Bob Dominates 2019 Title Game ~ Stephen Takes 9th Silver Goblet in RBF XXX

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. 

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​On the first turn, three of the four Allied players lost initiative and had to move first. Stephen's Morane fighter and Kevin's Camel were pounded hard by all three Germans. The only Allied player with a shot wasted his chance through a movement error. 

The second turn was a repeat of the first. Three of four Allies moved first once again. Stephen's Morane was again lit up by the German fighters of Bruce and Bob, who scored a critical hits in the Morane's engine and tail. The French airplane was completely crippled, smoking and fighting for its life before ever firing a shot in self defense. 

Things continued to spiral downhill for the Allies on Turn 3 when Ethan's SPAD XIII accidentally ended its turn one square outside the tournament box. Stephen tried to fly his ailing Morane into a position that would offer Ethan a shot at any German who followed him, but the critical hit in the tail of his Morane mandated that he dive 800 feet... well out of range of Ethan's guns. For the sake of the players and the quickly deteriorating game, the Allies suggested that at least one German park his plane within 500 feet of Ethan in a sportsmanlike gesture, allowing Ethan to shoot at a target inside the tourney box and remain in the game. The German team declined. Ethan's SPAD was removed from the board and the already faltering Allied effort crumbled into a route. 

Bruce's Fokker and Rick's Schuckert DIII fired on Stephen's smoking Morane fighter and scored again, causing an even more severe oil leak. Rick and Stephen Dale continued their duel with neither player getting the upper hand. Both Sopwiths struggled with gun jams. 

Turn 4 continued the ongoing Allied disaster when Stephen's Morane Saulnier, now sporting 5 engine hits and 3 criticals, chose to exit the game. He parked his smoking Morane four squares outside the tourney box and drew the fire of two Germans while allowing Stephen Dale to fire on Rick's Schuckert. With only one gun, Stephen Dale's Dolphin could only inflict three points of damage nevertheless it was the game's high point for the Allies. Stephen's Morane crash-landed at a forward field and the pilot was killed, with "force enemy to escape" points being awarded to Bob's Pfalz pilot. 

Two Sopwiths remained on the game board, piloted by Stephen Dale and Kevin. They were now outnumbered and had a total of two operational machine guns between them. 

​The only thing that kept the game going was the fact that Bruce, who had been scoring heavily in the opening rounds, was managing gun issues in his Fokker DVI. Rick also lost initiative after repeated shots at both Stephen and Stephen Dale. The Germans retreated and regrouped, which delayed the inevitable for a few turns. 

By the eighth turn Rick was back on the offensive, scoring 9 hit factors on Kevin's Camel from the top. Over the next two turns, Stephen Dale's Dolphin latched onto the tail of Bruce's Fokker and fired, but Bruce responded with a clever Falling Leaf maneuver and broke free. Kevin attempted a 250-foot bottom shot on Bruce's Fokker but missed again. 

On Turn 11 both Allies rolled high initiative and had to move first again. By this time, the damage on Stephen Dale's Dolphin forced him out of the fight. Rick's Schuckert pilot got bored and called it a day. That left Kevin's Camel alone in the sky against Bruce, who couldn't get a good initiative roll when he really needed it, and Bob, who had been firing to beat the band for the last half of the game. 

Shot to pieces with his Camel's tail and left wing barely remaining intact, Kevin eventually cut his engine and landed at a forward field behind Allied lines. The game's only solo kill went to Bob's Pfalz DXII pilot, who also managed to score a game high 68 points on hit factors alone. Thus ended a lopsided and somewhat bizarre title game for 2019.

Bob won his first championship title in five tries by a comfortable margin in a rarely used airplane. The Pfalz DXII has only ten total appearances in the 31-year history of the Armistice Day Fits Tournament, with only one win (Ken Mrozak, 2007). Compare that to the 34 appearances by Sopwith Camels and 42 entries from the Fokker DVII family.

All three Germans flew at a championship level, while the futile Allied cause was supported only through the excellent flying of Kevin and Stephen Dale. The 2019 tournament produced the second first-time squadron champion in the last four years (Michael Morgan, 2016). Stephen also became the second player in consecutive years who failed to capture Indy's fabled triple crown (Whosyercon Open, Red Baron Fight and Armistice Day in the same year) after taking the first two events (Rick Lacy, 2018).

123 points, Bob Meister, Pfalz DXII
65, Rick Lacy, Siemens Schuckert DIII
51, Bruce Yoder, Fokker DVI 
35, Kevin Richeson, Sopwith Camel 110 
27, Stephen Dale Skinner, Sopwith Dolphin
15, Ethan Skinner, SPAD XIII
0, Stephen Skinner, Morane-Saulnier AI

Stephen Takes 9th Silver Goblet in Red Baron Fight XXX 
Stephen Dale Narrowly Misses 3rd RBF Win 

Stephen Dale turned out to be the unsung hero of the day (see also "Bob Dominates 2019 Indy Title Game"). He fought flawlessly and remained in championship form throughout both events, coming within one good burst of taking his third RBF title. But in the end, the medals and glory went elsewhere. 

The 30th annual Indy Squadron Red Baron Fight was held on November 16, 2019 at The Danger Room Games and Comics in Anderson, Indiana with the following teams in place: 

Germans
Bruce Yoder (LTN Warner Van Horne 18/7), red Fokker DrI 
Ethan Skinner (UNT.LeRoy Schniefel 0/0), Fokker DrI
Rick Lacy (UNT Lawrence Reiter 27/6), Fokker DrI

British
Stephen Dale Skinner (XXX), Camel 150
Bob Meister (2LT Jonny Wilson 8/0), Camel 150 
Stephen Skinner (2LT Demetrius Hall 6/3), Camel 150 

The entire German team moved first but the Camels failed to truly capitalize on the moment. Stephen and Stephen Dale missed completely while Bob managed an ​8-hit burst into Ethan's DrI. 

By Turn 3 the Germans were swinging back, with Bruce - playing the part of the Red Baron - sending two hits into the engine of Stephen's Camel. Stephen Dale missed all three of his opening shots in the game, all of which would return to haunt him at the end. 

The entire game would be characterized by missed opportunities. Ethan began the game with an error that cost him altitude. He flew well later in the game but by that time he had already absorbed too much damage to be effective. Bob sent another seven rounds into the tail of Ethan's DrI to no avail. Bruce jammed both of his DrI's machine guns and had to retreat. Rick was also repairing gun jams and had lost initiative in the fight. 

The real break in the game came when initiative numbers conspired to leave Ethan's DrI with no protection from his wingmen and no opportunity to attack. He exercised his only remaining option - running away - but was double attacked by the Camels of Stephen and Stephen Dale and took a total of 13 hits. His airplane went down inside German lines as a split kill between the two Brits (Stephen would win the post game cut for credit). This put Bob in a foul mood since he had done significant damage to Ethan's Triplane early in the game, earning him the nickname "Bitter Bob" for the remainder of the afternoon. But fate would come full circle for him in the next game. 

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Bruce returned with full fury late in the game and put another three rounds into the motor of Stephen's Camel, bringing it to five engine hits but still no critical damage. Bob's Camel returned fire and hit Bruce hard. 

The next pivotal moment occurred in Turn 11. With Rick still fighting gun jams and poor initiative rolls, Bruce was holding off all three Sopwith Camels single-handed until Stephen and Stephen Dale managed a double attack. Stephen scored 9 hits from below while Stephen Dale added 6 from the tail. Outnumbered and shot to pieces, Bruce's red DrI cut its engine and glided behind German lines where his ace pilot bailed out successfully and survived. The kill points were again split between Stephen and Stephen Dale (Stephen would win the post game cut for credit) and Bitter Bob became more so. 

A cat and mouse game between the last two Camels and Rick's DrI was indecisive. Stephen Dale knew he was within one good burst of winning his third Silver Goblet but his Camel didn't have the performance to chase down Rick's evasive Triplane. 

In the end, the Red Baron Fight was also lopsided with the Camels securing the three top positions, but considerably less predictable than Armistice Day would be. Rick and Bruce remained in the fight to the end, and gun jams were a primary factor in the final outcome. 

This was only the second game in the 30-year history of the Indy Squadron Red Baron Fight to feature exactly six players. The only other such game was in April of 2014 and was ironically won by Stephen Dale in a Sopwith Camel. 

The final result was a narrow win for Stephen, who scored a record ninth victory in Indy's spring classic. 

97 points, Stephen Skinner, Sopwith Camel 150
83, Stephen Dale Skinner, Sopwith Camel 150 
69, Bob Meister, Sopwith Camel 150 
59, Rick Lacy, Fokker DrI 
38, Bruce Yoder, Fokker DrI (red) 
0, Ethan Skinner, Fokker DrI ​