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[Rockeater]

1 die into Levib + 1 rush die (3PP): (4) NUKE9.13, Kashyyk, Nirur, Doomblade
Save 4 dice: (4) NUKE9.13, Kashyyk, Nirur, Doomblade

Requisition:
Balloon Tender (2): Kashyyk, Rockeater
Nothing (0):

Totaly forgot

[Kashyyk]

Exactly. I've suggested asking for a balloon tender that we could refit for float planes or as a true carrier, but that's all we've got. You have any other ideas?

[Cnidaros]

Kolechian Design Phase, Late Spring 1915

Levib Bomber Biplane (2 dice spent)

Progress: 2+1+4 = 7/14. 3 PP spent.

Work on the Levib Bomber proceeds a sedate pace this season, owing to the imposition of several new bureaucratic regulations involving aircraft paint colours (purple is no longer allowed, but an extensive auditing revealed that no planes were painted purple anyway). The design team mandates extra working hours for all engineers involved in the project: by a stroke of luck, this doesn’t result in any major mistakes being made during the design process. A few milestones are hit (most of them pertaining to ‘not having the engines declare a general strike while in flight’) and the engineers report the Levib ready for the deployment of a prototype squadron, should the decision be in favour of doing so.

Levib Bomber Biplane | 7/14 progress | 3 PP per die | Rushed 0 times | 6 PP invested

Requisition: Balloon Tender

Currently, the Kolechian Navy operates four balloon tender ships, all of them converted merchantmen and freighters. The personnel operating the balloons, along with the actual observers, wear KPAF uniforms and ranks and are funded by the KPAF, but the ship’s crew are navy sailors and the captain has overall command of all onboard. While the navy aren’t willing to give the KPAF command of these ships, and even less willing to turn them over wholesale to the KPAF, they do acquiesce to sharing the plans for conversion, and letting KPAF designers look over the KNAS Revolution July 21 for a few days when it returns to the port of Kodemo after a raiding action.

For the most part, the conversion looks to be quite simple. A rather large space must be cleared on deck to accommodate the deflated Hykib balloon, and further deck space allocated to the hydrogen gas tanks and pumps to inflate it. Additionally, the superstructure of the ship should be free of unnecessary masts and cranes to facilitate easier landing of the balloon and prevent the tangling of its tether cable. Additional telephone lines are also installed to link the balloon to the ship’s radio room, facilitating easier communication in battle.

The KNAS Revolution July 21 is a ship of 6000 tons displacement and a length of 105m. Inquiries to the merchant shipping lines have turned up several possible older vessels that could be candidates for such a conversion. The accountants estimate that the KPAF could purchase and convert such a tender at a cost of 3 PP for one. While having its own ship may be useful for future KPAF naval aviation trials, it’s doubtful that the KPAF has a need for its own naval balloon squadron for now, since the balloons are of limited use without the navy’s guns to spot for.


It is now the Revision Phase, Late Spring 1915. You have 4 dice remaining to spend on Revisions or bank for the next turn.

Spoiler: Projects (click to show/hide)

Levib Bomber Biplane | 7/14 progress | 3 PP per die | Rushed 0 times | 6 PP invested

Spoiler: Designs and Technology (click to show/hide)

Planes:
-Feather-1914 Scout Plane: A unarmed, single seater biplane. High stability makes it easy to fly, but also woefully inadequate for anything other than scouting. Lightweight wooden fuselage combined with a five-cylinder rotary engine gives it good speed in the air. Now comes with ailerons for improved roll capability. Cost 3/1
-Equilibrium Fighter Monoplane: A single-seater monoplane with a 9-cylinder rotary engine and correspondingly good speed. It’s armed with a Type 11 LMG firing forward through the propeller arc with the aid of a rudimentary synchronisation gear, which reduces the fire rate but allows easier aiming. The synchronisation gear prevents the blades from being shot off, but pilots are reminded not to shoot more than two belts of rounds anyway. Cost 5/2.
--R7 Model: The original model of the EFM with a 7-cylinder rotary engine, noticably slower in comparison to the newer R9 model.
-Levib Bomber Biplane: The KPAF’s first bomber, it’s a twin-engine biplane with a crew of three: pilot, bombardier and rear gunner. The Levib can carry up to 420 kg of bombs mounted under the fuselage and wings, dropping them with the aid of a bomb sight that accounts for altitude and airspeed. It’s powered by two RE-18L-V8 engines between the wings on either side but is rather slow. To defend itself, the Levib is equipped with two Type 11 LMGs on a swivel mount operated by the rear gunner, covering the aircraft to the rear and a little above. Cost: 7/3 (In Development)
Balloons
-Hykib Observation Balloon: A single-pilot hydrogen balloon designed for aerial observation. Its elongated and finned shape helps it remain stable even in high winds. The basket has an inbuilt telephone to relay messages from the pilot to the ground, and what can charitably be described as a very rudimentary parachute. Painted a glorious red throughout. Cost 2/1
Equipment
-Lvoc Camera: A glass plate medium camera with a 150mm focal length, coincidentally about the size and shape of a 150mm artillery shell. Requires manual changing of the plate for each photograph taken and is moderately durable. Cost 1 PP.
-Oracle Camera: A new camera based off the existing Lvoc Camera, and possibly made of three of them merged together. It takes separate photographs from three lenses offset at a 35-degree angle, producing a wide-angle view of the ground. Is mounted under the cockpit and accessible through a hole in the cockpit floor, while being remotely triggered. The glass plate magazine doesn’t work, and pilots must still change the plates manually. Cost 2 PP.
-Type 11 machinegun: An air-cooled light machine gun firing 7.65x53 mm Argentine rounds at 600 RPM. Sometimes overheats after prolonged use. Cost 1 PP.
-Artillery Spotter Equipment: A set of good binoculars with range markings and a Kolechian ‘comtant’, a combination of compass and sextant for taking precise bearings. Questions of whether a sextant is really necessary for doing so are met with offended looks. Cost 1 PP for 2 squadrons.
-K-09 “Dogbite” Mortar Round: A 155mm high explosive mortar shell, carrying 45kg of high explosive. Is very temperamental when roughly handled. Cost: 1 PP.
-KF-15 Signal-Illumination Flare Pistol: The K-15 fires up to eight Rainbow flares in colours from red to purple for signalling, and a bright white for illumination, allowing planes to signal to the ground. Each pistol is single-shot only but are cheap enough to be issued in bulk.
-KTW-15: A trench radio set with a spark-gap transmitter and crystal receiver, which sends and receives Morse code. Weighs 60kg, with a 60m aerial assembly and has a range of up to 4km. Suffers from bad interference if operated too close to another set on the same frequency. Cost 2 PP.
-Tactical Escape Parachute: A backpack parachute deployed by a ripcord system, which slows the rate of fall enough for a pilot to survive bailing out from a plane, at reasonable altitudes. Is somewhat heavy and too bulky to be worn in flight, instead being stored under the seat. Cost 1 PP for 2 squadrons.
-K-4524 Torpedo: A 700kg deck-launched torpedo with 2 kilometres of range at 33 knots, the K-4524 is a reliable design already in use by the Kolechian Navy on its destroyers and torpedo boats. The torpedo is powered by a kerosene wet-heater engine, with a 200kg explosive charge. Cost 2 PP.
Pilots:
-Coordinated: Strength in numbers! Kolechian pilots work well together and are better coordinated in combat.
-Uniforms: Red with silver accents. Pilots are issued a thick, flowing red cape which flutters gloriously in the wind, inspiring the men on the ground.
Technology:
-Basic/Intermediate biplane design
-Basic/Intermediate monoplane design
-Basic/Intermediate balloon design
-Wooden frame construction
-Basic control surfaces: wing warping, elevator and rudder and ailerons.
-Foster mount technology
-Rudimentary synchronisation gear
-Pyrotechnics
-Basic spark-gap radio, crystal receivers
-Tracer rounds
-Basic/Intermediate rotary engine design
-V8 engine design
-Two-engine layout
-Basic bombsight
Resources:
-1 Pilot Training Institute: Teaches new pilots what each lever does. When to pull each lever is up to the student.
-1 Developmental Airfield: Designs new planes and other air-related equipment. Produces five dice worth of progress every turn.
-28 production points base
-2 production points from the Ottoman sale (2 turns remaining)

Spoiler: Squadrons (click to show/hide)

Squadron 1 | Equilibrium Fighter Monoplane (R9 model) | TEP | Air Superiority | Rookie | Piotr | Maintenance Cost 2
Currently assigned to secure air superiority over the Kemilov-Dreidansk Road

Squadron 2 | Equilibrium Fighter Monoplane (R7 model) | TEP | Air Superiority | Rookie | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 2
Currently assigned to secure air superiority over the Kemilov-Dreidansk Road

Squadron 3 | Equilibrium Fighter Monoplane (R9 model) | TEP | Air Superiority | Rookie | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 2
Currently assigned to secure air superiority outside Basselton

Squadron 4 | Equilibrium Fighter Monoplane (R7 model) | TEP | Air Superiority | Rookie | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 2
Currently assigned to secure air superiority outside Estwice

Squadron 5 | Feather-1914 Scout Plane | Type 11 LMG | Air Superiority | Rookie | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to secure air superiority along the Derboise-Demisonne Road

Squadron 6 | Feather-1914 Scout Plane | Type 11 LMG | Air Superiority | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned as Squadron 5's wingmen

Squadron 7 | Feather-1914 Scout Plane | Type 11 LMG, Oracle Camera | Air Superiority | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to perform aerial photoreconnaissance at the Kemilov-Dreidansk frontlines

Squadron 8 | Feather-1914 Scout Plane | Type 11 LMG, Oracle Camera | Air Superiority | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to perform aerial photoreconnaissance at Mizogorod

Crimson Eagles | Feather-1914 Scout Plane | No Equipment | Performance | Regular | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned as the KPAF's Official Acrobatics Squadron

Observer 1 | Hykib Observation Balloon | Artillery Spotter Equipment | Artillery Spotting | Regular | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to artillery spotting along the Kemilov-Dreidansk Road

Observer 2 | Hykib Observation Balloon | Artillery Spotter Equipment | Artillery Spotting | Rookie | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to artillery spotting along the Estwice-Zydinah Road

Observer 3 | Hykib Observation Balloon | Artillery Spotter Equipment | Naval Artillery Spotting | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to artillery spotting at Basselton

Observer 4 | Hykib Observation Balloon | Artillery Spotter Equipment | Naval Artillery Spotting | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to naval raiding

Spoiler: Equipment (click to show/hide)

None

Spoiler: Statistics (click to show/hide)

Prestige: Little
Status: Auxiliary Service
Army Relations: Warm
Navy Relations: Lukewarm

Production Points: 27
Total Maintenance: 17

[Cnidaros]

I mean, yeah, that's one angle we can approach it from. I'm pretty sure we can submit multiple entries, though, so there's no need to mix messages. Like, the event just asks for the best advertisement to attract new test pilots, not specifically one downplaying the risks.

Actually, Cnidaros, can we submit multiple entries, and do we submit them here or in the core thread?

To answer this: yes, you can submit multiple entries, and you can post them here, where I'll collate them all and post it in the core thread with the battle report.

[Kashyyk]

@Cnidaros: if we did acquire a balloon tender, how much would it cost us to maintain one? Also, how long a runway does a Feather, EFM or Levib need to take off?

I imagine a seaplane tender would cost a similar amount to a balloon tender. Using these plans and some basic feather float planes we should be able to deploy our own naval aircraft fairly easy. Might want some bombs than a feather could drop though.

[Cnidaros]

@Cnidaros: if we did acquire a balloon tender, how much would it cost us to maintain one? Also, how long a runway does a Feather, EFM or Levib need to take off?

I imagine a seaplane tender would cost a similar amount to a balloon tender. Using these plans and some basic feather float planes we should be able to deploy our own naval aircraft fairly easy. Might want some bombs than a feather could drop though.

For the single ship purchase: free/abstracted, as I don't track things outside of the squadrons. The ship would only be useful for R&D purposes though, as one ship cannot support an entire squadron. When you progress further into the naval aviation field, you can either continue with the split-command model where the navy provides the ships and you the aircraft squadrons to operate from them, or you might decide to get your own ships. The latter would obviously be more expensive and may displease the navy, but you would have full command over where and how they're deployed, along with any benefits/drawbacks in prestige from combat actions they undertake or aviation firsts.

Note that in the hypothetical case where you research and buy your own ships for your own floatplane squadron, it isn't going to cost something like (4 x 3) + 3 = 15 PP! Economies of scale are a thing, these navy-independent squadrons will be expensive, but not quite that expensive.

For runway lengths, about 150m for the Feather, 200m for the EFM and nearly 700m for the Levib.

[Khang36]

I think we should stay in cooperation with the navy though getting some ships for testing and proof of concept seems like a good idea.

[10ebbor10]

So, what's our plan?

[NUKE9.13]

Right. Well, revising some proper bombs might be good. Not sure what else needs revising.

[10ebbor10]

Here's a bunch of revisions.

Synchronization Gear recalibration

The Equilibrium's synch gear has never been up to spec. We resolve to fix that now. By carefully testing and evaluating various configurations, and making a few small adjustements, we should succeed in increasing the firerate while avoiding shooting of our own propellor.

Reflector sight

It's often hard for a pilot to see precisely where he is aiming. After all, if a pilot looks wrong through sights, he may encounter parallax or other errors, causing him to miss his target. The reflector sight resolves this issues ingeniously.

At it's core, the device is simple. Ambient light enters through a small hole at the top, where a targeting reticle has been painted. It is then reflected by an internal mirror towards a partially reflective concave glass. This conclave lens has it's focussed placed upon the reflective targeting reticule, which result in the creation of a virtual image it infinity.

As a result, the pilot sees a targeting reticule superimposed upon his target, and always in the right spot, no matter at which angle he looks through it. For easier targeting, the reticule consists of multiple concentric circles, which the pilots can use a visual reference in case they need to lead or lag the target

Incendiary/AP Ammunition

These belts consists out of a mixture of large phosphor filled bullets, and hardened armorpiercing bullets. They're intended to be used against enemy balloons, bursting and then igniting their large fuel reserves. Even so, they're still useable against planes.

Standard Uniform Revision

A lot of negotiation, minor gifts and other activities have resulted in the parachute being included in the standard uniform of the Kolechian airforce. As such, we no longer need to concern ourselves with budgetting for it.

[Kashyyk]

Apparently I forgot to post this earlier, but hey ho.

Assuming the KNAS Revolution is typical, we could probably convert a cargo ship to have a runway 150m long. By rotating the ship to face into the wind, we should be able to launch Feathers from a carrier.

We'd have to design a refit plan for the navy to use, and something for the Feathers to deal damage with, or a one way morse radio for spotting. But that will allow us to put planes on the sea. I want to do this.

Anyway, that's future stuff.

I like your revisions there ebbor. I also suggest the following:

Dogbark Bomb
Take the Dogbite, remove the propellant, add some fins and fix the reliability issues. This should give us a solid, lighter bomb for aircraft use.

[Taricus]

Ebbor, we're going to need a new system for the synch gear, since IIRC we're still using a mechanical one.

[Doomblade187]

Ebbor, we're going to need a new system for the synch gear, since IIRC we're still using a mechanical one.

We should move to electrical operation asap.

[Cnidaros]

Bump. Gonna need some revision votes up in here.

[10ebbor10]

Synchronization Gear recalibration
Reflector sight  : (1) 10ebbor10
Incendiary/AP ammunition  : (1) 10ebbor10
Standard Uniform Revision : (1) 10ebbor10
Dogbark Bomb : (1) 10ebbor10