Henri N. du Fay Spa 94,Adjutant, C.G. Roissy en France Aerodrome
8 Victory's 4 Unconfirmed
1 July 1918.
Bon Ami, Zee Glorious July.
I Bagged a Boche 2 Seat on a Scramble Mission today. Zee Head-shed Sgt came running down the Flight Line yelling get on up, get one up. Zee Boche and pointed towards the lines. II Section's 3 a/c got off , followed by 5 machines of 1st Section. Our Ace of Aces Flight Leader got one as we finally climbed and caught 5 Hann Types running for home. Mine was the second Kill as his Wing came off. As I swung about another a/c went down trailing smoke the a Spad went down followed by another Hun. down on the deck a Spad and a 2 seat went down. We lost 2 Spads ( Both pilots KIA) from 1st Section, but knocked down 5 enemy 2 Seats. As my machine was damaged I stayed down the rest of the day ( Of all things, a Ground loop at the end of my landing )
Carrick - Well done to Henri downing that Hannover. Sounds like a couple of pilots paid a heavy price though. C'est la guerre.
"A great deal of an aeroplane could be holed without affecting its ability to fly. Wings and fuselage could be—and often were—pierced in 50 places, missing the occupants by inches (blissfully unaware of how close it had come until they returned to base). Then the sailmaker would carefully cover each hole with a square inch of Irish linen frayed at the edges and with a brushful of dope make our aircraft 'serviceable' again within an hour."
Lieutenant Kevin Carroll, DFC 41 Squadron Conteville
31 confirmed kills
1st July 1918
Morning sortie
Captain Chappell took the morning briefing. 'A' flight were already out escorting some RE8's. He explained that 'B' flight would be heading over to the lines near Arras.
The weather was still excellent, gorgeous sunshine and a finicky breeze to help the aircraft get airborne.
Kevin took off and formed up with the others. They climbed up to 12000 feet and then set off south east.
The journey went ok until they neared the lines. Kevin was keeping a close look all around. As he glanced downward he saw what looked like a flak burst. He kept looking....there.... another burst.
Kevin signalled and then spiralled down to take a look. It was then he saw the enemy aircraft. He was high above it and he looked around for any others but saw nothing. He now saw it was a Fokker. There was an allied balloon not far away and all Kevin could think was it was after the balloon.
The Fokker must have seen Kevin's approach as he looped around and under Kevin's aircraft. Kevin rolled and dived down onto the tail of the Hun.
He fired into him but was going too fast to get a proper bead on him. He came around to the right as the Fokker desperately tried to climb away. Kevin nosed up to the point of stalling and hit the Fokker, forcing him to dive.
He now came up behind the German and blasted him. The Fokker now lost power and height and ploughed into the ground and burst into flames.
Kevin now climbed back up to the rest of 'B' flight who were still in the vicinity. They then completed their patrol without further incident.
On landing Kevin met up with Captain Chappell. "Well done spotting that hun Kevin and an even better job downing him" said Chappell who had seen it all.
Afternoon sortie (awaiting one confirmation)
The whole squadron was in the briefing room as Major Bowman confirmed that the afternoon sortie would be a trip upto the lines east of Bethune.
The weather was still very good although the wind had picked up a bit.
Both flights took off and headed north east after climbing up. The outward journey went without any contact. As they reached the lines and turned north. Kevin saw a formation ahead. The others saw it too in the clear blue skies.
As they got closer Kevin recognised them as Albatros scouts. Both formations now raced towards each other. Kevin used the gap to climb up a bit.
He looked for an opportunity and found one as one of the Huns strained to get upto Kevin's aircraft. Kevin swung around quickly and too quickly for the hapless Hun. Kevin blasted him and as the Albatros nosed down to dive he hit him again.
Smoke poured out of the stricken German and a final burst hit the pilot. The Albatros went straight down into the ground.
Kevin had a look around and saw another Albatros below him trying to make a run for it. He dived down onto the Hun's tail and hit him hard with both barrels. The lewis gun ran dry so as the German dived, Kevin took his time and reloaded the lewis.
Now he dived down and quickly closed the gap. The Albatros tried to evade but a full dose of both barrels had him nosing down and he smashed into the trees.
Kevin looked around and saw a couple of SE's just above and formed up with them. Together they headed home.
On landing Kevin went to make his report. Seven Albatros scouts had been downed and although Captain Chappell had to ditch his SE he was ok thankfully.
Later on Major Bowman called Kevin to his office. Kevin awaited the inevitable....but instead.....the Major confirmed all three claims. Captain Chappell had confirmed the morning kill and Lieutenants McCall and Claxton confirmed the afternoon ones.
Surprised and delighted, Kevin was now on 34 kills and went to find his pals in the bar to celebrate.
"A great deal of an aeroplane could be holed without affecting its ability to fly. Wings and fuselage could be—and often were—pierced in 50 places, missing the occupants by inches (blissfully unaware of how close it had come until they returned to base). Then the sailmaker would carefully cover each hole with a square inch of Irish linen frayed at the edges and with a brushful of dope make our aircraft 'serviceable' again within an hour."
Epower, welcome back! Hope you’ve enjoyed your vacation. I hear MV is nice this time of the year. Klaus would be doing much better for himself we’re it not for those blasted Strutters. They spoil all the fun for him. Not much can be done about that. Tis war after all. Finally Oliver dragged his arse over to France already. A hairy landing in near darkness. Luckily for him he didn’t get a pitchfork reception. A lovely dinner with friendly locals and he even had the chance to pet a pussy. All in one evening. Then off to his command post. Whip those boys back into shape by … listening to them whinging. Then a letter from Smokey. It’d better not been his last! Congrats again on command of your own, Major.
Albert, since this is the first of my Fokker careers, it did catch me by surprise and the stall nearly gave me that warm feeling in my pants. Luckily this machine is lovely at recovery, as well as dishing out pain to the enemy. Can’t even imagine how much better the later versions with better engines could be. Now, I have to confess when I see a new post and the pictures have large columns of black smoke, I fear the worst. Thankfully it is not as bad as I’ve thought. So, eagle-eyed Kevin found the Fokker with some help from the Ack-Ack boys, then brought him down without their help. He also saved that balloon from a certain doom. Those observers slung under the gasbag owe him a Canadian Club. Then two more Albatroses in the afternoon. But the best part is that they were all confirmed. Finally there are some sober people working at the claims office today. Congrats on the latest confirmed claims.
The SPAD from yesterday could not be confirmed. It was fiercely contested by the Flak battery crews. Klaus was beginning to understand the rules of this game. Shoot down your planes with plenty of witnesses, but not too close to the aerodromes, not too far behind the lines and not over friendly trenches.
More support of ground forces was requested of Jasta 18. This time in the sector north of Nancy. The Schwarm found some SPADs to play with over the mud near Nancy. Raben caught one alongside with one other member of his flight. He let the enemy fall after a part of his wing had been blown off.
He then looked around to find the skies empty. Where did everyone go? He leaned over to check below and found them low. He spotted one of the French planes slinking away on his own. Klaus dove after him and blasted him with his Spandaus. He was surprised how tough that bird was. After a fusillade like this, any other plane would be in pieces. He needed to give him a few more squirts before the unfortunate enemy went down.
Could he get another kill before they had to return home? He found in the distance a pair duelling and decided to intervene. The Fokker was just looking for a chance to be relieved. Klaus took over and after some long range shots slowed the enemy enough to come close and shoot one of the wings off. It was over after that and the Schwarm returned back to base.
1 July, 1918 14:25 afternoon mission Montingen, Verdun Sector Jasta 18 Leutnant Klaus Gustav Raben EK2 Fokker D.VII 26 confirmed kills Awaiting three claim confirmations
In the afternoon the HQ sent the Jasta to defend Mars-la-Tour aerodrome from any intruders. Klaus’ cooling system gave up the ghost as soon as he was airborne. It was a simple matter of turning around and landing back at the base, while the rest of the Jasta continued on without him.
"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."
Fullfoit - The confirmation and painting will certainly have to wait as Baptiste is on the run. The dogs, sure, are a problem but the bushes aren't for them, but for for the huns trying to take a shot! But at least Baptiste manages to get out of this predicament. So to start off, shame about the confirmations being unfair but it was still something. When it comes to making new claims though, that first fight was quite something. If it weren't for kill stealing cousins and that pretty scary spin anyway, which thankfully didn't wind up turning into a fatal one. Sadly that one wasn't confirmed either. Flak crews, have they nothing better to do? The next day offered some better hopes though it seems! Three whole kills with no significant difficulty, and then some engine trouble on the second unfortunately. Well, at least the first flight of that day must've provided entertainment enough! Here's hoping these get confirmed at least!
Epower - Baptiste made the mistake of not following the Dicta and is currently paying it for with the effort of getting back to his lines. Fortunately it wasn't two denied, but one, as you'll find amusingly enough. So Oliver had a fairly interesting time getting over to his destination then, including some nice but peculiar locals after a night flight and then finally getting to his new post. Certainly enough happening to keep him occupied now. Wonder how his time at the squadron will go!
Tross - That was a pretty tough balloon, compared to most, but I suppose they all go down eventually! Unfortunately there was no hope for that SPAD given it ignited, alas. That Rumpler did do his best at not being shot down, though it was quite surprising he also went undamaged prior to Baptiste getting to him given how much of a messy fight it seemed to be. He's working on getting back across, and thankfully there was no last stands against the Hun, as honorable as those would've been! As for Kevin, good job for keeping an eye out and spotting that Flak, which of course eventually lead to a dead fokker. Try as he might, he was clearly at a disadvantage so even his fancy Fokker didn't save him from Kevin, congrats! Then some Albatrosses which too proved no real challenge, and thankfully confirmed! Congratulations on the 34. Good that the Captain made it out alive too, would've been rather tragic to lose a Captain.
Carrick - Shame about the losses, but those happen. At least Henri managed to get a kill, and on top of that 5 were killed off, so that's at least evening the score a bit!
What happened after my crash and escape was a blur. I remember running off, as fast as I could go despite the pain and the bleeding, hearing the engines behind me as the Boches would've undoubtedly found my plane, which I did not have the time to destroy, and probably were quite captivated by the discovery. The problem of course would've presented itself soon after, coming in the form of the only thing that me and the stupid Boches can agree on. That is, the fact that planes, more often than not, are meant to come with pilots and that one clearly didn't have one anywhere in sight. Knowing that they would inevitably start up a manhunt to try and find me I decided that I need to clear as much distance as I physically can... This proved difficult, as eventually I simply had to stop to take a breather and deal with my bleeding, lest it gets to a point where its too late.
After running for what in my mind felt like hours, though in all likelyhood couldn't have been longer than half I finally collapsed, falling through more shrubbery and into a ditch by the roadside. There I tried to take a breather and examined my wounds. I of course was no doctor, but as far as I could tell, none of them were fatal or lethal. The blood was still a problem though, and I felt like if it wasn't dealt for I'd be getting to a point of no return. Thus I had to act quickly, and with nothing to use for proper equipment, I had to resort to using my belt as a makeshift tourniquet. It really wasn't good, but at least it was something, and should've let me to hold out for longer. By whatever miracle, I lucked out on that, and it did help me last until I could get my way across the front lines, on which note...
After I was done trying to tend to my wound, I had several increasingly close calls with the boches, as I set my priority to keep moving and getting closer to try front lines, trying to keep myself in the ditches, mud, and shrubbery till the arrival of night time, praying that my wounds wouldn't finish me off before that time. During this, I've had the pleasure of getting very close to several Boche roadside patrols and what I could've almost certainly assumed would've been a vehicle column. Thankfully throughout all this this, none of them managed to spot me lying there in the shrub and mud, holding my breath and hoping I'm as obscured as most as I possibly can be. Time dragged on, and my pained body and the wounds kept stressing me greatly, but eventually night came. A cloudy night with plenty of opportunity to slip through, that was perfect for me... Being close to the front lines at this point, I made my desperate move, and moved as quickly as I could towards the trenchlines. Luck seemed on my side, as I made my move through what seemed to be a less secure part of the lines, hiding from several soldiers in the darkness and the corners of the trench, before using my last strength to make a dash across the lines. It was difficult, that, nearly tripping on either the mud or the uneven terrain, and worse yet when I was at least a quarter of the way there someone must've finally noticed me making a run as I felt bullets whizzing overhead. I of course hit the dirt and fell right into a crater...
I spent the next half an hour there, waiting out the storm as the shooting from the Boches had gotten the attention of our own lines, and they decided to open counter fire towards the boche lines. At this point I've had no other choice, as trying to move now would've meant getting shot by either our men or the Boche... When it seemed to have finally died down, I made a slow crawl for our lines, keeping as low as I could. When I was right near the lines I shot up, screaming "Don't shoot, I'm a frenchman!" and ran for our own trenches, falling into it. Next thing I knew, I woke up in a field hospital, having supposedly hit my head after falling into the trench and having to get dragged in...
Eventually a doctor, introducing himself as Louis came to greet me and explained that I was very much lucky to be alive and having not bled out throughout that whole ordeal, nor suffered from any complications due to my shenanigans while trying to get back, but consequently I wasn't going to get away easily either and I had to spend a long while recovering, up to at least the 25th of July. This was painful news, as I thought I have better things to do than lying around in here, but unfortunately this was what the doctor ordered, and I suppose when it comes down to it, I'd rather be able to fly again than have to get all my limbs cut off and get sent off home altogether... I inquired him whether or not my Escadrille was informed about my survival, which he confirmed to my satisfaction. A couple hours later I was informed I have a visitor, who turned out to be none other than the Captaine himself!
He explained that he was informed in the early morning that the hospital received a 'half dead airman' and inquired whether or not he was one of ours. The Captaine of course put two and two together and after my identity was verified opted to drive down here to see for himself, as the hospital isn't very far from the aerodrome. He expressed sympathy at my situation, proclaiming that "at least you're alive and in one piece, what more could you ask for?" in regards to my desires to get out of the hospital as soon as I could, and told me to hang in there, my time would come again... Before departing, he left me some good but surprising news. While my second balloon that he wasn't around to see got undeniably rejected, the paperwork finally came through for the first balloon that I had downed the day before.. and on top of that, despite me not being around to even submit a claim for it, the Rumpler that I took part in destroying alongside one of the fellow aviators was also granted to me, as they had deemed I done the final piece of damage to bring it down. After telling me this, the Captaine winked and told me to consider it a get well gift, before finally leaving me alone with my thoughts, now having time to process what went down in the past day...
"Those who survive a long time on the battlefield start to think they're invincible. I bet you do, too, Buddy."
Fullofit - Yes it was the flak which drew Kevin down. That's one of the oddities of these new threesome balloon attacks. Beforehand if a whole Jasta was attacking, there's no chance I'd have risked attacking on my own but now, because you know there are at most three (don't know what had happened to the other two btw), you're more liable to think 'ooooh I'll have a pop at these'.
Klaus had a good morning, those SPADs don't stand a chance when they've been dragged towards the ground. He made them pay for their mistake. Then onto the afternoon, a non event thanks to some dodgy plumbing in the aircraft. At least it wasn't a spontaneous combustion. Hopefully the claims will come through this time.
NR - Glad to see Baptiste is at least alive and back in a French field hospital. Quite a journey across the lines for him but he rode his luck. Now 3 weeks off, a long time to contemplate what could have happened. Very good of Capitaine Pinsard to come visit, especially with some good news on the claims.
"A great deal of an aeroplane could be holed without affecting its ability to fly. Wings and fuselage could be—and often were—pierced in 50 places, missing the occupants by inches (blissfully unaware of how close it had come until they returned to base). Then the sailmaker would carefully cover each hole with a square inch of Irish linen frayed at the edges and with a brushful of dope make our aircraft 'serviceable' again within an hour."
The operation on the first eye went well and the second one gets done on Monday. I am hoping to be back in the air with my new pilot next week. Best of luck to everyone – I will get caught up on your stories very soon.
Henri N. du Fay Spa 94,Adjutant, C.G. Roissy en France Aerodrome
8 Victory's 4 Unconfirmed July 2, 1918.
A little run in with V Struts on line patrol, But it did seem a bit odd. Our 6 a/c were over the lines when attacked by 3 e/a. We eventually got all 3 ,but 1 was a slippery Boche All us shot at him and in the end our replacement pilot to 1st Section nailed him. ( Pierre ? ) We think he might have been a German Ace. The flight had no losses just 1 damaged. Black or real dark color Tail and red or orange letters on the fuselage
Many thanks for the bling. Kevin appreciates it. Let's hope the curse has been well and truly put to bed. Lou good to see you around.
Raine - I'm very glad the first op seems to have gone ok. Fingers crossed for the second. Looking forward to your new pilot but I still can't quite believe MacAlister has gone.
Carrick - Could be they were going to or returning from a balloon busting mission if there was three. In any event Henri and Co made sure they'll never bust anything again. Nice to see the newbie get one.
"A great deal of an aeroplane could be holed without affecting its ability to fly. Wings and fuselage could be—and often were—pierced in 50 places, missing the occupants by inches (blissfully unaware of how close it had come until they returned to base). Then the sailmaker would carefully cover each hole with a square inch of Irish linen frayed at the edges and with a brushful of dope make our aircraft 'serviceable' again within an hour."
Lieutenant Kevin Carroll, DFC 41 Squadron Conteville
34 confirmed kills
2nd July 1918
Morning sortie
"Gentlemen, we've been given a real humdinger as our north american colleagues would say" said Major Bowman as the whole squadron were in the briefing room.
The Major went on to explain that the mission this morning was to attack the German airfield at Bapaume. He ordered both flights to ignore any enemy aircraft unless directly attacked.
He asked for a volunteer from each flight to carry bombs. Kevin put his hand up as did Captain Hemming in 'A' flight.
"Thank you gentlemen, you two will attack first in your respective flights" confirmed the Major.
"Give the Hun a good pounding men but then get the hell out of there" said the Major.
"By the way, I have some news before we set out. I will be leading 'A' flight and our new Captain will be leading 'B' flight.......".
The pilots looked at each other. The Major smiled and then said "Congratulations to Captain Fred McCall".
There were hearty handshakes all round for Fred. Kevin looked at him "did you know about this?" asked Kevin.
"Only since before this meeting" said McCall.
"Does this mean I have to call you sir again Fred?" said Kevin with more than a hint of irony.
"Hell no.......but I will require a double instead of a single" said McCall with a wink.
"Right chaps, good luck and stay safe" said Bowman who dismissed the pilots.
A short while later Kevin was walking over to his aircraft. He saw 2nd Lieutenant Eric Gilly heading into the latrine. Kevin stopped and went over there.
He could hear Gilly retching....."Are you ok?" asked Kevin.
The words took Gilly by surprise...."I'm ok.... just a bit nervous I guess" said Gilly.
"That's understandable" said Kevin.
"To be honest I don't know how you do it" said Gilly
"Do what?"
"Seem so relaxed when your out on a mission" asked Gilly.
"You think I'm relaxed? Do you think I'm not just as scared when i'm up there? Of course I am, but I channel it, turn it into adrenaline. After all, what's the alternative? Give up? We're here to do a job Eric, nothing more nothing less" said Kevin.
"I guess so" said Gilly.
"When we get over to the enemy airfield I want you to follow me on my attack runs. Once I've dropped my bombs and I'm strafing you're to come with me, do you understand?" Kevin said it with just enough emphasis to ensure Gilly knew it wasn't to be questioned.
"Yes sir" said Gilly.
The weather was excellent yet again, few clouds and light winds as the squadron took off and headed towards the lines after forming and climbing up.
The journey across to the lines went quietly and both flights nosed down and dropped towards Bapaume.
Kevin could now see the enemy airfield in the distance and chose a target for his first two bombs. He looked back and saw 2nd Lieutenant Gilly on his shoulder.
Kevin pulled away from the rest of 'B' flight and headed towards the soft hangers. He dropped the first two bombs just as the hangers passed under his nose. He heard and felt the blast below and as he looked back he saw the last two hangers either crumpled or on fire.
He flew around and set up for his second run. This time he picked the mechanics tents and water tower. He dropped the bombs and looked back with pleasure as the lot went up.
Now he looked around for Lieutenant Gilly. He found him and pointed to his right. Gilly got the message and formed up. Kevin now set up for a strafing run. He aimed at the remaining tent hangers. Both SE's now opened fire and the double fire blasted the hangers which burst into flames.
Kevin and Gilly came around for another run. Again damage was done. Kevin now decided on a final run. He went along the line of hangers and poured bullets into them. New fires started as Kevin and Gilly poured bullets into them.
Finally they formed up with the others and flew back across the lines, leaving the enemy airfield in tatters.
On landing Kevin was delighted to see all the pilots made it back. As he climbed down, Gilly walked over to him.
"Thank you sir, that felt good" said Gilly.
"Call me Kevin when Bowman's not around.....and don't mention it. Let's see you do it yourself from now on" said Kevin who walked in to make his report.
Afternoon sortie
Kevin couldn't hide his amusement as 'Captain' McCall took the briefing and confirmed that 'B' flight would be heading towards Arras again on a patrol of the lines. Fred was clearly nervous as hell addressing the other pilots.
"That wasn't too hard was it Fred?" said Kevin.
"I'd sooner face the flying circus singlehandedly Kev" said McCall.
Kevin laughed and went to get his gear.
The weather was still excellent as 'B' flight took off and headed south east towards Arras.
The sun was high in the sky and made seeing above difficult with all of the glare.
Thankfully the outward journey went without incident. 'B' flight had turned north when Kevin saw another formation ahead. McCall had seen it too and pointed to head over there.
Kevin could now see what the other formation was. A flight of Pfalzs. Kevin straightened his goggles and headed straight for them.
He fired into the lead aircraft as it zoomed past and looped around onto the Hun's tail. The Pfalz dived but Kevin read it and went with him. He blasted the German hard.
The Pfalz tried to climb away but Kevin poured bullets into him. The Pfalz's wing tore away and the stricken German spun all the way down into the ground.
Kevin looked around for another target.
He found one as another Pfalz tried to skulk away underneath him. Kevin flipped over and dived down onto the tail of the Hun.
He hit the Hun hard but then his lewis ran dry. The Pfalz rolled right. Kevin stayed with him but changed the lewis drum instead of firing.
Now he came in from the right and hit the Hun with both barrels. The Pfalz's left aileron came apart and the Hun could just about stay level. Kevin lined up and fired into the cockpit area. He clearly hit the pilot and watched as the enemy aircraft nosed down and went straight down into the ground.
Kevin couldn't see any other aircraft nearby so decided to head home.
On landing, the rest of 'B' flight was also nearby. Six Pfalzs were downed and only one SE was damaged.
Later on Major Bowman called Kevin to his office.
"Thank you for answering my call Lieutenant. I have some news for you" said the Major.
"Your welcome sir" said Kevin.
"Firstly, we've had word on one of your claims today. Lieutenant Gilly was able to confirm it. The other unfortunately can't be confirmed as several other pilots seemed to claim the same one." said Bowman.
"However that's only part of the news. I saw what you did today Lieutenant and your shepherding of Gilly. In the end he did well, because you led him. You're showing true leadership Kevin and it's not going unnoticed" said the Major.
"Thank you sir. He's hardly Winningstad, Abbott or MacAlister but he needs to be given a chance" said Kevin.
"True...very true. I have other news too Lieutenant. Following your outstanding recent performances, HQ have agreed with me and decided to award you the Military Cross." said Bowman.
"What's more they want us to travel to Abbeville next week to formally receive it....and your DFC. We'll be heading over on Tuesday, I also have a meeting with the brass. Then we can stay overnight and return on Wednesday. We should be able to grab something nice to eat and grab some refreshment too." explained the Major.
"That sounds wonderful sir. Thank you" said Kevin.
"Thank you. These meetings with the brass happen every so often and are dreary as hell so it's nice to have something more exciting to do as well. Who knows when we'll get proper leave so I'd enjoy it Lieutenant" finished the Major.
"I intend to sir" finished Kevin.
"A great deal of an aeroplane could be holed without affecting its ability to fly. Wings and fuselage could be—and often were—pierced in 50 places, missing the occupants by inches (blissfully unaware of how close it had come until they returned to base). Then the sailmaker would carefully cover each hole with a square inch of Irish linen frayed at the edges and with a brushful of dope make our aircraft 'serviceable' again within an hour."
NR, the first mission was definitely a lot more entertaining for Klaus that the afternoon one. I guess it was time for something to go wrong. At least it wasn’t in the middle of a fight. As for confirmed or denied claims, it’s the luck of the draw. Flak crews or not. Some people just won’t believe all the things Raben claims to have done. Now, poor Baptiste had no easy task getting back to the friendly lines. At least he kept his head screwed on if not all of his blood. Hopefully the stay at the hospital will not be too much of a burden. Food shouldn’t be too bad. No alcohol I’m afraid, but that should be made up in spades by the tender care of the French nurses. Talk to Carrick, he’ll set you up. So, a long recovery ahead of our hero. Let’s hope he makes most of it. And most importantly, congrats on the confirmation of successful claims. Definitely will have to paint that balloon on the side of the plane.
Albert, I didn’t realize the three-ship formation also applies to the enemy. Interesting. Wonder if that is done on purpose. I just don’t know if it is historically accurate. It’s quiet possible that the flights were kept small for those tasks, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were most of the time accompanied by a larger top cover. Congrats to Kevin on receiving his latest bling! That MC will look very well next to that DFC. Oooh, an airfield attack! That’s a doozy. A very noble gesture towards Gilly, taking him under his wing. Hopefully that boy will take it to heart and continue to do good. Also, Kevin may want to tell him that bulimia is a disease that can be beaten. So Fred is in command now. Good thing Kevin knows him well. Another great effort to bring those afternoon Pfalzes down and little to show for it. There is always the next time. And now a little excursion is being planned. Hopefully Kevin can use this time to rest a bit. We’d hate to see him drop from exhaustion.
Lou, Klaus thanks you and Raine for this lovely Iron Cross. Now he has a full set!
Raine, great news of a successful procedure. Now, if you can read this you are sitting too close to your monitor. ;-D Now you can claim you have that coveted duelling scar. Never mind where! Looking forward to that next pilot of yours. Plenty of time to come up with an intricate background.
Carrick, congrats on another victory. That must be your most successful pilot If I’m not mistaken.
Two pieces of news this morning. Two of the three SPADs from yesterday have been confirmed and the defence of Mars-la-Tour aerodrome is to be repeated. The HQ have a strong feeling and rely on the intelligence reports to warrant another mission over the field. The Schwarm with Klaus never got anywhere near the airfield they were supposed to defend. A flight of SPADs jumped them from above as they were climbing for altitude near Metz. Klaus shot at one, which immediately faked a death dive. Raben was ready, but as it turned out it was not fake at all. This surprised even Klaus. He quickly found another French machine to play with and started to pummel it pitilessly. He was aware there could be another SPAD behind as he could see tracers fly by, but he ignored it and concentrated on bringing down the kite in front. Finally it went into a dive it never recovered from and Klaus could now take care of the enemy pursuing him. It was all too easy to get on the tail of that Franzose. After some bursts of well aimed fire the SPAD went down. This seemed to be the last of the intruders and Klaus gave the signal to return to base. His mount seemed to want to list to starboard and needed to be looked at.
2 July, 1918 13:45 afternoon mission Montingen, Verdun Sector Jasta 18 Leutnant Klaus Gustav Raben EK2 Fokker D.VII 28 confirmed kills Awaiting three claim confirmations
The afternoon brought a change in orders. This time they were to patrol enemy front lines south of Pont-à-Mousson. As they were approaching the Front, Schwarm Zweie encountered a veritable hive of Nieuports and Strutters over No-Man’s Land. Klaus was able to bring one of the Nieuports down in flames.
He then went after the hated Strutter, which was targeting one of the Fokkers. It was a satisfying feeling to pour round after round into the fuselage of the silver machine. Klaus was positive the enemy plane would not make it back to base, but wanted to make it suffer and went for another pass. The engine started to exhaust dark smoke, but Klaus wanted more and went for just one more pass. The rear gunner was firing madly and just as Klaus put another volley into the Strutter, his radiator was hit. Again! It was all over for him, but it was over for the Strutter even more. His wing now separated from the machine was fluttering down signalling the end of another despised bus. Raben had to set his sick bird on one of the fields and wait for the recovery crew to take care of his machine.
"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."
Henri N. du Fay Spa 94,Adjutant, C.G. Roissy en France Aerodrome
8 Victory's 4 Unconfirmed July 3, 1918.
July 3, 1918.
Missed the dawn Patrol due to Oil Leaks, I did make the 1145 hrs Escort for a Recon.. While flying on the enemy side of the lines , I spotted and dove on a Fokker Scout down near the deck. The scout turned into 3 e/a scanning behind I saw 2 more coming down. I had been Suckered.! Just luck, I had speed and open spot for running home and away from Zee Boche. Next time I will stay with the flight.
Fullofit - Tbh I'm not sure they do fly in threes but I can't see why a lone Fokker would have been there otherwise. No it's not realistic, the attacking group may have been a triumvirate but they would have been protected. As for Gilly, it's a thin line between cowardice and cleverness (omg I'm quoting Red Baron now). He just needs to step over the line. As for Kevin, a night in a pretty French town, with pretty french food, pretty french drink and pretty french girls will be..... pretty good.
Another five claims for Klaus. He's making chair à saucisse out of them on a daily basis. That fight with the Strutter was a real deathmatch. Only one of you was ever leaving that one. The gunner tried but Klaus won. Congratulations on the confirmed kills and the Eisernes Kreuz.
Carrick - It's a slippery slope from oil leaks to crashes so Henri was right to sit the early sortie out. Then he had some fun on the second one. He took a chance but he had height and speed which is exactly the conditions you want in a SPAD, so I'd say that was fair game....and it nearly paid off.
"A great deal of an aeroplane could be holed without affecting its ability to fly. Wings and fuselage could be—and often were—pierced in 50 places, missing the occupants by inches (blissfully unaware of how close it had come until they returned to base). Then the sailmaker would carefully cover each hole with a square inch of Irish linen frayed at the edges and with a brushful of dope make our aircraft 'serviceable' again within an hour."
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