Flight Lt Alex Ackworth - RNAS 4 - Coudekerque - 25 July 1916 (Mission 25)

This morning my plane has been flown back from Bailleul and I am in the afternoon mission. We take off shortly after 12:00 before lunch ! I am third in a flight of three Strutters lead by Flight Cdr Edward. With us is Flight Cdr Channing, lot of experience with these two guys, which is good because the weather is still very cloudy. We are sent on a reconnaissance mission on the frontline near Nieuwpoort.

Flight A will be the two remaining available planes and will follow us. We pick up an escort of three DH2s from RFC 29 in Abeele on the way and as usual they fall behind. I start wondering who in fact is escorting who...

As we near the front, my flight leader keeps on climbing and at 7000 ft we start entering clouds. This is not for me, I decide to leave the formation and drop down to 5000 ft, under the cloud cover. I reach the reco zone and make wide turns there for more than 10 minutes. I have lost sight of the other planes, and some big clouds are approaching. I have enough for today and I tell John we are going back.

I land in Coudekerque just in time for lunch. Later in the afternoon, my two flight mates are still not accounted for and are considered missing, with one of the flight A guys. We are now down to 4 airplanes able to fly !

Let's hope the bad weather forced them down somewhere and that they will rejoin later.