1917 Eagles Fall (15 page)

I went to check on the repairs to my Pup’s wings the next day and saw the Senior Flight Sergeant with the fuel bowser and cans of fuel.  I was intrigued. “What are you and your boys doing Mr Lowery?  It doesn’t look like a normal service.”

He smiled, “No it isn’t.  It’s Mr Sharp’s idea and it is a good one. He wondered if we could filter the fuel before we put it into the aeroplanes.” I had a puzzled look.  “It’s not a bad idea. He noticed that sometimes there must be dirt or something in the fuel for the engine occasionally misfires and slows, especially when climbing.  He said that he knew we all checked the filters on the engine and that we serviced them.  The only thing he could think of was dirt in the fuel. Here, Joe, show Mr Harsker the first filter we used.” The mechanic showed me the fine metal filter.  It looked like they had stolen it from the kitchens. I saw in the bottom tiny pieces of dirt and other foreign bodies. “He’s a bright lad is Mr Sharp. A piece like that could cause a blockage and...”

“You are right Sarn’t, carry on.” Charlie was growing day by day. He could have saved lives by his suggestion.

A day off was never really a day off.  The bus needed many small jobs doing; making sure the cockpit would be right for the next flight.  Ensuring that I had everything I needed in the cockpit; checking the compass and gauges.  The mechanics would do all of that but they didn’t have to fly at nine thousand feet. Once that was done I had all the paper work to do for the flight. Surprisingly I did not mind.  I had never been a good student while at school.  I had always wanted to be off with the horses.  My handwriting had been atrocious.  All of the girls in our class had been much neater than I was and I hated having to practise on the blackboard in front of the whole class. Now I could take my time and I had no one to judge me.

Randolph put the telephone down.  “Well that is good news.”

“What’s that Randolph?”

“They are sending two Bristols over tomorrow.  It means we can give one to Gordy and one to Archie.  Half of the squadron will have a decent bus.”

“I can remember when the FE 2 was a good bus.”

“Times change.  Look at these, what do you call them, tanks?  They will revolutionise the face of war. Machine gun bullets can’t penetrate them.  They ride over any obstacles and I am not even certain that they could be bombed.”

“Didn’t I hear that they broke down on the Somme when they first used them?”

“Teething troubles. And mark my words they will have aeroplanes which can go much faster than the Pup soon.”

As I went back to my reports I thought about that. War killed but it also brought about changes. They were now talking about building huge airships to travel to America and Australia. I was certain that would not have happened if the Germans hadn’t built them for the war.

Randolph hummed happily to himself.  He was like the mother hen of the squadron.  He didn’t fly himself but he watched us as we took off every day.  He kept the records of life and death, success and failure.  He would be more than happy if we had an aeroplane which gave us a chance in the air.

That evening, at dinner, he was late.  It was not like him. When he finally arrived his face looked drawn.  He sat between Archie and me. “A large whisky Sarn’t.”

He said nothing until it arrived and then he downed it in one. Archie asked, quietly, “A problem Captain?”

“That was headquarters on the telephone.  Number 48 squadron had a patrol on our side of the lines.  The Red Baron and his squadron jumped them.  Four were shot down and the other two barely made it home.  One of the missing is the VC, Captain Robinson.” He held up his glass for a refill. “They were flying the new Bristol!”

It was as though the heavens had opened and rain had poured down.  The high spirits evaporated. We ate in silence.  It was broken by Charlie, “They might not have flown them properly.”

Gordy shook his head, “How can you fly them badly? The man was a V.C.”

“Freddie here said it, you need to fly the Bristol like a Pup and not a Gunbus.” He waved his arm around the assembled pilots. “If we take Bill out of the equation then most of us flew, or in my case, fly, the Gunbus for the benefit of a gunner. You don’t loop, you keep a stable platform and you get your gunner into a position where he can fire. The Bristol is like the Pup.  You can throw it around and the gunner won’t fall out. The gunner just defends and it is the pilot who attacks. With the Gunbus we are chauffeurs and with the Bristol we are a fighter.”

The mood lightened, especially when the others discovered that we would be getting two Bristols the next day.

We were just two days away from Zero Hour and, the next day we launched our smallest patrol yet. There were just nine of us.  Charlie had three Gunbuses with him and Ted and I had our five new fighters. Our mission was to prevent any Germans from flying over our lines. Bearing in mind what had happened the previous day there were nine very nervous pilots.

The guns were still blasting away.  I wondered how they had managed to manufacture so many shells. It seemed unlikely that the Germans would risk flying through the artillery barrage. I found that I was right; they flew around the barrage and they approached from the south.  It was Ted’s rear gunner who saw them.  He flashed his mirror to attract my attention as he headed south to engage them.  There were eight of them.  They were far faster and more manoeuvrable than the Gunbuses of Charlie’s flight. Before we had set off we had decided that Charlie would watch our back unless we were seriously outnumbered.

The five of us would take the war to the Germans and get as close to them as we could.  Once amongst them then the Bristols would come into their own.  The rear gunner could cause havoc.  He could fire to both sides and above him.

I decided not to be as profligate with my ammunition. I would not run out again. They were above us and we went towards them in a line.  We both had the same rate of climb. I cocked the Vickers and decided which one I would attack.  These looked to be the Albatros D.II.  They had a bulkier radiator than the D.III.  To my horror I saw that they, too, had twin Spandau machine guns and these were a faster aeroplane than the D.III. It was too late to back out now.  We would have to take our medicine and hope for the best.

I tried my usual gambit.  I lowered my nose as though I was going to fly beneath him and when the leading pilot corrected I came up and opened fire. It worked and the double machine guns spattered above my head.  They were alarming but they missed. At a hundred and fifty yards I fired.  I just brought the nose up and squeezed gently. The bullets struck the bottom of the propeller and, as I came up, his engine. I took my finger off the trigger and moved slightly to port. He had moved to starboard and my next burst struck his fuselage, close to the cockpit. My earlier bullets had damaged both his propeller and his engine.  My last burst must have hit some cables. He lost power and began an irreversible dive to his death.

I caught a glimpse of an Albatros in my rear view mirror.  I banked to port and put the Pup on its side.  Already a small target, it would become almost invisible to the German. His bullets whizzed in the space I had just vacated. I pulled hard to bring me round close to my pursuer. No matter how hard he tried he could not match my turn.  I snap fired at his fuselage and saw my bullets stitch a line along it. I threw the Pup on to the other wing and banked in the opposite direction. I was acutely aware that we had left Charlie and his Gunbuses unprotected. I saw them above me and four of the Huns were trying to get around to their vulnerable rear.

I straightened up and began to climb. I checked in my mirror.  I had managed to lose my last pursuer.  He had either gone after someone else or one of my colleagues had attacked him. The four Albatros were so intent on attacking the huge and slow moving Gunbuses that they neglected to watch for me.  I raised my nose to climb as near vertically as I could manage and then I dipped it to fly the length of the four Albatros. I fired in short bursts when I was close to each Hun.  I didn’t want my bullets to pass through and hit my fellows.  My sudden attack caused panic amongst them and one of them flew directly in front of Charlie and his gunner. The Albatros was torn apart by the two Lewis guns firing at ridiculously short range. 

I followed an Albatros which had a yellow wavy line running its length.  It was faster than I was and would eventually our run me but I kept after him as long as I could.  My bullets continued to clatter into him no matter how much he jinked, banked and climbed.  I was stuck to him like clue and the range of my Vickers meant that even while he was getting away from me I was still hitting him. Eventually he went to ground and landed behind our lines close to the spot I had met Bert. As I roared over the trenches I saw the guns from the Tommies waving in the air in celebration.  I wondered how many of them would be alive a few days from now.

I glanced up and saw the Gunbuses ponderously heading west.  One or two were smoking but they were all there.  I could not see the Pups and the Bristols. We fought our own fight.  The Gunbuses relied on each other for protection.

I landed at the same time as Ted and Harry. As I taxied I heard the two Pups as they landed. When Ted got out he shook his head, “That’s all we needed” The buggers have fitted a second Spandau to the D.II.”

“I know.  It is not as good an aeroplane as the D.III but it is faster and they have squadrons of them. How did you get on?”

He grinned, “We managed to down one and damage two more.”

“It looks like we did better than the boys yesterday then.”

Gordy and Archie were already in the office.  Both looked like little boys who have seen early Christmas presents. “We will be with you tomorrow in our Bristols! We took them up for a spin this afternoon.  They are a joy!”

Gordy was just full of it but Archie asked the more pertinent question.  “How did you get on?”

“We lost none and shot down at least four but,” I paused for effect, “they have armed their older Albatros with twin Spandaus.  It is not going to be easy.”

Charlie came in.  “Thanks for that, Bill.  I think we would have been a goner but for you.  As it is we only have two Gunbuses fit for tomorrow.”

“Then that decides it.  We will just fly the Bristols and the Pups tomorrow. We will need the Gunbuses for Zero Hour the day after.”

“I won’t deny that I will be glad for the rest but will you be able to manage with just seven aeroplanes? Remember what happened to Number 48 Squadron.”

Archie spread his arms.  “We have no choice; we are running out of aeroplanes.  If the Germans see the preparation for the offensive they will be ready and thousands of our lads could die.  It is a risk we will have to take. But at least we know that there is no barbed wire in No-Man’s Land. In fact I doubt if there is a single German left alive within a mile of the front.”

Our flights across the front had shown the effect of the barrage which had crept further west as the days had gone on. Having seen what Bert and our lads had done I knew that there would be Germans who were living underground however what their nerves would be like was something else entirely.

As it turned out there was a hiatus.  We went up and we patrolled but we saw only a few distant reconnaissance aeroplanes which turned tail at the sight of us. We used it as an exercise in seeing how to fly in formation with the two different types of bus. Gordy was disappointed when we landed. “I was looking forward to having a pop with my new gun, and flying something which can actually climb and turn.” It became even worse when we were told that Zero Hour would be delayed by one day.  One of Randolph’s friends at headquarters told him it was because the French weren’t ready.  All squadrons were told to ready themselves for the 9
th
of April. This time we were convinced that the Germans would be prepared.

I don’t think many of us got much sleep the next day.  The Germans would know that an attack was imminent as soon as the barrage stopped.  It had gone on for days and days. The men in the trenches might be in no condition to fight but the artillery and air force would. We would have to stop them spotting and bombing.

I was up before dawn.  Bates must have heard me for he scurried along in his dressing gown.  “Sir, is there a problem?  You are up early.”

“I couldn’t sleep.  Go back to bed and I will see to myself.”

“Sir! Do not even think that! I will get dressed.”

“I’ll just go outside for a smoke then.”

I put my dressing gown on and picked up my pipe, tobacco and matches. As I opened the door I could not believe my eyes.  It was the 9
th
of April and it was snowing.  There would be no attack that morning and we would not be flying either.

I sat with Charlie in the mess. Gordy and Ted were busy out on the field talking about the new fighters. I knew that Charlie wanted to ask me something.  He was smoking very nervously; lighting a cigarette and half smoking it before lighting another. I smiled and waited for him to get around to it.

“Bill, are you going to marry Beattie?”

“Of course you know that already.”

“Yes, of course I do, no what I meant was how did you ask her? Did you build up to it or did it come just out of the blue?”

I sipped my whisky.  “That is a good question.  I suppose we both knew that we wanted to be together.  Besides you were there, at the Ritz when I actually proposed.”