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Fullofit, there seems to be no stopping Mulberry now that he's rid himself of his useless G/O. The man is a Hun-hunting terror.

Carrick, any landing a chap can walk away from is a good landing.

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5 September 1916
Fienvillers, France

No rest for the weary as the lads of 70 Squadron continue to provide support for the British and French troops fighting in and around Guillemont. Yesterday was another dawn to dusk show with every flight running four sorties each. Swany's A Flight has settled down into the following regular group:

Capt. Randolph "Swany" Swanson / Lt. Christoper Dent - leading
Capt. Guy Cruikshank / Lt. Michael Walsh - left flank
Lt. William "Patty" K-C-Patrick / 2nd Lt. Albert Stanley - right flank
2nd Lt. Awdry "Bunny" Vancour / Lt. Alan "Contact" Bott - tail watch

They are working well together and have coalesced into a very solid fighting unit and as such have tallied up many successful missions over the last several days with very few incidents, apart from a few mechanical issues and of course the run-in Swany and Chris had with the suicidal Boche pilot.

Today saw A Flight tasked with the following three sorties, all of which went exceedingly well.


The dawn patrol was a watch of the area just south of Courcelette. Shortly after reaching altitude a search light shown from Doullens indicating the sky Hun were about.
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Brief minutes later Captain Swanson was sneaking up on a lone Aviatik.
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After hitting the unsuspecting Boche with a solid initial burst from his Vickers, Swany broke away and let the rest of A Flight finish off their prey.
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The Captain was forced to make a quick landing at the field near Marieux due to a clogged fuel line. He and Lt. Dent were back in the air in less than 30 minutes and completed the patrol without further interruptions.
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The mid-day sortie was a contact patrol from Guillemont to Péronne. A Flight no sooner arrived when a trio of Halberstadt biplanes pounced on them. Swany picked out a dance partner and the go-round began.
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The Hun pilot was no novice as he twisted and turned, matching Swanson's moves time after time.
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However, as good as the enemy was Swany and Chris were just a bit better and managed to score solid hits on the Halberstadt.
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The Boche tried to run, apparently hoping Archie would dissuade his attackers from giving chase. It was a futile and fatal hope.
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One final blast from the Vickers was all it took. Swany and Chris watched as their vanquished foe fell to the mud below.
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The final outing of the day was an attack on the railyard near Marcoing. HQ was calculating that the destruction of the depot there would interfere with troop reinforcements being brought over to Péronne.
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After diving below the blanket of clouds at 5,000' Swany lined up on the target and dropped the eggs. He watched with satisfaction as the two large warehouses erupted into flames.
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He watched with further satisfaction as the remainder of A Flight found their respective marks as well.
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With the job well done Captain Swanson swung the Strutter around, gave the signal, and led his team back towards home.
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The Huns threw a lot of hate up at the retreating Sopwiths, but as usual Archie's bark was far worse than his actual bite.
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Settling back down at Fienvillers after a very long but very satisfying day's work. The lads would sleep well tonight, and if things continue as they have been, the rest will be needed.
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