Wow, all these Yanks at the front! Some great reading. Witt, best of luck with Dunn, and I hope he gets that paintbrush soon. Wulfe, Drummond seems to be doing very well. That shot of the Spad diving on the two-seater is a crackerjack. Jerbear, hope to see Johnny in the thick of things after a few quiet days. And Carrick, congrats on the fourth kill for Limoges.

Holger Barfuss is doing well and looking forward to getting a triplane one day soon.

Part 4
Vzfw Holger Barfuss, Jasta 7

With three recognized kills, Holger Barfuss felt he was accepted within the Staffel. The officers followed the lead of the Stafffuehrer, Josef Jacobs, who showed a fondness for the cheeky Heidelberger. Along with Josef Bohne, who went by the nickname “Jupp,” Barfuss was often the butt of Jacob’s affectionate teasing.

The NCOs had a comfortable mess in a large house near the Château de Béthune, the site of the officers’ Kasino. But in practice, Leutnant Jacobs often declared “all pilots’” nights and the NCO pilots joined their higher-ranked comrades for the evening.

His talent for scrounging didn’t hurt either. Since he’d found a source of fresh pork and milk, he’d branched out, volunteering his time to ensure the mess was well provisioned. His latest coup was a large box of oysters and a case of champagne, which led to a memorable evening. No fewer than three local farmers now supplied the Jasta with sausage, cheeses, and chickens. Further, Barfuss had contracted with one of the farmer’s wives to head the kitchen for the officers. Some bruised egos among the corporal cooks were involved, but the effect of a woman at the helm was immediate. The crystal sparkled, the linen was clean, and the meats were perfectly prepared and accompanied by delicious soups and sauces. While the same sharpness did not prevail in the NCOs’ mess, it was noticed that on the evenings the officers enjoyed Schweinleber mit Spaetzl at table, the NCOs were quietly scoffing pork tenderloin.

In the air, all was not so joyful. The English were putting up more and more aircraft, many of which flew at altitudes his Albatros could not reach. Barfuss overheard conversations in which some of the pilots, even the more successful ones, candidly thought that the war had finally turned against Germany, and questioned if the situation could be recovered. There was a stalemate on the Arras front, and the speculations was that attention would now turn to the French. Perhaps, just perhaps.
..
On 4 May, after an “all pilots’” celebration of Barfuss’s third victory, Ltn Uhle led a strong patrol to escort a Rumpler assigned to spot artillery near Armentieres. They patrolled for more than an hour at more than 4000 metres, freezing on a damp and cool morning. Finally, the double-seater signalled a return home and the Staffel took station above and behind the Rumpler. Approaching the Lys, which flowed northward here on the friendly side of the lines, a formation of Camels took a stab at downing their ward. Barfuss selected one of the little brown scouts, but soon found himself at the mercy of a very talented pilot in a superior machine. Time and again, the Englishman peppered the black Albatros. Barfuss threw his machine into a spiral, praying it would hold together. The Camel spiralled behind him, emerging only 100 metres above and behind, still firing. Barfuss threw his machine one way and then the other, but the Camel was determined. At length, Barfuss saw the field at Ste-Marguerite a few kilometres off and made a zigzag course for the protection of its machine gun positions. The Englishman fired a parting burst which rattled through the upper wing of the Albatros and then, with a wave, turned westward. Barfuss hedge-hopped home and landed at Marckebeeke in a cold sweat. That day Ltn Uhle did not return.

5 May dawned sunny. Headquarters phoned a few minutes before nine with orders to take off at once for the line of friendly captive balloons near Lille. A British formation was reported in the area. It took about fifteen minutes to reach the area. The Staffel’s formation, under the command of Leutnant Degelow, circled about for twenty to thirty minutes, seeing nothing. As fuel ran low (for the machines were only partly fueled), Degelow signalled a return to base. Shortly after, however, Barfuss noticed a large group approaching from the east. It looked odd and he tried to catch the attention of the others, but the Fokkers pilots did not notice. His was the only Albatros. Barfuss climbed and soon made out the shape of the speedy De Havilland two-seat machines.

It took too long to reach them and the English saw the lone Albatros approaching. There were at least eight De Havillands and they all banked and dived at him like true fighters. For several minutes, Barfuss had his hands full as first one then another English machine charged him with its front-firing gun blazing. Holes appeared all about him. At length, he caught one two-seater in a turn and hit it with a short burst. The De Havilland did a half-roll and turned under him. The poor observer, Barfuss thought – he must be thrown about! Barfuss fired again, this time from behind but from at least 250 metres’ distance. The machine turned under him once more. This pattern repeated until they were down to only 500 metres and well behind German lines. He had this Englishman all to himself. He fired a long burst just as the two-seater attempted another downward half-loop. This time the De Havilland remained inverted and dived downwards, crashing in a field seven kilometres southwest of Lille. Barfuss landed next to the crash site, determined to save the occupants of the machine – if they were lucky enough to survive – from the crowd of grey-clad infantrymen that were charging towards them. He need not have bothered. Both the pilot and observer had been fatally shot and were terribly smashed about. He cut away the roundel from the side of the fuselage as evidence of his fourth victory.

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"his time the De Havilland remained inverted and dived downwards, crashing in a field seven kilometres southwest of Lille."

6 May was a busy day. Orders arrived after midnight for a move to the forward field at Ste-Marguerite. The Staffel would be the only unit of Jastagruppe 6 to move there. All vehicles and wagons save two were gone by dawn and the aircraft were in the air at 09h00. It was a short and uneventful fight. The new field needed much work, and there was nothing to replace the luxury of the officers’ château. The nearby village was badly damaged, but the NCO pilots secured a good-sized house with shutters but no windows, and set about making it home. By nightfall, they had acquired beds and some furniture, and had got the kitchen into working order. Until they were ordered otherwise, they would have their own NCO pilots’ mess.
Attachments
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