homepage Forums Air Combat & Civil Aviation Battle of Britain + Battle of Britain II Here's what happened (Continued)

After long delays in getting across the Channel due to inclement weather I finally arrived at my new billet, Estree Blanche aerodrome. A damp little field criss-crossed with wheel tracks and dotted here and there with drab green hangars. The weather didn't let up entirely after my arrival last night but the ceiling was high enough to get a patrol in and, I must say, it's jolly good to be back on real flying after my stint chasing student pilots around a Scottish bog.

After the court of inquiry I never thought I'd fly again, who knew that some blimp of a Colonel from wing would take the loan of his staff car so seriously and anyway, I brought most of it back, the bits that weren't embedded in the bridge at least. The daft tit couldn't drive it anyway, had a Corporal to do that for him.

I still can't get used to the Sergeants stripes on my arm I'm afraid but, if I wasn't James Bannister (and son of Lord H.A.D.P Bannister) I wouldn't have pilot's brevet still either.

56 seem like a good bunch, proficient in the air, keen on the ground, very gay in the mess and a spiffing bunch of chaps all round I'm sure. They looked at me a bit funny when I wandered into the Ante-Room yesterday but it only took a few drinks and a bit of chit-chat to get them asking about things back home and what it was like flying with the only people in the world more dangerous than the German Air Service. They presume that anybody who could live through that must live a charmed life and I don;t aim to prove them wrong.

Shot down a dozy little Albatros today, red nosed thing with red wheels too. Lt Ward and I wandered over to fly the flag in the overcast and he decided to have a crack at one of the Hun's gasbags, silly sod, got balloon fever and he nearly got archied out of existence for his trouble.

Anyway, I spotted this Albatros coming in to have a look, he spotted me and since we were about equal height I decided to see if I still knew how to keep my end up. He came at me full tilt, no subtlety, sailing full steam ahead from my one o'clock so I let him line up before kicking the rudder over and hauling my SE' into a chandelle to the right. I came down right inside his turn and gave him a squirt, just a half second with both guns and his engine started belching intermittent puffs of black smoke. He reversed his turn and I did the same again but to the left this time. I gave another burst, a longer one this time and was rewarded by the sight of more stuff coming out of his engine, white stuff this time. I'd either hit his radiator or pipped the flask of schnapps under his seat. Probably the latter because, after a few more turns his engine conked and he put down in a field over his side of the lines.

I realised I wasn't in the healthiest of positions so I jinked and dodged back over to No-Man's Land being pursued by some angry archie and machine gun fire all the way. It didn't take long to get back up to the cloud ceiling, I only needed a ladder to do that really, and then I sallied forth once more to see how Ward was getting along with his sausage. He must have abandoned the contest since he was nowhere to be seen despite my thorough searching. I feared that archie might have got him after all until I saw a green verey light sail over my port wing, no flies on Ward, he'd been up in the clouds watching me deal with Fritz.

After this performance he decided to fly home topsides and climbed up through the muck, I might have followed by I spotted a Jerry coming at me from our side of the lines very fast. It turned out to be a DFW, too far away and too fast to engage and too low over Jerry flak so I didn't bother chasing him.

Not a bad way to open my innings I guess. It must have looked good enough for some brass-hat who happened to be watching from our trenches as there was an MC waiting for me when I got home. Seems as though the come around with the tea and bully beef sandwiches these days. I'd have preferred a restoration of my commission of course but Wing has a long memory and I doubt I'll be wearing a 2nd Lieutenant's pips for some time.

Well, off to the mess for a snort before dinner dear diary, cheerio!