by Griff Hosker
The tobacconist’s brother arrived four days after our visit. We did not let him enter. He had an ancient lorry. I was not even certain if it used petrol or coal for it smoked so much. He did, however, supply us with some Black Label whisky, Gordon’s gin and some dubious wine. The price, thanks to Captain Connor, was not exorbitant and I paid, knowing that it was money well spent. We were living in primitive conditions and a little alcohol would go a long way to alleviate discomfort.
We heard by radio, that Alexandria and Cairo were almost under siege. The situation was deteriorating. When the convoys, both on the road and on the river, were attacked then we feared the worst. Luckily our aerial patrols prevented any losses. Our pilots had now mastered their techniques. We flew low and we knew what to look for. We tried to avoid causing casualties but I knew that we had killed insurgents. The Colonel was happy. He and the garrison remained well supplied.
It was early August and the sun was as hot as it would get when Lieutenant Jennings sent back a disturbing report. “Sir, the garrison at Barihaya Oasis is under attack. They cannot hold out for long!”
I was in the office, “Ask him how long he can stay over the target.”
Corporal Hutton said, after listening on the headphones, “Twenty minutes, sir.”
“Tell him to buzz the attackers. We will be there as soon as we can.” I stood. “Winspear, go and tell every pilot from tomorrow’s flight that I want their buses in the air now! Sergeant Major find Squadron Leader Mannock, I need his Vernons, all of them, in the air.”
“Sir!”
Captain Connor said, “That is at the extreme range of your DH 9as and Snipes.”
“I know. I am going to send fuel on the Vernons. We can refuel while they are extracting the garrison.”
“You are taking a lot on, sir.”
I smiled, “No one said this was going to be easy. Radio Cairo and tell them what we are doing,”
“Sir.”
As I ran out, Williams appeared with my goggles and flying helmet. “Go and find Sergeant Major Robson. I want fuel putting aboard the Vernons. We are going to have to land and refuel.”
There were two Snipes and two DH 9as. The rest were on patrol. The pilots and gunners faced me. Lieutenant Dixon asked, “What is up sir?”
“Barihaya Oasis is under attack. I am going to attack those who are there and then extract the men. We will have to land and refuel. The Vernons will take out fuel. First, we secure the area. I will be the last to land. Lieutenant Dixon once you have refuelled you will relieve me. I want one aeroplane in the air at all times to watch for danger. When we have all refuelled then we fly home. The Nanaks will use their bombs first. We will all than strafe the enemy.”
“Right sir.”
“I have flown over the area. There is a road and we will use that to land. I know we have not practised this but I have seen you all fly. We can do this.”
I ran to Ben who was waiting by his Vernon, “What’s up, Bill?”
“Barihaya Oasis is under attack. Jennings is on over watch. I am having fuel loaded onto your buses. We will clear the ground. You land and take off the fuel. Take on board the garrison and head home. We will land and refuel.”
“Damned risky, Bill.”
“This is the reason we are here and not a troop of armoured cars. We can be there in under two hours and save the lives of some brave men.”
He nodded, “We won’t let you down, Bill.”
“I know.”
When I reached the Dolphin, I saw that Williams had put my Lee Enfield and four Mills bombs in the cockpit. He was a good man. The four aeroplanes were already heading west by the time I started my engine and taxied. I soon caught them up. For once I would not need to worry about fuel. I could refuel at Barihaya Oasis. I overtook the others and flew ahead of them. I had the greatest firepower of the four of us. When I had used my Vickers, I had two Lewis guns too. The oasis was a hundred and eighty miles away. It was the most exposed of the garrisons we were designated to protect. As I flew south and west I tried to remember the numbers in the garrison. As I recalled it was thirty-five. They would be overcrowded on the Vernons but we were their only chance.
The lack of radios was annoying. Ben could speak with base and they could speak with Jennings. We just had to fly as fast as we could. That would be at one hundred and thirteen miles per hour; the speed of the Nanaks. I knew we were getting close when I saw Lieutenant Jennings heading north. I waved at him. I dropped to two hundred feet and the desert zoomed beneath my wings. Lieutenant Jennings’s Vernon did not have bombs but I knew that his crew had a Lewis gun. A couple of magazine could not do much damage but they might have distracted the insurgents.
The noise of the engine hid the sound of gunfire but, as I neared the beleaguered troops I saw the smoke from rifles. I cocked my Vickers. The Union Flag still sagged forlornly from the flagpole which rose above the mud hut and walls. Sandbags filled the gaps. The insurgents were a hundred yards from the troops. They were in the cover of the oasis itself and I would have to be as surgical as possible. The bombers would have to use their bombs carefully to avoid causing casualties amongst those we were there to rescue. I saw a projectile raise and explode on the sandbags. They had a mortar. That would be my first target. I opened fire at a hundred yards’ range. Four hundred bullets a minute could do a lot of damage and I watched the mortar crew disappear as my bullets shredded them. I fired for just ten seconds and then I had passed the target and I rose and banked for a second pass.
As I banked right I saw more insurgents out in the desert. They were using the rocks for cover. As I came around and they appeared in my sights I fired three second bursts. Behind me I heard the Snipes’ guns and those of the DH 9as. When I heard the crump from the bombs I knew that the Nanaks had targets which were worth a twenty-five-pound bomb. Banking around for another pass I saw the Vernons as they lumbered towards us. Ben would make the decision to land. We just had to clear the ground of the insurgents.
This time I changed my angle of approach and I flew on a north to south axis rather than an east to west. I dropped to under a hundred feet and angled my nose down. I emptied one Vickers and, as the hut hove into view, pulled up my nose and cocked my second machine gun. I was so low that I felt as though I could reach out and touch the flag. Once past the garrison I dipped my nose and, with no trees to worry about, dropped to fifty feet. I fired a five second burst at a machine gun. The bullets from the enemy’s gun tore into my wings. When my bullets hit their gun it, and they, disappeared in a mass of metal and blood. I pulled up my nose and banked right. I saw that we had broken their backs. The DH 9as dropped the last of their bombs; one to the north of the post and the other to the south.
I watched the Vernons as they landed on the road and then began to taxi towards the post. I flew low overhead watching for any danger. I saw one of Ben’s aircrew with a Lee Enfield. He was standing in the open door at the side. Even as I looked I saw a puff of smoke. An insurgent who had been raising his hand fell and the grenade exploded beneath his body as he fell with the bomb still in his hand. By the time I had completed another circuit, the Snipes and Nanaks had all landed.
Ben had already begun to offload the fuel from the Vernons and I saw stretchers being carried from the post. Lieutenant Dixon did a fast turn around and I saw him climb towards me. I waved and prepared to land. The surface of the road was not smooth but it was smoother than many of the fields I had used in France.
As I reached the Vernons the Union flag was being lowered. The post was being abandoned, albeit temporarily. Sergeant Major Robson, complete with Sam Browne and service revolver was waiting for me with a barrel of fuel.
“Sergeant Major, why are you here?”
“I thought the Squadron Leader might be short-handed, sir.” Without further ado he took a length of hose and began to syphon fuel into my tank.
I clambered down and patted him on the back, “You had no need, Sergeant Major, but I appreciate it.” I looked up.
Lieutenant Dixon was still flying circuits as an aerial sentry. I hurried over to the post.
A captain with his arm in a sling saluted. “Just in the nick of time, sir! We had no more ammo for the machine guns and the chaps were down to their last five rounds. Had the other aeroplanes not arrived we would have had to make a bayonet charge. Go out in a blaze of glory!”
“We can’t have that. Get your chaps into the Vernons and we will keep watch.”
“Yes sir.”
Sergeant Major Robson was already filling the tank of the DH 9as when I reached my aeroplane. He handed the hose to the air gunner and came to help me start my aeroplane. There was just one aeroplane being refuelled. “As soon as Lieutenant Watson has been refuelled get the hell out of here Sergeant Major.”
“Yes sir.”
I turned to take off. Lieutenant Green in the second Snipe following me. We rose in the air. Even as I began a leisurely circuit I saw the first of the Vernons followed the Nanaks to lumber into the blue skies. I glanced down to my left and saw, in the rocks, the puff of smoke which told me there were men hidden there and firing at us. I still had almost a full belt of ammunition for my Vickers and so I flew at the knoll of rock. I fired three second bursts as I closed with the hidden men. The .303 bullet can make stone splinters out of solid rock. My burst of twenty bullets was magnified as they tore into the rock. One man tumbled over the side and I saw another fall back. I banked right. When Lieutenant Green did not fire, I knew that the hidden gunmen had been silenced.
The last Vernon was taking off as we came around. The outpost was abandoned but the dead were aboard the Vernon. Their bodies would not be desecrated. Their comrades would bury them with honour. The five of us zig zagged across the slower transports as we headed back to base. I did not fear an attack but if they had to land for any reason then we would be needed for cover. As we closed with the airfield we rose to allow the Vernons to land. I saw lorries and ambulances waiting for the men.
Once the Vernons had taxied from the runway, we landed. I was the last to touch down. I was almost out of fuel. Climbing out of my cockpit I reflected that I had learned our maximum range. It was knowledge which would come in handy. I examined the holes. Sergeant Major Robson came over to speak with me. He pointed to them. “They will take a day or two to repair, sir.”
“Which is your way of grounding me for an extra day eh Sergeant Major?”
He grinned, “Well sir, you are the Commanding Officer. Let some of the younger lads have a chance, eh sir?”
“Sergeant Major this is not France. There is no glory in shooting rebels hiding in rocks. We have become policemen.”
“Aye well sir, there’s nothing wrong with that. We need policemen. They are the ones who mean we can sleep in our beds at night.”
When I entered the office Sergeant Major Hale was smoking his pipe and there was no sign of Captain Connor. “Nice baccy this, sir. Thanks again.”
“You are welcome. Where is the captain?”
“He went to see that the men you rescued were being looked after.” I nodded. “Colonel Fisher was on the radio. He was pleased with the rescue, sir. He said evacuation was the right decision.”
That evening, in the mess, I sat with Ted and my squadron leaders. The whisky and gin were not abused but we all enjoyed a couple of drinks after dinner when the cooler air meant we could enjoy them. The smoke from our cigars, cigarettes and pipes kept the insects at bay and it was almost pleasant.
“We will have to do more of this in the future.”
“I know, Ben, and I can’t see what else we can do.”
“The Nanaks have a longer range, Bill. We could accompany the Vernon patrol. We only need one bomber on each of the river and road patrols.”
Henry was the most thoughtful of us. Often he said little but when he did speak then he was worth listening to. “We could fit bomb racks to the Snipes. I know they affect the aerodynamics and slow us down a little but we are not fighting the Hun in the air, are we?”
“Good idea. So, we use just three aeroplanes on each patrol and send a Nanak with the Vernon.”
Henry tapped out his pipe, “Actually sir, I was thinking of just using two aeroplanes on each patrol. It will limit the wear and tear. This might not be France where they are getting shot up but this sand gets everywhere. And, of course, if we had had fewer aeroplanes on patrol then, today, you would have had more aeroplanes at your disposal.”
“Right, Ted change the rota. Add a reserve of four buses in case we have to do what we did today.”
“Right sir,” he lit another cheroot, “They lost four men today, at the outpost.”
“I am not even certain why they were there.”
Captain Connor looked at Jack, “Keeping the road open and guarded.”
Ben shook his head, “We can do that and more effectively too. I am having the other Vernons all adapted to be bombers. I am not having this again. Poor Jennings has taken the loss of those squaddies to heart. If he had had bombs then he might have been able to do something.”
“Now that you are at full strength it makes sense. Just do it.”
Sergeant Major Robson was much happier with the new system. It meant his fitters and mechanics had more time to work on the aeroplanes and the fewer hours they flew they did not suffer as much wear and tear. I went up on one patrol in every five. Captain Connor and Sergeant Major Hale assured me that I did not need to but it kept me close to the pilots.
I was on the road patrol with Lieutenant Sanderson in a DH 9a and Lieutenant Green in a Snipe. We had had three days without incident. I was not complacent and I kept my eyes peeled. Vigilance was all. I was at the rear. Forty miles short of Alexandria I saw that two lorries had stopped. One of them had a Lewis gun mounted and the gunner was scanning the horizon for danger. He waved to us as we approached.
Immediately suspicious I signalled for the other two to circle close to the lorries while I went further out. I saw that something had been used to puncture the front tyres of the leading lorry. Only carrying one spare meant they had to repair one of the tyres. That took time. I realised that it had only just happened. I ran through the possible outcomes. The insurgents had laid the trap and stopped the lorries. It begged the question why. If they wanted to attack the two lorries then they had the perfect opportunity when they were stopped. I was half a mile from the lorries when it hit me; they were after the aeroplanes. A machine gun suddenly opened up and I saw Lieutenant Sanderson’s aeroplane hit. The gunner slumped to the side and I saw smoke from the engine. Even as Lieutenant Green turned to deal with the threat, a second Lewis gun opened fire. The bullets tore into the fuselage and the Snipe showed that something had been hit.
The gunner on the lorry opened fire but he was firing blind. I banked and dropped to twenty-five feet. It was flat and I wanted to be able to see the insurgents. They were camouflaged from the road; they had dug a pit but I could see them. They began to turn the two Lewis guns around to fire at me. I did not give them the chance. I fired most of the belt from one Vickers. By moving the aeroplane slightly from side to side, I was able to spray the ground. As I flew over them I saw that there were still another five who were unhurt. I banked, aware that my wingtip was just ten feet above the ground. If a young pilot had done this then I would have put him on a charge. I flew along the line of the insurgents and gave them the rest of the magazine. I then climbed and rolled. When I was straight and level, I took a Mills bomb from my tunic and pulled the pin. I dived down and, at fifty feet pulled up as I dropped the grenade into the insurgents. Even as I climbed I heard the crump.
When I flew over them I saw that they were dead. Two of the soldiers from the lorry approached with rifles at the ready. I saw that my two wounded birds were limping home. I would make sure that the lorries were safe before I followed them. By the time I had completed a wide loop to look for any others they had repaired their tyres and were heading for Cairo. I waggled my wings as I headed south.
The body drape
d with a flying coat told me all that I needed to know. We had suffered our first fatality. Poor Lieutenant Sanderson looked distraught. The doctor was tending to his arm. Lieutenant Green was also being seen to. I would not bother either of them yet.
Sergeant Major Robson shook his head, “The Snipe will be in the air within a day or two, sir. He did well to land it. He had damage to his controls. The Nanak though… a week, maybe more.”
“Do your best eh, Sergeant Major.”
“Of course sir. Did you get them?”
“I did indeed.”
Henry came over to me, he was stroking his chin. “Bill, I have an idea for the damaged DH 9a.”
“Go ahead. I am all ears.”
“You know I trained as a doctor before the war.” I nodded, “Well I have had this idea for a while. The DH 9a could be converted to an ambulance.” Sergeant Major Robson was listening. Henry went to the fuselage. There was a hole in the side where the bullets had torn through and killed poor Sergeant McIntire. “If we took out the rear gun then we could hinge the fuselage. A stretcher would fit in there nicely. Lieutenant Sanderson has no gunner.”
I looked at the Sergeant Major, “Well, can it be done?”
“We are going to have to rebuild it anyway and if we get rid of the rear gunner then the aeroplane will be structurally stronger. But I thought the Vernons were going to be used as air ambulances, sir.”
“They are but this adds a string to our bow. Go ahead then. I will explain to Squadron Leader Thomson.”
Jack was happy about the arrangement. “I can see how we would benefit, Bill. If Sanderson had had to crash land then we would have had the devil’s own job to get McIntire back. After the ambush at the oasis my men have begun to realise that this is a war zone again.”
That evening we buried the unfortunate sergeant who had been so tragically killed. Everyone attended and as the bugle sounded last post we all stood at attention and saluted. He had a young wife at home and our thoughts were with her. Lieutenant Sanderson passed the hat around in the mess. It was little enough but we would send money to his wife. It would not make up for her loss but it would show that we thought of her.