1915 Fokker Scourge (British Ace Book 2) (17 page)

I was pleased that he had done well for himself.  He had been the
direct opposite in bearing and character to Major Hamilton-Grant. If every aristocrat was like Major St.John Hamilton-Grant then I think I would become a Socialist!

We watched, at noon, as the squadron limped in.  I counted and was relieved to see that there were nine aeroplanes.  None had been lost although a couple were trailing smoke and they all had damage to them. I saw the replacements look up from their work as the aeroplanes bumped along the field.  Doc Brennan and his orderlies ran from their tent ready to deal with any casualties.

As was to be expected it was the gunners who had been hit. One of the new pilots had lost his gunner while Ted and two others had wounded gunners. I strode to speak with Major Leach. “No losses then sir.”

“No, Bill, but they got away Scot free.  The Fokkers were above the Aviatiks when we reached them.  The biplanes headed east and the Fokkers attacked us.” He smiled, “We tried that circle
that you and the others came up with.  It seemed to work.  We took the casualties before we made the circle.”

Gordy joined us.  He lit a cigarette.  “Aye me and Ted have named it the Gay Gordons!”

Archie nodded seriously, “A fine Scottish dance; that’ll do for me.” He turned to me, “Tomorrow, Bill, it’ll be just your flight. I want you to get there early and see if you can frighten them away.  Don’t engage the Fokkers.”

“You want them to think that the rest of the squadron is waiting to pounce like we did the other day.”

“Aye, it’s not just the Germans who can be sneaky. Of course, it might not work but we canna go on losing aeroplanes at the rate we are. This autumn has been a disaster for the Royal Flying Corps.  Apart from Colonel Burscough and us the other squadrons have been torn apart.”

I nodded and walked over to my aeroplane.
I needed to speak with the gunners.  They would have a difficult job and for two of them it would all be new. It would be, quite literally, a baptism of fire.

We left before dawn.  I had impressed up
on the two pilots that we were not to risk fighting the Fokkers.  If we could draw them on to our guns then so much the better but our aim was to drive the spotters away. We flew low and at the slowest speed we could.  By dawn we were approaching the British lines.  We knew from our flights over our lines that they stood to for an hour before dawn in case of an enemy attack.  They would now be having their first brew of the day.

I was leading.  I had spent some time explaining to Hutton how the speaking tube functioned.  He seemed quite amused by it and kept chuckling, “Well I never.  Who would have thought?” He seemed an unflappable and easily amused airman. However he did have good eyes and he spotted the Aviatiks, there were two of them. “Over there sir, about a mile away. The two aeroplanes were silhouetted against the dawn whilst we, coming from the west and low down were almost invisible.

“Arm your weapon!” I cocked my Lewis and, as I began to climb, glanced over my shoulder to see that the other two were following me.

The German spotters came on
steadily, blissfully unaware of the Hun-like trap we had set.

“Wait until I give the order before you fire.”

“Righto sir.  Will do!”

As we climbed I peered up into the sky.  I saw the Fokkers.  They were about five hundred feet above the two spotters. We might just be able to drive the two Aviatiks away.  Because we had no
moving propeller at the front to attract attention we were hard to see. However, when we were two hundred feet away, they saw us and they panicked.  The nearest pilot jerked his stick to climb over us.

“Fire!” As Hutton fired so did I and the bullets converged below the cockpit.  We must have killed the pilot instantly for the nose dipped and it spiralled down to crash in no-man’s land.  With almost a full tank of fuel it was an inferno and the observer would have known nothing about it.

As I banked west I heard the guns of the other two aeroplanes open up. Lumpy leaned back to watch and he shouted.  They have him sir! He’s having to land.” Then, in almost the next breath he shouted, “Those one winged aeroplanes you warned us about.  They are diving!”

I dared not
risk him standing.  We had Lieutenant Holt in the rear of the line and Sergeant White would have to protect us all. I saw arms waving beneath us and knew that we had crossed the British lines.  I heard the unmistakeable fire of the German guns followed by short burst of Holt’s rear facing Lewis. Then the ground beneath erupted as the Tommies took pot shots.  We were flying fifty feet from the ground and they must have thought Christmas had come when the Germans came in so low.

“Hutton, have a look behind.  Are the other two all right?”

“Yes sir! Go on bonny lads!” There was a scream which nearly punctured my ear drums. “Gotcha, ya bugger!”

“Hutton!”

“Sorry sir.  The lads on the ground have brought down one of them Fokker things.”

That was great news.  With luck the machinery which enabled it
to fire through the propeller could be salvaged and we might have a clue how to replicate it. We taxied to a halt and it seemed the whole squadron was waiting to greet us.  The sun had barely risen above the horizon and we were already home. The Major, Captain and Colonel all waited by the headquarters’ tent but the other officers and sergeant crowded around.

Ted pointedly examined my aeroplane for damage.  “You didn’t bother going on patrol then?”

I smiled and allowed Johnny Holt the pleasure. “We destroyed the two spotter aeroplanes and then the men in the trenches shot down a Fokker.”

The atmosphere changed in an instant.  Everyone knew the importance of salvaging the aeroplane. Gordy grabbed Jo
hnny, “Right sunshine.  You come with me. Flight Sergeant Richardson! Get a lorry! We may have a Fokker to salvage!”

Everything seemed to be happening at once but I was aware that we had two new gunners.  I waved them towards me.  “You two did very well today, didn’t they Lieutenant Carrick?”

The young lieutenant did not look as nervous and diffident as he had a few days ago.  “I think they both did very well sir.”

I pointed at the aeroplanes, “And as there was no damage the two of you can get your heads down.  We’ll service them this afternoon.”

Airman Laithwaite said, “If it is all the same to you, sir, I would like to practise standing and firing the rear Lewis.  I saw what Sergeant White did and it doesn’t look easy. If I can manage it on the ground I won’t be as afraid when I stand and do it in the air.”

“Whatever you choose
, airman.”

Lumpy grinned, “I might as well join him.  Tell me
, sir, it is always as much fun when we go up?”

“You mean is it like that ever time? Yes but we normally bring back more bullet holes.”

Lumpy rubbed his hands together, “I’m right glad I volunteered!”

When the armourer returned we had eaten and were eagerly awaiting him.  He had managed to salvage the whole engine.  They also had the body of the German flier.  It was treated with due reverence.  He would be buried in our small cemetery with our own dead and Captain Marshall would keep detailed records for later.

Headquarters had been informed and we knew that it was only a matter of time before our find disappeared.  Percy and his men worked wonders.  The
y disassembled the mechanism before the day was out.  We had no need for one as yet but there would come a time when we would and it was as well to be prepared.

It was when they were working on it that I had my idea. I grabbed Lumpy.  “Airman Hutton, while the armourers are working on the German engine, come with me.” Intrigued he followed me. We wasted nothing and all of the engines, spare parts and weapons were stored in an old ten
t at the back of the main armoury tent.  “I want the best Lewis gun we can find.”

He rubbed his hands, “A bit of legal larceny too! Good oh!”

He was incorrigible.  “No, we are merely conducting an experiment.  I will inform Flight Sergeant Richardson of our loan later.”

He rummaged around and a
fter a short while he said, “Here sir, this one looks in good nick!”

“Right I want it fitting
on the cockpit of our aeroplane.” As we walked back I could see him puzzling.

When we reached it he put the gun on the grass. “Sir, there is a machine gun there already.”

“No Airman, that is the rear facing one. This one will be fixed to fire forward. I will be firing over your head.”

That thought did not seem to put him out.  “Oh I get you and that means you don’t have to stand while you fire.  Righto
sir, I’ll get on it right away.”

“This
might not have worked as well with Sergeant Sharp as he is a bigger man but I noticed, when we flew, that you sit lower in the seat and the gun had a clear line of fire.  This also means that the rear Lewis will always be loaded for you.”

“I think it is a good idea.
But I can fit it so that it will fire over Sergeant Sharp’s head when he returns.  It will make it more stable too. There is never a dull moment here is there sir?”

I liked Lumpy.  He was resourceful and imaginative.  He and Charlie had much in common.

We had respite for the next two days.  A horrendous storm came from the north and made flying impossible. I dreaded to think what it would be like for the men in the trenches.  I wondered how Bert would fare in his tunnels.  I would ask Lumpy what they did exactly.  The Fokker engine and mechanism was taken away and we managed to finish fitting the Lewis.  I was desperate to try it out.  I did not know how it would affect the balance of the aeroplane.

While the storm raged I was summoned to a meeting with Captain Marshall, the Colonel and Major Leach. There was a bottle of whisky on the table and four glasses. “Tak
e a seat, Bill.” The Colonel waved a hand, “It is raining cats and dogs out there.  We thought we would use this lull to talk about the next few weeks and as Archie here had a fine bottle of malt we thought we would do so in comfort.”

“Aye, it’s an Islay, it might be a bit peaty for you Englishmen but it’s my favourite.” He held up his glass, “The Corps!”

“The Corps.”

I had learned to sip spirits and was glad that I had. It burned a little but it was a pleasant taste. I lit my pipe and found that the taste of the tobacco and the whisky went well together.

“Now Captain Marshall has mentioned your bombing idea and we think it has merit. We just need to plan it well.  This weather affords us that opportunity. You talk us through it and we will throw in questions.  Four minds might be better than one eh?  Off you go.  By the way, Archie, this is a damned fine Islay.”

“Aye well go easy Colonel there’s just one more for each of us and then we will be on the blended stuff.”

I drew on my pipe and then began. “Six aeroplanes would take off as normal and patrol the front. My six would take off an hour later.  We would climb high. By the time we reach the front the Fokkers should be ready to head for home.  We would follow them.”

“What if they have not taken the bait?”

“Then we will lose no aeroplanes that day and we would try again on another occasion.  Fuel is cheaper than aeroplanes and pilots sir.”

“Quite right.”

“And why at high altitude?”

“Well, Major,
the aerial combats normally end up at very low level.  It would make us hard to see and they would not have enough fuel to climb and engage us. And we would be able to travel faster at higher altitude.”

“Good but when you make your attack….”

I smiled, “I was just coming to that. Once we had crossed their lines we would descend to low level. We would follow the Fokkers in.  With luck their ground defences would see what they expected to see, aeroplanes returning home.  We would fly in two flights of three with sixty feet between wing tips.  That way we would have more chance of damage.  I would just use one pass.  The gunners could hurl four bombs in that time and we could pepper their field.  Then we would climb and return home at high altitude.”

They all nodded and Archie poured our last glass of his precious potion. “The only problem I can see, laddie, is your new gunners.  They haven’t dropped bombs yet.”

“I know but my two new ones seem very dependable and have not shown a tendency to flap.  If I took Lieutenant Hewitt’s flight too they have bombed before.”

“The aeroplanes at the back would be in danger from the concussion and explosion from the ground.  The first two aeroplanes would be beyond any chance of that but the last one…”

Randolph was right. I tapped my pipe out to give me time to think.  Then Archie said.  “If the last one in the flight comes in at a hundred feet higher then they can still bomb but will not be in any danger and they could watch out for any danger.”

“Thank you sir, that would work.”

The smiles on their faces told me of their approval but I asked the question anyway. “So we go ahead with the plan sir?”

“We go ahead.  Brief your pilots and we will have bomb racks fitted while it is raining.  We try this out as soon as the weather abates.”