Lou, thank you for the surprise MC! I just hope it brings more lack than MFair's PLM. The 4 May 1917 missions were gripping in the best tradition of WOFF. I had not seen a flamer in about a month and then got three in one day.
Raine: about getting the claims department on my side, Just a bit of good luck ? That and I met a guy , after hearing my tale of woe, said He would make them an Offer.
Thanks for the condolences gents. It was one of those “what else could I have done” moments. I reckon he could have seen them coming but no one else did either. Congrats on the victories and medals. As the terminator said p, “I’ll be back!”
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!
These are not good assignments and will end badly, However, luck was with us again. Balloon mission. The route Show the Flag enemy side of NML's east end of sector. 4 in B flight + 1 Rover . Somehow we made it I Fire rockets too early but the C.O. was dead on.
Raine, no Russian medal for Toby? Ah, that is just too bad. I guess the Emperor of Japan will have to make up for that one. Italian medals are nice too, I hear. Now, what does McKinnon fill his ammo trays with? Three flamers in a row? That’s got to be some kind of record. And saved Bish’s sorry behind in the process. Mike just can’t do wrong today. Congrats on the two confirmed victims and the special bling to celebrate it. Excellent storytelling, as expected.
Lou, how many of those wound stripes does Swany own now? Does he even have enough room on his sleeve for all of them?
MFair, geez! That Blue Medal must be a curse! Sorry to see Gunther go. He was doing so well. Such is war. Hope your next pilot has that specific French accent.
Lederhosen, how did a pilot that wasn’t flying at the time confirm your kill? I didn’t know that was even possible. Always thought that was an automatic rejection. You learn something new every day.
Carrick, you better prey you don’t wake up one day with the head of your favourite horse in your bed. That is a steep price to pay for that first confirmation.
"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."
ha, just noticed that...... but he was flying with me, but was shot down and killed. In my heart I knew that I shouldn't try to claim the victory, as my witness was dead, but the whole battle took place over an airfield, ground witness, so I put it in anyway, and since the system requires a witness I used his name. I suppose I could of filed the claim with no witness, but that wouldn't be true in that situation.
We need a better list of witnesses. Obs. balloons, trenches, airfields, farmers and their livestock, your escort (I mean the planes).
"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."
Airfield Attack: The route took our 8 a/c down to Lens at 8000ft the dropping at Douai for the turn and run into Erchin AF. Our 4 rovers got tangled with Scouts just pass Douai so as my 4 a/c made our target attack we got tangled with 3 to 4 e/a Jasta 12 ?. It was downhill all the way a fire as u got copping about and reloading at the e/a. All in All we got off light B Flt had 2 damaged + 1 wnd. A Flight lost 1 a/c Pilot KIA + 3 machines damaged E/a Claimed 1 The chap that I mixed it with managed to slip under me after I got hits and landed Pulled right up to a bloody Tree he did. I fired my last 3 rds to let him know that I was cheated out of a kill,
I was really warming up to McKinnon. What follows, however, is his last letter to his brother. My plan this evening was to fly the 7 May missions and perhaps a mission from 8 May 1917 because I won't get any stick time until Monday night. Unfortunately, on 8 May, McKinnon's flight bumped into a group of eight Albatri south of Lens. In low visibility and heavy cloud the two formations nearly ran into one another. McKinnon turned while climbing, trying to stay above as much of the fray as possible. An Albatros flew across his front and he began to turn behind it. He never saw the Hun that hit him. The wound was only a graze, but it was hard to keep the Newport steady. There was very little control over the role and he needed full right rudder to avoid falling into an unrecoverable spin. He dived away from the fight, praying that the machine would hold together. The compass was smashed and he was not sure if he was heading in the right direction. McKinnon saw a patch of green and headed for it. The Newport stalled into the field, bounced, came down with a wing low, and nosed over. Despite the very low landing speed, McKinnon was dead.
Watch for my new fellow next week. I haven't decided yet but it just might be a pilot of the Teutonic persuasion. Or maybe not. I may fly a DH5 as penance for losing McKinnon.
A Bluenoser’s War: the letters of 2d Lieut. Michael Colin McKinnon, R.F.C.
5 May 1917
Dear Robbie,
I mentioned to you the interesting discussion that I had yesterday with Fry. Fry is our deputy flight later under Bish. He’s a very pleasant and unassuming sort and you wouldn’t know on meeting him that he is one of our more experienced hands. He has flown out here for many months with two other squadrons and briefly with 60 Squadron before doing a stint with Home Establishment – that’s what they call a posting to a training or home defence squadron back in England. What I will tell you about our conversation should not be repeated as it would reflect poorly on me in my present situation.
Fry thinks that our man Bish is inclined to exaggerate his claims. That’s putting it less delicately than Fry did, but that’s the gist of it. He concedes, as do I, that Bish is a decent pilot and a superior shot. Without a doubt, he is up in the air far more than anyone else. This is because of his roving commission. No one else goes up alone, and you never hear of people doing it in other squadrons. Albert Ball is the only exception to that, but even he must be finding it tough sledding these days. The Huns are always flying in groups and the groups get larger all the time. The only machines you find alone are solitary observation machines working at great heights or crippled machines limping back to their aerodrome at low altitude.
Somewhere around my fourth glass of champagne over an empty plate, I let it escape that I thought the Major was more inclined to accept unwitnessed claims from Bish than from anyone else. Fry nodded and confided that, despite being a squadron veteran, he comes under more scrutiny than Bishop, who is still rather new. He then asked if he could tell me something that is bothering him and swore me to secrecy. That’s why I’m sharing this only with you (and even that is a rotten thing to do, but then I can be rotten). He said that yesterday he and Bishop were dispatched to chase off a Hun observation machine that had been reported over the lines. They met up with it after a long climb and it turned about to escape. Both Bishop and Fry fired at it from very long range and Fry said it simply flew away. When they landed, Bishop commented about how it had crashed. Fry said he wondered if they were talking about the same machine but was quite sure that there had been only one Hun and it had escaped. He felt that Bishop was pressuring him to confirm a claim. Bishop reported downing the Hun to the RO while Fry did not even consider it a combat in the air and simply went for his lunch after the flight. This morning, however, the CO’s chalkboard shows that Bishop and Fry have shared a downed Hun!
Fry asked me what I should do in his place. I told him I would probably keep my mouth shut – “keep my head down and do my sums” is the way I put it. I don’t for a moment question that Bish is a first rate air fighter. But I am starting to question bits of the story. What surprises me is the incredible hold that he has over people around here. He is loud and boisterous and backslapping, and the men love him, the CO promotes him with the brass, and half the mess sings his praises without reservation. There is something about the man that blinds others to things that should be obvious. Questioning anything he says would be like farting in church!
As for air fighting, there is nothing new to talk about. Fry took the flight up at six this morning – a line patrol along the southern sector. The weather was fine and we strolled along over the front for the requisite time, seeing nothing except some distant Huns a great altitude, too far off and too high up to get at. This was the first day since I have been here with only one serious flight. It promises to be a quieter month.
Your rotten brother,
Mike
PS – I have just learned that I am recommended for a Military Cross!! I should get the confirmation in a couple of days.
Oh crap! May seems to be more deadly than April. Sorry to hear of Mike’s untimely demise. We only started to know him. I would advise against the DH.5. It’s fun to fly but it exhibits odd spin characteristics that are deadly at low level. That wing stagger doesn’t help either with situational awareness where it counts most. Forward view, on the other hand, is fantastic. Not the best at turning. That Albatros is starting to sound better and better, yes? Looking forward to your new Flieg ... pilot.
"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."
Raine - Not Mike too! So sorry to see him go, another fine character we barely got to know.
Lederhosen - So Willi brought down Roderic Dallas. That’s quite the feather in his cap. As for witnesses, I’ve typed in “balloon crew” and “ground gunners” and had claims approved.
Carrick - Nigel will want to keep on the good side of that claims godfather, you don’t want to disappoint that fella. And that last airfield attack? Philby is quite mad, and even more lucky. After hanging about that low over an enemy nest he should either be dead or a permanent guest of the Hun.
Fullofit - I believe Swany now has four strips of gold braid on his sleeve, definitely looking a tad crowded there.
Raine - Not Mike too! So sorry to see him go, another fine character we barely got to know. .
Stay tuned for the first instalment of the memoirs of Heinz-Dieter Vogel, just assigned to Jasta 26. If he survives his first two days so that I have something to write about, that is.
Vogel eh? Very aptly named character. I’m sure he’ll fly.
"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."
