5-7 July 1915 The flying continues to be very pleasant. Lieutenant Lloyd and I are flying every day, but the missions are very routine. There has been a lot of talk about this new German pursuit aircraft, but no one in our squadron has seen one. In fact, the Germans have been very quiet-We haven’t encountered any German aircraft or even Archie since I returned from my leave.
8 July 1915 I had a minor adventure today. We were assigned to do a bomb drop with Lieutenant Dixon and Sgt. Garfield. The bomb run went without a hitch. My string landed fairly close to the trench line, but I fear not close enough. Shortly after we made our way home, my oil line broke, and I lost all oil pressure. I shut down the engine to prevent damage. Although there were no airfields nearby, I was still at altitude, so I thought I might make Bailleul. I managed to stretch out my glide, and ended up in a pasture about 500 yards south of the field. Had there not been a line of trees right before the field, I might have made it all the way in, but I thought the better of trying to risk getting over the trees with a dud engine, so I set the bus down in the field. We were both very pleased with our effort, and had a very nice lunch at Bailleul while the mechanics fixed our bus.
Bombs Away
Dead Engine
Last edited by Combs; 07/13/1511:38 AM.
No man commands safely unless he has learned well how to obey.