1916 Angels over the Somme (British Ace Book 3) (26 page)

We managed to get into the air on the 17
th
September.  That was a fateful and fatal day for us.  It seemed simple enough when we were briefed. My flight was given the task of spotting for the artillery at Gueudecourt.  We were still winning the battle in this sector but it was felt one more assault would tip the balance in our favour.

Ted’s flight was sent to patrol the sector close to Longueval and the other two flights were sent to Bapaume to escort some BE 2 bombers.  The brass wanted the communications through the valuable cross roads and supply depot disrupted.

I led my four aeroplanes back to the familiar land around Delville Wood.  I felt nervous, which was not like me.  The five of us were slightly closer together than was normal.  We hoped that by concentrating our fire we could destroy the German defences. The five pilots were, to all intents and purposes, merely delivery men.  It was the sergeants who did all the work. All that we had to do was keep the aeroplane in the air and watch out for enemies. We saw none and I breathed a sigh of relief as we headed back to the field.

Ted had already landed and was waiting for me. “I see you had no problems.”

I shook my head, “And you?”

“Piece of cake.  Perhaps it is getting too easy.  My flight hasn’t seen a German aeroplane for ages. I hope Gordy and Charlie were as lucky.”

The irregular beat of a damaged Rolls engine told us that it had not been a lucky encounter. When I saw Charlie’s aeroplane limping in almost sideways then I knew there was trouble.  The Very flare confirmed it. Ted and I ran to the side of the airfield to help in any way we could. I saw Johnny Holt leading in Lieutenant Dodds but of the other aeroplanes in the flight I saw not a sign.

Charlie bumped his aeroplane down which showed that there was something wrong with both Charlie and his bus.  Doc Brennan and his orderlies rushed to the aeroplane which just stood on the main runway. Charlie was wounded and he was helped from the Gunbus. As he was carried away on a stretcher I shouted to the gawking mechanics.  “Don’t just stand there! Get this bus off the runway.  We have more damaged aeroplanes coming in.”

Johnny and Lieutenant Dodds had just touched down at the end of the runway.  I saw three specks appear in the east. It was Gordy’s flight but they had lost a bus too.

When Johnny landed he taxied and parked his bus. When he climbed down Ted and I went to him.  He took off his helmet and goggles.  He looked distraught.  “What a bloody massacre!”

“Calm down, Johnny, and tell us what happened.”

“We had just bombed the crossroads and we had no problems. We let the eight BE 2s leave and then we turned to follow.  Suddenly six Huns dropped from the skies.  I had never seen them before.  They were smaller than the Fokkers but, sir, they had two machine guns firing through the propeller and they must have been twenty miles an hour faster.  We didn’t stand a chance. Bamber, Foster and Rogers were all hit in the first pass from behind. Two of them just bloody blew up! Lieutenant Sharp tried your technique and led us up to them but they hit him and did the Immelmann Turn. If Lieutenant Hewitt hadn’t arrived then we would have all been dead meat.”

The three Gunbuses of D Flight were just rolling down the runway.  I saw that Gordy had made it.  That was something.

“How many did you hit?”

His voice was very quiet when he said, “None.  We never hit one of them sir!”

As Gordy climbed from his aeroplane and walked towards us I knew that our days of ruling the skies were over. We had lost four Gunbuses and never even managed to hit one German aeroplane. The world was changing.

Archie held a meeting of the pilots from A and D flight with Ted and I present.  I could see from his face that he was regretting the fact that he had not accompanied them.

Gordy’s hands were still shaking as he lit his cigarette. “I have never seen the like sir.  We could always hold our own with Eindecker.  The new Fokkers and Halberstadts were just slightly faster but this is… well you have to see it to believe it. It looks like a slimmer, smaller version of the Fokker.  It is harder to hit because it is so fast.  The two machine guns just tear thought metal.  They managed to catch up with the BE 2s.  They shot two down and damaged another two. I am not sure we even hit them once.”

Captain Marshall said, “I will ring Wing and see what they have to say.” He shrugged, “They may have heard of this new menace.”

He left us. Gordy asked, “How is Charlie?”

I had checked with Doc Brennan before coming to the meeting. “The bullet went straight through his arm. That is the advantage of the steel jacketed bullets.  Luckily it missed the bone otherwise he might have lost the use of it.  We will be without him for a couple of weeks.”

Gordy shook his head as he stubbed out his cigarette and reached for a second one. “Then he is lucky because if we go up against these lads then, one by one, they will get us.  Mark my words.”

Archie said, “Surely…”

“Sir, we have no protection at the front.  How we managed to avoid losing a gunner today I have no idea. And we are so big and slow that they can fly inside us and use the Immelmann.  They can drop beneath our rear and then we are dead meat.”

“Then we will have to use the circle.”

“With respect sir that isn’t going to work against these buggers.  They are too fast, small and agile. They can twist and turn inside the circle. We are beaten!” I had never heard Gordy so depressed.

Captain Marshall returned, “It seems that Wing has had reports of this new squadron.  It is that ace of theirs, Boelke. He and Immelmann were the two top aces until we bagged Immelmann. The Kaiser pulled him out, gave him his choice of the best pilots and they are based thirty miles from here; Jasta 2.”

A deadly and sombre silence descended upon the meeting. They were the best of the German best flying a superior aeroplane.  Gordy was correct; we were in for a world of pain.

Archie smiled, “Right boys, go to dinner and have a good drink.  I am grounding the whole squadron tomorrow and I will go with Captain Marshall to Wing.  Until we know more we don’t go up.”

None of us were very happy about that.  It seemed like cowardice.  It made sense but it did not sit right. The meal was like a funeral and we drank just to get drunk. It was the worst night I had ever spent with my friends.

We spent the next day ensuring that all of our buses were repaired and then serviced. We knew that we would have to face this new menace and it was unlikely that we would emerge victorious but we had to ensure that we were as good as we could be.

Ironically the four replacement pilots and buses arrived during the afternoon.  There was no question that we would be sending them up. If experienced pilots like Charlie and Gordy were finding it hard then the new boys would last minutes.  In the mess, that evening, I could see the confusion on their faces. They had heard so much about our squadron and yet there was an atmosphere of doom and gloom.

The four of them sat together.  I called Freddie over.  “Go and have a word with the new boys for me Freddie.  Explain what went on yesterday.  They won’t be flying operations until the end of the week.”

Freddy looked relieved.  “And that is a good thing sir. We have seen too many young pilots go west far too soon.”

“So Bill, what do we do about these new fighters?”

I turned to Ted, “Why ask me?”

He shrugged, “You are the top pilot and you always have ideas about this sort of thing.” He nodded towards Gordy who was staring into his glass. “We haven’t faced them yet but from what Gordy said we have no chance.”

“That’s not true.  People said that about the Eindeckers.” I grabbed a handful of cutlery. I laid them out so that they progressively rose into the air. “From what Gordy said they were very hard and hard to see.” Gordy heard his name and turned to look at what I was doing. “They dive down at a steep angle and go for the gunner and the pilot.  Then they swoop underneath to rake the stern.” I demonstrated with a fork.

Gordy gave an ironic laugh, “And how do we counter that?”

“Line astern with the last aeroplane in the flight lower than the previous one and so on.  That way when they try to swoop down they will have to run the gauntlet of all the gunners firing at them. The lowest aeroplane will have to have their gunner on the rear Lewis.”

Ted nodded, “That might help us to cut our losses but it still doesn’t shoot down the buggers!”

“Don’t be so sure. The Buckingham tracer makes shooting more accurate.  The gunners will see how close they are. If these new fighters are diving then they can’t use their guns.  Our lads could wait until the last minute to fire.”

Gordy smiled, “Well it is a plan, at least, but I am not confident.”

Ted shook his head, “He is getting worse than me.  He hasn’t even told you his good news yet have you Gordy?”

Good news was always welcome.  “What good news?”

He visibly brightened.  He had forgotten. “You are right Ted.  Mary has arranged the wedding.  December the 2
nd
at St. Mary’s church Tottenham.  Your young lady, Beatrice will be there.”

“That is great news and is something to look forward to.”

“Aye, if we survive the next month. I have never prayed for November before but I am now.”

Bates was particularly attentive the next morning.  “The chaps were telling me about these new aeroplanes sir and the dreadful losses you suffered.” He shook his head.  “You take care, sir.”

“I will but it is not as bad as the trenches.  There is always a chance of getting back or even crash landing.  I have been damaged and crashed before now and walked away.  You always have to have hope. There is no point in giving up.”

“If you say so sir.”

“I will tell you something Bates.  I nearly gave up once before when my whole regiment ceased to exist. Almost everyone I knew was killed or wounded.  I found hope in the RFC.  I found a calling in the air.  I can’t believe that I was chosen like this just to die needlessly. Just believe.”

He smiled, “I will sir.  You have such a positive life force that I believe you.”

That belief almost evaporated when I attended the briefing. Captain Marshall looked visibly upset. That was not like him. “I have some bad news to impart.  Major Brack died yesterday. He and his whole flight were shot down by this new German fighter.” There were audible gasps from the older pilots.  Major Brack had been a popular and charismatic leader; more than that he was a good pilot. “We now have a name for this menace. It is an Albatros D111.  You may well meet them today.”

Archie stood. “I know it will be difficult for us today.  We are depleted in numbers. We can, realistically, only muster three flights today.  I will lead the remnants of A Flight with D Flight. Bill you and Ted will patrol with your flights separately.” He went to the map. We have three areas to cover.  We will be spotting for the artillery again. I will have this sector over Ginchy.  It is the one where the new Jasta is most likely to be.” I saw Gordy wince. I knew that Archie would lead from the front and not put others dangers he should be facing. “Ted, you will cover Delville Wood. Bill, your flight will be to the north east of Delville Wood towards Warlencourt. Your sergeants have your call signs. More than ever gentlemen, we need to watch for the Hun in the sun.”

I noticed that Hutton’s pockets were bulging when we headed for the bus.  “What is that Lumpy?  Grenades?”

He looked sheepish. “No sir.  Sandwiches.” He shrugged.  “The last few flights we had I got used to nibbling in the air.  I know we will be back before lunch but…”

I laughed.  “A good idea! I am surprised you didn’t bring tea and then you could have a picnic.”

He reached into an inside pocket and pulled out a Dewar Flask. “Actually sir, I did!”

This time I burst out laughing so loud that the rest of my flight stared at me. “You really are the most resilient soul I know.  Come on then Sergeant, once more unto the breach!”

He grinned, “That sounds like Shakespeare.” He took the bugle from the cockpit and sounded charge. My flight cheered. It was little enough but it would do.

We took off and I hoped that the flight would remember my instructions. I had told Freddie to be as low as he could once we were on patrol.  We would fly in line astern and keep within sight of each other.  I had told them that if attacked we would go into line astern formation.  Freddie had shown his maturity by asking what happened if we were attacked whilst isolated. I had been brutally honest, “Every man gets as low as he can and hedge hop back to the airfield. Until we have a better bus we avoid tangling with this Jasta 2.”

Of course on the ground that seemed sensible but, as we crossed Delville Wood I wondered if I could leave my pilots to their own fate.  I doubted it. I gave Freddie the northernmost area and I took the one to the south east. It would be the one most likely to be attacked.  Once we reached our height Hutton began signalling the artillery.  We were quite good at this now. Soon the shells were dropping on the German trenches.  It was going well.

Suddenly I heard the chatter of machine guns and I saw the dreaded Albatros for the first time. There were four of them. They attacked Lieutenant Gerard.  The poor young man had no chance.  I saw the front of the cockpit disintegrate and the gunner shudder as though he had St Vitus’ dance. I watched in horror as he fell to the earth. Poor Gerard lasted a few moments longer. Even as his aeroplane plunged to earth I ignored my own orders as, I noticed, did Freddie. I banked to the left. “Lumpy get ready.  Go for the pilot if you can.”