The Celtic Blade wrote:
Moving on from keeping your dignity when deciding to retire, what about dignity at the start of the game.
Is it right for pilots (most often Allied ones) to wander around doing 1 maneuvers while waiting for the Germans to run out of fuel?
Likewise is it fair to shoot down a player who you know has lost their engine or is out of fuel?
Is there any dignity there?
Interesting questions.
The fuel thing is tricky. Most German planes have less petrol, obviously; but with 52 vs 45 fuel, there's no reason to assume the battle has to be fought within a move of the German board edge (as some assume). A difference of seven fuel is not much.
So personally I think it's fine if the Allied player starts slow (as most Germans do) so as to fight the battle 'right of centre' but not too far right! (Especially as, IMO, most German planes are better than Allied equivs, fuel aside).
But meandering around so as to deplete the German reserves of fuel is just plain silly.
Now, shooting chaps whose engine has gone or who is sans fuel: from my reading, pilots got 'nastier' as the war went on (like all arms); but I have read some instances as late as 1918 where a pilot was particularly impressed with the courage of an enemy 'flying fellow' and let him go. However, most squadron leaders would discourage this.
Lastly, although dignity is partially a personal thing, it has to involve the opinions of others, I think - otherwise one becomes a monster; after all, tyrants like Hitler or Stalin probably felt they had dignity but they cared little or nothing for the dignity of others.
SirFrancis |