Hercule Orville Lorrient
Sgt , Esc 44
Brequet 14AI
Esquennoy, Flanders

22, July 1918.

Up 2 times Escorted by 56th Sqn Rfc.

Morning Bombing a Railyard. Our flight of 4 got some hits, my fell wide, Over. I must get more practice The bomd run was at 6000 ft. Some holes from ground fire. no e/a seen.

Afternoon Arty Mission: The SE 5 Escort stayed right over me as our 1 a/c Arty adjustment mission went off without Zee Hitch. We did spot some dots on the enemy side but no attacks.

Rick, you’re getting grief from those two-seaters too? Something needs to be done about this.

Albert, another klose kall for Klaus. Kevin hopefully fares much better than that and can complete his missions without having to put down at the closest airfield he can find. The balloon busting mission certainly was no issue for our hero. Another stationary target. The more the merrier.
Then the afternoon “fiasco” - only one kill confirmed. That is definitely below par for Kevin. Perhaps he needs a few days off to compose himself. For best results apply Olivia’s arms around him.

Trooper, you’ve noticed it too? Those two-seaters are a menace. I don’t mind them diving - saves me time from climbing, but do they all have to gang up on the player? So many other targets to choose from, but they always concentrate on the player’s plane. It’s as if they were programmed to do it.

23 July, 1918 07:45 morning mission
Montingen, Verdun Sector
Jasta 18
Oberleutnant Klaus Gustav Raben PLM HHO EK1 EK2
Fokker D.VII
51 confirmed kills

Both Strutters that have lost wings to Raben’s Spandaus have been confirmed.
The morning patrol was set over enemy front lines between Marbache and Pont-à-Mousson. The Schwarm has just cleared the rain clouds and was enjoying the sun when a flight of four Strutters jumped them. One of the nasty implements of war came down behind and was tangling with the rear of the formation. Klaus continued to track the three above him. One decided to try his luck and moved towards the sun and attacked out of there. He aborted his attack when he saw Klaus taking evasive actions. In the meantime the other two Strutters dropped on his head and all three attacked. One of the two-seaters collided with a Fokker that was following Klaus. It disintegrated into small pieces while the Strutter continued on as if invincible. Raben made it his mission to bring this Arschloch down at all costs. He opened up with the twin Spandaus and watched it start smoking and go down in flames. There was no time to dilly dally. Another Devil’s Chariot was nearby and already harassed by a few Fokkers. Klaus managed to get some shots in and then entered a spiralling duel. This Strutter too ignited and went down trailing a long tail of black smoke. Raben’s engine was hit again and making sounds like a vigorously shaken sack of hammers. The radiator was kaputt as well. It was time to get his sick bird down, but not before noticing a silver shape meandering down below. Klaus was coming down, may as well bring another enemy with him. He sent a few rounds right into the cockpit and watched the two-seater bank and dig into the ground. That looked like all of them. It was time to concentrate on his landing on the nearby road. Thankfully it wasn’t far to Montingen and he could expect recovery lorry within the hour.

YouTube Link



23 July, 1918 15:40 afternoon mission
Montingen, Verdun Sector
Jasta 18
Oberleutnant Klaus Gustav Raben PLM HHO EK1 EK2
Fokker D.VII
51 confirmed kills
Awaiting three claim confirmations

In the afternoon the Schwarm was sent to defend the Mars-la-Tour aerodrome again.
They were near Frescaty when they spotted planes high above. Well, only Klaus had spotted them. The rest couldn’t see the Bréguets even when they flew right in front of their noses. A leisurely stroll for them, I suppose. Klaus had to avoid the attacks from the bombers before anyone moved a finger. Schwarm Eins simply ignored the fight and continued on without giving it a second thought. Finally some of his wingmates realized something was amiss and engaged the French bombers. By this time Raben’s machine was shot up all over and he could barely control his plane. When one of the idiots collided with the Bréguet, they both went down and Klaus followed soon after to land at Frescaty aerodrome for much needed repairs.

YouTube Link

Fullofit - If Kevin had spotted the enemy aircraft trying to take off earlier he'd have dropped some bombs on them. As it was he did what he could. The other Fokkers went straight into landing mode as soon as they were attacked. As for Olivia.....who? All thoughts are on his missions.

As for Klaus, well done on the confirmed Strutters and then as if they'd been listening to the conversations on the thread, a flight of them descend on Raben's rear. A sickening collision which spurred Klaus to take one of the two seaters on directly and he quickly flamed it.

Then he deals with another couple despite the inevitable damage to his own crate. The Jasta is suffering losses but inflicting them too. Let's hope for confirmations.

Then a run in with those other hated two seaters, the Breguets. I say a run in, a run in for Raben anyway. The other pilots thought they were on a pleasure flight over the Rockies (Canadian ones obviously) only bothering to get involved when they were directly attacked.

Nobody, since his departure in the first days of May, had heard much about Schutzmeier. Only thing they knew was of the passing of a person dear to him. One day, the remaining pilots of Jagdstaffel 27 receieved a letter. It stated as follows:

"Dear Kameraden,
I find myself to the need of apologizing such an unexpected and prolonged leave from the front, following the death of my sister. She's always been extremely dear to me, and the notice of her passing disrupted me. Goering was understanding, he allowed me for a rather prolonged leave. I've been close to my family, especially my mother which fell ill to sadness not so long after my arrival. We mourned, one week, but I still seemed to not be able to get over her death. I figured that such condition would affect greatly my performance on the front, so I requested to be brought to Koln, where I currently am, as an instructor. I've been here for 2 months now, but the pond's getting stagnant. I think a couple of the guys that I began instructing are now with you - Or underground. Anyways, I've filed a request for relocation at the squadron, but it's currently pending. I'll join you back soon.

Your naive Flieger,

A. B. Schutzmeier."

Question, by the way. Are Bletchley's mission mods allowed?

TWK - Good to see you back. I've just looked at the rules on the first page or so of the thread and it says to set Historical Mission Types to 'YES' so I think that would mean no 3rd party missions.

I'll wait to be corrected if I'm wrong there but it would appear not.

Hercule Orville Lorrient
Sgt , Esc 44
Brequet 14AI
Esquennoy, Flanders

23, July 1918.

Photo Map of lines. My a/c + 1 High cover B-14 from Ist Section. No e/a.

Captain Kevin Carroll, DSO, MC, DFC
41 Squadron
Conteville

66 confirmed kills

24th July 1918

Morning sortie

'A' flight had already left on a patrol of the lines near Bethune and Kevin was supping on an extra cup of Cha with Fred McCall before heading off to 'B' flight's briefing.

The airfield alarm suddenly clanged into life and Kevin grabbed his gear and ran out with McCall. Kevin had already submitted a standing order for the mechanics to start the engines on the available SE's when the alarm sounded.

Kevin was up in the air a short time later and could see and hear flak bursts off to the east as he gained height.

The rest of 'B' flight were now getting in the air as well but Kevin was way ahead of them and steadily climbing towards the enemy aircraft which he could now see high above.

The weather had cleared up since yesterday thankfully and Kevin was able to recognise the odd tail shapes of Hannover two seaters.

As he got closer the enemy aircraft started to run for home so Kevin let the front three Huns form up and then came up behind and beneath the lead aircraft.

He nosed up and fired both weapons into the German and watched as bits flew off everywhere. Another burst and the Hannover slowed down. Kevin throttled back to stay behind the Hun but was then hit by a burst from one of his wingmen. He ducked back down and then nosed up and hit the Hannover again. He watched the bullets smack into the pilot and the enemy aircraft nosed down and side slipped right and then went straight down into the ground near Bruay airfield.

Kevin came around but saw a chunk out of at least one of his struts and thought it best to head home.

The rest of 'B' flight had their go at the remaining Hannovers and then returned home too.

They all landed safely although two other SE's were damaged as well as Kevin's.

Four Huns had been downed.


Afternoon sortie

'A' flight were already out again, escorting some DH4's over to attack a Hun strong point.

Kevin took the afternoon briefing and explained that 'B' flight would be heading to the allied army camp near Arras.

The weather remained very good and a short while later 'B' flight were airborne and climbing up and away from Conteville.

The journeys out and back were quiet and the patrol went without incident. 'B' flight returned home safely some 80 minutes later.

Major Bowman called Kevin to his office a little later and told him the Hannover had been confirmed, taking him to 67 confirmed kills.

He also showed Kevin that the transfer paperwork had arrived from General Salmond's office for his move to 64 Squadron.

It would take place no later than 1st August. The Major and Kevin talked for a while and agreed that next week would be his last with 41.

"When shall we break it to the others sir?" asked Kevin.

"How about now Kevin?" said the Major.

The pair went over to the mess and Bowman called the men to order. He then explained what was happening to the assembled pilots and officers.

There was shocked silence from some, loud cheers from others but when Bowman had finished, every single one of them came up to Kevin and congratulated him warmly.

Fred McCall and 'Dozy' Claxton virtually wrestled Kevin to the bar and ordered three large Canadian Clubs.

"You know what this means don't you Kev?" said McCall.

"What does it mean Frederick?" asked Kevin.

"Dozy and I are going to have to organise the mother of all parties next week" said McCall.

Claxton nodded in agreement and all three took a good swig of their whisky.

Albert, yesterday that was a lost opportunity with those Fokkers sitting on the airfield, waiting to take off. The problem then would be how many to claim?
Yes, those Strutters dove from such an extreme height with no regard for structural integrity, physics or safety. At least one had to pay for it. I think engaging them at low alt is the only way to stay alive (longer). As to the rest of the Germans ignoring the mayhem … perhaps they just were tired?
Now as for Kevin, I keep wondering why those Huns keep sending the bombers unescorted? It defies logic with so many of them falling to Kevin guns and never returning. Someone with half a brain at the German HQ should figure this out by now. I suppose it’s the same as sending more men to charge a machine gun emplacement after the last batch didn’t make it. Oh well, better for Kevin I say.
Ah, so the paperwork has finally come through. Last week at No. 41. Better make it count, but I suspect that one of those days will have to be assigned to nursing the enormous hangovers after the mother of all parties.

Kebab, welcome back. Hopefully Schutzmeier’s recent experience does not reflect the real life and there haven’t been any unfortunate departures, which would explain your lengthy absence.

24 July, 1918 06:45 morning mission
Montingen, Verdun Sector
Jasta 18
Oberleutnant Klaus Gustav Raben PLM HHO EK1 EK2
Fokker D.VII
52 confirmed kills

Only one of the three Strutters from the previous morning could be confirmed. The craters of the other Strutters simply didn’t burn well enough for the smoke to be noticed and be credited to Klaus.
The bell continued to ring and urge the pilots to get to their machines. Klaus was the first one to be off the ground. Everyone else followed. The Schwarm was climbing above the aerodrome to reach the yet unseen enemy. Then the bombs started to rain on the field. Klaus finally spotted the intruders, but could do nothing. The enemy was unreachable this high up. He then watched the bombers dive on the Schwarm at unimaginable speed. It seemed impossible to him that these old and tired Strutters could perform so well. The next second he was getting mugged by the silver planes and leaking petrol. Klaus was acutely aware that should his engine stop now, he’d be in deep trouble as the fight was taking place over the forest with no room to land. Nevertheless he was determined to make at least one of the Frenchmen pay for this attack. With the last bit of petrol remaining he shot down one of the invaders and glided sans power onto the airfield. It was a disaster. The aerodrome in shambles and most machines damaged to various degrees. The next mission would not be easy.

YouTube Link



24 July, 1918 12:30 noon mission
Montingen, Verdun Sector
Jasta 18
Oberleutnant Klaus Gustav Raben PLM HHO EK1 EK2
Fokker D.VII
52 confirmed kills
Awaiting one claim confirmation

At noon orders came to patrol friendly front lines near Nancy. Despite their morning losses, Jasta 18 was able to send a single Kette up to do the job. As they were approaching the Front Klaus spotted the enemy. At first only 3 large dots, then many smaller dots appeared around the larger dots. Some of these had to be scout escort, the rest most likely Flak attempting to shoo the enemy away. The SPADs went directly after Klaus and quickly managed to damage his plane on their first pass. Klaus pressed on nevertheless and brought one of the French machines in short order.

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He then looked for another victim and found it overhead, already fighting a Fokker and getting the short end of the big stick. Klaus observed the Franzose dive down and pass in front of his guns. He was fair game and Klaus engaged, but the enemy was flying so slow that Klaus had to perform evasive manoeuvres to avoid a collision. His maneuver was one of the more clumsy ones, thanks to the prior damage, and the enemy was able to slip away for a moment. After Klaus righted himself up he reacquired his target and resumed the fusillade. Another Fokker decided to join in, but Klaus already had the SPAD lose one of its wings and go down in flames. The rest of the enemy planes seemed to have disappeared and Klaus gave the order to return to base for repairs.

YouTube Link

I once more return from an absence! A bit of catching up to do, but it seems like everyone is doing alright for themselves for the most part! Shame about poor Henri though, dying on landing is a shame.



Sergent Baptiste Cyrille Leanders
Escadrille SPA23
Field hospital, Verdun
24th July, 1918

2 confirmed

It took me a while, but I have finally reached the end of my mildly leisurely time off in this hospital. The days admittedly dragged on, and some periods of anxiety had pestered me through them. Anxiety of how this could've turned out differently, anxiety at what could happen in the war. There too were fears of being unable to fly again, although these were most unreasonable and quickly disproven, and now I'm about to get discharged from this hospital.
In terms of the more positive things, the conversations with my fellow comrades in misfortune at the hospital proved to provide some entertainment. The most fanciful of those must've been one of the nurses here, Maria. A pretty thing, she was, up from the north apparently. Joined after she had her own two brothers die early on in the war and felt obligated to do something. Still though, as interesting as she was it did not go much further besides a couple of late night trysts and talks in the moonlight. Still, it is a huge shame about what happened to her and I'm sure once I'm back in the fight I'll be able to get the Boches to start paying back for it all.
On the note of the Boches, through the luck of having the Captaine managing to fit in another visit to see how I was progressing down at the Hosptial I managed to arrange myself a paintjob that I was hoping for. A week or so ago it was, when he showed up again without much notice and we spoke. I told him I was feeling progressively better, and he in turn let me know the Squadron was doing fine by all means, joking that once I'm back I'll have plenty of opportunities to wind up right back in here. Shortly before he left, I managed to steer the conversation over to asking about his own personal markings and then expressed curiosity about getting my own to celebrate my, albeit tragic, success. He didn't really oppose the idea, so long that I wasn't about to dump several buckets of paint onto my new crate. I agreed, and after putting my thoughts together wrote up a note for him to pass on to Pierre, asking my mechanic to do me a favour and bring my vision to life. Putting forth my request for a patriotic inscription to spite the Fritz and something to represent my home of Bordeaux for some personal recognition, I left it up to him to see how to best create that. Pierre seemed a pretty innovative man, so I'm sure he'll figure it out.
Tomorrow will finally be the day I find out what he's got in store for me, and what other adventures might await me in the skies.

Fullofit - Klaus had his hands full in that first mission. He did his damnedest to get one of those Strutters before he had to land and he did it. They were zooming and swarming around more like CR42's from another war than two year old two seaters from this one. The airfield took a pounding as did the Jasta but thankfully Raben got down safely. Then the afternoon sortie brought more traditional enemies which Klaus took care of far more comfortably.

As for Kevin, if Ludendorff wants to keep sending these unescorted crates over that's fine with Kevin, although that was actually his first confirmed Hannover.....which is nice. Yes, his last week with 41 and possibly his last week supping gargantuan amounts of a certain North American liquor.

NR - Welcome back to Baptiste, he's got himself through a tough time in hospital with the help of Maria. He'll be back in action soon apparently which is good to see and with a brand spanking new paint job.

Fullofit, thank God no, it doesn't reflect real life. Just a long hiatus with some traveling around, which brought me to this long leave.

Captain Kevin Carroll, DSO, MC, DFC
41 Squadron
Conteville

67 confirmed kills

25th July 1918

Morning sortie

Major Bowman took the morning briefing and explained that the squadron would be heading up to the lines east of Bailleul.

The weather was excellent with few clouds and little wind as both flights took off and headed out north east.

They climbed up to 15000 feet on the journey to the front and it passed peacefully. They started their patrol and after about 10 minutes Kevin saw a formation of aircraft coming across the lines someway below him.

The other formation nosed up on seeing 'B' flight and Kevin signalled to attack.

He could now see the battleship grey colours of Pfalz scouts as he raced towards them.

He chose a target and fired into him. He threw his SE around and raced after the Hun.

The rest of 'B' flight now joined him and 'A' flight was not far behind.

The Pfalz tried hard to shake Kevin off but the ace was having none of it. He fired into the German again who now tried to climb away but Kevin blasted him once more and watched as the top right wing broke away and the hapless Hun spun down into the ground.

Kevin could see no more enemy aircraft and formed up with nearby SE's. They finished their patrol without further incident and returned back to Conteville safely.

Six Pfalz scouts had been downed without any loss to 41 Squadron.


Afternoon sortie

Major Bowman took the briefing again and confirmed that the squadron would head over the lines towards the Loos railyard on an aggressive patrol.

The weather was still excellent as Kevin and the others took off and formed up before heading out east.

The sun was high in the sky and the air warm as they climbed up.

The outward journey went without incident and as they crossed the lines they were greeted by heavy flak.

They could see the railyard below them and started their patrol.

As they turned north Kevin saw black specks below and to the left. There was no sign of flak near them so Kevin signalled to attack.

He nosed down and raced towards the enemy aircraft, he hadn't been seen yet and he went after the leader.

He poured both barrels into the black Pfalz and the Hun reared up like a wounded animal.

As Kevin came around the rest of 'B' flight attacked the remaining Pfalzs. Kevin's target had spun down and Kevin followed him down believing it to be a bluff.

About 1000 feet up the Pfalz did indeed level out but another burst and this time he spun down for real. He smashed into the ground north of Lens.

Kevin could see fighting going on above him but could also a melee back over towards the lines.

He headed that way and saw SE's battling more enemy aircraft.

It was 'A' flight and Kevin went to help. He raced after an Albatros scout who was bearing down on an SE and shook him off.

He stuck to his enemy's tail and blasted him again. The Hun spun down and down and went straight in.

Kevin now needed to change his lewis gun drum and as he lowered the gun he saw another aircraft ahead and racing straight towards him. The Albatros fired but thankfully he was a poor shot. Kevin changed the drum and put the gun back on the foster mount.

The Albatros had carried on and was running for home. Kevin swung around and raced after him. He caught up and blasted the Hun. Another burst had smoke pouring from the engine.

A final flurry and the German nosed down and went into the ground.

Kevin took stock but couldn't see any other aircraft nearby. He made his way back across the lines and headed home.

Most of the rest of 41 Squadron had already landed when he got there.

Seven enemy aircraft had been downed although two SE's were lost. One had crash landed as he crossed the lines and the pilot was safe. The other had overturned on landing. The pilot was shook up but otherwise ok.

Later on Major Bowman confirmed three of Kevin's claims from today. No-one had seen his final victim which didn't surprise Kevin at all. He now had 70 confirmed kills.

Hercule Orville Lorrient
Sgt , Esc 44
Brequet 14AI
Esquennoy, Flanders

24, July 1918.

2 unconfirmed.


Our 2 a/c Recon flight got jumped by an old timer before hooking up to our escort. The Boche shot down my #2 machine then slowed ( Damaged ? ) I dove on him getting off 30 rds, but he chandelled fired and went over the top my gunner Rene hit him 20-30 rds of Lewis fire. The e/a rolled over and crashed. This claim and the one from a couple of days ago were both rejected No witness !.

NR, glad you’re still with us. A bit of a vacation never hurt anybody. I see Baptiste isn’t mentioning any of those sponge baths that Maria toiled so hard over. Ah well, some people are just ungrateful I guess.
Hmm, perhaps a name for your plane is in order as well? Maria does sound like a proper aircraft name. Can’t wait to see what Pierre has done. Hopefully we all will be able to witness the great reveal.

Albert, revenge is a powerful thing. It’ll make you do stupid things at great cost and great risk. Klaus could have easily be one of those smoking craters amongst the trees.
Falco, you say? I think even Stuka was less of a nuisance than these Strutters.
And you are right, Kevin is going to miss that rabid sensation in his throat after drinking that Canadian swill. Unless there are some Canadians at No. 64 peddling Yukon Gold.
It was an easy day for Kevin. First a walk in the park … nay, a stroll through the woods with some Pfalzes, then a medley of Pfalzes and Albatroses to finish the day with an even 70 kills. I have a feeling the party will have to allocate an additional few crates of champagne to celebrate this event. Congrats on the latest kills.

Kebab, I’m relieved to find out the death of a close relative has only afflicted your avatar. Let’s keep it that way.

25 July, 1918 07:45 morning mission
Montingen, Verdun Sector
Jasta 18
Oberleutnant Klaus Gustav Raben PLM HHO EK1 EK2
Fokker D.VII
53 confirmed kills

Only the Strutter from the morning scramble mission could be confirmed. The two SPADs from the afternoon were credited to other pilots.
The C.O. explained this morning’s mission which was a patrol of friendly front lines between Pont-à-Mousson and Marbache. Finally a quiet mission. The French had to still be in beds when Klaus was conducting his patrol. They were approaching Montingen to land when something didn’t feel right to Klaus. Something smelled funny. He turned around just in time to see SPADs diving on the Schwarm. Klaus barely avoided the onslaught, but quickly regained composure and went after one of the enemy planes. He could see now these were Amerikaners and apparently these boys weren’t in their beds. He continued to prosecute his quarry but was forced to disengage by one of the enemy’s wingmen. That same wingman garnered Raben’s attention and was in turn targeted and fired upon. The Amerikaner was a sly fox and continued to pull Klaus down in a lazy spiral. At one point, while Klaus continued to follow with minimal engine revs at similar level, the enemy managed to pull away and Klaus was left behind with no speed and no hope of catching up. He angrily watched the SPAD climb and was about to get away completely except for one small detail. The enemy pilot was flying west and after realizing it, had to turn south. That was when Raben was able to cut across and catch up. He sent a few long range volleys to remind the Yankee that the fight wasn’t over and the spiralling descent commenced anew, but this time Klaus was aware of his foe’s tricks and kept his Fokker high and ready to dive in case he had to chase again after the SPAD. Klaus continued to track his prey and as soon as he saw the enemy fly straight and level, he swooped down and assaulted him with a devastating volley. The Yank was going down and Klaus watched him smash into a field below. He then quickly assessed the situation and scanned the sky for additional targets. He saw a dark shape much higher retreating south and contemplated if he should give chase, but reconsidered when he saw another pair, much closer to him, performing their deadly dance. Klaus didn’t have to think long and quickly moved towards the pair and waited below for the SPAD to eventually come down to his level. As expected the Indianer was soon in range of Raben’s guns and performing evasive maneuvers. There was no hope for him however and he soon was falling to hit the same field as his predecessor. Klaus thought to himself that if he now could place another wreck between the two, he’d win the Tic-Tac-Toe game. Unfortunately, no more enemy planes were available to finish this game.

YouTube Link



25 July, 1918 14:30 afternoon mission
Montingen, Verdun Sector
Jasta 18
Oberleutnant Klaus Gustav Raben PLM HHO EK1 EK2
Fokker D.VII
53 confirmed kills
Awaiting two claim confirmations

Defence of Mars-la-Tour aerodrome.
It was a very hazy day and despite their altitude the Front wasn’t easily visible from where they were circling the assigned aerodrome. There were no enemy plane sightings either and for once Klaus was glad. He had his fill of crazy bombers schooling him at every occasion. He noticed Schwarm Eins was missing after he checked on them late during the mission. Later, after landing he found out the other Schwarm spotted the enemy and went after them. Klaus didn’t feel bad for not helping them. What goes around, comes around.

Carrick - Well done to Hercule downing another Hun. Shame about those rejections.....next time he must have witnesses.

Fullofit - I think you have to fly aggressively against the Strutters otherwise you might as well fly away....and that is actually an option.

Kevin was at his clinical best today against those Pfalzs and Albs. It makes a difference when he had height on both occasions. It makes a nice change to make a diving attack in the SE rather than always having to play dodgeball first.

Klaus had fun against those SPADs. The American pilots tried their best and made some good diving attacks but once Klaus had dragged them towards the ground they were done for. Especially when one forgets his compass points.

With the catching up, gotta say I did miss some fun stuff! Ah well, this still makes for good reading material

Tross - And back in action he is, with something to show for it even, albeit to little recognition. The paintjob did add to the combat effectiveness I'm sure though.
An increasingly good day for Kevin as per usual then it seems! First six without a loss, and then seven at the price of two airframes, not even pilots. 70 kills now, huh! Kevin really has gotten himself far, dispatching those Huns must be second nature at this point! Now let's see him get to 80 and above, how about that? Just so long as there's no streak of bad luck.

Carrick - Ah, what a shame. No confirmations, but on the bright side, at least the #2 got avenged

Fullofit - Hah, I don't disappear that easily! Yes, it was a rather good albeit somewhat stressful vacation. The weather nowadays is just dreadful. He might be just a bit ungrateful, but he fully intends to make it up with all the Huns he's planning on downing! A name may be in order once the crate and the paintjob stick around enough to prove themselves, hah. No use naming a plane if it turns to scrap the next day. Gotta get a few more kills first . Pierre has certainly done something to make it more distinguishable. Not the French Red Baron, but hey, something reasonable!
Klaus I see is having himself some good times too nowadays for the most part! Those American SPADs clearly proved to be no real threat, and despite their best efforts were easily dispatched. Here's hoping they'll get a confirmation! Shame that his dreams of Aircraft Tic Tac Toe weren't fufilled though!
And then finally a more quiet patrol where it was up to the other flight to deal with a mess. Well, can't blame Klaus for feeling that. What goes around does come around.




Sergent Baptiste Cyrille Leanders
Escadrille SPA23
Field hospital, Verdun
25th July, 1918

2 confirmed

In the early hours of the morning I was greeted by a staff car sent to bring me over back to our field. I appreciated such a convenience, not having to walk or catch a truck. The next best thing would've been a plane for my to fly back in, but that of course wasn't bound to happen. My arrival felt at least somewhat welcoming, as some pilots congratulated me on my succesful recovery and after reporting to the Captaine who upon welcoming me back told me to be ready in two hours for a morning outing. I used my spare time to catch up on what I've missed, and perhaps most importantly met my mechanic Pierre. He too was rather glad to see me, and after some minutes of catch up he led me to the hanger to take a look at what he managed to come up with for me. My new crate was in great condition and ready to use, and that's when I saw what he done with the paint I requested. On the side of my craft was an all too familiar coat of arms. Fleur-de-lys over a golden lion and the Porte Saint-Éloi. That certainly met my desires for a personal marking, bringing back memories of Bordeaux but then Pierre told me to look at my wings. Looking there I found he wrote a big and rather obvious 'Vive la France' for anyone and everyone to see. While not extravagant, I must admit this brought me great amusement and would do a good job of sending a message over to any Boche to see it. I thanked Pierre and told him that I'll be sure to pay him back for this the first chance I get, making a note in my mind to get him some quality alcohol or chocolate the next time I get a chance to. Not like I can paint him anything.

The hours went by rather quickly and we gathered for a briefing. The mission today was to strike at a Boche airfield further up the lines, which to me sounded like a rather exciting first flight back. Our flight headed by Pinsard was to carry out the attack, guarded by A flight flying top cover and assisting. Unfortunately this did not go according to plan. Fortunately, it still worked out. The Squadron took off with me proudly flying my Bordeaux banner and patriotically inscribed crate into the skies. We climbed and crossed the lines, which is where misfortune struck in the form of A flight disappearing... somewhere. God knows how, but we later found out they got lost. Well, thankfully this didn't discourage us and we carried on. Eventually we neared the airfield and what a sight we've seen! Crates littering the runway, crates circling around it in a landing pattern. We caught the Boches at the moment they were least expecting it, and we surely were going to exploit it. We first flew past, coming downward and finally going into a turn following Pinsard, on track for our attack. Seeing the vast majority of two seaters on the ground and several in the air, I scanned my possible targets during the approach, opting for an air target. Amidst the two seaters, I spotted a blue tail of an Albatross! 'Perfect', I thought, thinking that he would make for a far easier target and diving onto his tail, setting sights and opening fire as I came.

The Boche despite my hopes refused to roll over and die on the first shot and of course began to evade, several of the circling two seaters starting to open fire when I passed just to spite me in my attempts at getting the Albatross. The fight was now on, and I wasn't about to lose so while the rest of the flight strafed ground targets and the two seaters I went into a knife fight with the Albatross. He put up a moderate amount of resistance and twirled around, trying to get guns on me but repeatedly failing, at one point going for a heads on pass during which neither of us hit for fear of collision. Unlike him though, I was managing to keep up and got my own shots in that did hit. I've heard to not turn fight too much in a SPAD from the others for it was no camel, but in this case those tight turns combined with several Yo-Yos and reversals managed to keep me at a constant advantage in our tree top tango and the Fritz just kept on taking damage. Annoyingly for me, the damage just wasn't enough and despite slowing down and performing worse he still showed no sign of going down for sure. The case was worsened by the two seaters on the ground the crews of which hopped back in and started using them as static machinegun emplacements, taking shots at me as I passed overhead. Brushing this aside even as my wing got peppered, I kept up the attack against the increasingly reluctant Boche.

Finally, just as my guns ran dry the Fritz's engine gave out and he veered off to the side, slamming into the trees with a loud crash. Victory! Now that this was over, I caught my bearings and realised that I was entirely alone. Everyone else at that point turned back and returned home and upon noticing my ever decreasing fuel reaching around a halfway empty point I turned my crate and started to head home too, not too keen on ending up behind the lines again. I got home without trouble besides the low amount of fuel and upon landing my report. Unsurprisingly, while Pinsard was happy that I managed to down myself a Boche he plainly stated that I shouldn't expect a confirmation as there was no one around to see it, and thus my claim went rejected. Well, at least I know I still got him. I then found out the results of our mission, that being several wounded but thankfully no crashes or deaths. These woundings did mean we would be running with a smaller flight, which even then was a big understatement.

In the afternoon the Captaine told me we are to fly an escort mission over Strutters heading off to attack a German position. The only problem is, our flight would consist of just me and him, with A flight providing cover again... A flight proved themselves just as reliable as they did in the first mission and gotten lost somewhere in the clouds, and perhaps at a worst possible moment as during our escort's transition into the Hun lines I suddenly spotted 5 Albatrosses emerging out of the cloud and heading towards our Strutters, with only me and the Captaine standing between them... Thankfully, by some stroke of luck, the Boches were blind that day and did not notice us, happily flying past while we went ahead with our mission and soon returned back home. After nearly running into such dangerous odds, a good rest is certainly warranted.

Hercule Orville Lorrient
Sgt , Esc 44
Brequet 14AI
Esquennoy, Flanders

25, July 1918.

2 unconfirmed.

Bombing Day, 2 Flights of 3 a/c lost one on the 1st go about. Flew low ,but couldnt see movement around plane. Second flight all went well no losses.

Carrick - Adieu Cher Henri. Bienvenue Hercule! What's with these flares? Never seen that before. So much BHAH/WOFF yet to explore.
Henri did well to extinguish that engine fire then land the machine dead stick. Alas, poor Marat. I fear for him if he takes an long bath...

Raine - Welcome to Robert. Absconded with the funds! Love that. Stunting at Borden seems a bit over the top on a number of levels. I do hope no hangars were harmed during the production.
Tough go first time over the lines, then the condemnation of Captain Hay. All worked out in the end but I'm not sure I'd let Captain Hay off so easily. Tacit accusations of cowardice must be answered with public apology and not a furtive drink. Otherwise, knives in the dark, or is it pistols at dawn? Perhaps a hard palm heel to the chest when Hay is sitting precariously on the plank of ease. Dark thoughts. Bravo on opening Drummond's account. First of many I trust. Now hurry back, you're almost as far behind as I am!

Fullofit - Klaus continues his rampage. Sehr Gut, but not for the Franks methinks.
And now the HHO and the Blue Max! Itchy neck begone! What this? Klaus wearing the Blue Max in bed alone! I hadn't realized he was so vain. Get out there and find a proper Countess!
Strutter?! Klaus had the ear of the Kaiser and he talked of Strutters?! Ach du Lieber. A missed opportunity...or was it? This Junkers fellow does like the low and slow thing I hear. Might want to watch out for that if Klaus survives long enough for the next war...
Nice hit and run on King Georgie's gasbag, but Schnapps und Würste? What happened to Bier? The Allied blockade takes a bigger bite, don't she?
These close collisions, near and otherwise make a man nervous. OTOH, I heard the French are recruiting heavily from Le Cirque, or more precisely. Le Cirque du Soliel for their Gunners. Tread carefully, that circus lot is completely comfortable in odd positions..
Congrats on cracking 50!

Albert - Congrats once again on the Gongs. Nice to have the GOC present them in person... and something else too. Command, after only 6 weeks at the front. Bravo! Kevin is moving up very fast indeed. His leadership and record of kills will be an inspiration to the men of 64 Squadron.
Now, the lovely Olivia beckons and her guard let down at last. Time well spent with a fine afternoon stroll and a fantastic farewell. Be warned my friend, these nurses can bewitch the senses. Having said that, don't listen to Beery. One can never 'not think' about them however disciplined the mind.
Love the pics. Congrats on 70! Well done all around.

NR - Welcome back to Baptiste! Perhaps a reunion with la belle Maria is still possible. in the interval, stay alive.. which you have done on your first outing I see. Good work dispatching that pesky Boche. next time, you must have witnesses!

TWK - Good to have you dropping back in. We await Schutzmeier's triumphant return to the front.

Lou and MFair - Your absence is palpably noted. Come back soon.

À la Recherche du Temps Perdu - Part 95



10 July 1918
No. 24 Squadron
Conteville, France

D330 is off to the depot for repairs. Saw the early show off then set to paperwork. Morning communique from Wing:

DVII rejected, Triplane confirmed. One Hundred Forty-two.

Even better news - Daley has the DFC. That will be something for his family. Now I must write this damned letter.

_________________________


C Flight had the late afternoon show, so many of Daley’s flight attended the funeral. Beery came along as well. We would travel to Wavans together later that afternoon.


Everything about Daley’s funeral was exactly as it should have been.

A dozen nurses and twice that number of hospital staff joined the procession. The 22nd Wing Padre, Rev. Piers Holt Wilson gave an understated and moving eulogy concluding with a stanza from the poem, “For the Fallen.”

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”

No firing party due to the present state of alert, but a bugler closed the service with “The Last Post.”

I sent Chorley back with the Squadron Crossley and joined Beery in his car. Neither of us had much interest in returning to Conteville for an hour so we made for a café Beery knew in Auxi-le-Chateau. The fine lunch did little to lift the heavy mood.

When we arrived at Wavans, all of 56 Sqn save their duty officer were present. 60 Squadron too, every man jack among them, duty officer be damned. 60 Sqn. were bereft a brilliant Commanding Officer, the rest of us had lost a close friend. Beery and I joined a collection of officers from various RAF squadrons. I knew many of them, including my old tentmate Hubert Charles, 56 Squadron’s legendary Equipment Officer and now Investigator-at-Large for RAF HQ. General Salmond was the only high-ranking officer in attendance.

Mac’s funeral was a shabby affair, obviously cobbled together at the last minute. No cortege or procession, or honor guard. State of alert be damned, the man should have had a firing party at the very least. I’m surprised they could be bothered to find a coffin. The Rev. C. W. Riddiford mumbled through an oration of astonishing banality, in Latin of all languages. Latin! I had the misfortune to be standing nearby and could actually hear him speaking. I was one of the unlucky few who could understand his words.

Visiting with General Salmond afterwards, it was clear, though he said nothing on the subject, that he’d flown in from London to attend. At least there is some decency among the Brass Hats and Gen. Salmond is one of the best. Disappointing not to see Boom.

“Winningstad! Been donkeys it has,” said a voice with an Irish lilt behind me.
I turned, knowing who the speaker might be. I’d only met him the one time, and that but briefly.

It was he. The same man I’d spent an hour with after lunch in the grimy pilot’s pool mess at St. Omer. I’d say we were discussing tactics but in truth he was holding forth with his own ideas, and at the time I had few of my own. Green as grass. Sixteen months and a thousand years ago.

“Mannock!” I replied, extending a hand. “Well, I’m damned. It’s a long way from the St. Omer pilot’s pool and last April. How are you?”

“Grand, Winningstad, just grand,” he said, taking my hand in both of his. There was a brief sag and a look that put the lie to his response but only for the barest moment, a flash of resignation and fatigue then it was gone. I didn’t know Mannock at all, but from outward appearance his was not the jocose and teasing nature of Orpen or Ackers, my other two Irish friends. Mick Mannock appeared a serious man, but I thought he had the same sensitivity.

“And you?” he inquired.

“Oh, they’ve got me dead to rights, squadron and all. You too I heard. Congratulations. Still keeping up those ideas we talked about, are you?”

“I’ve plenty more now,” he said with a smile. “Fifteen. One more than your President Wilson. Come and visit and we can have a wee go over a drink. You’ve some old mates in 85 Squadron,” he said with a wink then turned and walked on with the others.

Gilchrist invited Beery and I to join 56 Sqn at dinner, so after a brief return to Conteville to attend to details and ensure all was well, we headed down to Valheureux aerodrome, Beery once again piloting us along the country roads at frightening speed. Hubert Charles was there, also Gerald Maxwell who returned to 56 in March on attachment.

Those who knew him were telling Mac stories. Maxwell let on to an escapade at Turnberry where Mac took up James Latta’s sister Mary in an Avro, then made a forced landing when the engine conked. The rumor was, said Maxwell, that Colonel Rees gave Jimmy a dressing down for the ages, one Victoria cross holder to another. Having met Mary Latta, I believed every word of it.

The shoddy funeral ceremony was also a topic of conversation. Paul Winslow, one of the American pilots attached recently to 56, hit it on the head.

“Richthofen, an enemy, had a better funeral,” he declared.

“That he did,” I replied. “I was at Von Richthofen’s funeral. I walked in the funeral procession, and saw it all. Those Diggers gave the Baron one hell of a sendoff.”

“I would have thought that if anyone deserved a real memorial it was McCudden,” said Winslow.

Or Clement, or Ball, or Arthur, or Major Hawker or a thousand other men whose names I don’t know.

“Such a rushed and ill-planned affair,” said Hubert.

“Aye, if he’d not come up from the ranks, things would nae ha’ been so,” intoned Maxwell. The whiskey had loosed his Scottish accent briefly.

I shook my head in silent denial, then I thought about the matter and wasn’t so certain.

Mac had the full respect of 56, as he did the entire Royal Flying Corps, but I know sometimes he felt the outsider. Mac told me once how he wished he had the advantage of a public school education. He sure as hell would’ve made full use of the chance, unlike some. I’d met brilliant Etonians but some real dullards too. I know how he felt, being alien, but nobody ever looked down their nose at me. If it was anything, it was ‘Oh, he’s American, he doesn’t know.’ I always got credit for being here when my country was sitting out the war. When they looked at Mac, did they really think, ‘he’s a ranker, he’s other, he’s not one of us?’

“Hubert, what happened?” inquired Maxwell.

“Accounts conflict,” said Hubert. “I find it incredible how eyewitnesses to the same event can see things so differently. However, all agree that the engine cut out in a climbing turn over the trees during takeoff, after that point, memories diverge. More than one claim he was trying to turn back to the field and stalled.

“What load of balls!” snorted Beery. “Mac had 800 hours in the logbook if he had a minute. He’d never make that mistake.”

“I agree,” said Hubert thoughtfully. “One odd thing though, the air filter was an obsolete model. The same one we modified when 56 first came to France.”

“Air filter? What air filter?” I asked.

“This was before you joined the squadron, Ripper,” said Maxwell. “The air filters and carburetors
gave us a hell of a time. In May of last year wasn’t it, Hubert?”

“Quite right,” said Hubert.

“The factory air filter on the first S.E.5s was rubbish,” continued Maxwell. “Any aerobatics or strong maneuvering requiring full power would flood it with fuel and choke the engine. Hubert made significant modifications to get it working correctly, but the design was fundamentally flawed.”

“After we made the changes, and got it draining properly, Georgie Hoidge took the test model up,” added Hubert. “He did some extremely dangerous work, spinning so close to the ground, but the modifications did the job. I sent the drawings to the Royal Aircraft Factory and they altered the new filter design accordingly.”

“How could an air filter one year out of date get fitted to a new machine? Not even the R.A.F. could be that careless,” I said.

“You give them too much credit, Ripper,” replied Maxwell. “Do you remember that abortion Maybery brought back from the depot last December? Balcombe-Brown wanted that particular machine because it was RAF built. What a piece of shyte! Carburetor plate loose, no temperature gauge, rev counter inoperative, oil breather snapped off just for starters. It’s a minor miracle Maybery got to Laviéville alive.”

“I remember that,” said Beery. “Balcombe-Brown was furious. Wrote a brilliantly sarcastic letter to Colonel Bettington, officer commanding No. 2 ASD. I saw a copy. He was addressing a superior officer so the language was subtle but it was quite a ticking off.”

I recalled Richard bringing home the defective machine. It was just five days before I left for HE and a week before he was killed. As he would, Richard made light of the whole thing. I didn’t know about the letter and laughed inwardly at the thought of its contents. B-B could wield an acid tongue and pen when he chose.

“It was definitely the older filter?” I asked.

“It was,” Hubert replied.

“Jesus wept,” said Beery and took a long drink of his whiskey.

“Hubert, the eyewitnesses state Mac was in a climbing turn, yes?” Hubert nodded in response to my query.

The realization hit me like a flash.

“Mac always climbed in a steep banking turn after takeoff, and in that steep a bank he’d need full power to maintain lift. But with the obsolete filter filling with fuel the engine cut out…”

“That is only one possibility, Ripper. We can’t jump to conclusions,” replied Hubert. “The investigation is not complete.”

“Hubert, this is me you’re talking to. Ripper. Would the old filter choke with fuel in a full power climbing turn or not?”

Hubert thought for only a few seconds before responding. “Yes, it’s highly probable.”

“Gods below, they killed him!”
I raised my glass. “To Jimmy McCudden VC, the finest pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. Victor in countless fights. Killed by the intransigence, stupidity, and incompetence of the Royal Aircraft Factory. May the Gods d+mn them to the darkest pit of Tartarus.”

Memories of Tennyson’s disturbing revelations danced in my head.
“Hubert, when you file your report, keep a copy for your personal records. The truth must come out.”

“I say, Ripper, when did you become the cynic?” cried Beery.

“Never a cynic, Beery. Never. Maybe a realist. Someone lifted the veil from my eyes not long ago and I didn’t care for the view.
“Keep a copy, Hubert. Keep two. If it was the Aircraft Factory the brass hats and the politicians will try and hush it up.”

“I think your imagination has you in thrall, Old Man,” said Hubert. “There still a great deal we don’t know about the crash.”

Dear Hubert. He was a mechanical genius, but he viewed the world in terms of black and white. Tennyson and his lot, the brass hats too, they dwelt in the grey spaces. In the end it didn’t matter. Jimmy was dead and with his death the glory of the world dimmed once more. We who loved him came to mourn and remember. I didn’t feel like arguing so I let it go.