Lou, sorry to hear about Dent. That's a kick to the nether region for Swany. And he was doing so well with the headaches gone. I hope he doesn't get consumed by desire for revenge and starts knocking out all Halberstads he sees. How about going solo? RIP Lieutenant Dent.
It was back to Nancy rail yard again. This time Toby was sent on his own and he wasn’t in good mood. The Fokker he downed near the rail yard yesterday could not be credited due to lack of witnesses. Perhaps he should ask all of his foes to kindly crash on the friendly side of the mud, so that someone could witness it. If he ever gets shot down, he will definitely make sure to crash on the French side, so that whoever shoots him down does not get credited for his hard work either. The weather was taking a turn for the worse. Large clouds gathered and the ground mist intensified. He was having difficulties recognizing any of the landmarks and the navigation became that much more difficult. Mulberry eventually reached the yard after a long flight and dropped his ordnance right smack in the middle of the yard. As he was about to turn back when he noticed two specks in the distance at low altitude. They had to be Huns to fly this low and not be harassed by Flak. Toby went after them, he had decisive height advantage and could easily convert it into speed to catch up to them. The two silhouettes were getting closer and he could recognize them now. Eindeckers! One of them made an about turn and was rising to meet him. He’d been spotted. A green Fokker came into view and turned into Toby’s flight path. He banked to port hard. The airframe creaked in protest and his body grew heavier with centrifugal forces. He gnashes his teeth with the effort to keep his head straight to keep visual contact with the enemy. The Hun disappeared above the top plane for a second and when he reappeared he was moving in opposite direction. Toby flicked his Strutter to starboard to keep on the German’s tail. He fired when he thought the monoplane would fly in front of his gun. Short burst. There is no need to waste ammo. The green Fokker dodged, dove and climbed but Toby remained glued to his tail, continuing to take snap shots. Finally the two planes aligned and Mulberry squeezed the trigger and continued to keep it pressed until he saw the German pilot slump in his seat. His craft rolled onto its back and crashed into the ground inverted. Toby took a look around to get his bearings. There was Flak being fired at him from a nearby factory. He had to be east of Château-Salins. He made a mental note of the location and the time for his report but was debating if he should even bother. The ground mist was becoming much thicker. Toby pointed his airplane south.
"Take the cylinder out of my kidneys, The connecting rod out of my brain, my brain, From out of my arse take the camshaft, And assemble the engine again."