Design Phase, Late Spring 1915The Crimson Eagles and Observer 1 of Hykib balloons have reached Regular experience level. Squadron 5 of Feathers has reached Rookie experience level.
In the north, the generals think that the KPAF should divert some planes to actually helping the ground troops. They point out that Oracle cameras, or even a squadron dedicated to reconnaissance with only flareguns, might have helped the battle here this month. As it is, while the KPAF has air superiority here, it’s not of much use at the moment.
In the centre, the absolute swarm of Equilibrium Fighter Monoplanes has reaped a heavy toll on the Verusan squadrons. The recapture of Dreidansk and threatening of Estwice has improved relations with the army, somewhat recovering from the low last turn. With both spotter balloons and photoreconnaissance in this theatre, the generals are rather confident of recapturing Estwice next turn as well, provided that Dreidansk is still held and blocking the Verusan supply lines.
To the south, the marines are not happy with being bombed by the Sky Crusaders, especially now that the Great Emu has made its appearance. They request that more aircraft be sent here to fend off the bombers and aid the fight for Basselton. In other news, the defence of Mizogorod has become less of a priority, although continued missions here may see the Verusans pushed entirely out of the island’s south.
The introduction of the Tactical Escape Parachutes has caused some division among pilots of the KPAF. While the parachutes have saved the lives of a few airmen so far, there is an undercurrent of discontent among other pilots, the ones flying Feathers and the observers in the Hykibs. Supposedly, they are unhappy that the parachutes are issued only to those flying EFMs, despite the stated rationale being that these more experienced pilots are also more valuable. The most straightforward way to resolve this would be to budget for issuing TEPs to every squadron – but other solutions may be possible, depending on what you can think up of.
There is also the matter of the possible Midako deal to consider. For now, the Midako are asking only for the blueprints of the basic Feather model, without weapons. In return, they offer 1 PP for the next two turns.
The guards from the Ministry of Integrity have taken up positions around the airfield’s buildings. Meanwhile, their commissar has taken over one of the disused storerooms as his office, complete with several metal filing cabinets that are the staple of any proper Kolechian office
.High command has increased your budget by 3 PP, as the country devotes more factories to war. In addition, your budget is increased by 2 PP from the licensed sale of designs to the Ottomans.
Levib Bomber Biplane | 2/14 progress | 3 PP per die | Rushed 0 times | 3 PP invested
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)
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
Prestige: Little
Status: Auxiliary Service
Army Relations: Warm
Navy Relations: Lukewarm
Production Points: 30
Total Maintenance: 17
Author
Topic: Knights of the Skies: Kolechia Thread - Early Summer 1916, Production Phase (Read 55530 times)