DOUBLE ISSUE
Volume 32, Number 5-6

10th Indy Title for Stephen

For the first five turns, the Indy Squadron's 2020 Armistice Day Fits Tournament appeared to be just another well-matched title game. The contest was held on Saturday afternoon, November 7th at the home of Nelson and Sharon Skinner in Lewisville, Indiana. A fresh, hot lunch of brats, hot dogs, chips and dip, soft drinks and snacks was served as the first turn was getting underway. 

It was difficult balancing a seven-player game, so the scenario offered evenly-matched airplanes and a pot luck dice roll as to who would get the odd player. The only concession made to even the scenario was that rookie player Taylor Morgan (who did not, in fact, end up playing like a rookie) would be on the side with a numerical advantage. The sides stacked up like this: 

Volume 32, Number 5 

Armistice Day Championship Preview 

This one is for all the marbles! The Indy Squadron's most prestigious event will be held for the 32nd consecutive year on the first Saturday in November. The winner receives a very special edition of the squadron's most coveted prize, the Victory Medal. Every Victory Medal is a gold medal hung on a red ribbon, and this year's version is a re-purposed award from a rifle shooting competition in 1947. There will only ever be one such award and it goes to the 2020 Indy Squadron champion! 

We will return to our Lewisville, Indiana venue for this year's Indy Squadron Armistice Day Fits Championship. A short warm-up game will begin at 11:00 am on Saturday, November 7, 2020. Please expect an early end to this game. It is merely a warm-up. We would like to have dice rolling for the first turn of the tournament by 1:00-1:30 pm. Here is the full data: 

Indy Squadron's Armistice Day Fits Tournament 2020
Saturday, November 7, 2020 
11:00 am 
108 S Market Street 
Lewisville IN 

Please note that Google maps consistently gets the address as being north of US 40. This address is south of US 40, regardless of what your digital map claims. 
​

Volume 32, Number 4 

​New Venue for Indy Gaming, October 10 Gaming Report 

The Indy Squadron has a wonderful new venue for gaming at a private residence in Lewisville, Indiana. The town represents a nice halfway point between the players in the Indianapolis area and those in the eastern part of the state. The venue is an open, double garage with climate control, refrigerator and a table that can easily accommodate 10 or more players. There is also a secondary room attached with recliners and a pool table nearby for those who inadvertently exit the game early. 

The Indy Squadron held five games on October 10, 2020 in Lewisville with five players present (Stephen, Rick, Ethan, Dory, Michael). Nearly every player scored a victory at some point in the day. Missions included North Sea assignments as well as SE 5a's, SPAD VII's, Fokker Triplanes, a rare balloon victory by a SPAD XI crew, another balloon victory to Ethan's SPAD pilot and an appearance by Italian ace Sgt. Melchoire Giovanni (Stephen, 20/12). 

It was great to see Michael return to the gaming table, and for Dory to be able to spend an entire gaming day with the squadron. A photo journal of the day is below courtesy of Nelson Skinner photography.

​
Date Set for Armistice Day 

The Indy Squadron's 32nd annual Armistice Day Fits Tournament is slated for Saturday, November 7, 2020 at 11:00 am. The venue is yet to be determined, but will likely be held in Lewisville again. Bob Meister is the reigning champion and is expected to return to defend his title. 

This year we hope to use the first medal from the historic 1940's and 50's Becker medal collection as our Victory Medal. For the full story behind this collection of rare shooting medals, see this special story in Volume 31, Number 3 of the Dispatch from November 2019. The suggestion to use these medals as our Victory Medals for the next few years was favorably received. 

Memoirs of WWI Ace Ernst Udet in Print Again

Ernst Udet's autobiography, "Ace of the Black Cross," is required reading for any Dawn Patrol player or World War I aviation enthusiast. Udet ranked as Germany's 2nd leading ace with 62 confirmed victories in World War I. He wrote his autobiography in the mid-1930s but the book has been in and out of print for some time. 

"Ace of the Black Cross" has now been reprinted by Frontline Books of London and can be ordered by American readers directly from Casemate Publishers of Virginia. This book is well reproduced with a center section of qualify photographs on acid-free stock. It comes in softcover format and is available for the surprisingly affordable price of $22.95. 

This book is a "must have" for any aviation library and is highly recommended by ISD. Secure your copy of this World War I aviation classic while it is still available. 

Volume 32, Number 3 

Skinners Sweep Red Baron Fight XXXI 

Experience was not the deciding factor in the 31st annual Indy Squadron Red Baron Fight, held at the Meister's home outside of Thorntown, Indiana on May 25th. It was the gun jams of his opponents and a dash of luck at just the right moment gave Stephen Skinner his 10th Silver Goblet. 

The sides on this year's six-player event were as follows: 

Germans
A. J. Meister                     Fokker DrI              (Edmund Meister, 4/0) 
Ethan Skinner                  Fokker DrI (red)      (UNT Ludwig Vogal, 2/0)
Rick Lacy                         Fokker DrI               (VZFW Sasha Diederich, 6/1) 

British
Stephen Dale Skinner      Camel 150              (LT James Sadler, 10/2)
Bob Meister                      Camel 150              (2LT Jonny Wilson, 10/0) 
Stephen Daniel Skinner   Camel 150              (2LT Demetrius Hall, 7/4) 

Volume 32, Number 2 

April 25 Game Report 

The Indy Squadron gathered at the Meister's new gaming center for the first time on April 25, 2020 to replicate four World War I aerial battles in the Dawn Patrol board game. Six players attended and a full tour of the Meister's beautiful new property preceded the games. As always, Donna Meister went above and beyond the call to provide everyone a delicious menu throughout the day. 

Game 1

The first game featured three Clerget-powered British Camels (Stephen Dale, Ethan and Stephen) against a trio of Fokker DVII's with high compression 160 horsepower engines (Bob, Rick and A.J.). Ethan and Stephen Dale were particularly effective and although the Brits failed to score any confirmed victories, they held a slight advantage over the Germans for most of the game. All pilots on both sides returned from the mission safely. 

Volume 32, Volume 1

Society Announces 2020 Spring Mini Con 

The annual Fight in the Skies Society Spring Mini Convention is to be held April 23-26 at the Comfort Suites at the Milwaukee Airport. This year's convention will showcase some of the Society's most prestigious events, including the 7th Kerry Nash/Al Christensen Memorial, the "Big Game" and Dawn Patrol's ultimate prize, the Masters. 

The official flyer for the Mini Con is below, complete with game schedule, hotel and travel information. 

Book Review
"On the Road to Victory-The Rise of Motor Transport with the BEF on the Western Front" 
by Michael Harrison

Casemate Publishers/Pen & Sword books
Hard bound, 192 pages
$39.95 US
Order here:
https://www.casematepublishers.com/on-the-road-to-victory.html#.XmEoUOtOm70

Thank goodness, here is a college degree that was not wasted. Michael Harrison, author of “On the Road to Victory – The Rise of Motor Transport with the BEF on the Western Front,” earned his degree in British First World War studies at the University of Birmingham.

Now I had no idea anyone actually offered a degree in First World War studies. Then again, colleges are now offering degrees in ecogastronomy, fermentation and gender studies, so nothing should suprise us. We are grateful that Harrison's degree led him to produce a one-of-a-kind book that examines the role of motor transport for British forces during the Great War. We review Great War titles here at ISD on a regular basis and you can rest assured that you're not going to find another work like this one.

Harrison's work isn't limited to merely examining the machines themselves... the lorries, ambulances, trucks, troop carries and automobiles. “Road to Victory” also includes a full examination of the daily routines of fitters, mechanics and drivers who moved the British army across the Western Front. No stone is left unturned. The one-way street designs, the role of military police on roadways and even the construction of the roads themselves is studied in depth.

Harrison's tome utilizes a Times New Roman style font suitable for easy reading. At 192 pages, it is thorough and complete without being intimidating. It's 6x9 inch size makes it conveniently suited for packing in a backpack or briefcase during ride on the metro.

A final note that “Road to Victory” readers will appreciate is the quality of paper used by the publisher. While not up to acid-free standards, the paper is noticably superior and facilitates better reproduction of the 100 year old black and white photos that are plentiful throughout the book. Yes, you can use your magnifying glass to study them more closely. They are well done.

“Road to Victory” is a rare gem that will fill a gap in your World War I library. Highly recommended. 

Volume 31, Number 4

Bob Dominates 2019 Indy Title Game
Germans Prevail in Route 

For just the second time in Indy Squadron history, both Red Baron Fight and the Armistice Day Fits Tournament were held on the same day. On Saturday, November 16th, 2019, seven players gathered at the Danger Room (833 E 53rd St, Anderson IN) to hold both events. Red Baron Fight XXX began around 11:30 am (story below), followed by Indy's 31st annual championship tourney. Rick Lacy designed a well balanced scenario that stacked up like this: 

Allies
Kevin Richeson, Camel 110 
Stephen Dale Skinner, Sopwith Dolphin (no Lewis)
Ethan Skinner, SPAD XIII
Stephen Skinner, Morane Saulnier AI 

Germans
Bob Meister, Pfalz DXII
Rick Lacy, SSW DIII 
Bruce Yoder, Fokker DVI 

On paper the Allies should have had a slight edge in a reasonably balanced game. In reality, things started badly for the Allies and only got worse. 

Volume 31, Number 3 

2019 Armistice Day Tourney, Red Baron Fight XXX Set for This Weekend 

It's been a long time coming, but the Dawn Patrol season opens this weekend with two of the Indy Squadron's three premier events. The 30th edition of Indy's Red Baron Fight was postponed from its usual spring time slot. Despite repeated attempts at rescheduling, the decision was finally made to push the event into autumn. That means defending champion Rick Lacy got to wear his crown for another few months, but the Silver Goblet is up for grabs this weekend to a new winner.

​It also means that both RBF and Armistice Day games will be held on the same day for the first time since 1994, and for only the second time in the squadron's thirty-year history. Records are not precise, but it appears that both RBF V and the 1994 Indy Squadron championship were held on November 12, 1994 according to Indy Squadron Dispatch articles from the period.  

Volume 31, Number 2

Stephen Wins 6th Annual Whosyercon Open 

​The 2019 Whosyercon Open set plenty of new records, but they were record lows. This year's event was one of the shortest tournament games in Indy Squadron history. It produced the lowest winning score of any Indy tournament in the modern era (since the adoption of the current scoring system in 1994), even surpassing last year's then-record low score set by 2018 champ Rick Lacy. 

Five players gathered on March 23, 2019 at the Whosyercon gaming convention in the Wyndham West Indianapolis for the sixth edition of Indy's Whosyercon Open, tying the 2017 event for the lowest attendance on record. Every airplane in the scenario was outstanding, which probably contributed to the brevity of the game as it eventually played out (con't below).

Volume 31, Number 1 

​February Game Report 

The Indy Squadron gathered at the Meister's home in Indianapolis on February 2nd for a trio of games featuring five players (Ethan, A. J., Bob, Michael and Stephen). Mrs. Meister served a delicious round of bacon wrapped mini dogs, Magic Bars chocolate desert and an array of snacks (thank you!).

This session had a different feel entirely. Instead of the DP's infamous Chart Patrol slavery in which we played only the scenarios dictated by the random charts, we let anyone at the table design their own mission. We played three interesting and fun filled scenarios and here's how they turned out. 

Game 1 

​Set in June 1917, the first game pitted three French Nieuport 17's flown by Bob, Michael and Stephen against a pair of Albatros DVa's piloted by Ethan and A. J. Although the German team appeared to be underdogs on paper due to their lack of experience, they actually flew a flawless game and fought the French Nieuport's to a draw despite some expert tailing by two-time Red Baron Fight champion Michael Morgan. No aerial victories were scored and all participants flew home safely.