Cyril Woolly LT, Rfc, Instructor Pilot 4 Victorys, 40 Sqn, Bryas, AF Flanders France.
16 Jun 1918.
B flight was up 2 times today. Dawn Patrol: Ran into New guys on the enemy side. Spotted a flight off to the port, they must have been at the end of their patrol because 6 e/a turned in front of us at less then 1 NM showing their tails. We went full power and the flight knocked down 5 of them, one was mine, for a lost of 1 SE.
Replaced Sgt Philbee on the afternoon Patrol , he has the French Flu He screams a lot when using the outhouse or chamber pots, Hes off to the Medico's. The flight mixed it up with a flight of Albatross Vee Struts. A lot shooting then everyone was gone.
Cyril Woolly LT, Rfc, Instructor Pilot 5 Victorys, 40 Sqn, Bryas, AF Flanders France.
17 June 1918.
Dawn Patrol: No contact. The Sqn had 10 ships up in 2 flights.
AF Security Flight: B flight had the duty, the 5 of us went down towards Cappy and bounced 3 Rumplers at 8,000 ft. I got one. I say, when both guns are working they really Rip -up the Huns. The flight claimed all 3 e/a. We had 1 pilot wnd badly.
Cyril Woolly Cpt , Rfc, Instructor Pilot 6 Victorys, 40 Sqn, Bryas, AF Flanders France.
June 18, 1918.
Escorted a lone Rfc 7 Sqn RE8 down to Cappy. B flight ( 5 a/c ) was close escort at 8000 ft while Roving ( 2 a/c ) cover was at 10,000ft. Mission completed we turned for home. Looking back , I spotted The rovers ( Aces Naps, and Landis) climbing to engage a bunch of Huns. I waved Bye to B flight and turn at full power to go back to help. During the Melee , I bagged a Hun Scout then lost sight of everyone so RTB. The other 2 pilots claimed 1 each. Total of 3 for the Sqn.
Been hors de combat for several days, but will be back by week's end. Jerbear, I have been enthusiastically reading Goode's memoir. Congratulations on the first kill! Carrick, you have be the lifeblood of this thread!
Diary of Maj. Geoffrey Corderoy, 70 Squadron RFC Part 55: 7-18 February 1918
7 February 1918 – Poperinghe aerodrome
I have been making it a practice to add a flight every day, subject to orders, in order to exercise our new flight commanders under my direct command. It is, of course, also an excuse not to become desk-bound.
Weather has been filthy of late but still we fly. Today it was a line patrol to the south, where we met a large formation of Albatros scouts of the latest type high over Loos. It was a wonderful scrap, although several times I came within a whisker of colliding with another Camel. After about five minutes of taking snap shots at fleeting Huns and split-arsing about to keep other Huns off my tail, I spotted a lone Albatros diving shallowly eastward. I banked about and dived steeply so that I gained on the yellow and black machine. At 200 yards I began firing long bursts until the Hun burst into flames and its wings folded back. It was in the very same instant that Captain Howsam’s Camel appeared mere inches from my left wingtips and I threw my grid about to avoid a dreadful tangle. The Hun went tumbling away, trailing flame and smoke. Upon return to Pops, Howsam and I compared notes and it was clear that his last burst was the coup de grâce. Rather than share the kill, I insisted that Howsam get the credit.
8 February 1918
Sheeting rain, followed by sleet and snow cancelled all flights. Two Bessoneaus collapsed, with the complete loss of one Camel and damage to two others.
18 February 1918 – Folkstone, England
I have just picked up my journal for the first time in several days. Let me fill in the gap. On Sunday 10 February I took Gorringe and Quigley, along with Rankin, Todd, and Koch, up to intercept some Huns which had been spotted over Neuve Chapelle. We had pounded a beat up and down the sector for 45 minutes, when a large formation emerged out of the haze in the south. We were at 13000 feet, but the approaching aircraft were at least 2000 feet higher. I tried to climb towards the west and slip around them to put the sun behind us, but they saw us and dived all together.
They were Pfalz scouts, at least eight of them against our six. I turned and fired a full-deflection shot at one of them and then climbed to take stock of the situation. But the fight was over before it started, for a rattle of rounds hit my grid. Holes appeared in the fabric of my wings on both sides of the fuselage and there was a loud metallic bang followed by only the sound of wind. The Clerget had cut out completely.
It was nose down time. I kicked the Camel into a right-hand spin and plunged into a vertical dive. I looked all about, but never saw the Hun or Huns that had hit me – obviously from directly beneath. There were two holes between my feet. Those rounds must have passed between my legs. There was little thought of safety in this dive. Fabric tore away and the wind ripped at the stricken Camel. I was down to less than 3000 feet before I was able to ease out of the maddened dive. The trenches passed beneath, the woof and crack of Archie shook me about. I could see Bethune in the distance and spotted a space on a rutted road where the stumps of trees thinned out enough that I could land. The propeller stopped its windmilling as I skimmed over a sea of upturned faces – turbaned Sikhs lined the country lane. With a bump I stalled the Camel onto the road, trying to stay between the ruts. The machine bounced once and settled down after a few yards, close by an abandoned brickyard.
"The machine bounced once and settled down after a few yards, close by an abandoned brickyard."
It was only later that I realised my ears were ringing madly and a blinding pain overtook me. It was like a needle through my brain. Apparently the loss of altitude has affected my middle ear. I returned to Poperinghe that evening, but felt sick to my stomach with pain and was nearly deaf. I was dispatched to a CCS, then to the hospital at Calais. Within a couple of days I was back in England at this place, the Canadian Westcliffe Eye and Ear Specialist Hospital in Folkestone. They have kept me under observation and half-drugged, but the good news is that the eardrum has not ruptured. The liquid that collected in the middle ear has now begun to drain and I should soon be released, although they are unsure how the ear will react to flying at high altitudes. I had hoped to go back to SE5As, but working at lower level in Camels might be the only ticket I have.
Great stories everyone. Just caught up with my reading and the quality just keeps getting better and better. Kudos to all!
"Take the cylinder out of my kidneys, The connecting rod out of my brain, my brain, From out of my arse take the camshaft, And assemble the engine again."
Cyril Woolly Cpt , Rfc, Instructor Pilot 6 Victorys, 40 Sqn, Bryas, AF Flanders France.
Dash it all, I was done in by a rear gunner on his 1st rata tat. ( 5-12 rds ? ) B flight had low Patrol down by Cappy when we spotted Huns. I was number 2 in a Line astern attack Lt. Hogan led and got his 2 seat after we passed under the 5 scout escort. As soon as I got inrange the rear gunner fired and his rds hit my fuel tank. Nosed over and turned for our lines shutting off the motor. I had enough height to cross to our side and land on a road near a farm. Spent the rest of the day waiting for a ride back to the Mess.
Summer 1968, Great War Museum somewhere in Belgium.
“Daddy, Daddy! Who is this man standing in front of the plane with the lady on it?” A girl of 6 was pointing to an old black and white photograph in one of the displays. A man of about 30 leaned over and read the inscription: “Rittm Aldi Schwarzkopf. The leading ace of Jasta 18 with 111 confirmed victories was shot down on 19 February, 1918 while conducting infantry support mission in the area of Lens. The Schwarm was attacked by two flights of Brisfits. Schwarzkopf, heavily damaged and wounded managed to disengage and make a run for the nearest aerodrome. According to witnesses he was followed by a British machine and repeatedly fired upon from behind. The German ace lost control of his mount and crashed into one of the houses on the outskirts of Lens. He was killed instantly. Hmm ... that was 50 years ago.” “Daddy, was he a bad man?” The little girl inquired. “Why do you say that, Pumpkin?” “Well, he shooted people.” The girl answered. An old woman dressed in black was standing nearby listening to the conversation. She smiled with encouragement at the man as he was deciding how to best answer his daughter. He returned a curtesy nod to the stranger. “Well Pumpkin, it was a different time. Each country tried to defeat their enemy and shooting was the way to do it. He simply did what his country asked of him. Was it right? No. War, killing is never right, but he did his duty for his country and that does not make him a bad man. I’m sure that if they could resolve their disputes by eating ice cream, they would. How about some ice cream, Pumpkin?” “Yes!” The little girl’s eyes lit up. “What flavour would you like? Lemon?” “Bleh!” The girl made a sour face. “Chocolate! I want chocolate!” “Alright Pumpkin, let’s go get some ice cream.” The man grabbed the girl, lifted her on his back and walked toward an ice cream stand. The little girl’s giggles were now faint in the distance. The woman in black watched them disappear behind the corner. “No. He wasn’t a bad man.” Käte Otersdorf-Schwarzkopf leaned heavily on her cane. She moved toward the exit. It was midday and the heat was unbearable. The black and white photograph in the display was all that remained of the young pilot. The photograph and the memory.
"Take the cylinder out of my kidneys, The connecting rod out of my brain, my brain, From out of my arse take the camshaft, And assemble the engine again."
Intermittent rain up until about 14:30. Alk led Dewey, Simmy, Ralph and me on 3 Alert patrols between 14:00 and 17:00. All of them, apparently, the result of observed Archie barrages. 2 west of Pont-a'-Mousson and the last one over Martincourt.
On our 3rd outing, 2 enemy photo planes, Rumplers, were seen snooping around over Martincourt. We made for them and they turned north as soon as they caught sight of us. While the others chased them from behind, I separated myself from the others to cut the Heinies off as they made a wide turn toward Germany. In this way I was able to get ahead of them, then do a renversement to come at their front but a little below.. I brought the nose up for a good burst at the lead planes belly as we passed, then followed through with the loop to get in a quick burst into the rear from an upside down attitude. After my 2nd burst I banked away and piqued quickly beneath to avoid fire from the rear man's gun. I observed smoke, probably coming from the gas tank but no fire as the biplace sped away from me.
The two Germans split up after my frontal attack. Alk, Simmy and Snake chased my German while Dewey went after the other bird. As I flew toward Dewey to give him support I saw the top wing part company with the rest of the German plane. The pilot proved to be a plucky fellow and continued to fight as best he could with only his elevators and rudder. The rear man did significant damage to Dewey'r Nieuport before the Rumpler went into an irreversible spin into the ground.
Dewey followed it down while I stayed above to watch out for him. We lost sight of the rest of the patrol so I escorted Dewey back to Gengoult. His engine was cutting out and he made the last few miles in a glide with a well dead dead stick landing at the end.
We took the Indian out to look for his Hun but had no luck as it was getting dark. Maybe tomorrow. Quite the celebration tonight. Fired about 100 rounds in the fight.
Cyril Woolly LT, Rfc, Instructor Pilot 6 Victorys, 40 Sqn, Bryas, AF Flanders France.
Took the Lewis gun off to check for barrel wear and replace worn parts. Noticed a lot of Chemical deposits being ground into the barrel. adding to that , The Incendiary type shoots high . I decided to replace the Incendiary ammo in the Lewis with the reliable 303 Ball ammo . Took the gun over to the tree line and fired off a Drum seems a lot more hits on target.
Cyril Woolly LT, Rfc, Instructor Pilot 6 Victorys, 40 Sqn, Bryas, AF Flanders France.
20 June 1918.
Back to Cappy: Spotted and attacked a flight of 2 seat types My 2 wing mates got 1 for 1 SE damaged Then I popped mine. I saw the Hun fall like a brick.
Fullofit, I'm just gutted to hear about Aldi. Wonderful vignette to put him to rest, though. Well done.
Originally Posted by carrick58
Fullofit: Sorry about Aldi. How about trying a French Flyer next time ?
Good stories all.
Thanks guys, I’m still kicking myself for not noticing the white “x2” in the middle of my screen during that fight. Everything happened so fast ...
"Take the cylinder out of my kidneys, The connecting rod out of my brain, my brain, From out of my arse take the camshaft, And assemble the engine again."
"Take the cylinder out of my kidneys, The connecting rod out of my brain, my brain, From out of my arse take the camshaft, And assemble the engine again."
Thanks Jerbear, it took 13.5 months to bring him down. Another month and Raben would have taken over Jasta 18.
"Take the cylinder out of my kidneys, The connecting rod out of my brain, my brain, From out of my arse take the camshaft, And assemble the engine again."
Woke up this morning at 3 am to the sound of a tremendous bombardment powerful enough to shake our barracks. Alk came in saying that it looked like the Germans were starting something and that we needed to get ready and go down to the hangars. We were in the air by around 5, half an hour before sunrise. All we could see were hundreds of flashes on the ground twinkling out of the twilight. Our job was to remain in the area between Beaumont and Seicheprey an hour and a half and jump on any Huns who came out to regulate their artillery fire. They stayed in their nests, not a one did we see. We saw a cloud of gas drifting north , and thought the wind changed on the Germans and it had come back in their faces. It blew up rain about the time we landed and there was no more flying. No infantry went over.
Dewey and I took the Indian out again to look for his Hun. We went up toward Mandres and stopped at a Balloon Company that had been driven back by the artillery fire. They said that they had seen Dewey's fight and had made their report, gave us directions to where it lay. We found it near the road but it had been picked clean, nothing worth taking as a souvenir, just metal and wood and ashes, but at least I was able to take his picture in front of it with my little Kodak.
We continued on up to Mandres, which is about 8 k from the lines. We watched a French battery of 75s until several shells hit the cross roads about 200 yards from us. We mutually agreed that it was time to make a withdrawal. Talked to some of our Infantry on the way back, they said that what was happening was the first American gas attack and it was believed to have been highly successful. They also told us that some Germans had come up to one of their machine gun emplacements a few days ago with their hands up, yelling "Komerade." They had grenades strapped on their backs which they threw when they were close enough. The Germans took the position but were driven back. None of them were allowed to surrender and our boys said they wouldn't be taking any prisoners from now on unless they were ordered to.
Dewey's biplace from Sunday was confirmed, still waiting on the other.
Several days ago 3 paper balloons were seen over the aerodrome. One of them landed on the field and was found to have newspapers in both English and French attached, propaganda and cartoons disparaging Britain, I guess the intent was to cause dissention between our two armies. Not very effective.
![[Linked Image]](http://SimHQ.com/forum/files/9851.jpg)
