Hi all,

I am confused with damage cards for jammed guns in both damage deck A and B. There is Gun jam damage card with green cross and red cross. My work mates whom i play game thinks it is for clearing (green X) and causing (red X) gun jam. I arguing there is no such a rule in game rules and i treat both as just gun jam. Where is a truth and what is reason for green and red X on gun jam damage card? Thanks for info. I have Wings of War Deluxe set (that one with 4 minis boxed).

ataribaby said:

The colors of the Xs relate to the "Bullet Checker" optional rule used in some scenarios.

Short form: Some pilots would carefully check their ammo before a mission, tossing out any rounds which looked questionable. By doing this, these pilots suffered fewer jams than the "normal" pilots.

In game terms: If a pilot is a BC, and draws a green X, his guns *don't* jam. A red X causes a jam as usual.

Thanks a lot. So for standard out of box game i was right - there is no difference in gun jam tokens.

Another way to pplay with red and green crosses is this one :

For planes making A damages :

-If the Jamming is red : both guns are jammed.

-if the jamming is green : only one of the two guns is jammed. The pilot must choose between unjamming his jammed gun or firing with the other one which still fires (shoot with B dammage Deck)

For planes using B damage Deck : Both jam cards are used like a red one.

Merlin Dex said:

Uhm, that would only work if you have a a vicker and a lewis gun or 2 lewis guns. When you have 2 vickers or Spauldings will both guns jam or none, that is how they work.

You could make the green one faster to fix instead, or if you have some kind of campaign rules make an ability (or just have aces have it) that makes the pilot only jam on reds.

Untrue about both guns jamming or neither. I've read combat reports from Frank Luke (American ace, flew SPAD XIII's) referring to continuing to fight after one gun jammed ("experienced a stoppage"), and shooting down an enemy with the remaining gun. Also, there are photos of WWI cockpits clearly showing two separate triggers on the joystick for firing the MG's, cleverly placed so that the pilot could fire one or both guns at his choice. I'm referring to many easily available photos of the Albatros DIII and DV cockpits, with twin Spandaus, not just the RAF SE5's.

In my "House Rules", here's how I handle ammo and gun jams:

AMMO and JAMS

Use only the "B" damage deck for aircraft machine guns. Deal each player 10 cards PER GUN, face down, representing their available ammo. When firing more than one gun, use one "B" damage card or EACH gun. For close range shots, use a second "B" card from the undealt pack for each gun.

OPTIONAL: Trigger-happy pilots with enough ammo to burn may, if they wish, double the number of damage cards given to a target. They risk increased jams and running out of ammo sooner, however.

c. GUN JAMS

All guns are jammed separately. Each jammed gun must be unjammed separately. Guns cannot be unjammed if the other gun is fired in the turn. If the firing player has "Bullet Checker" skills, ignore the jams resulting from damage cards with the GREEN "X".

d. LEWIS GUNS

Lewis guns (and some others, such as the Schwarzlose and Hotchkiss) have limited ammunition. After inflicting 5 cards of damage, treat the Lewis gun as "jammed" whether a jam result is shown on the damage card or not. This represents the pilot reloading the ammunition canister. Observer guns, whether Lewis or Parabellum or whatever, receive only one "jam" marker; since observers don't have to fly the plane, reloading is a simple task. You MUST clear any jams BEFORE attempting to reload. Pilots can only reload Lewis guns while flying straight and level, not firing any other guns and not dealing with any other "special damage".

Bouncer said:

Actually, you are right about the Spad. I am looking on a detailed picture of a Spad XIII and a Fokker DVII right now in the book Spad XIII vs Fokker DVII. Both planes actually have 2 triggers.A great book by a guy named Jon Guttman that have very nice pictures of the cockpits, it is published by Osprey.

The Albatross DIII however have a very different system with a single primitive trigger, you can see that clearly in the new red baron movie. The DV and DVa might use a different system, my pictures of them are somewhat unclear..

So the truth is that in some planes both guns will jamm while in some later one can still work and fire while the other wont work.