested. If the recon is succesful, German bombers are to attack targets behind the French lines. How to complete a recon sortie: Take the special recon plane (Recon Plane 1) and fly to one of the endpoints of the recon area at the designated height (see map). Follow subtitles. You must land at an active airfield. Mission objectives: -Entente forces will attack enemy transports, vehicles, and trains. -Central Forces will have to defend and recon the enemy lines. Weather report: 5/8 cloud cover at 1200m. Hazy. Wind is 3-5 meters per second, from the West. Mission #2 - Die Kaiserschlacht- March 29, 1918 Location: Front lines between Bapaume and Marchelepot, north of the Somme. Mission objectives: Each side will have 6 primary targets to destroy, indicated by a flag on the map. Before a target becomes active, it has to be reconnoitered by making 10 photographs. The flag will then turn red. When a primary target has been destroyed, the flag will be removed from the map. Secundary targets are any vehicle, trains or tanks and balloons in enemy territory. When 2 (more) enemy targets are destroyed, new airfields will be activated with different plane types. -For photo recon missions only the designated planes "Recon" can trigger the photo sequence! -Photo recons need to land safely at an active base to complete their mission! Winning conditions: Complete all six objectives first. Weather report: Overcast with light rain, ceiling at 2000m. Wind 3-4 m/s, from the North. Mission #3 - Armentieres - June 26, 1918 Location: Front lines south of Ypres, Flanders. Intel: This scenario is based on actual events as described by the Jasta 40 Ace Carl Degelow in the book "Black Fokker Leader". (Highly recommended first hand account) Mission objectives Allies: 29 Squadron has orders to bomb German artillery before starting their Offensive Patrol over the lines. 79 Squadon will fly top cover. The DH4's of 25 squadron have as their primary target Lomme airfield and as a secundary target the enemy artillery batteries. Central: Jasta 7 and 40 are ordered to intercept enemy aircraft crossing the lines as well as to protect their two-seaters. Schlasta 25 is ordered to attack ground targets of opportunity behind the lines. Weather report: Cloud base at 1400m. Wind 2 meters per second, from the South West. Sunday Mission Start - 1700 GMT Bombers Channel - Summer September, 1917 Bombing Channel targets Objectives: Destroy all targets, marked on the map by a RED flag. The side that destroys all targets first will win. Move over the target with the cursor to see a description of the target. Please note that the flag will disappear when the target(s) has been destroyed. Weather: Wind is moderate (2-3 m/s), blowing from the West. Cloud base around 1000m. Some turbulence at lower altitudes.

Greetings gentlemen! For this week's Vintage Mission will take us to the 30th of November, 1917. We will go down and dirty into the mud of the trenches for close ground support with the boys in the Battle of Cambrai. BATTLE OF CAMBRAI Date: 30.11.1917 Weather conditions: Overcast, wind direction 140 degrees, 3.5 m/s at ground Mission Duration: 9.00am-13.30pm The Germans reinforced Cambrai so rapidly that it became clear that it was possible to go over to the attack, the first attack made by the Germans on the Western Front since Verdun. A pincer mover was planned, with attacks from north and south driving to Metz to surround the British forces. The attack was to be led by the new 'stormtroopers,' and also by the CL-type aircraft, which were expected to provide more consistent support from the air than the unwieldy and unreliable British tanks had fom the ground. However, the northern pincer ran straight into the British artillery supporting the attack on Bourlon. Though the British had failed to progress through Bourlon Wood, which became saturated with German gas, the attack was not called off. It may have been difficult for Haig to order a retreat after bells had been rung for a great victory. Meanwhile, reports of German forces massing on the flanks were simply ignored at HQ, from the belief that the German army was exhausted. On the morning of November 30th the thinly held and unfortifed southern British perimeter was quickly overrun. The German attack in the south is beginning to falter. Both sides need to support their ground operations directly from the air, and also to protect their ground attack aircraft. The German trucks will advance down the two red lines marked on the map, on in the northern section and one in the southern. *NOTE* The mud of the trenches on this map is offset, the blue and red shading will mark the true current position of enemy / friendly territory, not the position no man's land. Entente Objectives: *Machines are to strafe and bomb the enemy at all opportunities.*Destroy enemy horse artillery on the roads and enemy strongpoints. German objectives: *Assist in the reduction of enemy strongpoints. *Destroy enemy reinforcements before they can interfere. VICTORY: The side that first destroys 100 targets wins (vehicles and strongpoints). Mission start: 1900GMT

Salute gentlemen, wanted to extend a quick invite to any and all who wish to join in a little Thursday night action. We're going to run the classic Syndicate VM - Somme High Recons "Battle for Intelligence" map. This map is basically just a competition between Central and Entente to get the most total recon frames per side. There are 3 zones on each side, you can photo them as many times as you want (two zone per sortie - you only carry 20 frames). First side with a total of 100 frames wins. The real fun of this map is there are a great many airstarts for both recons and fighters, and the fighting is HIGH, 4K+ meters, just like the real thing. Entente recon birds are the venerable French Breguets, so be careful you DVIIF and DXII pilots, we'll be watching for you Also, don't be afraid to just hop in a fighter and go mix it up, remember fuel loads are unlocked so things can get tricky. Hope to see you all in the air, we'll fire up the server around 20:00GMT for the European pilots and hopefully continue on into the night for North America. Good luck gentlemen!

Salute gentlemen! This weeks Sunday Vintage Mission will put us into the area of operations over Lens - June 1918. This mission is unique in a couple of ways. 1. There is only 1 photo recon for each side, you must take the recon plane with a camera to complete the mission, however you will NOT get the camera icon, either at mission start or over target. Instead, you will get subtitles which direct you what to do. It is a rather large area that requires 2 full circuits to complete. Down and back is considered 1 full circuit. Also *VERY IMPORTANT* the recon plane must land at the same aerodrome where it left from, it will NOT count to land at any other friendly active aerodrome. 2. The Artillery Spotter mission must be done with the arty spot aircraft with a radio. You must stay in the area marked on the map for 5-6 minutes to conduct the spot. If you leave the area, it will pick up where you left off when you re-enter the zone. Subtitles will inform you of the progress. 3. Subtitles of recon and arty missions will be visible to each respective side, but not the enemy side. This allows better coordination of fighters with the two seaters for those who aren't on same teamspeak or have no comms. Bombing: Targets are marked on the map and can be destroyed any time. Observation balloons will fire two red flares when they see enemy aircraft approaching. Weather report: A Northern wind is blowing at 3-4 m/s. Medium clouds at 1200m. It also features an interesting plane set as follows: Entente- Se5 -unlimited Dolphin -unlimited Camel - 12x RE8 - 9x DH4 - 6x Central- DVa - unlimited Pfalz DXII - 12x DR1 - 12x DVII - 10x DIII - 12x DFW - 9x Halberstadt CLII 200hp - 6x For those who still have an appetite for action after Black Sept. on Saturday, it should prove to be an interesting Sunday Good luck S! Start time: 1900GMT

Greetings gentlemen! This weeks Sunday Vintage Mission will see us at the Battle of Montdidier - April 10, 1917 - Nivelle Offensive This is a standard format, 6-flag map that requires recon flights to activate the target, then heavy bombardment to destroy it. Weather report: Cloud base at 1100m. Wind 3-4 m/s, from the north The snow that has been falling yesterday has melted away during the night. Historical Background: The Nivelle Offensive in 1917, was a Franco-British offensive on the Western Front in the First World War. The French part of the offensive was intended to be strategically decisive, by breaking through the German defences on the Aisne front within 48 hours, with casualties expected to be around 10,000 men. A preliminary attack was to be made by the French Third Army at St. Quentin and the British First, Third and Fifth armies at Arras, to capture high ground and divert German reserves from the French fronts on the Aisne and in Champagne. The main offensive was to be delivered by the French on the Chemin des Dames ridge. After last Sunday's fake message about ROF multiplayer being dead and gone, I think many people gave up right away and didn't check further. Let's try and pack the server and show the community we are strong and carrying on! Stats will be recorded and displayed at http://vintage-missions.net Hope to see you all in air over the skies of France, good luck!

You're welcome Klaiber, I'll try and post these each week like I was doing before. Summer days made me lazy

Greetings gentlemen, this week's Sunday Vintage Mission will see us in the legendary Somme Offensive - Battle of Flers-Courcelette - 15 September 1916. Mission Start: 1900GMT Both sides will be given new orders in 45 min intervals. The Allied forces are on the offensive. Their air force has to support the ground troops by targeting tactical targets and flying photo recon patrols to determine the enemy defences. The Central forces are on the defensive. They have to make sure the Allied aircraft are kept away from the battlefield while the bombers attack the enemy's line of communications. Weather report: Heavy cloud cover at 5000ft/1400m, foggy. Wind 4 m/s, from the North Orders will be repeated every minute by subtitles. Please follow these, NOTE: you can't complete objectives until the order has been given, however once orders are given, the objective is active until destroyed. In other words, you have the entire game time to take down an objective once given. List of objectives in order is as follows: Entente- 1. Bombers have to destroy the train station at Bapaume 2. Bombers have to destroy artillery near Courcelette to protect our tanks 3. Bombers have to destroy enemy transports on the Albert-Bapaume road 4. Recon planes will photograph Flers and Beugnatre airfield 5. Bombers have to destroy the the depot at Lechelle Central- 1. Bombers will destroy the British Army camp 2. Recon planes will photograph Foncquevillers and Mailly 3. Bombers will destroy artillery near Albert 4. Bombers will destroy a depot at Saint-Amand 5. Battle planes will destroy transports on road A Historical Background: The Battle of Flers–Courcelette took place on 15 September 1916 as part of the Somme offensive and is most famous for the fact it was the first time tanks were deployed in a battle. We've had some good furball dogfights running this mission in the past, particularly with the Central forces utilizing the powerful Rolands as fighter/bombers! It's a tighter area of operations than last week, and this time everyone knows the targets. So dust off the old flying kit, get a shot of courage from the mess and let's go flying! Good luck and happy hunting S!

Salute gentlemen! For all pilots, gunners, riggers and mechanics who find themselves missing the action over the skies of France due to the summer break of the great Flanders in Flames campaign, we issue an open invitation / reminder to all to join in the battle on Vintage Mission Sundays, over at the Cuban Syndicate Connection. This Sunday will kick things off around 17:00GMT for a six hour mission that will take us back in time 100 years to Summer of 1917. The mission will be "Bombers Channel - Summer 1917" and features a great plane set and numerous naval and land targets, all well defended. As always, the event is open format so feel free to come in anytime, team up and fly together organized or solo lone wolf style, use any and all teamspeak and remember fuel loads are unlocked so don't forget to click on your aircraft information tab in the hangar and check your aircraft's individual endurance time (based on 100% fuel) and plan accordingly. For those who want to keep score, you can check your stats over at http://vintage-missions.netthanks to the tireless efforts of J2_SteveF. Good luck gentlemen, hope to see you all in the air!

Just a reminder to all for this coming Sunday, 1600 GMT - Knights of the Sea Mission 2! All welcome, test server is up now so you can test connect to check your mods. Come out and play Jagdgeschwader 1!!

Ah congrats man! That's a bummer about the schedule, we'll just have to run it again later in the year lol

Well, how about jump in and fly her again? Event will be up Jun.4 and Jun.12 @ 1600GMT. All invited! https://riseofflight.com/forum/topic/50734-knights-sea-ii-latest-update-june-4th-11th/

Latest updates: https://riseofflight.com/forum/topic/50734-knights-sea-ii-latest-update-june-4th-11th/

Mission start time for both dates: 1600GMT

Greetings gentlemen, preparations are nearing completion and the time is upon us! As it stands there will be a practice / dry run on June 4th so all pilots may familiarize themselves with the map and objectives of the campaign, then we go full on the following Sunday June 11th. This will be only one month past the 100th anniversary of the date the historical campaign is set which is in May of 1917. The practice session will be with navigation icons on, this will only show your position on the map, not target data of any kind. This I felt was necessary to allow people to practice the offshore navigation due to vastness of the map and the large amount of naval targets on the map which are out of sight of land. Plans are to run the full real event with no map icons, so break out your stop watch and scratch paper! Mods The campaign requires "mods on" mode, and each player must download and activate 3 simple mods. 1. KOTS mod 2. ShipsPackage1_v2(SYN) mod 3. Tirpitz_Battery_Object_v1.0 mod They are available for download here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y03azydb8uo1ceg/AADy_1BnUBjoLij6lkvjxBKna?dl=0 Simply click the link, download the mod to your pc. Unzip the mod by right-clicking the downloaded folder and selecting "Unzip Here". Next, copy the unzipped folder to your Rise of Flight directory MODS folder and activate them using the JSGME utility. Please deactivate any other mods first before enabling these 3. The test server is currently running so you can start up ROF with mods on and try to connect. PLEASE TEST CONNECT TO THE SERVER PRIOR TO MISSION START DATE. For those who run into any trouble, I'd be more than willing to help out, just PM me. If you get a normal "mission loading" then are placed into the map, then all is working as it should. Feel free to jump into any plane and test. Sign Up Sheet - Order of Battle Please refer to the previous post for mission descriptions / objectives: http://forum.jg1.org/topic/4946-knights-of-the-sea-ii-the-ultimate-channel-battle/ The google docs sign up sheet is very simple. Pick a side via the worksheet / tab at the bottom (Entente / Central) Write in your name in Pilots column then select a mission from the drop down menu in the next column over. Any notes or comments can go in the 3rd column. This is not a strictly organized event, if you wish to just take a fighter and hunt, there is a selection for that. If you do not wish to fly at night, select "Reserve (waiting for daylight) 90min after mission start" Teamspeak channel info will be released soon, however squadrons who wish to fly together on their own TS are more than welcome to do so. A centralized TS will only be required for the server password which will be issued 30min prior to mission start. Rather than side commanders, we will probably fly with someone commanding or semi-organizing each mission / flight or objective. This is a 6 hour campaign so plenty of time, no rigid structure. In game team chat is allowed. More to follow on the TS info. Death penalties will not be enforced on the practice/dry run mission. A decision about death penalties for the full real event will be made based on pilot numbers. If we decide to have them they will only be 30min. Please sign up using the link below: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oFE823AiMQDTTM0aXKrqwkwYZNF3uzu7WwZ89S3G8iY/edit?usp=sharing A Note on Night Flying - Time of Day The campaign is 6 hours long and runs from 0300 - 0900 in game time. The weather is mostly clear with a bright full moon. In order to improve your visibility, simply go (in game) to Options, Video, and set Gamma Correction to 100%. This is not "cheating" or defeating the purpose of the night time start by any means, despite what you may have heard to the contrary. The mission is set to fly under a full moon and a full moon is pretty bright to dark adjusted eyes. It will be light enough to see with no correction at all at 0430 in game time, so those who do not wish to fly at night can simply delay their start by 90min. Official sunrise / dawn is around 0530-0545. Offshore Navigation The practice run will be with map icon on, for ease of use and to allow people to practice navigation. The full run will be map icons off just like in Wargrounds. Navigating by stopwatch is not as daunting as it may sound. Firstly, the map in Rise of Flight is divided into 10km sectors. That is to say sector 4,5,6 or A,B,C or however it is marked on the map is 10km north to south and 10km east to west. Here are some quick conversions to keep handy: Miles per Hour (MPH) to Kilometers per Hour (KPH) is: MPH x 1.6 = KPH Simply multiply your miles per hour by 1.6 to get your kilometers per hour speed Once you have your KPH speed, divide by 60 and you kilometers per minute. Example: Speed indicated 95mph. 95 x 1.6 = 152kmh. 152kmh / 60 = 2.5 kilometers per min. So, if one full map sector is 10km x 10km. It will take you 4min flying in a straight line to cross an entire sector. (2.5kpm x 4min = 10km) See, nothing to it Bear in mind however, there is a 5m/s wind FROM the West. 1m/s = 3.6kmh 5m/s west wind = 18kmh Therefore, if you are traveling east, going WITH the wind, add 18kmh to your ground speed. If traveling West, subtract 18kmh from your ground speed. If heading N or S, allow for 18km drift TO the east for each hour of flying. Note: Using the above example of 95mph being 1 map sector every 4min, this wind speed will only carry you 1.2km east every 4 min, worth noting if you're doing a long run over water hunting U-boats or ships smile.pngThere are plenty of land based targets and objectives for those who don't wish to test their navigational skills! U-boat and Ship Hunting Notes The ships tending the anti sub barrage net are ENGLISH "drifter ships" very small ships which look like small commercial fishing boats. The minesweepers close to shore near Zeebrugge and Ostende are GERMAN drifter ships The minesweeper offshore is a German "Cruiser" or "Battleship" - large warship with smoke stacks -HINT- ***If in doubt as to the identity of a vessel, simply set your rear gunner to attack ground targets and set them to fire at long range, if they are enemy, the gunner will open fire. Or, if the vessel is firing on your aircraft, you can safely assume it is enemy *** There are no English submarines operating in the area, however there are a few light cruisers in the area of operations so be careful! A photo of a "drifter ship" is attached Gotha England Raid This 3hr mission (90min in / 90min out) will begin in darkness and being that we will be carrying full fuel and bomb load, I'd encourage the more experienced gotha pilots to attempt it. The spawn point at Coolkerke aerodrome places you with a tall row of trees just at the end of the field. The best way I've found to safely take off is as follows: Taxi ahead past the signal fire toward the AAA battery and look to the SW for a gap in the trees toward the town. Attached are a few pics to help out. Remember, taxiing the gotha on the ground and on the takeoff run is accomplished by the ailerons, not so much the rudder, just remember the controls are reversed! To turn left, move the stick right, to turn right move stick left. Good luck!

KNIGHTS OF THE SEA II With great thanks and appreciation to SYN_Vander, SYN_Waxworks, SYN_Bandy and all the crew of Syndicate Squadron, I'm pleased to announce a new Rise of Flight campaign Knights of the Sea II! The first Knights of the Sea was run some years back by Syndicate and was a great success. My hope is to resurrect this wonderful campaign event for the enjoyment of all in the Rise of Flight community. We will go full live June 4th and 11th. There is no practice / dry run. Historical background: The Germans renewed unrestricted submarine warfare in the spring of 1917. The British countered with a naval and bombing offensive to disrupt U-boat movements. The German Marinekorps supported their U-boats with a strong defence of the ports and attempts to hinder enemy naval activities off the Flemish coast. Features: The campaign features several rather unique missions, planesets, ships and a real gem, the Tirpitz Coastal Defense Battery at Ostende. This is a massive battery of 4 extremely large caliber guns mounted in hardened turrets which the Entente is tasked with destroying using a sea based artillery spot. The battleships' fire must be corrected manually via a grid map coordinate system, transmitted from the spotting aircraft. While this mission is active, there is a counter battery spotting mission available to the central side to direct fire to the attacking battleships just offshore. Another interesting feature of the campaign is a Gotha raid on the English coastal harbortown of Harwich. Completion of this mission requires destruction of one of two strategic targets at Harwich Harbor and safe return of at least one Gotha. In addition to these there are a great many other standard bombing missions which target airfields, ships, submarines, and recon missions. Details: The campaign runs for 6 hours, 0300 to 0900 in game time. At mission start it is dark with mostly clear skies and a bright full moon. The sun rises around 0530 but there is plenty of daylight to fly by 0430 for those who don't care for night flying. Also, the bulk of the missions don't require a pre-dawn start so those who don't wish to fly at night can simply join in 90min after mission start and fly into the day. The pre-dawn start is primarily to give the long range bomber missions a chance to get a bit of a head start on their flights. The Gotha England raid for example, takes nearly 3hrs to complete, 90 min across the channel, 90min home, not for the faint of heart! But, for those with an unquenching thirst for gritty realism, there's nothing quite like it. There is a 5m/s breeze from the West which must be factored in to any offshore navigation. One of the great things of the campaign, in my opinion, is that it gives nearly everyone a chance to do what they prefer. Fighters are free to defend coastal and naval targets, escort friendly bombers, intercept enemy bombers or just go hunting. Two-seater missions offer everything from the long range Gotha England raid to relatively short hops across the mud to attack trains, trucks, and airfields. There are also several missions available to attack/defend a barrage net of German drifter ships who are constantly being reinforced and relieved by other drifter ships, and a damaged German U-boat that cannot submerge and is limping home to Zeebrugge Harbor. There are also missions to attack/defend German minesweepers both nearshore and offshore as well as a U-boat hunt in a zone east of Felixstowe. As anyone can see, the map has a LOT going on! Missions: CENTRAL - - Gotha England Raid - Requires at least one of two strategic targets destroyed and at least one Gotha make it home and land safely. The two targets are: - 1. Ships at Harwich and 2. Fuel Tanks and Sheds Harwich - St. Pol Aerodrome (Factory Facilities) - Factory facilities adjoining the airfield must be destroyed, not aerodrome itself. - Furnes Aerodrome (Factory Facilites and Hangars) - Factory facilities adjoining the airfield and aerodrome hangars. **Aircraft based at aerodrome will have 5 min. to takeoff or be lost. - Ships at Dunkirk Harbor - Ships at Dunkirk must be sunk. - Attack and Sink Drifter Barrage - Several small drifter ships tending a net barrage at sea must be sunk. - Attack and Sink Drifter Reinforements - Reinforcement drifter fleet must be sunk. - Recons - 1x small recon 2x large area recons NOTE: RECONS CANNOT BE DONE UNTIL SUNRISE!!! - Furnes Aerodrome (Factory) - Factory complex and workshops adjoining the airfield must be destroyed, not aerodrome itself. - Arty Battery - Destroy Entente artillery battery marked on the map - Train - Truck Convoy *Conditional* - Tirpitz Anti-Ship Arty Spot - Fly artillery spot mission for coastal guns firing on attacking ships. The Entente sea arty spot against the Tirpitz Battery must be active for this mission to be available. Attacking ships are right offshore of the Tirpitz guns. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENTENTE - -Coolkerke Aerodrome (Factory Facilities) - Bomb factory facilities adjacent to aerodrome -Ghistelles Aerodrome (Factory Facilities and Hangars) - Bomb factory facilities adjoining the aerodrome and aerodrome hangars. **Aircraft based at aerodrome will have 5 minutes to take off or be lost** - Brugges Naval Base - The two targets are: 1. U-Boats at dock 2. Fuel tanks and sheds next to docks. *Recons are need after bombing to complete (bomb damage assessment)* - Intercept Damaged U-Boat - Sink damaged U-Boat offshore of Zeebrugge making for harbor - Attack Minesweepers (nearshore) - Sink minesweepers nearshore off Zeebrugge - Attack Minesweepers (offshore) - Sink minesweepers offshore of Zeebrugge, beyond the barrage net - Felixstowe Sub Hunt (Patrol Convoy Route)- Locate and sink two U-boats operating in a zone east of Felixstowe harbor. - Attack Coastal Battery- Destroy coastal artillery battery SW of Ostende (not the Tirpitz guns) - Attack Tirpitz Battery- Use spotter plane to activate artillery bombardment from battleships just offshore of the Tirpitz guns at Ostende. When ships are in firing position, they will fire a green flare. Signal back with green flare from spotter plane and proceed to spotting location to correct fire from the ships onto the Tirpitz battery. - Train - Truck Convoy Original Mission Description: -The side which completes the most objectives will win. The Germans have the advantage and will be awarded a free objective at the beginning of the mission so that they win any ties. -The Entente must attack and destroy the U-boats being made ready for sea at Bruges. A German minesweeper squadron is in operation off Zeebrugge, and if it is destroyed more U-boats will be lost to mines. -The convoy route must be patrolled and any U-boats sunk. -There were reports that a returning U-boat had struck the barrage in the night. This damaged U-boat may be unable to submerge, as well as any other U-boats at Ostend or Zeebrugge. -A German cruiser-minelayer is reported to be at sea. If it can be damaged it will be unable to sow its mines. -The docks at Bruges should be bombed, as well the German Gotha aerodrome and coast defences. -The German naval guns are difficult to bomb, but a spotter can direct the fire of Royal Navy cruisers during a once-only bombardment. -There are several recces to be performed, and any enemy balloons and transport are to be destroyed. -The Marinekorps has been ordered to sink the enemy drifters maintaining the barrage off the Flanders coast, as well as any sailing as reinforcements. Also, ships at Dunkirk are to be attacked, with troopships and tankers especially valuable targets. If a British merchant ship could be sunk while supposedly safe in the Harwich harbour, it would be a tremendous achievement for the German armed forces. -Other targets for the Gothas are the fuel depot at Harwich or the St Pol air depot. -The British have pushed field artillery forward to defend their troops along the Yser and these guns should be eliminated. -There are several recces to be performed. -All enemy balloons and transports are to be destroyed. NOTES -Only the fuel dumps need to be destroyed at Harwich. The Bruges dump consists of the fuel tanks and surrounding sheds. -Seaplanes and flying boats which are lost can land on the water and will show up on the map! -While it is difficult to attack Gothas on their way to England, squadrons from Bray made interceptions on the return. For credit for bombing missions in England, at least one Gotha must have flown to Harwich and back to base. -The St Pol and Coolkerke bomb attacks are on the factory facilities adjacent to the airfields, rather than the airfields themselves. -Both Furnes and Ghistelles aerodromes will be deactivated if their workshops are damaged and the hangars destroyed. ** Any machines based there will have five minutes to take off, or they will be lost** -Should five Gothas be destroyed the Entente will be credited with the bombing of their base at Coolkerke. -The coast bombardment can only be conducted once. It may begin shortly after it is light enough for balloons. -German seaplanes have radios and can direct fire on the bombarding ships. -Balloons are vulnerable just before dawn. -Further recces of Brugges and Coolkerke are needed to complete the bombing missions. No recces possible before dawn!

Salute gentlemen! Just an announcement that we will be featuring a few of Syndicate Squadron's old "Dawn to Dusk" mission maps during the week in hopes of drumming up some numbers on some weeknights and sharing some of these great maps with the community for all to enjoy. They are very similar in format to what we are all used to in Wargrounds, with a few minor differences. They tend to be a bit smaller than the Vintage Mission maps, with airfields a little closer to the front. I think they are worth checking out just for something different. As of this post, thanks entirely to J2 SteveF, stats server is up and running: http://vintage-missions.net So as of now, the clock is running, and we are keeping score #1. Dawn to Dusk - July 1918 All info is located in mission description. It's a fairly typical target set. - 3x Recons (2x Trench and 1x Rear) - Bomb Strategic Target - Bomb Arty Battery (6x guns) - Bomb 6 Trucks - Bomb 3 Trains - Shoot Down 3x AI Two-seaters Photo Recon completion gives: Entente: Camels and Breguets Central: Additional DVIIF's and 8x Dr.1's Remember! Fuel loads are unlocked, take what you realistically think you need, I tend to use a rule of thumb of about an hour's worth, but depending on your particular aircraft and task, you may want to go lighter or heavier, all up to you the pilot. Just dont forget to take enough to get home Note: Check the description tab of your aircraft in the hangar, in the specs it will give you a rough estimate of endurance at 100% fuel. You camel jocks just might like a Camel with 25% fuel, and that will run her for an hour I believe Plane sets and maps below: As always, a great big thanks to Syndicate Squadron for allowing us to share these wonderful maps. All we do is host and stat, I couldn't edit a mission if my life depended on it, the real magic was all created by SYN_Vander, SYN_Waxworks and all the great crew at Syndicate. Hope to see you all up there, all are welcome S!

Salute gentlemen! This Sunday's Vintage Mission will see us in the Somme River region - September 1918 Battle for Intelligence - September 1918 Location: Somme river, France. Mission objectives: Both Allied and Central Squadrons are ordered to: (1) Fly offensive patrols over enemy lines to intercept enemy aircraft and (2) to protect their own reconaissance aircraft. Both AI and human flown reconaissance two-seaters will have to photograph strategic targets. The more photographs they can bring home safely, the better they will be prepared for the upcoming offensive. The first side that obtains 100 photographs will have won this "battle for intelligence". Any marked target on the map may be used to obtain more photos. Photographs can be taken by the two-seaters (with camera!) from any altitude between 1500-4000 m. Note: Once a target is photographed and photos returned to base, you can photo the same area again, all recon areas stay active during the whole map. The object is simply to photograph as many targets as possible and return them safely to base. First team to 100 frames completed wins. Most aircraft from the rear bases are airstarts (fighters and two-seaters) Weather report: Cloud base at 1200m. Wind 5 meters per second, from the South. Good luck to all S!

Salute gentlemen! In honor of the 100th anniversary of the start of the historical Bloody April - 1917 and since we are observing an Easter truce in Jasta5's official campaign, we will be featuring the Syndicate Vintage Mission: Battle of Vimy Ridge, (Bloody April Revisited) April 10, 1917 on the Vintage Mission Server. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army. The battle, which took place from 9 to 12 April 1917, was part of the opening phase of the British-led Battle of Arras, a diversionary attack for the French Nivelle Offensive. Mission Start: Saturday April 15, 18:00 GMT Weather report: Heavy clouds at 1500 m, poor visibility. Wind 5 m/s from the West ***NOTE!***: This is a subtitle based mission, therefore neither side will know what the other is up to and therefore no one can cap any specific target. New mission orders are issued every 40 minutes, however that DOES NOT mean you only have 40 min to complete the objective. If you are flying a mission objective and new orders are issued, it only means the new orders are ALSO in effect. The orders you are flying at the time still apply. Stated differently, each order subtitle that issues every 40 min simply activates another target/objective in addition to the previously issued one. Once orders have been given, that objective is able to be accomplished for the duration of the mission. Mission objectives: Both sides will be given new orders in 40 min intervals. The Allied forces are on the offensive. Their air force has to support the ground troops by targeting tactical targets and flying photo recon patrols to determine the enemy defences. The Central forces are on the defensive. They have to make sure the Allied aircraft are kept away from the battlefield while the bombers attack the enemy's line of communications. Orders will be repeated every minute by subtitles. Please follow these, you can't complete objectives until the order has been given! (note: you can't see subtitles in the hangar). Certain planes are only available when they are needed (bombers, recons).Instructions Photo Recon: Fly to one of the specific areas at medium to high altitude (2000-3500m) in the aircraft named "Photo Recon" and wait for the camera icon when over one end of the leg. Make photos using the camera icon and cover the whole area. The higher you fly, the easier it is to have complete coverage. Don't forget to bring a camera! All are welcome, no offical rules or points, lets just pack the server, group up, wing up and have some good fights and good times!. Gentlemen, as we fly and fight, let us also remember for a moment, and attempt to appreciate the experience and service the pilots, mechanics, observers, ground crew, and all the soldiers rendered during the Great War, a century ago. Good luck gentlemen!

Greetings gentlemen, Salute! This Sunday's Vintage Mission will feature the historical Battle of the Somme Offensive - September 15, 1916 (Battle of Flers-Courcelette) ***NOTE!***: This is a subtitle based mission, therefore neither side will know what the other is up to and therefore no one can cap any specific target. New mission orders are issued every 45 minutes, however that DOES NOT mean you only have 45 min to complete the objective. If you are flying a mission objective and new orders are issued, it only means the new orders are ALSO in effect. The orders you are flying at the time still apply. Stated differently, each order subtitle that issues every 45 min simply activates another target/objective in addition to the previously issued one. Once orders have been given, that objective is able to be accomplished for the duration of the mission. The plane sets do advance as objectives are completed. Mission objectives: Both sides will be given new orders in 45 min intervals. The Allied forces are on the offensive. Their air force has to support the ground troops by targeting tactical targets and flying photo recon patrols to determine the enemy defences. The Central forces are on the defensive. They have to make sure the Allied aircraft are kept away from the battlefield while the bombers attack the enemy's line of communications. Orders will be repeated every minute by subtitles. Please follow these, you can't complete objectives until the order has been given! (note: you can't see subtitles in the hangar). Certain planes are only available when they are needed (bombers, recons). Instructions Photo Recon: Fly over one of the specific areas just below the clouds in the aircraft named "Photo Recon" and wait for the camera icon when over the target. Don't forget to bring a camera! Combat patrol: Patrol over the specified area, as marked on the map. Close escort: Other two-seaters can provide close escort by flying in formation with the bombers or recon planes and defend with their rear guns. Ground attack: Low-level attacks against enemy positions, guns, vehicles and tanks. Bomb target: Bomb the specified target from any altitude. Weather report: Heavy cloud cover at 5000ft/1400m, foggy. Wind 4 m/s, from the North. Historical Background: The Battle of Flers–Courcelette took place on 15 September 1916 as part of the Somme offensive and is most famous for the fact it was the first time tanks were deployed in a battle. Good luck gentlemen!

Greetings gentlemen, Salute! This week's Sunday Vintage Mission will see us in the region of Vendin, October 1917. The situation is as follows... The German army is using canal barges to get their supplies to the lines. This makes the transfer points a priority target for the Royal Flying Corps. RFC 46 squadron, which is just converting from Pups to Camels, are ordered to attack every ship between Don and Vendin. as well as trucks just behind the lines. 59 Sqn, flying the RE.8, has been ordered to destroy the transfer points, a fuel depot and train station, in Don and Vendin. RFC 40 Sqn with Se5as and RFC 11 with Bristols, will provide top cover. Jasta 12 and 18 are stationed nearby and will be protecting their airspace in their Albatros DVa, Pfalz DIIIa and a handful of the new Fokker Dr1 scouts.The German Flieger Abteiling has been assigned various objectives: Photo recon objectives and two tactical ground targets; enemy artillery and vehicles east of Bethune. Important: completing any of these objectives will unlock new Camels or Fokker Dr1s. To complete the recon objective: Take a plane labeled "Recon", load a camera and fly to the objective area. The camera icon will pop up when over the target. Wind is moderate, blowing from the North East, 4 - 5 m/s. Cloud base at 1250m. Some turbulance at lower altitudes. Good luck all pilots, see you in the air!

And you! S!

Salute gentlemen! This week's Sunday Vintage Mission will see us in the La Vesle River region of France, NW of Reims - Summer 1917. This a bomber offensive map, no recons necessary to activate targets, just full ahead and blow up the strategic targets on the map. Heavy bombers will have to destroy enemy depots to prepare for the upcoming offensive. The more targets they can destroy, the better they will be prepared for the following battle. The first side that destroys all targets will have won this "bomber offensive" We have run this mission before with no bugs or glitches (touching wood), and we are hoping to stress test the new server so all pilots are encouraged to dust off their flying kit, visit the mess for a bit of liquid breakfast and take to the skies over France to test their meddle. We saw some fierce action in this sector last go around, and Entente was victorious. Rumor has it Richthofen's Circus has recently been sighted by some of the French escadrilles, with terrible results. Let's see what happens this Sunday! Good luck all, see you in the air! Also, the stats are back up, due entirely to the tireless efforts of J2_SteveF! Go to: http://vintage-missions.netand register if you care to track your stats on Vintage Mission Sundays!

OK! We are officially back on for this Sunday, March 12! Lens / Arras Sector - June 1918 Unfortunately, it looks like we won't have stats for this mission, but we aren't giving up and they are coming again very soon, most likely within a week or two. Still just a few bugs that need to be worked out. I hope everyone can make it Sunday, it should be an interesting battle! See you all in the air! Salute

OK! We are officially back on for this Sunday, March 12! Lens / Arras Sector - June 1918 Unfortunately, it looks like we won't have stats for this mission, but we aren't giving up and they are coming again very soon, most likely within a week or two. Still just a few bugs that need to be worked out. I hope everyone can make it Sunday, it should be an interesting battle! See you all in the air! Salute!

Apologies to all who turned up to fly Sunday but found no server. We suffered a nasty cyber attack on the server that simply destroyed everything we had. However, J2_SteveF again came through like a champ and got the server up by reinstalling all from scratch. Just a few finishing touches left to do over the next couple of days and we will be airworthy once again. We have also taken steps to tighten security on the box to prevent any future attacks. At present, the plan is to run the Lens - June 1918 map this Sunday as we had planned last week. Note: the stats database was also lost in the attack so everyone will have to re-register when the stats server is back up. We will make a post when the stats are back online and ready for registration. Thanks to all for your patience and understanding.