1914 (British Ace) (24 page)

As soon as the weather improved we were able to fly.  We did not fly
every day and, when we did not patrol, then I badgered anyone I could for more flying lessons. I knew that, as a pilot I could hurt the Germans more than as a mere observer and gunner. I could be the one making the decisions about who to shoot.

It was early in February and we were patrolling north of Ypres.  We no longer flew the whole squadron; we just flew in flights of three.  Once again we were after balloons.
The balloons could spot for the German artillery.  British soldiers were dying because of the German balloons. We found six of them tethered along a long section of the front.  By now the pilots had mastered the technique of flying just a couple of hundred feet above the ground, sometimes even lower. We had discovered that the ground fire could not react quickly enough to hit us and we were, ironically, safer.  It also meant that the balloons could not get down in time.  As we roared, in line abreast, towards them the winch crew desperately tried to bring down to ground level and safety.  This time I aimed at the observer rather than the balloon.  I waited until we were eighty yards from the target and gave a ten shot burst.  The observer’s head disappeared in a red explosion.  I fired five more shots at forty yards and the balloon collapsed.  As Captain Burscough banked I repeated my action with the next balloon in line and had the same success. By waiting until I was so close and by using fewer bullets I could kill more Germans.  It was simple arithmetic. The last balloon was struck by both Gordy and myself.

“Captain, let’s machine gun the winches. I still have a full magazine.” Even as I was speaking I was reloading.

“Righto!”

We screamed down to one hundred feet and I sprayed the winches and the men operating them.  All forty
seven .303 bullets struck something, either man or machine. The other two aeroplanes had not been as frugal with their bullets and it was we alone who inflicted the damage.

That evening, in the mess, Gordy looked at me quite seriously.  Normally this was the time for laughing and joking but Gordy looked
deadly serious.  “That was good shooting today, Bill, but it seemed to me you were going for the men and not the balloon.”

I nodded, “Damned right I was.”

“They are just doing their job the same as we are.”

“I know but this war will be over a lot quicker if we kill them faster than they kill us. They can make more balloons but a trained observer or winch man is harder to replace.”

“It won’t bring your brothers back.”

I clenched my fists and then unclenched them. 
“I know that; I am not stupid but I can make the Germans pay.” I stood.  “When you have lost two brothers then feel free to come and lecture me about the morals of war until then keep your nose out of my business.”

I stormed off.  Even as I went I felt guilty.  I should not have spoken to Gordy that way; he meant well.  My brothers’
deaths had affected me more than I cared to admit but blood is thicker than water.  We had parted on bad terms and that thought haunted me.

We received replacement aeroplanes later that week and more equipment.  They fitted another Lewis gun for the captain to operate.
It was fixed and would just fire in the direction we were flying but it doubled our firepower. My seat was moved slightly so that I would not get my head blown off and the captain could not fire it when I used the rear Lewis but it meant we could still fire when I changed the magazine.  Ted was delighted to be flying in a brand new F.E.2. The Avro was reserved for flying lessons and I became quite competent as a pilot.  I had no doubt that, if we ever flew in a dual control aeroplane, I would be able to fly it should the captain become incapacitated.

The new pilots looked remarkably young.  The major gave one of them, Lieutenant Shaw to us.  The other two had been promoted to captain and were no longer the novices who terrified Gordy and Ted. The Flight Sergeant was also young. I remembered how kind Gordy and Ted had been to me and I determined to do the same for young Stan. He took in every word I said.

On our first patrol with our new guns we ran into some of the new Albatros aeroplanes. We were flying high for it was more of an initiation into life on the Western Front.  Lieutenant Shaw needed to know how to fly with other aeroplanes. Ted saw them and he attracted my attention.

I recognised the shape of the aeroplane and told the captain.
“Sir, three Albatros aeroplanes directly below us to the east.”

It looked like they were heading back from a patrol. “Good.  This might be an opportunity to try out the new kit eh?”

He banked the aeroplane and set it into a shallow dive.  It was the most efficient way to pick up speed.  We were a couple of hundred feet above the Germans when they spotted us and by then it was too late to do anything about it. The captain had targeted the last aeroplane and we would be able to hit multiple targets as they were still, largely, in one line.

“I shall fire too, Flight.  Just to see what it is like.”

“Sir.”

I have to say that I was more than intrigued about the effect. The captain fired too early and the Albatros veered to the right.  It gave me the chance to fire at the pilot when he came into my sights.  I began firing when I saw the propeller and used half a magazine.  Smoke came from the engine and then I hit the pilot.  As he fell forward the aeroplane went into a vertical dive.  We were so close to the ground that I saw the whole aircraft burst into flames
as it hit the earth and we all felt the concussion of the explosion.

When we climbed into the sky we saw the other two aeroplanes limping east.  Both were damaged.  The new arrangement worked. “I can see I need to time my shots a little better
, eh Bill?”

“It worked sir.  It gave me an easier shot but yes, I like to wait until we are closer.”

The war in the air was changing.  We were now needed more to observe enemy movements in the rear of their lines and report back. That meant we had smaller patrols but ranged further behind the enemy lines. Captain Dundas and Lieutenant Shaw were paired up and we worked with Captain Devries.  I felt that we had the advantage over the other three aeroplanes of our flight as we had the rear firing machine gun. It slowed us down but not by much. 

The third week in February the weather improved.  We were sent beyond Ypres to see what reserves there were
available to the German Army. The British Army had lost many men and it was hard to replace the Old Contemptibles who had died slowing down the enemy advance. They were doggedly defending the trenches around Ypres and anything we could do would alleviate the pressure a little. We travelled with ten miles between the two halves of the flight.  We flew very high until we had passed the enemy lines. We did to want not be jumped by a Jasta of Albatrosses.

We used the air speed and a wat
ch to estimate where we were. “I think that is far enough, sir.  We could go down for a look see.”

“Righto.”

The captain signalled the other aeroplane and we gently swooped to a lower altitude. As soon as we cleared the cloud cover I looked at the map and identified where we were. Some of the other squadrons had been fitted with cameras but we were still doing it the old fashioned way.  I would have to identify what we saw. I saw a train heading west and it was laden with heavy artillery.  They looked to me to be the 42cm howitzers. The road which ran parallel with the railway line was thronged with a column of German infantry. As our engines whined they all took cover and one or two fired hopeful shots at us.  We could have strafed them but our task was to observe.  We flew down the length of the column.  I estimated it to be at least four regiments.  An attack was coming.

“Seen enough, Flight?”

“Yes sir, let’s go home.”

We had just climbed to five hundred feet when they jumped us.  There were three of them.  There were two Aviatiks and an Albatros.  Their firepower was less than ours but they had superior numbers.  I saw Ted take out his rifle as I stood on my seat and faced to the rear. They swooped down on us and fire
d their machine guns.  They had to fire over their propellers which made aiming difficult.  Of course, once they had passed us then the observer could fire the rear gun. I used short bursts to discourage them. They had height advantage and they used it to gain speed. As they sped by us I felt the hail of bullets as the captain dived towards the earth. The barrel of my Lewis gun was pointed at the sky as I clung on for dear life. As we banked left an Aviatik was suddenly in the captain’s sights and he fired a burst.  It was a frightening experience as the Lewis spat bullets just inches from my legs. I heard a crack and, as we completed our turn I saw the German aeroplane tumbling from the sky.  The captain had his first kill! The other two Germans headed east again as we turned west for home.

All four of us were excited beyond words.  It had been an outstanding kill for the captain.  He had had a very short window of opportunity but he had taken it well. It might have been an old German aeroplane but the pilot would have died in the crash.  We were hurting the enemy.

Out elation was short lived as Gordy’s aeroplane arrived alone. We met them as they descended. 

Captain Burscough said, “Lieutenant Shaw?”

Captain Devries shook his head, “He was forced down behind their lines.  He is alive but they have captured him and his observer.  Lieutenant Shaw’s war is over.”

We were like a balloon suddenly deflated of air. He had been a likeable chap and now he would be a prisoner of war. His only hope would be that we could capture one of their pilots and exchange them.  For
Stan, the Flight Sergeant, the prospects were a little bleaker.  It was only officers who were exchanged.  It would be a prisoner of war camp for him.

The major sent us alone the next day and the other two aeroplanes were despatched to patrol the same sector where Lieutenant Shaw had come to grief.
In many ways it was easier being on your own.  You had to be more alert but you didn’t need to worry about the other aeroplane.  We went further north.  Our report had pleased the major but Intelligence needed to know about the left flank of our lines. This was new territory for us. We flew high for safety and then swept down.  There was no railway line but the road had a column of cavalry on it. I would not be firing on the column. I could not inflict on horses what our regiment had endured.

We turned and headed south.  “We’ll come back along the railway line and see if there are more troops using it.”

“Right sir.”

It was a cold day but there was neither rain nor snow and my boots, scarf and balaclava kept me warm.  The fingerless gloves had proved to be a godsend and I had asked mother for another couple of pairs.  I wore my gloves as I scanned the map.  When we reached the railway line there was a goods train heading towards the front.  We could not see what it carried and so the captain dived for a closer look.  To our horror they had a flat car fitted with multiple machine guns.  They opened up and a cone of fire headed towards us.  The captain yanked hard on the stick and the engine screamed as we tried to climb.  I thought we had escaped until I saw the smoke coming from the engine.

“Sir, we have been hit.  Better get lower.”

“Right.
  Keep your eyes peeled for a field.” The engine was really struggling and I saw the smoke getting thicker.

“Sir, we need to land before we fall out of the sky.”

“Keep watch for one.”

I looked up to see if there were any German aeroplanes and I flicked my eyes to the ground.  We needed a flat field.  The weather worked in our favour.  The ground was still frozen.
It would make landing a possibility. I saw a patch of clear white. “There sir, to the north and west.”

“I’ve got it.”

I could now hear the engine struggling.  I had no doubt that when the German train reached a halt they would let everyone know that there was a damaged bird behind their lines.  I wondered if I would be joining Stan and become a prisoner. The engine became even more laboured as the field grew closer.  I was just happy that we landed without cart wheeling.  As soon as we stopped I leapt from the cockpit and threw the Lee Enfield to the captain. He stood in the cockpit and scanned the edges of the field.  It seemed unnaturally quiet.

I ran around to the engine
hardly daring to look at what might have been damaged. If it was the propeller then we would not be able to take off again.  If the bullets had penetrated the engine block then we would have to burn the aeroplane and try to get back to our own lines.  Not an easy feat with trenches going from the English Channel to Switzerland!

The propeller had been nicked but it was not dangerous
and the engine block looked whole. As soon as I looked down I saw what the problem was.  There was a pool of oil.  An oil line had been cut. I opened the hatch which held my tools and other bits and bobs.  I found some spare rubber tube and I used it to repair the cut. The tube I used was bigger than the one which had been cut and I was able to force the broken ends into the whole piece. 

Suddenly I heard the crack of the Lee Enfield.  “Hurry up Bill!
Huns at the edge of the field.”

I glanced up and saw a line of infantry climbing the fence.
“Nearly done sir.” There was an oil can we used to lubricate the joints and pistons. It was not perfect but it would have to do.  I emptied it into the oil filler cap and then said. “Right sir, let’s try it.”