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Post by kevan on Jan 29, 2008 0:38:18 GMT -5
I was doing some reading the other day, and was reminded of a bit of Sopwith Dolphin trivia that conflicts with the way they're treated in the game. I did a bit more digging around tonight, and I've confirmed that the Lewis guns were mounted facing upwards. The maximum they could be declined without being in danger of trimming down the props was about 30 degrees above horizontal. This, and the fact that they had a tendency to lose alignment during maneuvers, making them difficult to aim, was the reason they were commonly removed. The one notable exception was 87th Squadron, where some pilots re-mounted the guns on the lower wing, outside of the propeller arc. These guns could be fired at the same time as the Vickers.
With this in mind, I'm wondering if the rules for Dolphins should state that the Lewis gun(s) can only be used for firing upward and possibly for top defence. Perhaps allow each pilot of a plane with two Lewis guns to roll 1D6, with a 6 allowing the lower wing mount, turning the guns into a pair of deck/wing guns that can be fired at the same time as the Vickers. One compromise of this arrangement is that the 97-round drums on the Lewis can not be changed when mounted on the lower wing.
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Post by AP on Jan 29, 2008 11:08:42 GMT -5
Kevan, Sounds like you have found VDP's first house rule! I would suggest pulling together all of your data and sending it to Mr. Carr, you may be able to make it into the 8th edition! As far as the wing mounted Lewis guns, I would say use the normal role to see if you have extra lewis guns, then if you do, use a percentage table to see if you are in the 87th Squadron. This will take some research to see how many squadrons were equipped with Dolphins (lmk if you need some help!). SO- lets say August 1918 there are 10 Dolphin squads, you would have a 10% chance for the wing mount. How does that sound? I would have to do some research myself, but I dont think they used this setup for air to air combat, it was more for ground attack... I did the same method for Pups in late 1917 as a few squadrons mounted a lewis like a Nieuport...
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Post by kevan on Jan 29, 2008 12:21:39 GMT -5
Well, for squadrons equipped with Dolphins and at the front, I have the following - 19, 23, 79, 85, and 87 - though I've seen other sources that say there were only four squadrons. So that's one out of 4 or 5, and only some 87 squadron pilots had the wing mounts. However, since so few of the other squadrons kept two Lewis guns, it may be fair to guesstimate a 1 in 6 chance.
I don't have Mike Carr's email address, but feel free to forward this info to him.
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