Raine: I agree with MFair. Ur story provided a nice twist.

Fullofit: Rene The last time , he offered to paint, the Commandant had him paint his a/c and a shed.

Elephant and RAF Lou: Thanks.

Rene Deassult Lavasure
Sgt, Esc N 68
Manancourt,en Vermois,
Verdun France,

1 e/a confirmed
1 e/a Un-confirmed
1 Trk confirmed

8 Nov 1916.

We fell on a flight of Bosche just on their side of the line. They must have been Aces. Twist , turn, re vestment again and again to no advantage. With two e/a on my tail, I ran for our side , having a slight advantage in height and speed so made it back. 3 N-16's , out of 4, engaged damaged for 0 e/a

Raine, Zeppelin Collins dodged another bullet. Thank God for the fighting patrols! But putting other man’s pyjamas on ... that takes guts. Good thing he had those three fingers of whiskey. Great story. Glad to have James back on the roster.

Carrick, you have to take the good with the bad, I guess. One Commandant's naked wife in exchange for a/c and a shed - that's not a bad deal. Remember to keep those Huns away from your tail.


7 November, 1916 23:14
Vert Galand, Flanders Sector
RNAS-8

After a long train ride Toby finally arrived in Amiens. The city beckoned to him but he was late already and the driver was waiting for him impatiently. Amiens would have to wait. It was a short drive north to Vert Galand along the road to Doullens. They didn’t stop anywhere on the way and the driver dropped Mulberry off at the intersection with another road leading to Beauquesne to the east and to Naours to the west. It was dark and Toby was tired. He saw row of Nissen huts on south-east and south-west corners of the intersection. There was a long L-shaped farm house on the north-east corner and more huts on the north-west. The roads were bare of trees - not even one. The road to the south he just arrived from was lined with canvas Bessoneau hangars along the east and on the opposite side of the road, oddly placed at an angle in relation to the road, stood wooden and corrugated metal permanent hangars.


Vert Galand

Toby went to the closest hut to ask for directions. A Caporal was washing his hands by the light of an oil lamp when Mulberry chanced upon him and asked for the directions to the C.O.’s office. The man looked Mulberry over, noticing his uniform.
“- You Navy sort are stationed on the other side.” He pointed with his wet hand across the road to the east airfield.
Toby thanked the man and walked across to the other side of the road. He found the office and entered. There he introduced himself and requested to speak with the Commanding Officer, transfer papers in hand.
“- Commander Bromet is already asleep. I’m Flight-Commander Huskisson, second in command and we’ve been expecting you earlier in the day.” He was looking at Toby’s papers. “- Everything seems in order. Welcome to Naval Eight. Second Lieutenant Spurway will assign you your quarters. Better get some rest, we have a sortie in the morning.”
Toby was grateful for the clerical affairs to be quickly resolved and he soon was settling in one of the Nissen huts.


FC Huskisson

8 November, 1916 08:15
Vert Galand, Flanders Sector
RNAS-8
SC Tobias Chester Mulberry DSC&Bar, DSO
33 confirmed kills

“- Gentlemen, we have a new pilot among us.” commander Bromet’s loud voice broke through the gathered pilot’s individual conversations. “- Commander Mulberry has been transferred from 3 Wing. He is an experienced pilot and will be a valuable addition to our little circle here. Make him welcome when you get the chance to meet him. Now, to our morning mission. The ‘B’ flight will protect our Strutter as he makes his way to the Athies junction railyard to drop a few bombs. The weather is good so we can expect a full welcoming wagon from our neighbour across the mud. Please be careful out there and bring all our birds in one piece. Any questions?”
Toby was surprised he was not flying the Strutter. He was assigned a Sopwith Pup. A machine unlike the Strutter, but smaller. Like a proper scout should be. Perfect for a single pilot with no weight of a gunner burdening the plane. He felt right at home in this new bus. Everything looked and felt familiar. He was assigned a wingman, Flight-Lieutenant Jack Holtcombe. The two men talked briefly before taking off. FC Galbraith tagged along. He didn’t look too well and continued to be bothered with a dry cough.
One thing that astonished Toby was how close they were to the frontlines. It took no time at all and they were over the target. As soon as the bombs dropped the Strutter was gunning for the friendly side. The ‘B’ flight followed but was bounced by a German flight over Arras. An aerial battle followed. Holtcombe went after a Roland while Toby and Galbraith engaged a Fokker biplane. They chased him all the way to Monchy where his engine gave up and the Boche machine crashed into wrecked house on the outskirts of the city.

YouTube Link 1



Mulberry and Galbraith turned for home and crossed the trench lines again. That was when Galbraith spotted a pair of Halberstadts flying low near Arras. Each pilot picked one Boche and engaged. Toby’s crashed near the city, but when he looked around he saw the other Halberstadt was in pursuit of his wing-mate.

YouTube Link 2



He came to the rescue and followed them both as they circled each other higher and higher, waited for an opening and engaged the Hun. The German machine was damaged and fell out of the sky spinning and crashing south of Arras.

YouTube Link 3



After returning to the airfield they learned Toby’s wingman, Holtcombe was badly injured during the fight with the Walfisch. The Roland curse continues.

Some great fights going on there!

Fullofit: wonderful flying

Thanks Gentlemen!

9 November, 1916 15:45 afternoon mission
Vert Galand, Flanders Sector
RNAS-8
SC Tobias Chester Mulberry DSC&Bar, DSO
35 confirmed kills

Jack Holtcombe’s Pup caught on fire during the fight with the Roland yesterday. He was able to bring it down, but suffered burns to his arms and legs. He will spend significant time in the hospital. Mulberry’s flight will be one man short for the time being. On a more positive note, Toby’s Fokker biplane that crashed over Monchy and the Halberstadt that crashed out of control near Arras were quickly confirmed.
Morning mission went without a hitch. Theobald in his Strutter placed some well aimed bombs in the middle of German trenches near Marchélepot and they were back home for tea.
There was another sortie scheduled for late afternoon. They were to escort Theobald in his Strutter again on a bombing raid of Gonnelieu aerodrome. The light was fading quickly so it was a good thing they were already on the return leg from their escort duties. Suddenly the sky was filled with enemy scouts wanting revenge for the aerodrome that’d just been bombed. Toby stayed out of the way and kept his eyes peeled. There was someone coming from behind. Friend or foe, he couldn’t tell. He decided it had to be a Hun. Why would his flight mates follow him during a dogfight? It was a Halberstadt, or at least that’s what the waning daylight allowed Mulberry to discern. It was very hard to see the enemy plane against the ground. Toby flew lower to keep the enemy against the lighter background of the sky. He soon had him in his sights and attacked. The enemy evaded but eventually there was nowhere to hide and his plane’s engine was engulfed in fire. Toby was in rage and continued to fire at the burning Hun. He wanted revenge for his injured wingman now suffering in the hospital. The unfortunate Hun crashed below and Mulberry resumed his flight back home.

YouTube Link 1



He was by himself now and it was too dark to even see his compass. He looked around again and noticed one of the planes flying behind and to the left. Good, one of his wingmen was forming up. They would return home together. Something didn’t seem right, though. The dark silhouette of the Pup was all wrong. Toby climbed a bit and saw black crosses on white squares on top of the wings. It was another Halberstadt! He quickly dropped on the enemy’s tail and aimed directly at the fuselage. He fired, but must have missed because the Hun was able to take evasive actions and dropped below, losing himself in the ground clutter. Toby dove and picked the biplane up again against the sky. He peppered the Halberstadt until this one’s engine erupted in flames. He watched the second German pilot fall to his death while illuminated by his own pyre.

YouTube Link 2



It was getting pitch dark by now and Toby with great difficulty established his course west and followed it back to the aerodrome. He landed with the help of the burning oil drums that were lined up along the sides of the field.

Carrick, it seems busy in your sector
Fullofit, Toby has not missed a beat with his new bus.

Fw Ernst Everheardt
Ugny Airfield, Flanders
Nov. 9, 1916

It had been a wonderful flight. The skies were blue for the first time since Ernst had arrived at Jasta 6. Kette Zwei had patrolled the lines and did not see one enemy machine. Ernst had to stop watching Holler sing while in flight fearing he may miss an Englishman coming down on him. "How can you sing during a flight?" he had asked. Holler replied, "Its easy. You just sing and sway your head to and fro while you watch for the enemy!" they both laughed as they made their way for a quick meal.

Retiring to his room, Ernst unpacked the painting equipment that had arrived. His mother had sent it to him as he requested. He set up his easel and laid out his paints. He wanted to paint but the mood just did not strike him. He looked at the rudder propped against the wall of the DH2 he had downed the day before. The memory came back with a flash. 4 machines had taken off at a scramble alert but they were too late. They had flown to 1000' when the DH 2"s dove on them. He only counted two. There was an instant twisting fight at low level. Ernst watched 2 of his flight trying to get on one of the Englishmen while staying higher. Ernst could not see the other DH 2 and assumed he was occupied. He saw his chance and pounced on the Englishmen. He immediately scored hits on the machine but this man was good. Ernst stayed on his tail and thought he was going to get him for sure when bullets slapped all around him. He turned sharp left as the other DH2 flew past. Ernst corrected and was on him. He tried to flee but Ernst gave a long true burst and the machine went down in flames near the field. "I hope your friend appreciates your sacrifice!" Ernst thought to himself. It was over. The rest of his flight was landing and He did the same. Wulf would have no need in telling him he had made a mistake by fixating on the 1st Englishman. Ernst was well aware of it and it would not happen again.

He laid down his brush and stretched out on the bed. He now had 5 victories.

MFair: Just second class units according to Army Hq. in small Jasta's

Rene Deassult Lavasure
Sgt, Esc N 68
Manancourt,en Vermois,
Verdun France,

1 e/a confirmed
1 e/a Un-confirmed
1 Trk confirmed



Nov 9, 1918.


0805 takeoff to Escort a G-4 on a photo op of the lines, Ran into the Bosche. My flight of three a/c was close escort while our three rovers engaged a Roland type 1000ft lower. After seeing one of ours go spinning down , I dove to help. 1st flight's 2 damaged a/c turned for home as I made my attack banging of 40 rds before it jammed. Pull up and banked to port as I reloaded. Looking around, I saw the e/a nose down for home and I could not catch him so RTB. Score 1 N-16 Destroyed (pilot KIA ) 2 damaged. e/a 0

Rene Deassult Lavasure
Adjutant , Esc N 68
Manancourt,en Vermois,
Verdun France,

1 e/a confirmed
1 e/a Un-confirmed
1 Trk confirmed


Nov 11, 1916.

Posted to attack a balloon,but got into it with a Bosche Scout guarding the \Gas Bag. As we turned and shot at each other my wing mate and ace managed to get on its tail. The bounce was perfect he slid in on the 6 and 2 bursts later the e/a spun into the ground. My rockets fell off during the flight so we didnt get the Gas Bag.

Carrick, good show! What do you mean your rockets fell off? You were trying to shoot the Hun with them, weren't you? Admit it!

Well, I admit that they did seem ignite as they fell off and went rocketing off in the Bosch's direction. It must have been from all the maneuvering.

Rene Deassult Lavasure
Adjutant Esc N 68
Manancourt,en Vermois,
Verdun France,

2 e/a confirmed
1 e/a Un-confirmed
1 Trk confirmed


Nov 12, 1916.

Our 3 aero machines were sent back to Zee same Balloon target and tangled with 2 Bosche Scouts. My wingmates ganged up the the lower one and I took the other. They Flamed theirs quickly I took a little longer. On my second pass I over shot after firing off 38 rds. Breaking to port and climbing I lost sight. I wing mates both saw the e/a nose down and went into the ground. Score 2 e/a down for 0 losses.

Adjutant Lavasure.

Off to the Club in Nancy to party with wingmates for my victory's and the New Floor show.

https://giphy.com/gifs/night-world-mae-clark-Q87FPPmPo16Lk5xR4V/fullscreen

Carrick, congrats on the kill and the killer show! So many movers and shakers …

12 November, 1916 09:50
Vert Galand, Flanders Sector
RNAS-8
SC Tobias Chester Mulberry DSC&Bar, DSO
37 confirmed kills

One of the Halberstadts from the evening mission had been confirmed.
Sanders and Jackson were following Mulberry deep into Hun country on a patrol over the Bohain aerodrome. They didn’t have to wait long or look far to meet a Boche. A biplane Fokker engaged them above the ‘drome. The flight took turns at taking potshots and the German machine continued to avoid them by constantly diving lower towards the airfield. Toby’s burst hit one of the wings and appeared to inflict considerable damage. The Hun was getting low to the ground and finally crashed into the nearby woods. Toby and the rest turned back, anxious to be back in friendly airspace. The Fokker was confirmed by both of Toby’s wingmen.

YouTube Link

Mfair, congratulations on the fifth victory. Ernst is making a name for himself!
Fullofit, wonderful introduction to Naval Eight. Toby will be the terror of Flanders in his new Sopwith Pup. When I went with my son to Flanders in February of last year, we visited Vert Galant farm. All the farm buildings are still there. The iconic L-shaped building at the corner still stands although part of the roof is in disrepair. There are giant windmills across the southern half of the west field.
Carrick, René seems to be doing very well. I bet you can't wait to get one of those later model Nieuports.

Collins's return to flying has not lasted long. Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I'm on the road with work and forgot to put them on a USB before leaving…

An Airman’s Odyssey – by Capt James Arthur Collins, VC, DSO, MC

Part Eighty- Two: In which I briefly return

I spent enough time in the trenches to realise how grateful I was to have joined the Flying Corps instead of the infantry. I awoke cold and cramped in the major’s dugout after ten hours of deep sleep in an armchair. Someone had scrubbed my leather coat clean of mud and hung it from a nail beside me. A captain who introduced himself as Sanderson ordered me up a cup of tea and some toast. I’d missed the major, so Sanderson assigned me a subaltern to show me about the lines. How the chaps that held this position found their way about I shall never know. There were signposts here and there bearing familiar London names – Cheapside, Tower Hamlets, Mile End, and so forth. Still, without a map I found it impossible to work out the plan of these winding, muddy passageways. Huddled forms snored in pockets dug into the side of the trench. Others manned the parapets and warily kept their heads down. They use small periscope contraptions to keep an eye on Jerry’s machinations across the way. At one point in our journey, a soldier I did not recognise called out to me and said something about zeppelins. We spoke briefly and I gathered he was part of the fighting patrol that had rescued me. He told me that Josef and the other German soldiers had been passed back under guard. And then he asked if it was true what Meighan said about preventing the Huns from shooting me. Not wanting to spoil a good tale, I told him that I owed my life to the courageous Corporal Meighan.

That afternoon I learned that two stretcher bearers were taking a fellow with a nasty shrapnel wound in his shoulder back to a regimental aid post, and that I should go with them to make contact with my squadron. The journey back was exhausting. I insisted on taking a spell carrying the stretcher. It seemed like the proper and noble thing to do – before I realised how difficult it was to carry a man over uneven duck boards and through sections of crumbled communications trench. About two hours after we began, we arrived at the R. A. P. It which consisted of a line of dugouts overhung with camouflage nets, all carved into the side of a sunken road. There was no telephone, or at least none that I was permitted to use, but I was able to beg a ride in the front of a field ambulance. I grimaced for the poor beggars in back; the rutted road and hard tyres combined to shake my teeth half out of my head. At length we came to a village that housed a headquarters for a Royal Engineers unit. There I was able to get the use of a phone.

I arrived back in the Fienvillers in time to reclaim my place at the table for supper. Everyone in the squadron seemed to have assumed that I was either dead or a guest of the Kaiser, and they were genuinely delighted to see me -- except for Henderson, who had his eyes on a parcel from Harrods that had arrived in my absence and whose label had informed my hut-mates that I had received a fine new pair of warm flying boots.

I was exempt flying until the following afternoon. An intended escort patrol was cancelled, and I took a new Spad up for an hour and a half, long enough to fly to the lines south of the Somme and then patrol north nearly to Arras and back. On both 6 and 7 November, we flew twice each day – Child, Orlebar, and Plympton. They were all long patrols, including a couple of distant offensive patrols where we prowled at ten thousand feet twenty miles deep into Hunland. I was spared from one D. O. P. by a malfunctioning cylinder. This produced a great sense of relief and at the same time I worry that, had the problem occurred only ten minutes later, I would have been back in German hands.

On 8 November 1916, my flight was ordered to head north towards Bethune and then across the lines to shoot up a railroad marshalling yard east of Monchy. When we were still halfway between Doullens and Arras, three aircraft approached from dead ahead, about two thousand feet higher than us. The faint specks grew larger and took shape: three Halberstadt scouts. I thought the sight of four Spads would send the Huns scrambling for home. These ones were made from sterner stuff for all three immediately dived at us. For two or three minutes it was a wild free-for-all, one of those scraps where all you get is an unnamed burst here and there. I paid close attention to my rear quarter. Every time I saw a Hun and made for him, another Halberstadt would drop in behind me. This happened twice and I feared we were up against some very competent pilots. A third time I saw an opportunity to close on an unsuspecting HA. A glance behind again revealed yet another Hunnish scout turning onto my tail. Using the Spad’s superior speed, I dived shallowly and then zoomed with the intent of turning about on full left rudder. But halfway through this manoeuvre, the Hun nosed up and caught me with a fine full deflection shot. A bullet shattered the top of my control column and I felt a burning sharp pain on my inner left thigh. The instrument panel was shattered and the sight had been knocked off my Vickers. The Spad fell out of its turn into a spin and I dived vertically at half throttle for three or four thousand feet before gently pulling back on what was left of the control column. I felt cold and faint. That’s when I noticed how much blood covered my legs and my new flying boots. I unbuttoned my coat and pulled it aside. The left leg of my breeches was torn and bright red blood was erupting in short spurts with every beat of my heart. There was no time to lose. Bellevue was a few miles off and I was terrified of losing consciousness.

Forgetting about the Hun, who thankfully had forgotten about me, I raced for the field at Bellevue. A mile out, the sheds were fading in and out of focus I throttled back, switched off, and let the machine find its own way to the ground. I do not remember touching down…

FULL OF IT: Ur Vid is a keeper

Raine: Mmmmmmm, Newie or maybe a ?

Rene Deassult Lavasure
Adjutant Esc N 68
Manancourt,en Vermois,
Verdun France,

2 e/a confirmed
1 e/a Un-confirmed
1 Trk confirmed

Nov 13, 1916

Patrol: The Esc had 3 a/c up and we met 3 e/a. Bob, weave, twist and turn , a lot of flying and shooting and a few new holes but no kills.

Rene Deassult Lavasure
Adjutant Esc N 68
Manancourt,en Vermois,
Verdun France,

2 e/a confirmed
2 e/a Un-confirmed
1 Trk confirmed

Nov 14, 1916.

Led a 3/ac Patrol and intercepted 3 e/a NW of Nancy. The flights scattered and it was take care of yourself. I Chased keeping high and on its tail Finally on the lines at Toul , He headed home. I dropped down and closed firing as I went. Zee Lewis barked off 92 rds and I saw smoke then flame . He went out of control and crashed. I filled out a claim ,but no one reported a plane down in that area so it was marked UN-Confirmed.

Raine, visiting places like that is better than a museum. You don’t have to imagine. You are there.
Glad Collins is back in the thick of things, making the Huns pay and then ... getting some change in return. That sounds serious. Hope James is still in one piece. I think he was safer in that trench dugout. Don’t keep us in suspense!

Carrick, finally Rene is doing some damage! That Boche definitely looked like a goner. Well done!

14 November, 1916 08:00
Vert Galand, Flanders Sector
RNAS-8
SC Tobias Chester Mulberry DSC&Bar, DSO
37 confirmed kills

Saw a scrap in progress over Lens. As soon as the flight turned toward it, the Huns dove into the clouds and disappeared. Meanwhile the friendly plane once free of the pursuit made a beeline for the friendly aerodrome. There was no trace of the enemy when the ‘B’ flight arrived on scene.

YouTube Link