I'm also in hospital for 8 days, and even then won't fly again until 14 July - we have not
enough personnel. The rate of falling men and airoplanes is far too extreme.

I'm in hospital because I tried to help.
Never do that! Let your comrades get shot to pieces - it will happen anyway - with or without you!
I was at a safe altitude of 2500 Meter, at least 400 Meter above our flight.

Sandwiched between them and me were 4 Fokker E.III - our escort.
When we got jumped by 4 or 5 Nieuports, they Fokkers did NOTHING - they kept their formation
and carried on flying, as if the whole world just was a fun fair!

Seeing our 2 Rolands struggling to fight 4 Nieuports, I went down to help Hauptmann Baermann out.
And we really drove the Nupes off soon - they all left the scene and flew back to their lines.
But by then I was wounded (77% health), and so was my observer, Oberleutnant Palz.
The right wing was sinking, if I wouldn't hold the stick halfway to the left all the time.
We were now flying at less than 500 Meters.

Now one Nieuport returned or it was a new chap, and he attacked us.
I went lower, chasing along at tree-top level in a damaged craft. Holding it balanced was a tough
job, but Palz seemed to be shooting well with his Parabellum - soon the Nieuport turned away
and flew westward. I hardly found the field at this height, but Palz clapped me on the shoulder
and pointed north - and there were the pale tents in the afternoon sun!

I somehow managed to land the "Walfisch" without crashing it, and we received immediate help.
Palz has a graze on his left arm, and I have a wound on my right tigh. Both were bleeding a lot,
but the medic said it looked worse than it was.

Palz and I were driven to the Armeehospital Cambrai, but they let us go back to Pronville after
the treatment and bandaging. Eight days no flying. Baermann thanked us for our cool intervention.

The other morning we sat on the bench outside the Starthaus, when we heard from a returning pilot,
that Hauptmann Baermann was shot down east of Arras. A bad feeling of vanity overcame both Palz
and me - we had saved Baermann only to live one more day.


Vice-President of the BOC (Barmy OFFers Club)
Member of the 'Albatros Aviators Club' - "We know how to die with Style!"