Raine, looks like you've inherited Swany's magnetism for Fokkers. Good job keeping them out of your hair. Do you think Wilson would benefit from a few shooting lessons from Craig? And … why do you want to know where your aunt's feather is? So many questions, so little time. Lou, looks like Mme FouFou's is the original circus. I'm beginning to understand where Manfred got his idea from.
When Gaston heard this morning that he and his wingman Cpl. Dreux will be the only two assigned to keep company to a pair of Nieuport 12s photographing town factories at Charleville, nearly 80 km NNW of Senard, he had to ask. Why only two airplanes are assigned for escort duty so deep into enemy territory? Someone at the back, attending the mission briefing was quick to point out that the reason could be that only he and his wingman wouldn’t be missed if they happened to get shot down. This irritated Gaston and his response was quick and pitiless. “- It appears we are flying so deep into Bochie that even the Fokkers don’t fly there. It will be a walk in the park and if I knew about it sooner I’d invite my wife to join us, instead of you pansies.” That kept the “smart mouth” quiet for the rest of the briefing. The route was testing Gaston's navigational abilities. He had to unfurl the rarely used part of the map to see where they were going. It was a long flight and the clouds were increasing in density as they were approaching Charleville. The landscape was untouched by the ravages of war. Green fields and luscious forests sprawled around the two pairs of intruders. The city was now in full view and the N12s commenced their photo-reconnaissance duties. Gaston and Cpl. Dreux followed nearby. There were no contacts apart from a pair of disinterested Aviatiks. Voscadeaux was glad to get back to base after 2 hours in the air. He was ready for a glass of wine to get the blood flowing in all extremities.
"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."
As his first assignment Willi is given the task of protecting an Aviatik CI on a Recce flight. Although a huge push is on to the west, today's mission is to gather information of lorry and troop movements to the south along the Commercy / Pont-a-Mousson road.
Today is also special, for the Roland C type aircraft is to make it's first appearance on the front. The four members of this flight discussed what was to happen, climbed into their mounts and took off for Thiaucourt to the SSW. From there they crossed the lines north of Limey. Almost immediately Willi and his passenger could make out large columns of lorry's along the road moving to Commercy. Obltn.Pruess started to make sketches and notes while Willi did his best to provide a clear view downwards and keep an eye open for enemy aircraft.
The two biplanes were unmolested and allowed to do their work. Willi was looking for the Aviatik when he noticed two specks to the south moving towards them. They were at least 1000m higher and had every advantage should they wish to intervene. A few seconds later and he could see that they were Caudron C4's, more or less the same type as the Roland, and Willi knew that they would attack if so inclined. But luck would have it and the two Franzmänner seemed to have other work to complete. Just like Willi the two Caudrons were also gathering information along the Front, and so both groups merrily moved back and forth. Finally Klebauer (Aviatik) waved the all clear and dived for home. Willi decided to stay high and follow.
The French machines, finished looking at front positions, moved NNE deep into Hunland. In fact it looked as if they were headed for Frescaty also. Obltn Preuss handed Willi a note saying he wanted to pursue the Franzmänner. They started to follow and climb. They two EA had finished what ever, and turned back for home. The Roland was still lower but seemed to be catching up despite having to climb. Eventually, just before reaching the front lines Willi opened up at 200m. To his despair the Roland was not as stable as he thought it was. Getting a clean shot was indeed very tricky as the aircraft slew all over the place. At the same time he had to stay lower to avoid return fire. Keeping a good distance was also impossible. The Roland needed speed to fly properly, any reduction to the throttle and she almost fell out of the sky. Willi was blazing away just following the tracers and forgetting the gun sights. Finally, after three attempts, the rear Caudron slowed down and Willi's Roland, to his horror, zoomed past the Franzmann. Expecting to be shot at Willi closed his eyes, hearing the sound of laud MG fire in his right ear. But it was Pruess who had decided to enter the war, firing long bursts into the nacelle of the French machine. The enemy gunner disappeared and the pilot slumped forward. The Caudron fell into a spiral that continued until hitting the earth just north of the road near Limey. Fortunately friendly infantry units were able to confirm Will's secong victory.
Well done to your man as well Lederhosen on his second confirmed victory. If Willi keeps it up he'll be getting a gong of his own. Great report by the way, and I love the old map.
Fullofit, those mission deep into enemy territory are nerve-racking even when there are no EA around. You're just waiting for the engine to conk. Also, congrats to Gaston on his bling!
Carrick, I'm a bit jealous of Emile, being able to fly out along the coastline anytime he wants.
MFair, the issue Swany is going to have getting to Auchel is that now he will need to find transportation of some sort. Before, he could walk to Georgette's place in 15 minutes or less. Now, well, he may have to get a horse too - or better still, a motorcycle.
So that’s why they’ve ordered Gaston to get his dress uniform in order! This is so unexpected! I’d like to thank my parents, my wife, the director and the rest of the crew ... mechanic crew, that is. It’s so shiny and big! The colours on the ribbon are so vibrant and the palm ... so lifelike. I will cherish it forever or until I get another one. This is a great incentive to continue performing at the highest level (of altitude current crate will allow me). Thank you. [cue the music]
"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."
Lederhosen, great report. Looking forward to more successes from Willy and watch out for Gaston. He's the one with the medal. Carrick, Beware of zee Boche dans zee Soleil. Hmm, why doesn't that sound right?
His chest was bursting with pride. La Croix de Guerre avec Palme en bronze was dangling above his left pocket flap. The ceremony this morning was short but festive nonetheless. The Escadrille’s Commandant, Capitaine Louis Joseph Marie Quillien shook Gaston’s hand, being extremely pleased that one of his pilots could be potentially a rising star. The celebration had to be quick as they were due for the escort duty over the front. The ‘A’ Flight was ordered to recon the enemy troop camp north of Verdun city across the front. It was Ltn. Dagonet’s show. The man was a stickler for procedures and followed orders to the tee. If the orders were to fly to the enemy camp and return, then that’s what he would do regardless of where the ‘A’ Flight was. As it happened, the 'A' Flight was delayed and only Cpl. Papinet arrived over the target. He would be making his rounds alone if it were not for Gaston, who remained behind to give the lone N12 some cover. The two machines completed the reconnaissance mission among bursts of Flak and returned back to base, where a puzzled Ltn. Dagonet demanded to know what exactly was the reason that compelled Gaston to linger over the target. Gaston looked over at the Nieuport 12 and Caporal Papinet helping his observer with the photographic plates exposed over the troop camp and responded: “- Devotion to duty, Sir!”
"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."
Ripping stories Gents! More victories, medals, Yee-Haw
Lt. Mark Jericho Bruay Aerodrome March 16th, 1916
The move from Auchell to Bruay was the silliest thing Jericho had ever heard of. What the hell use was it to move camp 5 miles?! He did have a good laugh along the way. As he was not yet cleared to fly he rode Moon with Jim's new steed in tow, right behind Madame Fou Fou's House of Whatever! He burst out in laughter several times at the comedy of it all.
Today's target was Athies Junction, and there would be no escorts. Jericho and Christian were flying a new machine as their old one had been blown to bits by artillery in No Man's Land on their last mission. Jericho's mechanic had told him "She's fit as a fiddle Sur." Jericho had replied, "Let's hope so." Trying to climb to altitude Jericho could not get the new bus to keep up with the other 2 machine's in his flight. Crossing the lines he was about 200 yards behind and 400 yards below his flight. No amount of fiddling with the mixture would help. He kept fiddling with the mixture. He had his mind on too many things. He was in his own world when Christian opened up and bullets slapped through the left wing. The staccato of the Lewis brought Jericho back to reality with a start! He was on instinct now and turned immediately catching a glimpse of 2 Fokkers bearing down on them. Christian was swinging the gun back and forth with short bursts. Jericho's mind was a blur and his brain and body worked purely on instinct. Left, right, tracers, back left again. During one circle he could see that it was three of the d#@ned things. He thought of his old observers words "You ever hunt quail? Bust the covey and pick off the singles." Well, he was the single and they were doing their level best to send him to the ground. It dawned on Jericho that he if he released his bombs he could maneuver better but he could not tell if they would fall on friend or foe at the moment. Christian stopped shooting and he he turned back to see him banging on the gun. Christian cleared the jam and continued hammering away at the Huns. 2 of them finally gave up and turned back as Jericho had guided them over the British lines but one was still there when Christian gave the signal that he was out of ammo! Jericho put the nose down and headed west. "Time to get out of Dodge" he thought. As they crossed the last lines of trenches he heard Christian trying to shout something to him. He held his head back as far as he could. "He's going down! He's going down!" Christian shouted. By the time Jericho eased the Morane out of the dive and turned around Christian was pointing to a spot just at the edge of the mud. Soon Jericho could see an Eindecker sitting intact in the dirt. He scanned for any other aircraft and did not see any so went down and circled the downed Hun. The German pilot gave him a salute and Christian saluted back. "I'll be d#@ned if I'll salute a son of a b#%tch that just tried to kill me!" thought Jericho. English troops were no descending on the Eindecker so Jericho headed home.
When they landed Christian was ecstatic! "We are going to put in a claim for this one, right!" Jericho replied, "D@#ned right we are!" Christian kept on,"I saw my last rounds strike his engine and it stopped! I couldn't believe it!" They went to debrief and to file their clam.
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!
Well done everyone. Kills and medals and all that; gives a young Scotsman something to aspire to ...
Aleck A. MacKinlay March 11, 1916
Loos Junction yet again. Gerber dropped out over the lines with engine trouble and cracked up his plane with a rough landing. White and I carried on and damaged the railyard. No doubt the Hun will have it all repaired by nightfall so we can do it all again tomorrow.
We got terrible news on our return. Captain Brown, the best pilot in the squadron with five kills and no less a fine fellow in person was killed today. Buckminster saw it all; his Bristol caught on fire and burned. No wonder we never saw them arrive over the target with us. Probably an engine problem of some kind. Ghastly; what a horrible way to die. The mechanics that worked on his plane are in a positive funk of despair. We pilots are no better; the danger of simply flying one of these flammable death traps is brought home to all of us today in a very real way.
Aleck A. MacKinlay March 12, 1916
Artillery spotting SW of Armentieres; Uneventful trip to the target and we ranged the guns in short order. We saw two monoplanes crossing our path on the way home and got quite worried, but they turned out to be a pair of Parasols. I commented to Chis when we landed that I wouldn't want to be one of those poor blighters flying a spindly contraption like that - likely to break in half at the first quick maneuver. Chris seemed to think it was alright, saying that he could do his job much better if he wasn't cooped up under the wing and hemmed in by struts as he is in our BE2. He has a point.
MFair, what is it with your sector of the Front? First Swany, then Collins and now Jericho is attracting attention of so many Fokkers. Good job taking care of them all and a victory to boot. Hope you get that one confirmed. Scout, looks like you’re having some quiet time to yourself. Hopefully you won’t have to fly that crate for much longer. Wonder what’s in store for Aleck? Hopefully a nice Strutter.
"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."
Fullofit, good question. Since #3 patrols from the Channel down to the Somme I think whenever they sight Eindeckers someone says “send the Morane’s.” I have combats every 2 or 3 missions and the number of attackers are growing.
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!
Scout, that is horrible about Captain Brown. Worst possible way to go for a pilot.
MFair, yikes! Very glad that Jericho and Christian survived that outing. Here's hoping their claim is confirmed.
Fullofit, Gaston should be chuffed about his award, the man certainly deserves it. And he did a fine job of putting that prig Lieutenant Dagonet in his place.
.
17 March, 1916 Bruay, France
2nd Lt. Swanson was preparing for the morning sortie, a bombing of the enemy front lines at Athies. This would be his first outing from the field at Bruay as the previous day he'd been kept busy setting up things in the new digs. He'd also received big news at lunch that day as well when the Major announced that he had been awarded the Military Cross for his outstanding record of service so far. Swany was flabbergasted at the news. Imagine, a farm boy from northern Minnesota being given such a high honor from the British Empire. He nearly popped the buttons off his tunic, his chest was swelling with so much pride. The CO went on to say that when the Lieutenant was finished with his other duties he could take one of the squadron cars to Béthune that afternoon in order to purchase the required ribbon for his uniforms as the formal investiture and presentation of the medal would not be happening until sometime later. Swany was giddy with the whole affair and spent the rest of the day with a broad grin on his face.
But back to this morning's sortie. B Flight lifted off from the new field into another beautiful winter's sky. Swany noted to himself how nice it was not to have to immediately claw for altitude in order to clear a massive slag heap with a stand of trees on top of it, which had been the case back at Auchel. The trio of Moranes circled several times as they gained height, then headed southeast towards their assigned target. The trip there was quiet and quick, the latter being help by a gentle tailwind. Upon reaching the enemy positions the three planes went single file at the target and released their Cooper bombs, one after the other. Swany watched as several more small craters were added to the thousands that already pockmarked the ground below and pondered if they'd really accomplished anything at all. His pondering was cut short when Captain Craig suddenly smacked him on the shoulder and pointed off to their right rear quarter. Three Eindeckers were bearing down on them fast! Swany immediately turned into the threat and watched as two of the EA continued on after the rest of B Flight. The third however came directly at Swany and Daniel. The fight was on and it was intense. The enemy pilot was very skilled and kept the pressure on as the two planes circled their way downward. Swany was staying out of the fellow's line of fire, but was not getting much of a chance to give the Captain a clear shot. Round and round it continued without results. Then the Hun made a minor misstep when he burned off a bit too much speed trying for a shot. It was a misstep that would cost him his life. The Eindecker wallowed in the sky just long enough to allow Swany to carve the Morane over and give Craig a clear line of fire. It was done in an instant. Black smoke trailed from the enemy plane as it dropped away into No Man's Land. Swany turned his bus for home and watched as the Eindecker smashed into the mud on the enemy side of the lines, a dark sooty column rising up to mark the spot.
The King's airmen returned to Bruay where two claims were submitted; one by Swany and the Captain, and one by Tone Bayetto and his G/O. Two of the Huns had been sent down and seen to crash, with the third being driven off early in the engagement. It had been an excellent sortie.
First outing from the new field.
Playing "Follow the Leader" as we approach the target.
Bombs away.
More craters in No Man's Land.
Dammit, Eindeckers!
Turning into the threat.
Captain Craig works his magic.
One less Hun to contend with, one more claim to submit.
I agree with you Lederhosen. Lately there seems to be a lot of the Kaiser's airmen that are far too willing to die for the cause. They need to learn that it's better to live to fight another day.
I have a feeling it’s because most of them are still in Flanders instead of Verdun. They have no chance against the Parasols. Perhaps Swany should be sent to Alsace?
MFair, somebody should check if the aeroplanes at Bruay don’t have the bullseyes painted on the wings instead of the roundels. Lou, great photo-report and egads, another claim! Swany is making a laughingstock of Kaiser’s finest. They should give up now and save the German male population from extinction.
"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."
Actually Fullofit, it's approaching the ridiculous how often Swany and the Captain are getting attacked and how often their attackers choose to press those attacks to the bitter end. As I noted a few days ago, my man has only initiated the fight on three occasions. All other engagements have been started by the Hun, which means Swany has to go to defense mode. And defense mode in a Morane means you are fighting your way out of the situation, as running away with the mount is not an option. Well, actually, it can be an option, provided you've damaged your attacker's aeroplane enough so that you gain the advantage of speed, with the term "speed" being used very loosely when talking about the Parasol.