It’s been a little while since I did a combat flight sim journal and I wanted to get back into a little Flying Circus inspired, in part, by the recent arrival of the Siemens-Schuckert D.IV. A review is scheduled for tomorrow but for today I’ve got a recap of my first mission in the “Against the Tide” campaign that is bundled with the Collector Plane. Let’s go back to August 1918 and experience a rare late war airplane.

Against the Tide

With the tides of war turning against the Central Powers, flying this late war rarity means that time is limited. Still, in August 1918 sorties were still flown and new aircraft like the D.IV were arriving on the front.

In this first mission, titled the “Battle of Bapaume,” you’re a pilot that is granted the opportunity to take one of the newly arrived D.IV fighters into combat alongside a formation of Fokker D.VIIs. The objective is to destroy an Entente recon balloon and then return to base. Simple enough!

Starting up the D.IV, I was reminded that this is a rare German type that has a manual mixture control (most are automatic in this time period). Once the engine and its four bladed propeller had been started, I was ordered to taxi and takeoff with the departing Fokkers. Takeoff comes quickly in the D.IV and the fighter leapt into the air. Before long I had joined up.

The disparity in performance between the Fokker D.VII and the SSW D.IV meant that I was able to gain substantially more altitude before the Fokker formation could. I assigned myself top cover duty and acted as a lookout for the other fighters. As we headed for the front, we passed over a bomber base with Gotha G.Vs parked on the apron.

I also dipped my wing from time to time to check on the Fokker’s progress.

As we approached the frontline at just a little over 3,000 meters, the Fokker group split off and made a beeline for the balloon. Just as they did that I spotted three contacts off to my left and at lower altitudes. These would turn out to be SPAD fighters coming to try and save the balloon.

They were unsuccessful as the Fokkers swooped in and blasted the balloon. But then the SPADs descended down after them.

Unwilling to damage the engine, I had to make a series of tight circles with the throttle back descending at a rapid rate – for a WWI fighter. Below, tracers from both sides flew back and forth in a swirling dogfight.

Within moments I was down at the level of the battle and dropped in from above onto my first SPAD. I raked him with some fire from my twin LMG 08/15 machine guns doing damage but nothing critical.

Climbing away with superior energy and climb rate, I swooped in again and and again raking the fighter with machine gun fire. Suddenly the airplane departed from controlled flight and crashed. That was one.

Another SPAD flashed passed me just moments later and I was on after him. That was a quick kill as I must have hit the pilot. The SPAD descended rapidly and crashed in a field.

A third SPAD required several passes and difficult shots. Flying Circus AI hasn’t been that aggressive recently but I am wondering if there are some undocumented changes as this one fighter really gave me a bit of a challenge. Soon that one too would fall to my guns too…. Just as his wingman made a pass at me firing bullets with a few hitting my plane. Fortunately, there was no real damage and I continued the fight.

Again using the D.IV’s superior capability versus what were now clearly the 150hp SPAD Spad 7.C1s that we were fighting I did a maximum performance turn putting me and my attacker in a near head on. I ducked under his shots and again came around… this time I was on him and that SPAD too would crash.

The skies were clear, the Fokkers were gathering themselves together, and it was time to head home with low supplies of ammunition.

The flight back was uneventful and eventually I spotted our airfield. I had been warned in the briefing that the type’s short length and undercarriage posed a bit of a problem on landing so I was extra careful and I still managed to sneak in a ground loop right at the end.

Still, a successful landing and a successful mission is all that you can ask for. A fun first mission in “Against the Tide.”