| Volume 28, Number 10 Michael Wins Victory Medal, Indy Title With two Red Baron Fight wins and an Armistice Day title already to his credit, Michael Morgan needed only a squadron title and a Victory Medal to round out his Indy Squadron resume. He got it last weekend. The 28th Indy Squadron Armistice Day Fits Tournament was held on Saturday, November 12, 2016 at Hometown Comics & Games in Greenfield, Indiana. The 9-player turnout was the highest since the 2010 event, while the 93-point winning score was the lowest since the modern scoring system was instituted in 1994. | |
The mission scenario was set on the Italian Front and the sides stacked up like this:
Bob Meister, Italian Ansalso A1
Kevin Richeson, Italian Ansaldo A1
Ethan Skinner, Italian Hanriot HD-2
Michael Morgan, Italian Hanriot HD-3
Stephen Dale Skinner, Italian Hanriot HD-3
Dory Oda, A/H Aviatik DI
George Henion, A/H Oeffag DIII 153
Rick Lacy, Phonix DI
Stephen Skinner, Phonix DI
The Phonix fighters were adapted to permit the clearing of jammed guns and allow one square of 90-degree turning in either direction per game turn. The Hanriot HD-3's flew without observers.
The tourney box did its job, forcing close combat in the opening turns that culminated in a surprising early development. Bob's opening shot hit George's Austro-Hungarian pilot with a light wound in the arm, which put the already outnumbered Central Powers pilots in a hole that would gradually worsen throughout the game.
Bob then teamed up with Michael to continue the attack on George's Oeffag fighter. After sustaining eight hit factors in his left wing in addition to a light wound, George had little choice but to escape combat and leave his team outnumbered five to three. George made a successful landing at a friendly field and survived.
Rick's Austro-Hungarian Phonix fighter was the next to go. He had four engine hits in his plane and a light wound in his pilot following a protracted battle with Stephen Dale, Kevin and Ethan. Rick fled the battle and his pilot survived a crash landing at an Austro-Hungarian field, leaving only Dory's Aviatik and Stephen's Phonix to face all five Italians. The engine on Bob's Ansaldo fighter was smoking, but otherwise the Italian flight was unscathed. Dory's Austro-Hungarian fighter had one machine gun jammed while Stephen's had been hit some twenty times resulting in critical damage to the left wing.
Shortly afterward Stephen's Phonix was attacked by three opponents at once. The result was a smoking engine, -20 mph penalty on top and turn speed, and a maximum climb of only 50 feet per turn.
In desperation, Dory and Stephen attempted a distant, double head-on attack against Michael that was unsuccessful. Ethan then fired on Dory's Aviatik and her engine caught fire. She landed on the following turn in No Man's Land and was captured for the duration of the war to give Ethan the game's only solo kill. Stephen's Phonix was now alone in the sky facing all five Italians (although Stephen Dale found himself out of position and soon left the combat).
Ethan and Kevin renewed the attack by shooting up the wings on Stephen's Phonix, making it a virtual certainty that he would go down the next time he was attacked despite his low-altitude dash for safety. Limping along at 60 mph, his airplane was attacked on the following turn by Bob, Ethan and Michael. Ethan missed. Michael and Bob shot Stephen down just inside Italian lines, splitting the points for a confirmed kill and securing the win for Michael.
Had Ethan been able to hit either of Stephen's wings with just one hit factor and force a three-way split for the points, he would have finished in a dead tie with Michael for a share of the squadron championship. Instead, Michael won by fourteen points.
Michael initially became an Armistice Day tournament winner in 2014, but was ineligible for the squadron title that year. After establishing eligibility early this season, his 2016 win gave him Indy's highest honor, the Victory Medal, the squadron championship and lifetime eligibility for future title games.
Michael Morgan, 93 points
Ethan Skinner, 79
Bob Meister, 75
Kevin Richeson, 61
Stephen Skinner, 52
Stephen Dale Skinner, 39
Dory Oda, 33
Rick Lacy, 22
George Henion, 21
Bob Meister, Italian Ansalso A1
Kevin Richeson, Italian Ansaldo A1
Ethan Skinner, Italian Hanriot HD-2
Michael Morgan, Italian Hanriot HD-3
Stephen Dale Skinner, Italian Hanriot HD-3
Dory Oda, A/H Aviatik DI
George Henion, A/H Oeffag DIII 153
Rick Lacy, Phonix DI
Stephen Skinner, Phonix DI
The Phonix fighters were adapted to permit the clearing of jammed guns and allow one square of 90-degree turning in either direction per game turn. The Hanriot HD-3's flew without observers.
The tourney box did its job, forcing close combat in the opening turns that culminated in a surprising early development. Bob's opening shot hit George's Austro-Hungarian pilot with a light wound in the arm, which put the already outnumbered Central Powers pilots in a hole that would gradually worsen throughout the game.
Bob then teamed up with Michael to continue the attack on George's Oeffag fighter. After sustaining eight hit factors in his left wing in addition to a light wound, George had little choice but to escape combat and leave his team outnumbered five to three. George made a successful landing at a friendly field and survived.
Rick's Austro-Hungarian Phonix fighter was the next to go. He had four engine hits in his plane and a light wound in his pilot following a protracted battle with Stephen Dale, Kevin and Ethan. Rick fled the battle and his pilot survived a crash landing at an Austro-Hungarian field, leaving only Dory's Aviatik and Stephen's Phonix to face all five Italians. The engine on Bob's Ansaldo fighter was smoking, but otherwise the Italian flight was unscathed. Dory's Austro-Hungarian fighter had one machine gun jammed while Stephen's had been hit some twenty times resulting in critical damage to the left wing.
Shortly afterward Stephen's Phonix was attacked by three opponents at once. The result was a smoking engine, -20 mph penalty on top and turn speed, and a maximum climb of only 50 feet per turn.
In desperation, Dory and Stephen attempted a distant, double head-on attack against Michael that was unsuccessful. Ethan then fired on Dory's Aviatik and her engine caught fire. She landed on the following turn in No Man's Land and was captured for the duration of the war to give Ethan the game's only solo kill. Stephen's Phonix was now alone in the sky facing all five Italians (although Stephen Dale found himself out of position and soon left the combat).
Ethan and Kevin renewed the attack by shooting up the wings on Stephen's Phonix, making it a virtual certainty that he would go down the next time he was attacked despite his low-altitude dash for safety. Limping along at 60 mph, his airplane was attacked on the following turn by Bob, Ethan and Michael. Ethan missed. Michael and Bob shot Stephen down just inside Italian lines, splitting the points for a confirmed kill and securing the win for Michael.
Had Ethan been able to hit either of Stephen's wings with just one hit factor and force a three-way split for the points, he would have finished in a dead tie with Michael for a share of the squadron championship. Instead, Michael won by fourteen points.
Michael initially became an Armistice Day tournament winner in 2014, but was ineligible for the squadron title that year. After establishing eligibility early this season, his 2016 win gave him Indy's highest honor, the Victory Medal, the squadron championship and lifetime eligibility for future title games.
Michael Morgan, 93 points
Ethan Skinner, 79
Bob Meister, 75
Kevin Richeson, 61
Stephen Skinner, 52
Stephen Dale Skinner, 39
Dory Oda, 33
Rick Lacy, 22
George Henion, 21
News and Notes
- Indy players have decided to game on either January 1st or January 2nd, depending on work schedules. Watch ISD for details soon.
- An incomplete 2017 schedule has been updated on the right menu bar of this page with all gaming dates that are known at this time.
- The Armistice Day Fits Tournament page has been updated with new all-time records and a complete list of scores from all previous games.
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