homepage Forums Air Combat & Civil Aviation Wings: Over Flanders Fields DiD Centenary Challenge

Thanks Carrick, Albatros is one photogenic airplane.

Squadron Commander Cyrus Gold is getting used to his new surroundings at Chipilly and to some new "friends".



Capitaine Etienne Valois Escadrille Cinquante-septième has just been ordered to transfer from Marne to Flanders. They call Bergues their new home and have been invited to a house warming party.

Helmut von Hammer
FA 33
Menen, France.


July 12, 1917.


Last flights this morning for FA 33, received my walking papers for Jasta 4 a Scout Staffel of JG 1. Normally, they pick their pilots,but Uncle Luther ( Gen L. Earllickinstein ) got the papers for me.

A quiet flight after a long wait to get back in the air...

Memoir of Demian Kraft

Part 7

The first few days of special duties were uncomfortable. My “special duties” consisted of acting as adjutant while Ltn Laberentz, the regular paper-pusher, was on leave. The long days hunched at a desk did not help and it hurt to breathe after sitting that long.

My job was to oversee all the reports and returns we had to send to 4th Army HQ. Ltn Wieland was a difficult boss, as he was quite sure General von Armin [1] read every word I typed personally, and he was quick to make me rewrite my work if I allowed a speck of dialect to appear on paper. Normally, as adjutant I would be responsible for the discipline, dress, and deportment of junior officers, but as a lowly Offizierstellvertreter, I was excused this lofty task. I was, however, the gatekeeper for the Staffelführer. If one wanted a meeting with the boss, they had to come through me. It was my first taste of power and I rather liked it.

As my duties including managing the leave roster and preparing the Urlaubscheine [leave passes], so my popularity with the other pilots grew noticeably. I began to spend more time in the Kasino [mess], which was located in a fine old house at one of the main corners in the town, just a short walk from the field. For a generous adjutant (acting, unpaid) beer was often free.

I got to know Willi Rosenstein quite well. He was an impressive fellow with a good sense of humour. He had been one of Germany’s early aviators and had conducted air shows and done pilot training before ending up at the front. One rainy day, I asked him to join me on a trip into town, as I had been ordered to take two corporals into Ostend to buy some fresh vegetables and fish for the mess. Ltn Rosenstein asked if I could help him find whether there was a synagogue in the city. My Flemish was becoming understandable, thanks to trying to chat with the Sloots back at our billet.

I hadn’t thought Rosenstein was a strict Jew, although he often substituted chicken or fish for our sausages of doubtful origin. But he explained that Passover was approaching, and told me how he and his family celebrated it over seven days and nights. I made some inquiries of a shop owner, who replied (in perfect German) that there was a beautiful new synagogue built on authority of the Belgian King just a few years back. We made our way to the square and found the place. I had a cigarette while Rosenstein went inside and asked the caretaker where to get special foods.[2]

I occupied a desk for nine days before being cleared for flying. The highlight of the last week was when one of our mechanics was charged with the negligent discharge of a firearm; he had accidentally fired off a few rounds into a hangar wall while unloading a machine gun. I researched and prepared the charge sheets. A regular officer could have done the job drunk in five minutes, but I managed to spend the entire morning researching military law and the formalities of the process. In the end, Ltn Wieland was impressed and suggested that I consider going on a staff course. I suspected he still did not trust me because of my string of unconfirmed claims and this was his way to get rid of me.

The boss flew only occasionally, mainly training flights and a balloon defence patrol or two. I had not yet seen him in combat. Ltn Kampe seemed to be the real Staffelführer when it came to more offensive operations.

Finally, on 14 March, I was unchained from my desk and allowed to join a flight of six Albatrosses led by Ltn Kampe. It was a local routine balloon defence, but – joy of joys – I had been issued a new machine. Perhaps I was no longer in Ltn Wieland’s “bad boy” list, for my new mount was one of the Type III sesquiplanes. It had already been painted black like the other Type IIIs in the Jasta. I climbed the wooden ladder and painfully twisted into the cockpit. The mechanics had changed the restraining straps. They had fashioned a broad belt across my lap and a strap over my left shoulder that joined the seat at my right hip, avoiding the injured rib.

The visibility was outstanding. Nothing blocked the forward vision. A new type of radiator was built into the upper wing ahead of the cockpit – a little close for my taste but out of the way. The narrow chord of the lower wing made it easy to see what was below.
We took off and circled south of Ostend until we were at 2000 m. I noticed some flak to the north and saw a large formation of lattice-tails heading south over the coast. Although I flew ahead and waggled my wings to Ltn Kampe, he shook his head and we continued to the balloon lines. The Britishers had seen us and had headed home in any event.

The patrol lasted about 45 minutes and we saw nothing. But at least I was a flyer again!


The new mount!

Historical Notes:

[1] GOC 4th Army Gen Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin. His son, Hans-Hermann Sixt von Armin, commanded an infantry division in the Second World War. He was captured at Stalingrad and died in Soviet captivity in the early 1950s.

[2] In 1904 King Leopold II allowed a part of a royal palace to be used as a synagogue, partially in recognition of the growing Jewish community there and partially in recognition of the number of wealthy Jewish visitors who summered in Ostend. A permit was given in 1910 for the construction of a permanent place of worship, and the synagogue of Ostend was built in 1911. It still stands on Filip van Maestrichtplein Square in the centre of the city.

Raine, you continue to amaze me with your historical facts. How do you find the information and would you be willing to share your sources? I also want my stories to include such historical detail but I have a problem finding the information. Anyway, another good story.

Banjoman, thanks for the comment, and thanks for your curiosity about the research. I find the research is nearly as much fun as the flying. Once the story is underway you get a real attachment to your pilot, which magnifies the already great immersion in WOFF. And I hate to just make stuff up that could later prove to be wrong.

I have a decent but modest library of WW1 aviation sources, but 80-90% of the work is done through online sources. For example, in Demian Kraft's story I had modeled his early training on Werner Voss's as described in the book September Evening . I'm currently reading Black Fokker Leader by Peter Kilduff, and that added to my knowledge of Willi Rosenstein. The rest was done online. Taking yesterday's installment as an example, it went like this...

Demian was wounded and place "zur besonderen Verwendung" -- special duties. As far as I can see, Jastas often had one or two supernumerary officers on staff or other supervisory duties, so I put the regular guy (whose name I made up after googling "German surnames") on leave and gave Demian a lot of paperwork. I was familiar with that from being a reserve army officer years ago.

I knew that the northern part of the front was manned by the German 4th Army and that Jasta 27 therefore came under 4th Army control, so that's where the paperwork would go. A quick search for "German 4th Army 1917" gave me the general officer commanding's name -- von Armin. He took command in February 1917. I recognized the surname from my WW2 reading, so read a link about von Arnim's son and mentioned this info in the historical notes.

Through earlier online research about the HAs in Jasta 27 I knew that Rosenstein was Jewish and had a falling-out with Hermann Goering when the latter became CO of Jasta 27 later in the year. It happened over an anti-Semitic remark. I thought that would make an interesting story as told by a bystander like Demian, so the idea came to let a friendship grow between Demian and Willi so that the story would work (if Demian lives long enough). So I send them to Ostend for groceries. I then googled "Passover 1917" to see when it fell that year. I was wondering how a lone Jewish pilot fared for food and religious practice in a predominantly Lutheran pilot's mess. I then googled "Jewish community Ostend" to read about the development of Jewish life in the nearby city. That led me to reading about the synagogue being opened only in 1911. I used Google Earth to visit the square and see the place.

I never know where the research will lead. For example, in the other DiD campaign I had an English pilot about to go on leave in Paris. I therefore went to the Internet Archive site -- a terrific source of free, downloadable, out of print books. I tripped over a memoir by the British ambassador to France and went to the period that my character was to be in Paris to see what was happening. I picked up two references. One was to a reference to an informal intelligence office, which gave me an idea I later used in another campaign (Jack Cairns's secret flight to Switzerland). The other was a reference to meeting several journalists, including the author Elinor Glynn. I didn't know anything about Glynn, but I had a hunch she might be interesting so I googled her and discovered she was Canadian-born, had multiple marriages or liaisons, wrote (for the time) racy and trashy novels, and later became one of the first female movie directors in Hollywood -- oh, and she probably supported some intelligence operations. This was too juicy, so I had my character -- then a mere sergeant for a working-class background -- meet this older woman in a Paris restaurant. Glynn was something of an authority on making it in society, so she undertakes to polish him up.

It's a real mania, I'm afraid. I've found myself reading old railroad timetables to get the description of the leave train right, or researching obscure concert party programs. But it's fun.

That's it, anyway. Hope this helps!

Raine, Thanks for that unique look into your mind. Glad you could share this insight with us and explain where the "meat" of the story comes from. Great story as always and I'm looking forward to Demian's future encounters with Willi Rosenstein.

Jasta 18
15 March 1917, Halluin

It finally stopped raining and who knows how long it has been since Aldi saw the clear blue skies last time? Their mission was simple enough: fly to Wasquehal aerodrome and stay on station for 24 minutes. He, Strähle and von Bülow arrived over the aerodrome before Grieffenhagen and his new charges in the other flight. Oberleutnant was showing the new arrivals the ropes. It was 10 minutes into circling the airfield when a sense of desperation filled the air. The new Fliegers began frantically entering the landing pattern above the Flugplatz, while the old hands began the deadly dance above them. Two of the Sopwith Dreideckers came out of nowhere and began to terrorize the Albatrosen, like wolves among sheep. Aldi could not get into position and found himself with a Tripe on his tail. Bullets started flying. Glass and wood splinters hit him in the face before he could do anything. He banked and dove looking behind his wounded bird. The Sopwith was still there. Aldi spun, then faked a climb, but ended turning to his starboard. The infernal machine was still on his tail. Then it happened - a hail of bullets hit the Sopwith from above. Von Bülow and Strähle saved Aldi's worthless hide again. The RNAS plane wobbled and banked to get away but the lead rain kept coming. He finally was free from the onslaught but exposed to Schwarzkopf's attack. He dove and Aldi followed, knowing fully well that the ground is coming up pretty soon and with that no chance of escape. The Britisher scraped the top of the trees with his undercarriage. Aldi positioned himself behind the damaged plane, aimed and pressed the triggers of his Spandau machine guns. The bullets made a mess of the Sopwith's tail section with a large gaping hole in the vertical stabilizer.




Another burst and two of the three wings on the starboard side came off. The Triplane flew straight for two more seconds and then started to tumble down directly into the trees below.



Aldi wiped the blood from his face. Hopefully the splinters will not leave too big of a scar. He looked around and noticed that his two saviors were already on their way to land at the airfield they were sent to protect. Schwarzkopf followed them congratulating himself escaping from a premature death when two things happened simultaneously: loud gunfire and his plane shuddering, then immediately a third thing: a screaming Sopwith flying in front of him pulling out of a dive. Aldi gathered his senses and followed the intruder. He soon found himself peppering the Tripehound from behind as the tea-sipper weaved to throw off the Flak which was now lobbing its shells at the enemy craft. Aldi reduced the distance to nearly point blank range and fired again. The bullets found their mark and ripped into the canvas and apparently flesh as the Sopwith began to dive from low altitude and crashed beneath leaving a smoking crater.




Aldi checked the skies again to make sure no other surprise was waiting for him and continued his journey to the aerodrome. Once over it, he found everyone already on the ground except one. He saw a nearby column of smoke from a still burning wreck. It was one of the new pilots who was not so lucky after the encounter with the Triplanes.

Helmut von Hammer
Jasta 4, JG 1.



July 13, 1917.

Posted as Replacement Flyer to the Escort Mission. After crossing the lines we were hit by French Scout machines. One second the air was full of a/c 5 of ours and at least 5 of theirs then I was alone so went home. Heard later that no kills were made but a royal shoot em up was had by all.

Helmut von Hammer
Jasta 4, JG 1.
Marcke, Flamders.


July 14, 1917.

Went up in the rain as a StaffelFlieger. Motor flooded out shortly after takeoff so I had to land at a friendly base. On the second hop, our flight leader put us in the middle of an enemy flight ( How many ? ) The E/a swarmed all over the sky firing as they went. I fired off 196 rds,but didnt hit anything then everyone headed for the deck and I stayed High.

Raine, thanks for the inside look into your great storytelling. I've been so incredibly busy the last two weeks that I haven't even had a chance to fly, but I'm trying to work up a good story and you'be given me some ideas. Fullofit, aren't you afraid that Aldi has used up all of his nine lives?

Banjoman, Aldi is on his second cat already. I just wish he'd finally finish painting his plane. That's all I'm asking for.

Helmut von Hammer
Jasta 4, JG 1.
Marcke, Flamders.


July 15, 1917.


Nailed a Sopwith while on Patrol in the rain showers today. The Jasta put up 8 machines and we ran into 2 flights of Pups. Again the sky was full of e/a machines diving ,zooming, and turning. My wing mate and I fired at the same a/c He got off 9 rds then guns jammed I fired over Four 42-47 rd bursts
Both right wings came off then more parts as he went down. The Commander gave me credit for the kill. I can also confirm the second Sopwith Claimed by the Jasta. a flamer seen smoking thu the rain clouds.

Really Nice Picks Carrick. Love the look of those heavy clouds..
Congrats to Helmut!

Great shots Carrick. Congrats on the victory!

Jasta 18
17 March 1917, Halluin

Aldi preferred to fly high above clouds where there was sun and blue skies to be had, unlike the depressing and drab world underneath, so this mission of flying high above their observation balloon suited him just fine. The Staffelführer Grieffenhagen thought balloon defense would be a perfect assignment to ease in new pilots into patrol duty. With that in mind, he paired Aldi with a new wingman, who was now flying along on his port side. Von Bülow and Strähle completed the formation. Aldi scanned again the clear skies around him and above, then strained his neck to look downwards at the cloud cover below. His perfect view was spoiled by distant Flak explosions at 10 o'clock low. A group of enemy planes was flying just above the clouds heading for the Drachen they were supposed to protect. Aldi corrected his flight path to an intercept course and began a shallow dive toward the intruders. When they got close enough they realized that they may be in for quite a fight. 6 French Nieuports have spotted them and were already in the process of gaining altitude to meet Aldi's Kette head on. The entire flight dove on the Nieuports while Aldi stayed high up waiting for any scouts that would separate and make a run for it. One of them did just that and Aldi zeroed in on him right away. He was upon him in no time and made his introductions.
- Nieuport, meet Spandaus. Spandaus, meet Nieuport.
The introduction had to be cut short as the Frenchman's wingman realized what was happening and came to his rescue. Aldi had to abandon his attack in favor of saving his skin. The sesquiplane Aldi was attacking made a dive while Aldi banked and climbed trying to gain as much altitude as possible to meet the other wine-gulper head on and on even terms. That is if you can call two guns to one - even terms. Aldi was too confident and paid for it with more bullet holes in his wings and fuselage. Fortunately Aldi's Spandaus found voice of their own and soon the N17 began to smoke, but was lost in the clouds. Surprisingly Aldi's original target hung around with intentions of payback. More bullets found Aldi's wings, but it was a weak effort by a wounded enemy and Aldi was quickly able to turn the tables. This time the Nieuport didn't have backup to distract the German pilot and found himself on the receiving end of two well aimed Spandaus. The little French scout was perforated in most places and soon fell out of the sky tumbling end over end above Lens. Aldi didn't get the chance to catch his breath after the fight as another Nieuport showed up trying to reach safety behind the front lines. Schwarzkopf followed and was gaining little by little. They have crossed the lines and Aldi became aware of the danger when the enemy Flak surrounded his airplane. He was very close now and about to shoot when he heard machine gun fire directly above him. He looked up and saw another Albatros diving on the Nieuport, totally oblivious to their proximity to each other. It was his new wingman! Aldi took evasive action and lost ground to the French plane in the process. There was no way he could catch him now without risking going deep into enemy territory. He turned his plane around cursing the enthusiasm of his wingman all the way to their own aerodrome.

Helmut von Hammer
Jasta 4, JG 1.
Marcke, Flamders.


July 16, 1917.


Again it was 2 Patrols, the kette ran into French 2 seats knocking down 2 ( 1 was Mine) then spotted 4 Sopwith Pups headed home ,but still within our lines so broke off and attack. The bite was a little more then I could chew so headed for the deck and was saved by our resident Ace who scored a kill.

I may be just a little bit biased, but I like the way you have integrated the clouds into your stories.

Here is last week's status report.

Banjoman, thanks for the update!


Bob,the story and the release of your excellent cloud mod are purely coincidental and the connection is rather cloudy.



Squadron Commander Cyrus Gold of 1 RNAS based at Chipilly had a rather uneventful week with one confirmed kill.
Here he is enjoying a moody view before being shot at, landing in NML, hitting a stump and totaling his ride. Nearby troops were able to get to him in time and send him to the hospital for the duration of 6 days.



Capitaine Etienne Valois of N57 stationed at Bergues one upped his RNAS colleague by colliding with one of his own wingmen while attempting to attack an observation plane. They both realized that occupying same time and space is not healthy. The poor Capitaine was killed instantly. His replacement will arrive tomorrow.

Albert Earl Godfrey

19 Mar 1917 @ 08h20 Patrol across the lines to La Petrie aerodrome

Godfrey ambled into the briefing session with a mug of hot tea and settled into a rather creaky unstable chair. Not the best landing choice he thought and chuckled to himself. The air was full of noisy banter laughter. Godfrey took a sip of his tea, enjoying the progression of the heat as it made it’s way down his throat to his stomach.

The C.O. shouted “Silence, you pack of hounds” and the room became progressively silent at which point he continued. “The mission today is a DOP to the Hun’s aerodrome at La Petrie. We have reports of a build up in that area. Take note as you pass by Haubordin and Phalempin on your way there.
We need a report so don’t dawdle over there looking for trouble.

The weather reports are for winds of 6 kn from tne NNW with scattered clouds from 3500 to 8000 ft. There will likely be ground fog as well on the other side of the lines.

“A” flight will be lead by Caldwell and composed of Molesworth, Hervey and Young, and Raphael. There task is to provide protective top cover for “B” flight.

“B” flight will be lead by Scott, and composed of Crespigny, Godfrey, Eggleston, Pidcock and Hall. That’s all, dismissed”. The noise and banter began again as all the men got up from their seats and headed out to their mounts.

Godfrey took a last sip from his mug and placed it on a table as he exited the room. They were soon in the air and formed up north of the field at 7000 ft at approximately 08h36, at which point they turned east towards the lines.
At 08h39 they were SE of Loos and began a steady climb which saw them at 8400 ft when they reached the lines at 08h43. They were making good time. Godfrey pulled his scarf up higher around his neck to fend off the chill. At 08h46 they were at 9100 ft and just NE of Lens. They soon passed by Haubourdin. Godfrey noted a fine sausage just west of the field but there would be no opportunity today. They soon passed over Phalempin on their way to La Petrie.
He noted that there seemed to be no amount of activity on either field and certainly no sign of a buildup of aircraft. At 08h54 they were over La Petrie and taking Hun archie. There was no sign of Hun aircraft in the skies about them and little to report of activity at La Petrie.

Suddenly Scott took the flight down rather quickly in a circling fashion. Godfrey looked all about for what might have influenced Scott’s decision to go down low, but there was nothing of significance other than a few DFW’s on the field. “A” flight also followed and during the whole investigative process, Godfrey noted one of the N17’s in flames landing just SW of La Petrie.
He surmised it was either Scott or Crespigny as both of them were missing from the flight. Godfrey took over as flight leader and led the men back up to reform. In the process he found himself between Phalempin and Haubordin airfield and to his surprise he was headed directly for that same fat sausage he noted on the way in. This was an opportunity he could not pass up and so when he left Haubourdin behind him and his flight, the sausage was no longer present in the sky, and Godfrey had a silly smile on his face.

The flight made it back to Filescamp safely and not long after, reports came in that Scott and Crespigny had both suffered light wounds and crashed their N17’s on our side of the lines east of Givenchy. Caldwell also was lightly wounded and crashed his N17 just east of Filescamp. Hervey suffered light damage to his N17. The only pilot missing was Raphael. Godfrey’s report of witnessing an N17 go up in flames at La Petrie, seemed to point at that pilot as being Raphael. Confirmation in the form of a report from the Hun side of the lines identifying that an N17 had crashed in flames near La Petrie with the pilot burned beyond recognition. It was then that Godfrey realized who’s N17 he had witnessed go up in flames.

It had been a hell of a day with three wounded pilots, three destroyed N17’s, one additional craft needing two days repair, and the death of a fellow pilot in a horrendous fashion.

The mess was quiet that night as they all raised a glass to the empty chair.

Helmut von Hammer
Jasta 4, JG 1.
Marcke, Flamders.

July 17, 1917.


Tangled with 2 flights of French Scouts on dawn Patrol, What a mess. Kette Zwei was in the front ( 5 ) a/c with our cover slightly behind ( 4 ) We turned into 5 N-24,s only to get bounced by ? Spad VII ,s diving from a cloud layer. Twist turn and scatter was the orders of the day. One of the flashing Spads holed my fuel tank so I spun down to the deck and was able to land. The Jasta had 2 damaged + 1 Pilot wnd + mine forced down for Zero e/a.

Helmut von Hammer
Jasta 4, JG 1.
Marcke, Flamders.


July 18, 1917.

Escort Mission: Covered 2 Rumplers as they photo-map the lines No e/a contact.

Defense: Balloon defense patrol. Out of 17 Flyable a/c the Jasta put up 9 machines. I was in the tail end spot as 3 Spads dove on us and mixed it up til they took a few hits then they dove for home. Just a few holes and over stressed wires for us. Intell thinks they might be part of ESC 48 a very good French unit.