This diary follows the life and times of Giulio Nicelli, an Italian fighter pilot called back to duty in 1916 He attended flight school in Foggia, Italy where he excelled in flight training. His Air Combat Maneuvering skills separated him from his classmates. He got a reputation for being very studious, learning as much about various aircraft and their performance. After graduation, Giulio was assigned to Squadriglia 191a B flight in Udine, Italy.
His flight was led by X.O Capt. Flavo Scaroni who has a total of 17 victories. Capt. Antonio Buzzio (3 victories) and Capt. Roman Avita (16 victories) are also part of the flight. Giulio is the green pilot in this group, hopefully, he learns quickly, with so much experience around him, only time will tell. May 1917 - Udine, Italy Giulio has been assigned a SPAD S. VII, which he named Black Moon.
June 3, 1917: Sortie #1 Mission- Offensive Patrol Giulio awoke to a warm morning, he was feeling excited and anxious. Today will be his first sortie. He has been training and waiting for the day, that he would get into the war. Today was the day. After a quick breakfast, the flight met and learned that today they would be doing an Offensive Patrol. This meant that he would have to make it to Enemy territory to earn a successful mission. He is feeling apprehensive as he makes his way to the hangar.
After a perfect takeoff, Giulio banked right and followed the rest of the flight, This sortie started off very slowly as he saw no trouble going from take off -> Friendly -> No Man's Land -> Enemy Lines. (on a side note we rolled two 5 which resulted in a fighter** encounter unless in Italy. )
Giulio let out a big breath as the flight departed enemy lines to head back home. Enemy -> No Man's Land saw no encounter as did his flight from No Man's Land -> Friendly territory. However as Giulio started to relax as his home hanger was just a few miles away, he encountered a Lohner C.I a 2-seater.
They start head-to-head. Giulio fires and he hits the 2-seater 4 times. Once each in the Port Strut, Fuel Tank, and Landing Gear. His last shot hit Canvas, but Giulio was feeling good about himself. He even feels better when the 2-seater pulls a bad move allowing Giulio to become advantaged! After the initiative roll, he stays advantaged.
Giulio felt like his first victory was in his grasp. He fires his guns, however they do not react. His guns have Jammed. Darn it! He decides to try and un-jam his guns as the 2-seater is now being tailed after a bad initiative roll. Unfortunately, he can't unjam his guns. The 2-seater maneuvers but can't shake Giulio. Another good initiative roll and he is still tailing the 2-seater. He tries to repair his weapons again. Things get worse as the guns become inoperable, unable to fix the guns, and he disengages.
He is disappointed but knows he has to concentrate to have a good landing. the weather was perfect and so was his landing. Even though this was a successful first sortie, Giulio feels he missed a great opportunity to gain his first kill. The flight leader told Giulio to be happy with the results from today. He did not tell Giulio, but he knew the young pilot would see more action than he would ever want to see soon.
Giulio will sleep well tonight.
June 16, 1917: Sortie #2 Mission- Line Patrol It has been 13 days since Giulio flew in his first sortie. Today will be the second. A Line Patrol mission, flying into No Man's Land is always a dangerous endeavor. The adrenaline is pumping hard, would today be the day of his first victory?
Take off was noneventful and the skies were clear of the enemy, just a nice breeze and a beautiful sunrise greeted our young Giulio this fine day. Flying into friendly areas, the result was the same, no encounters and to be honest a rather boring flight. That was going to change shortly.
As Giulio could see the wasteland of the battlefield better known as No Man's Land came into the site, he was greeted by a very aggressive adversary. The Albatros D.I engaged and Giulio was not bored any longer. The first head-to-head started well for our young Italian flyer, he used his reflexes to gain the early advantage. The first burst of fire resulted in 5 possible hits, but the Albatros countered with an invasive action dodging 2 of those hits. The Albatros took hits to the Starboard strut and engine. The last shot hit the canvas with no effect.
The next round saw Giulio still with the advantage. The young Italian scores 5 more hits, while the Albatros does some good flying with a well-executed side loop to get back to head-to-head. @ canvas hits were followed by 2 port strut hits and then the last one hit the fuel tank. A slow leak has started on the Albatros.
Going head-to-head this round was damaging for both fighters. Giulio scored four hits to the Albatros, a tail shot, control damage, and an engine strike got the Austrian Hungarian pilot's attention. However, things looked pretty bleak for our pilot. 5 hits struck his plane with 2 Canvas strikes, followed by a Port Strut hit, the controls took the next bit of damage but the major blow was to the forward weapons, knocking them out of action.. not good for the young Giulio.
With damage to the two planes, both needed a good advantage roll. The Italian pilot came through and gained the advantage. Now was his chance to disengage. Fortunately, the gods were with him today and he escaped. As he started flying home, with no way to protect himself, he hoped for that same quiet ride home as he had to start the day. His luck held and there were no encounters on the way home. His controls were a little shaky, but the weather was good, so he landed with no issue. Giulio stayed in his plane for a few minutes. He was scared. He felt at one moment he was going to get his first kill and in the next, he was trying to run for his life with no weapons to fight with. The mission was a success and Giulio would live to fight another day.
June 24, 1917: Sortie #3 Mission- Offensive Patrol Giulio woke up with a spring in his step. He had gotten some letters from home, he was happy and ready to fly. It has been 8 days since his last sortie. Today he would fly deep into enemy territory. He was feeling anxious. Some of his friends had 2 or 3 kills and Giulio was still waiting for his first. Will today be the day? Giulio was thinking of home, as he flew over friendly territory. No Mans Land came into view, along with a group of 2-seaters. Giulio lowered his goggles and engaged a Hansa Bburg CI. They started head to head and Giulio used his reflexes to first first. 4 hits, not a bad start! Port Strut and Starboard strut hits were followed by a tail hit and a solid fuel tank hit, causing a leaking tank.
In the next round Giulio gains the advantage on the 2-seater. He fires 3 hits at his opponent. However, 2 canvas hits had no effect. The one port Strut hit was taken, but Giulio was hoping for a much better result. The 2-seater does a tight turn to get back to head to head. It stays head-to-head going into the next round. 3 more hits from the Italian causes the Hansa 2 Canvas strikes followed by a starboard strut hit, another tight turn and the 2-seater takes the advantage.
A great advantage roll allows Giulio to pull back into a head-to-head fight. This time 5 hits are scored, The Hansa is pulling a side loop. 3 canvas strikes led to a crew hit then a posrt Strut strike. The pilot was hit and died at the controls... Giulio watches as the 2-seater plummets to No Mans Land. He flips up his goggles and throws his arm in the air! Giulio has his first kill.
Giulio makes it to enemy lines without incident. On his way back, he flies over No Mans Land and encounters an Albatros DI. Giulio engages and starts off advantaged, he shoots and the result is a possibility of 4 hits. The Albatros makes a great maneuver avoiding all damage. Giulio stays advantaged and decides to break away as he is out of ammo. After a little struggle, he disengages and heads back to friendly territory. The return to base has no more encounters and Giulio landed under a clear blue sky. It is a great evening for our young Giulio. He records his first Kill. He also earns his first medal the Bronze Medal For Military Valor for recording his first kill. He gains one prestige point as well. June ends with 3 successful missions for the Young Italian pilot.
*Correction - I was adding the experience points incorrectly. Giulio has 2 experience points and will gain 1 more if he is successful in his next mission (#4). Thank you to Todd Harshman for pointing that out.
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