Great stories all. I'll connect with your adventures in greater detail anon, but for now I must drop this rather massive catch up so I can, err...catch up.À la Recherche du Temps Perdu - Part 1097 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
8.45 Offensive patrol south of Cambrai. The push begins tomorrow and our job is to keep the Huns blind. Flying with Hazell and A Flight. Longton and B Flight flew 2000 feet below.
Crossed the lines at 13,000 feet. Turning north toward Cambrai we spied 3 DFWs escorted by an entire Jasta of Fokkers. The DFWs circled to make a fight of it.
Hammered a DVII on my first attack. His machine shuddered then rolled over and dove straight down.
I stayed high and chose another. We were now over British lines as we fought down to 2000 feet.
A final burst sent him into the mud.Circling back west, I was now well under the fight. Caught onto a low DFW trying to escape east.
The Hun’s engine was failing and his slow speed made for a tricky firing pass. A second run at him sent him earthward trailing smoke.
As he landed between two shell holes his wing collapsed. Tommies rushed out to greet their latest capture. Wing telephoned after lunch confirming both the Fokker and the DFW. One Hundred Ninety-two.
__________________
More new men. Five in as many days.
2Lt. P. W. Johnson – 3 Oct
2Lt. H. V. Evans – 4 Oct
Lt. T. A. Lawrence – 5 Oct
Lt. A. A. Creswell – 5 Oct
Lt. R. A. Eldridge just this morning. He replaces Robert Kingsley Rose who left today for No. 205 Squadron.
We’ll have our hands full trying to keep them alive. For now, they fly practice patrols. It would be murder to send them over.
Mail and a letter from Eliza!
8 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
The push for Le Cateau is on. Scruffy took B Flight up on a balloon hunt at Dawn, sending a gasbag down in flames south of Busigny. At 8.00, IX Corps requested urgent assistance with a troublesome balloon east of Mericourt. C Flight were slated for the early afternoon patrol so Barton volunteered to lead the attack. I went along as did Seymour.
Barton led our three-ship flight climbing south of Athies. Low haze and broken clouds at 3000 feet. We were still grabbing height south of Athies when 7 Greentails burst out of the clouds.
Four of the Sons of B!tches chased after me!Circled and spun down then ran west kicking rudder like a madman. Reversed twice to land a front quarter snapshot. F5449’s canvas sang like a drumhead but the bullets struck only cloth. One more hard scissor when the ominous dull plunks sounded. Petrol tank holed!
Bloody hell you’re in it now, Oliver!I put the nose down and dove at full power. This far over our lines, only one Hun followed as I dropped under 200 feet. We danced about with some head on passes. Each time he turned to port. On the next cross, I dove down in advance and pulled up and over. F5449 wallowed at the top of the reverse. I fought to avoid the stall as I rolled her level. She answered…
Bullet strikes all around his engine. He started smoking. I was firing from 120 yards when the Wolseley started coughing then quit entirely. Switched to the gravity tank without success. As I put the nose down and glided away, the Hun broke hard and retreated east to his lines. I looked for a field. Smoke and spraying coolant obscured my vision as I settled down into a nice comfortable looking pasture.
I didn’t see the fence until the last momentThank the gods I was only going 20 mph when I hit. F5449 lurched her tail around to starboard on impact but she didn’t go over. Fearful of fire, I leapt free of the cockpit and moved a short distance away. All the cold, violent energy which sustained me through the terror of fighting now drained away. I dropped to one knee on the wet grass. It was then I noticed the hole in my Sidcott suit and the pain in my left hip. I never felt a thing during the fight. Pulling off my flying suit, I put my hand to my hip. The pressure hurt but not greatly. My hand came away bloody.
Yet again, I am still alive.__________________________
Latest innings to the Greentails. They got in each other’s way all four attacking me like they did.
“But Poulydamas himself avoided the dark death with a quick spring to one side…”Seymour and Barton got clear of the Huns and returned safely to Athies. I telephoned the squadron from a nearby battery. Allen dispatched the Shelsley and a recovery lorry.
Wound not serious. Another graze, another gift from the
Luftstreitkräfte.The men of No. 24 Sqn never fail to astound. Not only did Nichols and Webb have my new mount, F5459 ready for testing by Noon. They even had time to paint the fuselage and top plane with my signature large ‘X’. I returned from my brief flight to Flight Sergeant Fisher informing me that the bag was once again in its proper place in the back of A Flight Hangar and might I like to inspect the installation.
1.00 Offensive Patrol, Walincourt to Busigny. Flying in the low group with C Flight. Hazell led A Flight 2000 feet above. After three circuits of curiously empty skies we spotted 5 DFWs 1000 feet below escorted by 7 Fokkers slightly above our altitude. Hazell and A Flight came charging down to deal with the DVIIs while C Flight attacked the DFWs.
Firing both guns from 150 to 40 yards got the Hun smoking.The Observer’s fire struck my left aileron but F5459 remained as lively as ever. Pulling up and away I flew formation with the Hun, staying 300 yards to port. He fired wildly at me to no effect as I put on a fresh Lewis drum.
A second pass struck the pilot.Onto a second DFW racing east in a shallow dive. His machine looked to be damaged and oscillated sporadically. I thought it might go over but the pilot kept the DFW level.
Most of a Lewis drum and an equal share of Vickers removed his top plane.F5449 is off to the Depot for repair courtesy of Jasta 5’s rough treatment and my dreadful landing.
Lt. Lawrence is gone after a mere 3 days with the squadron. To hospital with the clap!
Gods below! We’re undermanned as it is. This makes 5 men lost in the last 5 days. Maddening.
I hammered the bag for a half hour waiting for the late afternoon patrol.
Both DFWs confirmed. One Hundred Ninety-four.
9 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
Yesterday’s gift from Jasta 5 bears a scab now that any movement cracks. I alternate between a mad desire to scratch it fiercely and a mild wince of pain. The MO put a dressing on it and will debride the wound over the coming days. What joy.
7.50 Offensive patrol: Caudry to Busigny. Entire squadron up in two flights. I went with the top cover group led by Barton. Crossed into Hunland at 14,000 feet. Northeast of Busigny, A flight dropped suddenly. Barton led us circling down. Something was moving down there but in the haze and against the mud it was impossible to see from height. That #%&*$# Hun camouflage again.
Dropping lower we saw that A Flight had 3 DFWs in hand. One by one they went down smoking.
Circling with Barton as we reformed high flight when a lone Greentail entered the lists.
He was too keen. A grievous fault…
...and grievously hath Greentail answered it12:30 Morning reconnaissance patrols reported large, crowded columns of German infantry moving toward Le Cateau. Offensive patrols scrubbed. We rearmed with bombs.
A supply depot was too tempting to resist.Target below. Thousands of Huns in column. Most on foot, some in a convoy of lorries.
My bombs found their mark Fewer Huns to challenge the advanceScruffy made another of his brilliant tactical reconnaissances and once again was ordered to report directly to the Army Commander. This makes for his 9th such mission in the past two weeks. Returning over the fighting, he destroyed a machine gun holding up our cavalry. I sent forward a recommendation for a decoration.
Tomorrow Captain Horace Dale Barton is off to Home Establishment after 10 months of frontline service, having arrived on New Year’s day. Palmer will take over C Flight when he returns from leave on the 14th.
Lt. Young, our EO, is proving himself a worthy successor to the legendary Harry Rogers South as Mess President. With such ingredients at hand, Sgt. J. W. Welch created a magnificent farewell dinner. The NCOs and men took up a collection and presented Horace with an engraved silver cigarette case and a personalized swagger stick. From the officers, a silver & crocodile skin flask.
10 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
Rain and heavy mist in the morning. I flew off to have a dekko and barely made it home alive. Pea soup as thick as San Francisco fog. No clearing above the clouds. MO debriding the graze on my hip. Crusty scab replaced for now with a raw welt. Wound healing.
12:30 Weather improved slightly. Still misty with light rain but flyable. Full squadron patrol of our lines Busigny to Caudry over the shallow salient pointing at Le Cateau.
Over Bernes Aerodrome a Schwarm of Fokkers flew a mile to the West some 2500 feet above. They dropped to chase and we dragged them into A Flight. They kept on and now the odds were in our favor.
“Now the son of Phyleus, the spear-famed, closing upon him
struck him with the sharp spear behind the head at the tendon,
and straight on through the teeth and under the tongue cut the bronze blade,
and he dropped in the dust gripping in his teeth the cold bronze.”A second Greentail with a white ‘L’ painted thrice on a green fuselage band. I knew this one from two days ago!
“He struck him fair beneath the collar-bone, and the pointed
bronze head tore clean through and came out by the base of the shoulder.
He fell, thunderously, and his armor clattered upon him.”AA crew at the aerodrome awarded the first Fokker. At least they fired their guns this time. Second Greentail confirmed. One Hundred Ninety-five.
208 Sqn arrived yesterday from Foucaucourt. Naval 8 as was. Memory of a grand night with George MacAlister at that pub behind the Regency Hotel came flooding back. I dare not dwell on it.
11 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
Noon – Offensive patrol over Le Cateau. Low clouds, mist and rain made for poor visibility and difficult flying conditions. No e/a sighted.
Ernest ‘Perc” Crossen goes to Home Establishment tomorrow. He will be missed by one and all. Since the big Canadian arrived at the end of March, he’s done brilliant work. 3 confirmed, 2 balloons and 3 driven down damaged.
12 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
Low clouds, mist, and rain. B and C Flights went off together midafternoon armed with bombs. Harries, flying at barely 100 feet in the mist, spotted 12 German machine guns in action. He dove to attack, silencing eight, and forcing the other four to limber up and withdraw.
I wrote up a recommendation for the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Allanson’s engine conked on takeoff. He did the correct thing and continued straight to force land in the field beyond but he hit a shell hole. The machine flipped over and broke, as did poor Allanson’s nose and left arm. Another man lost.
13 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
Heavy mist and Rain. Both patrols returned early. Visibility practically nil. It’s a deadly risk for no gain sending pilots up in this soup. Huns appear to think accordingly. No reports of enemy air activity.
Major Draper, CO of 208 Sqn. hit by AA fire today and was badly wounded. Not a good time for 208 to lose their Mad Major.
Feeling restless tonight. My thoughts wander often to Eliza and her last letter…
How marvelous, as she would say.
What would be more marvelous? In no particular order: a whiskey, a hot bath in a proper tub, and Eliza’s naked body entwined with my own. For now, I content myself with a whiskey as I write and dream of our next meeting.
14 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
Weather finally clearing. Wren woke feverish and struggling to breathe. He’s in hospital and done for the war. It’s that d@mn influenza.
9.00 A and C Flights up on Offensive patrol: La Goise to Le Cateau.
I flew deputy to Hazell with A Flight.
We’d barely cleared the field when Fokkers appeared above. Hazell led us to the South, circling as C Flight took off. The Huns squandered their height advantage and attacked C Flight giving us the chance we needed.
Some dire moments for C Flight over the field until we arrived. The Huns soon realized their jeopardy. Half tried to disengage to the East. All too easy to clear the remaining Boche off C Flight.
“...and he in the dust face downward
dropped while death breaking the spirit drifted about him.”With half their Jasta fleeing east, the remaining Fokkers fared poorly. I caught onto one, painted with a beautiful iridescent lozenge pattern, and put half a drum of Lewis and 50 rounds of Vickers into him. His left top plane crumpled but the wing stayed on as he spiraled down. He looked to be in a shallow glide that might allow him to land, but as he approached the ground his descent steepened.
“He fell, as when an oak goes down or a white poplar,
or like a towering pine tree which in the mountains the carpenters
have hewn down with their whetted axes to make a ship-timber.”2.00 With B Flight plus Evans, Lawrence and Creswell each making their first patrol into Hunland.
Over Wassigny we spotted 3 DFWs flying some 1500 feet lower. Dove on the attack and came up and under. Some damage with a short burst but my speed was too great. On the second pass the Gunner gave as good as he received. I broke off with F5459 full of holes. The Hun trailed smoke.
Geraghty swept into the fighting and shore the DFW’s wing clean off.Scruffy reformed the flight and we resumed patrolling. 10 minutes later we tangled with 7 Fokkers closing at our altitude. At the merge, I put a 60-round burst into the face of a converging Hun.
Scruffy followed on and sent the Boche down in flames.With her perforated canvas, F5459 struggled turning to the left. It took me three go rounds with the Fokker before I got position behind him.
“He fell, thunderously, and his armor clattered upon him.”Returning to Athies I could see the bomb damage at the aerodrome. The AA crews gave a good account of themselves.
Funeral pyres of two Hun bombers rose next to the aerodrome.A decent bag for no losses. Scruffy sent the Fokker down, and Geraghty shot the wing off the DFW, both victories which I confirmed. In addition, Geraghty, Harries and Barlow each drove down a Fokker heavily damaged but none saw the machines crash. Neither did any see my Hun fall. Unlikely these would be confirmed. We awaited word from forward observers.
Palmer returned from leave this afternoon. He merely nodded when I informed him of his promotion to Captain and new role as C Flight Commander.
The evening dispatch delivered mixed news: Scruffy’s Fokker and all three of my DVIIs confirmed. Predictably, RAF HQ denied Geraghty, Harries and Barlow’s Fokkers. Also, Geraghty’s DFW! Outrageous! I confirmed this one personally. A telephone call to Colonel Cairnes brought no further information. May lice infest the loins of those bloody Claims Office imbeciles. How dare they question my word!
One Hundred Ninety-eight.
15 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
7.45 Early morning offensive patrol over La Groise. Yesterday’s encounter with the DFWs and Fokkers did considerable damage. Despite the best efforts of A/Ms only 6 aircraft serviceable.
I led a mixed flight. Climbed to 16,000 well west of Athies before turning for the lines. Over La Groise, I spotted 7 Fokkers against a cloud below. Very hard to see them against the ground clutter in this light. Blast that Lozenge camouflage!
Huns scattered for the clouds as we attacked. I chased one with a Green and White slash on his top plane. My flying was as decrepit as my marksmanship and after a quick burst which did precisely nothing he dove into a cloud. I gave chase but never saw the Hun again and very shortly found myself alone. Returned to Athies after this most unsatisfactory encounter.
More than the usual number of A/M and ground crew greeted our patrol on landing. Everyone knows even if none have the bad manners to mention it. I’ve no doubt there’s a veritable casino worth of betting as to if or when it happens. The thought of my 200th victory is now impossible to ignore. Only the bag provides a refuge.
16 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
Heavy mist and rain all day. I went up on reconnaissance but the cloud cover was solid for 5000 feet. The guns are booming since yesterday. Tomorrow Fourth Army will assault the Hun positions on the Selle. We’ll be powerless to assist unless this filthy weather lifts.
Little to do but wait it out and hope for a break. The bag is my solace now.
17 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
More dirty weather. Low clouds and thick, heavy mists. Got one patrol up for an hour this afternoon. No enemy sighted. At least the squadron are getting a chance to rest. These past two weeks of low attacks exact a heavy toll. If we weren’t in the middle of a push I’d have Lt. Young organize a binge.
18 October 1918No. 24 Squadron RAF
Athies, France
Weather cleared during the night.
8.45 Patrol of our lines in front of La Groise. We never got close. As B and C flights circled for altitude 8 miles west of Athies an entire Jasta of Fokkers burst out of the clouds. Huns! 15 miles into our lines! The Archie boys were cutting loose with everything they had at friend and foe alike.
Nothing for it but to sail into the storm of spears thrown…
“Throwing first, he struck the horn of the horse-haired helmet,
and the bronze spearpoint fixed in his forehead and drove inward
through the bone; and a mist of darkness clouded both eyes…” “…and he fell as a tower falls in the strong encounter.”I landed at Athies and began a nervous wait. Not even the bag was any use. One by one all pilots returned, some with heavy damage. Nobody wounded, five claims including mine.
Worrisome to see Huns this deep into our territory. They’ve rarely been so bold.
2.00 Briefing for the afternoon patrol when the siren rang out. Air raid! Racing to our planes we could see the Archie bracketing the bombers high overhead. This far away they were mere silver dots against the dark background of the nimbus clouds. Devilish cunning these Boche to have come so far west undetected.
The Archie boys for all their victory-stealing ways did a magnificent job of showing us the enemy. Even so the Huns might have gotten away but they circled back twice to attack the field, giving us time to climb to their level. Once through the low mist and cloud layer we could see them more clearly. DFWs.
Made one attack on the trailing machine, landing a series of short bursts until the Vickers jammed. Drew off to clear the stoppage as Seymour made his attack run.
When Seymour broke away, I closed, trading fire with the Observer. A bit rash to be certain, but the DFW fell off to the right belching black smoke. His spiral became a tumble as he fell.
I had no time to watch him crash. More Archie announced a flight of seven Fokkers flying below.
Light colored, almost opaline in the filtering light, they stood out against the shell churned mud. Blue engine cowling with white tails. I’d never fought these Huns before.
“Who among mortal men are you, good friend?
Since never before have I seen you in the fighting where men win glory,
yet now you have come striding far out in front of all others,
in your great heart, who have dared to stand up to my spear far-shadowing.” “Yet unhappy are those whose sons match warcraft against me.” A stream of Fokkers raced east, but they were too far over. Archie puffs burst around them the entire way and I soon caught a second one as he fled.
“This man Eurypylos, the shining son of Euaimon,
running in chase as he fled before him struck in the shoulder
with a blow swept from the sword and cut the arm’s weight from him,
so that the arm dropped bleeding to the ground, and the red death
and destiny the powerful took hold of both eyes.”I circled back for 10 minutes looking for any S.E.s but finding none I made for Athies. Half the squadron had already landed when I touched down. Seymour was in excited conversation with Barton. He’d seen my DFW crash. Professionals that they were, the A/Ms went about their work as per usual but I did see a number of furtive looks in my direction as I waited for the rest of the patrol to land. The betting pool must be staggeringly large.
Eventually all but two planes returned. Much to my relief, Harries and Bissonette telephoned from Bouvincourt 10 minutes later. Harries landed with control cable damage and Bissonette followed him down as a precaution. I walked over to the squadron office. Now it was just a matter of confirmation.
Colonel Cairnes telephoned just before dinner, well in advance of the evening dispatch rider. Yellow tail Fokker from the morning went to the Archie boys. The three afternoon claims he confirmed.
“Fine show there Winningstad. A Fine show.”
“Thank you, sir. I do hope you’ll join us for dinner tomorrow.”
“I shall. Most assuredly,” he replied. “Goodnight.”
Lt. Allen looked at me inquiringly, his head tilted in oddly canine fashion. I said nothing. Other men had claims sent forward as well and Colonel Cairnes said nothing of those. We’d wait for the official notification in the evening dispatch before breaking the news.
The dispatch rider was late and didn’t arrive until 9.30. In addition to official confirmation of my victories and three more for the squadron, he brought momentous news:
Hazell has the DSO and a squadron command! He’s off to No. 203 Squadron in three days. The mess got rather lively after that. I consulted with Lt. South as to the state of our food and liquor stores. He assured me we were well stocked for a binge. Tomorrow would be an historic evening for both officers and other ranks. I quietly left the boys to it and came back here to the squadron office. I sit enjoying a whiskey and writing this entry. I wonder who won the pool?
Two Hundred one.
I’m relieved it’s done at last.