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Clever Saville Sgt, RFC 70 Sqn Fienvillers, Flanders. D E C E A S E D due to being STUPID. Went up on the 24th and left the formation to attack 2 white colored 2 seats. The 2 rear gunners tore me up. I Should have just stayed with the formation.
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Here is the latest status report. Carrick58, make sure you log Clever's demise so that I can get it into the report and get him in the Honor Roll.
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Don't feel bad Carrick, Bolitho died in a fiery fireball. Direct hit from Archie I do believe. Charles Chamberlain will be taking to the skies shortly.
Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear or a fool from either end. BOC Member since....I can't remember!
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Bummer !
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MFair, Carrick. Sorry to hear about your pilots. There is still a lot of alphabet left Alfred Keers had a good week...The weather has finally turned, shaking off the chill of early spring. The sun has real warmth now and I can see some beauty in the featureless landscape of Flanders. Scarlet poppies bloom in every field and the trees seem to open all at once. Their leaves are uniform pale green. We flew twice every day this week. On 26 May we escorted a BE2 over the Hun lines in the north. The two-seater patrolled along the lines for an age, ranging our guns on one Hun position after the other. It had just turned west and begun to reel in its wireless antenna when Sergeant Long fired a flare. Two Fokkers were approaching from the southwest. The Huns must not have noticed us because as soon as we approached they broke for home. One got away quickly, but I was able to chase the other down to tree-top level and empty a drum into it. It wobbled and caught fire, crashing heavily into a tree stump in the shattered landscape below. Sergeant Long was able to confirm the kill, which brought my score to ten. My eleventh official kill came the next morning. We were ordered to attack the Hun balloon line in the north, near the Channel coast. I bagged one and Sergeant Noakes another, and we were away home before the Huns could react. That afternoon we flew an offensive patrol over the Vimy sector. Three Fokkers dived on us and would have surprised us but for Sergeant Noakes’s vigilance. Our fight was brief and confusing. I fired at two different Huns, and then the sky was empty. I circled, looking for the others, and saw an aircraft climbing towards the east. I gave chase and was soon able to identify a lone Fokker, painted a dark grey or perhaps green. I stalked him for fifteen minutes. We flew southeast towards Houplin, and were almost over that Hun aerodrome before I was finally close enough and comfortably under the tail of the Fokker. The first burst did damage, for the Fokker tumbled into a flat spin. But the pilot pulled out of the spin at a thousand feet and attempted to come about for a landing. I dived on him and fired again, and the enemy machine fell onto the aerodrome, destroying both the Fokker and a hanger! Chased by a host of machine guns, I zigzagged away towards home. Unfortunately there was no way to confirm the kill. The rest of the week was uneventful, except that I finally got a letter from my sister Eliza. Unlike Rosetta, who wrote twice weekly with all the gossip about a shell factory full of women, Eliza had barely written. She’d been in service and her long days and Spartan accommodations lacked the material for good letters, she claimed. But now she wrote to tell me that Seaham Hall had been given over by Lord Londonderry as a hospital and the family Eliza worked for had given her permission to work as a VAD nurse twice a week. She was quite thrilled about this, and to read her letter, you’d have thought her a true suffragette! The fields about our aerodrome are inhabited by several battalions of Canadians. They are recently arrived and terribly keen. On Sunday, 28 May, I was assigned along with Lieut Oliver Black (newly attached to us from England) to attend the Canadian 10th Battalion’s church parade. We had several of their officers in the mess that night and have been invited to participate in a sports day, although flying may make that impossible unless the weather turns bad again. "It wobbled and caught fire, crashing heavily into a tree stump in the shattered landscape below." "I was assigned along with Lieut Oliver Black ... to attend the Canadian 10th Battalion’s church parade."
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Oh yes! Bernard Sorelle has finally been allocated Nieuport 17! In his excitement he failed to notice that this is the Lewis version with the gun still on the top wing and the pitiful amount of ammo. Oh well, at least he'll look good in the squadron's new paint job.
"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."
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Looking good while doing it is a pilots requirement.
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Dudley Nightshade Sgt, Rfc 9 Sqn Flanders 1 Oct 1916. I say, bit of a disappointment. Flying School said we were to have the latest machines,but I am to fly the same type I trained on a BE2. Posted to the afternoon flight and saw some Huns, but no results.
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News of the World for the month of May - Intrepid Fliers:
May 1 The leaders of the rebellion in Ireland surrendered to British forces. Reichstag member Karl Liebknecht was arrested following a pacifist demonstration. May 3 Patrick Pearse and two other Irish rebel leaders were executed by a British firing squad. German forces began an artillery bombardment of Hill 304, northwest of Verdun. May 4 The German Government pledged to the United States that they would not attack merchant ships without warning. May 5 The German airship LZ85 was downed by British guns at Salonika. German forces gained a foothold on Hill 304 at Verdun. May 7 The verdict of the Court Martial was communicated to Irish rebel, Sean Heuston, that he had been sentenced to death and was to be shot at dawn the following morning. May 8 White Star steamship SS Cymric was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20 in the Atlantic Ocean. May 9 The British and French Governments concluded the Sykes-Picot agreement regarding the eventual partition of Asia Minor. The agreement took its name from its negotiators, Sir Mark Sykes of Britain and Francois Georges-Picot of France. May 10 Lord Wimborne resigned as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. May 11 A German attack west of Vaux Pond was repulsed during the Battle of Verdun. May 12 Irish republican and socialist leader James Connolly was executed by a British firing squad because of his role in the Easter Rising. May 14 An Austrian offensive against Italy began with an artillery barrage in the province of Trentino. May 15 In northern Mesopotamia Russian forces occupied Rowanduz. The Allies began a blockade of the Hejaz coast to assist the Arab revolt under Sharif Hussein bin Ali, Emir of Mecca. May 16 The House of Commons passed an extension to the Military Service Act bringing married men into the scope for conscription. Austrian forces captured the Italian trenches at Soglio d'AspiO. May 17 Earl Curzon of Kedlesron was appointed as President of the Air Board in Great Britain. May 18 Austrian forces captured Zugna Torta and Unz from Italy. May 19 The Austrian offensive stalled in the Trentino when Italian troops held Monte Pasubio but the Italians then retreated from Monte Toraro and Monte Campolon. May 20 German forces attacked Le Mort Homme and captured the summit of Hill 295 at Verdun. May 21 Adolf Tortilowicz von Batocki-Friebe was appointed president of the newly created German food control board. May 22 French forces launched an assault and gained a foothold in Fort Douaumont at Verdun. May 23 British troops occupied the capital city of El Fasher in Darfur. May 25 The Second Military Service Bill became law in Great Britain. May 26 German and Bulgarian forces occupied Fort Rupel on the Greek border with Macedonia. May 27 US President Wilson proposed a "universal association of nations" to settle future disputes. May 28 German forces bombarded the British line between La Bassee Canal and Arras on the Western Front. May 29 The first Despatch of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief of the British Armies in France and Flanders, was printed in the London Gazette. It covered the fighting at the Bluff, St Eloi and other actions of early 1916. May 31 The Battle of Jutland began between Britain's Grand Fleet and Germany's Hochseeflotte in the North Sea.
(From The Great War - Unseen Archives by Robert Hamilton)
"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."
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News of the World for the month of September - Warbirds Rising:
September 1 Bulgaria declared war on Romania. The British and Russian Governments concluded the "Sykes-Picot" agreement for the eventual partition of Asia Minor. Fourteen Zeppelins raided England dropping bombs from Gravesend, east of London, to Peterborough. One Zeppelin, Schutte-Lanz S.L. 11, was shot down over London by a British airplane. September 3 The British advanced at Guillemont and the French captured Foret; at the same time the Battle of Delville Wood ended with a tactical victory for the Allies. September 4 Dar-es-Salaam in German East Africa was surrendered to British forces. September 5 British troops captured Leuze Wood during the Battle of Guillemont. September 6 The Battle of Guillemont ended. September 7 The Battle of Kisaki took place between German and South African forces near the town of Kisaki during the East African campaign. September 8 The Battle of Kisaki ended in a German victory. September 9 In the intermediate phase of the Battle of the Somme, British troops captured the German held village of Ginchy, a strategically important post at the Battle of Ginchy. September 10 French and Serbian forces broke out of Thessaloniki, advancing north on the Macedonian Front. September 11 Greek Prime Minister Alexandros Zaimis tendered his resignation. September 12 The Battle of Kajmakcalan began in the foothills of Mount Kajmakcalan on the Macedonian Front between Serbian and Bulgarian soldiers. September 14 Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces again fought each other along the Isonzo River as the Seventh Battle of the Isonzo began. September 15 The Battle of Flers-Courcelette saw the first deployment of British armoured tanks when the British Fourth Army launched a large scale offensive on the Somme. The battle signified the start of the third stage of the Somme Offensive. September 16 Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos replaced Alexandros Zaimis as Prime Minister of Greece. September 18 The Seventh Battle of the Isonzo ended. Italian troops under the command of Field Marshall Luigi Cadorna succeeded in wearing away at Austro-Hungarian resources, both in terms of manpower and in crucial artillery availability. September 19 Belgian forces captured Tabora, the capital city of German East Africa. Allied forces began a naval blockade of the Greek Macedonian Coast between the Rivers Struma and River Mesta. September 20 The Brusilov Offensive ended with a decisive Russian victory. September 22 The Battle of Flers-Courcelette ended; the strategic objective of a breakthrough had not been achieved although tactical gains had been made with the capture of the villages of Martinpuich, Courcelette and Flers. September 23 Twelve Zeppelins bombed London and the English East Coast. Two of the invading aircraft were brought down. September 24 French aircraft bombed the Krupp munitions works at Essen in Germany. September 25 The Battle of Morval began with an attack by the British Fourth Army on the German held villages of Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesboeufs. September 26 The Battle of Thiepval Ridge began with the aim of building on the Fourth Army attack at Morval 24 hours earlier. September 28 The Battles of Morval and Thiepval Ridge both ended with victories for Allied forces. September 29 Eleftherios Venizelos and Admiral Condouriotis announced the formation of a new Greek Provisional Government in Crete, in opposition to government in Athens. September 30 Serbian forces captured the eastern and western peaks of Mount Kajmakcalan as the Battle of Kajmakcalan came to an end.
(From The Great War - Unseen Archives by Robert Hamilton)
"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."
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Dudley Nightshade Sgt, Rfc 9 Sqn Flanders Oct 2, 1916. A and B flights were sent out on a photo ops and ran into the Huns. Over NML a flight of Halb attacked our A flight 2 a/c so I went back to help. My gunner got off 4 shots then took a bullet from the e/a on our tail. Fish tailed, spun, and did a Blue max in between the trees, I managed to get back. The Sqn lost 2 BE2's that day.
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Here's the latest status report, sorry for the delay.
Member and provider of banjo music for the Illustrious BOC
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Oh....I got promoted to 2ndLt.. Temporary Gentleman I am. Also means 1 month off to Blighty to learn how to be a Gentleman. chin chin and all that stuff till 22 Oct.1916
Last edited by lederhosen; 10/03/16 08:55 PM.
make mistakes and learn from them
I5 4440 3.1Ghz, Asrock B85m Pro3, Gtx 1060 3GB
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Dudley Nightshade Sgt, Rfc 9 Sqn Flanders Oct 3, 1916 Returned from morning Arty Spot only to find me bags packed seems That I am Reassigned to 19 Sqn Rfc. Stiff upper lip and have a go in Scouts, I will be flying a BE 12. They say its the finest ever designed and a flying wonder.
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Interesting. One week has not even passed and Bernard gets a new machine. This time the real N17, with real Vickers and plenty of ammo. Time to go to work. More ammo means more victims.
"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."
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Fullofit, I fear Bernard might be a shooting star. "Slow and easy wins the race", says the tortoise.
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Fullofit, great photos. Carrick, best of luck surviving with the BE2. And thank you Banjoman for keeping up with the stats. Alfred Keers has had an eventful week...Dearest Ma and Da,
What a cracker of a week this has been! Since my last letter I’ve bagged four more Huns and got another promotion. Tomorrow I’m off to a new squadron with a topping new machine – can’t say much about it, I’m afraid...I looked down at the paper and wondered how I’d put the thrills and laughs and terrors of the past few days into words that my dear parents would understand. The mundane world they lived in – bleak rows of pitmen’s houses on hills overlooking the North Sea – it was a world away from all this. 29 May 1916 saw me on a distant offensive patrol to Houplin. We chased two Aviatiks away from crossing the lines. Then the next day we attacked a balloon and were jumped by several Fokkers. Sgt Long got the balloon and one of the Huns. My machine was shot up a bit and I put holes in a Hun, but could claim nothing. That afternoon we saw two more two-seaters, possibly the same two Aviatiks from the day before, for we saw them in the same place. We sent them running. On 31 May I was up twice again, leading B Flight. We escorted two Fees to Ghistelles up north, and were engaged by three Huns. I downed a Fokker, but was well separated from the others so it remained unwitnessed and unconfirmed. But in the afternoon we took some Fees from another squadron south to Loos. We saw Huns everywhere, but the EAs did not engage us. We took our Fees back over the lines, and then we went hunting. Northwest of Lille we saw three Fokkers and dived on them. I got mine on the first pass and Blackie (Lieut Black) saw it go down. Number 12 for me. June arrived with a glorious, cloudless, warm day. The morning had us over Ghistelles again and I stalked and downed a two-seater, but it remained only a “driven down.” In the afternoon we escorted some BE2s over the lines, seeing nothing. That night we read of a huge naval action in which the Grand Fleet put the chase to the Huns. Perhaps the war will be over sooner than expected. On 2 June we attacked a balloon near Lille. Sgt Long got the balloon. I downed two Fokkers of three who tried to put the jump on us, but only one was confirmed, the other being classified only as driven down. Official count is now 13. In the afternoon we chased some two-seaters. One of them had a very stout gunner, who damaged my controls. I put down in a field up north and waited until late that night for the repair and recovery team. Then, on the morning of 3 June, life got interesting. We were dispatched to shoot up ground targets near Lille. I spotted a train on a siding and signalled the attack. Blackie and Sgt Long joined in. What a show! There poor railway Huns were running in all directions. One of the carriages must have been carrying something highly inflammable, for we created quite a pyrotechnic display. We had attacked from the south, and as I pulled up I noticed specks dancing in the sky low over Rekkem. I signalled for the others to follow and climbed to 2000 feet. As I approached I saw two DH2 being harried by three or four Fokkers. I threw my machine into the middle of the melee and picked a Hun. It did not take long to get behind him and I fired from less than 50 yards. The Hun tumbled over and fell into a field. I caught a fleeting glance at one of the other DH2s. It was Sgt Noakes, who was assigned to A Flight that morning. He had a Hun on his tail and I scared him off. But by now three more Fokkers had joined the fight. Blackie and Long were engaged farther south, and I was here over Rekkem with three Huns all to myself at low altitude. “Just don’t let anyone get behind,” I kept telling myself. Several times I came close to stalling as I pulled the poor machine around and around, first one way and then the other. There was one particular Hun who gave me a chance at a few fleeting shots. Finally he broke for home. Then more Fokkers arrived. For about five minutes it was five to one. Several times the enemy machines holed mine. On occasion I got a quick burst at one, then another. After nearly ten more minutes one of the Huns flattened out momentarily. I saw the pilot leaning over the breech of his machine gun. In seconds I was directly on his tail, probably only ten yards away. I fired perhaps fifteen rounds and the Hun’s machine lurched and fell spinning to earth. I turned to meet the other Fokkers, but they had had enough and were heading northeast. All alone, I climbed towards our lines. About ten seconds after I began the westward climb there was a massive blast. My DH2 was flung forward. Strips of torn fabric purred in the wind, and I noticed the engine sounded a little rough. I focused on climbing without losing a great deal of speed. All I wanted was to see our lines pass beneath me. The machine would not stay level without left aileron and a bit of rudder. Then the engine coughed and died. I picked out the first green field past the lines. There was just enough height to put the machine down, threading my way between trees on the approach. I returned to Abeele late in the afternoon, my machine following in pieces on a truck. As soon as I arrived, Major Dawes drew me into his office. “How many Huns today, Keers?” he began. “Two sir, both Fokkers. I saw both hit the ground,” I replied. “Indeed. Well, you’ll be please to know that Sergeant Noakes said he owed his life to you today. And he saw your first Hun. Black said he saw a second crash in your area as he headed home. Both will be confirmed, Keers. That brings you up to fifteen.” “Thank you sir,” I said. This was a far cry from a few week ago when all I destroyed were DeHavillands. But then the big news came. Major Dawes shook my hand. “Congratulations on running your score to fifteen. You should know, Keers, that I’ve put you in for a significant decoration for today’s work. Afraid that’s all I can say for the moment. Oh, and you’ve been awarded the MC.” I was stunned. If I’d already got the MC, the significant award had to be the DSO. I wondered. “But that’s not all,” the Major continued, “because you’ve also been requested by the OC at 70 squadron to transfer over as a flight commander.” I hadn’t heard of 70 Squadron, and was informed that their first flight had just arrived in France, flying over last week. The next flight was due tomorrow. They were flying the new Sopwith two-seater scout type, which the RFC had acquired from the RNAS in anticipation of the summer’s big push. Becoming a flight commander would also mean a captaincy. The binge that night was modest, as I had the early show in the morning and it was already eight-thirty. On 4 June I was up twice, my last flights with 29 Squadron. Both were offensive patrols. We saw nothing in the morning, and in the afternoon we got into a furious but inconclusive scrap with a group of Fokkers. Then it was time to pack. "It did not take long to get behind him and I fired from less than 50 yards. The Hun tumbled over and fell into a field."
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Thanks all.
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Dudley Nightshade Sgt, Rfc 19 Sqn Flanders Oct 4, 1916. I will never believe any stories about how great my new bus can fly. Its still a BE that's modified. My Kite gets up to 105 KM/H and that's it. My section had its hands full fighting a 2 Seat's near loos. Finally, our 3 a/c managed to force one down. Fired off 106 rds all at long range just couldn't get very close.
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