by Griff Hosker
When we were in the office and after I had finished my report. “I have one piece of good news though, sir.”
Archie looked up, “And I could do with some.”
“The two young lads and I had been working on some tactics and they seemed to work. I am not certain if they would work with the Bristol but the Pup is so manoeuvrable you can pull the Germans out of position and concentrate your fire on one of them.”
Randolph nodded, “The old Napoleonic strategy.”
“What? An idea from a hundred years ago on the ground works in the air?” Archie was incredulous.
I nodded. Randolph continued, “If Napoleon could he split his army in two to divide the enemy. He would move one half to draw the enemy forces in one direction and then use his speed to attack a smaller half of his enemy.”
“Except in our case we were evenly matched but I was able to attack them on their side. Freddie held their fire and I had a clean shot. If we had had three aeroplanes Freddie might not have been damaged.”
Gordy looked at the models of the Gunbus and the Pup on Archie’s desk. “So why couldn’t we try that with the Gunbuses and the Pups.”
“How do you mean?”
“Have the Gunbuses and the Pups fly one way to draw off the Germans and when half follow them the Pups return to join the Bristols.”
“That would leave the Gunbuses exposed.”
“They use the rear gunners and head back over our lines. The ground fire has got really fierce and they might get lucky.”
We decided that, the next time we flew with the Gunbuses, we would try the new tactic. Charlie and Ted seemed quite happy about the idea when we told them. “Besides,” added Charlie, cheerfully, “we will soon have our new fighters anyway.”
We took just six aeroplanes up the next day. Harry Dodds and Johnny were chuckling as we walked to our buses. “What is amusing you two?”
“Well, sir we have four chiefs and just two Indians. We just thought it was funny.”
“Aye laddie well just you two watch us older ones. You may learn something.”
We had left earlier than usual in light of our experience. We wanted to be on hand in case the Germans decided to catch the early worm. We flew in two uneven columns. I took the Pups to starboard of the major and the formidably armed Bristols. We flew high. It was only when flying in formation with the Gunbuses that we needed to be lower. We could see that Fleuchy had been captured but it looked as though the attack was struggling to take the fortified village of Neuville-Vitasse.
We flew south to north and then turned. Had we had bombs we could have aided the Tommies who were trying to take the village house by house. However if we had had bombers then I think there would have been Germans to shoot them down. It looked as though the Germans were in another sector although I could not fathom out why. Then I saw the ten Germans as they approached from the east. Archie pointed towards them. I waved acknowledgement. I began to draw away from the Bristols to tempt the Germans to do the same. Johnny had been told by Freddie of our manoeuvre the previous day and I was confident we could pull it off with two of us. He was fifty yards behind me. That was close in a Gunbus but there was plenty of room for the tiny Pup.
We had now learned that the firepower of most of the Germans was the same. They all had two machine guns. It was just that we seemed to be able to hold our own with the D.II models. I also knew that we had not yet come up against the Flying Circus. They were the true test of our skills.
We were approaching at a collective speed of over two hundred miles an hour. You needed quick reactions. I saw that the Germans had split their Jasta too. Four headed for us while the other six climbed towards Archie. Either way they outnumbered us. At a thousand yards I sent a hopeful burst east and, when it missed I banked as though we were fleeing west. I hoped this was a different Jasta who had not compared notes with yesterday’s pilots.
They, too, began to turn and, as they did so, I pulled the Pup around again on its side and headed in the reverse direction. We caught them by surprise and, as we passed their line, we both gave each German a burst as we passed them. They were too busy trying to readjust to our change of direction and failed to fire in return. The last aeroplane began to smoke as Johnny fired.
Up ahead I could see the four Bristols engaged with the Albatros and Fokker fighters. The rear gunner was proving to be a nuisance and I saw my comrades throwing their fighters around to keep close to the Germans. I glanced in my mirror and saw that the three Germans who were undamaged had reformed and were trying to climb to catch us. I dived towards the rearmost Fokker and gave a short burst. As my bullets hit his tail he banked to starboard and I followed him around. In my mirror I saw Johnny peel off to attack the next Fokker. I had no wing man now.
My nippy Pup straightened up quickly and I fired another burst which struck the Hun. He jinked to port and I was able to adjust quickly and this time I hit him in the fuselage. He banked to starboard. I noticed that he was always heading east. He was desperate to escape. I fired again and this time I banked to port before he did. He came right across my sights. I gave a long burst and hit the pilot and the engine. The doomed pair fell from the skies.
As I glanced in my mirror I saw that I had the first three fighters on my tail. I pulled back on the stick just as the first one fired. I felt the bullets as they hit my tail. When I reached the top of the loop I turned the Pup on its side as I headed west. It made for a difficult target. Then I swung south, straightened up and flew directly towards the side of the flight of three who were still trying to work out where I had gone. I opened fire as I came at them unexpectedly. I heard the chatter of a machine gun behind me. I recognised the sound of Johnny’s Vickers as he joined me. It proved enough for the three Huns who turned east.
I began to turn north again to find the Bristols. They too were heading towards us. The Huns had had enough. I saw them in the distance with smoke coming from two of them. Our ploy had paid off.
Charlie joined us in the office, eager to hear of our patrol. “That worked out well, Bill. Gordy here managed to bag an Albatros and we damaged two others. Perhaps the tide is turning.”
Randolph put the telephone down. “I would not get too excited, sir that was James at HQ. We have lost in the past four days. We are the only squadron to have shot down any fighters since April the 4th!”
“Bloody hell!”
I tapped out my pipe on the ashtray. Of course, sir, for the last few days we have not flown the Gunbuses and you can bet that most of a hundred and thirty one aeroplanes were the older aeroplanes.”
“And tactics, Bill! Your tactic, today, worked a treat. If we can repeat that…”
I was dubious. “The Germans are quick learners, sir. When they work that out then we will be in trouble.”
There was a knock on the door. It was Senior Flight Sergeant Lowery. “We have all of the aeroplanes ready for tomorrow sir. You can have four Bristols, three Pups and five Gunbuses.”
“Thank you Flight.” After he had gone Archie looked at Charlie. “I think I will fly with your flight tomorrow Charlie and watch your rear. That will be one flight of six. Bill you lead the three Pups and Ted you lead the other three Bristols. We will keep the Gunbuses in the centre. The tactic we used to today might work even better if we have two flights taking the Germans off on a wild goose chase.”
The telephone rang. We listed as Randolph spoke to Headquarters. “Excellent news, thanks James!”
He turned to us. Charlie said, “What’s the news Randolph? The Germans given up?”
“Not quite but the new Bristols will be here in a few days. We only have a couple more days to fly the Gunbus!”
Charlie looked excited. “And about time too!”
We went back to our rooms to prepare for the next day. I wrote letters home. I was mindful of my words to Bert. I could not be a hypocrite and I wrote five letters. I know our Kath had not written me very much but she was my sister after all. Charlie came along as I was fi
nishing my last letter.
“Still writing Bill?” I held up the four letters I had already sealed. He laughed. “I just have two: one to mum and dad and one to Alice.” He held them up and I could see how bulky the one to Alice was. “I’ll pop them in the post. See you in the mess.”
I finished my letter to Beattie. I had so much to tell her. I knew that she would worry especially as there would be the Arras casualties arriving now. There was no getting around this. We were luckier than most. Since Tom and John had gone in the early days of the war we had had no telegraphs for the family. Even the squadron had been spared, recently, the decimation of its pilots and gunners.
The conversation after dinner that night was the performance of the Bristols. The new pilots and the Gunbus pilots were excited about the prospect of flying a real fighter. Our only bug bear was the lack of a second Vickers. Poor Percy Richardson had been inundated with requests from the Bristol pilots for a second Vickers. He had pleaded with Archie, “The problem we have, Major Leach, is the interrupter gear. It works for the one gun but the boffins haven’t made it work for two. We’ll have to wait until someone back in England devises one.”
We had discussed mounting a second on top of the wing but that would not have helped. The pilot could only fire one at a time and the compass on the Bristol would be affected. We would have to continue with the one gun.
Chapter 18
We were lucky the next morning. We took off on an airfield which was still hard from a late frost. The Gunbuses lumbered up the field. The fighters, circling in above watched the east. We had heard rumours of the bold Germans attacking airfields. As Charlie and his flight took formation below us I wondered if this would be the last time they would do so. If the Bristols arrived then we could match the Germans in the area and wrest back some degree of air power.
When we neared our patrol area we started to climb. Charlie waved at me cheerfully. He and his Gunbuses would be the rock on which we hoped the Germans would break. I watched the crews as they cocked their Lewis guns. I wondered if they all carried Mills bombs as Lumpy had.
I checked my mirror and Freddie and Johnny were both in position. We were a small flight but we worked as a team and I could not ask for a better pair of wingmen. I looked below and saw that the land below me was being reclaimed by British and Canadian troops. It confirmed that our soldiers had achieved their objectives. We now had to protect them so that it would not have been in vain.
We headed to the Arras to Cambrai road. The offensive had moved east of there and we could expect to find German fighters, bombers and reconnaissance aeroplanes in that vicinity. It was a dull grey day which made it difficult to see approaching aeroplanes. The visibility was not helped by smoke swirling across the battlefield.
We met the Germans closer to Cambrai than Arras. There appeared to be twelve in the formation and they were high. They were far closer to us than I would have liked. Our two sets of fighters began to move away from the Gunbuses as we had planned and, sure enough the Germans copied so that they formed three lines of six. It meant that the Pups had odds of two to one but it would not be for long. We were steadily ascending to meet them although the Gunbuses were a little slower to rise.
As we drew closer I saw that they were the Albatros D.III. They had more power and more guns. However we had drubbed the Albatros D.II without loss and now had more aeroplanes and experience. We went steadfastly on. There was a noticeable gap opening up now between the three uneven columns and, worryingly we were leaving the FE 2s behind and below us. I was happy that Major Leach was guarding the rear of the Gunbuses. There was none better. With him at the rear and Charlie at the front the young pilots in between had a chance.
At a thousand yards I fired and then banked to starboard as though we were fleeing. It had worked well twice before. I noticed that the Albatros I fired at had a red propeller. It made a clear target. Although my bullets missed I hoped they would have alarmed the pilot. Freddie and Johnny fired as they approached. . As soon as I heard Johnny fire I began to bank to port. I levelled out and I expected to see the six Albatros flying parallel to us. To my horror there was clear sky. There was no target for us. Even worse, as we turned I saw the whole Jasta, all eighteen of them converging on the Gunbuses. Ted’s column was, like me, out of position and too far away to give immediate support to the Gunbuses. The lumbering beasts didn’t stand a chance.
Charlie and his gunner were struck by the two Spandau machine guns of the first two Albatros. They could not miss the unprotected cockpit. I saw it all unfolding before me. The first shock of bullets hit the gunner and he looked like he had St.Vitus’ Dance. I saw Charlie hit as he tried to turn. Then he was hit by the force of a total of eighteen hundred bullets a minute. In ten seconds his body was riddled by three hundred steel jacketed 9mm bullets. They tore through Charlie and into the Rolls Royce engine. The Gunbus simply fell from the sky. Charlie, my old shy and industrious gunner Charlie, and the love of my sister’s life would have known little about it. They would have been killed instantly. The two flanking columns converged and, by the time we were in range, five Gunbuses were falling to earth their crews dead. We had the living to worry about for the Huns were targeting Archie. He began to pull a loop as I opened fire on the rear Albatros. I was lucky, his rudder disintegrated and he began to drop to a lower altitude to escape us.
We had no time to finish them off for we had to get to Archie. Freddie and Johnny had banked inside me and we were flying towards the unprotected side of the formation as a line of three. We could not miss. We all opened fire without return. The three of them were all hit and they pulled out of formation. It took the pressure off Archie but the remaining, vengeful Germans banked to come directly at us. They were flying head on at the three of us. The double Spandau spat a wall of bullets directly at me. I jinked left and right and waited for my shot. Bullets whizzed by me but I seemed to bear a charmed life. As the propeller came into my sights I fired one long burst. I shredded his propeller and hit his engine. His nose began to dip and I fired another burst directly at the pilot. I saw his head disintegrate like a ripe plum. That had been pure revenge for Charlie. I could have let the pilot live for his aeroplane was already doomed.
I glanced in my mirror and saw two Albatros behind me. They were closing rapidly side by side. If I tried to turn one of them would have me. I threw the Pup into a loop. When I reached the top I banked to port to take me closer to one of the Albatros. Frighteningly he had anticipated my move and he and I were on a collision course. Unless one of us blinked we would crash into each other. I knew that if I moved his wingman would have me and I resolved not to blink. I only had one choice fly straight and hope he moved. I held down the trigger and poured the .303 into the Hun. His bullets smacked into my engine and my undercarriage but we flew on. He had missed everything vital. He blinked and, as he raise the nose of his aeroplane to fly over me my bullets struck his belly. He dropped from the sky like a stone. I knew that I had few bullets left and I jinked the other way just as more bullets thudded into my fuselage. The Pup suddenly felt sluggish.
I levelled out and looked in my mirror. The sky behind was clear. I looked ahead and realised that I was flying east and the Huns were coming west. I banked as quickly as the damaged Pup would allow. Coming carefully around I saw the remnants of the squadron heading west. I was alone except for the German aeroplanes which had my wounded Pup at their mercy.
I dropped the nose and headed for the ground. If I had to crash land I wanted to be as close to the earth as I could. In my mirror I could see the faster Albatros fighters hurtling after me. My manoeuvrability had gone. I could no longer wriggle. I could barely rise and fall. They would catch me and shoot me down. It was inevitable. I would have been a goner had I not flown over a support trench close to Fleuchy, the Tommies and Canadians there opened up with every machine gun and rifle as I zoomed over them. In my mirror I saw one Albatros pouring smoke and the others climbing to avoid the hornet’s nest they had d
isturbed.
I had survived but I had no idea which of my fellows had. It had been a disaster. My plans had gone awry and been neatly unpicked by the Germans. It had cost Charlie his life and my sister her happiness. I saw a cluster of medical orderlies around Archie’s Bristol. Freddie and Johnny both appeared to be safe and they waved to me as I landed.
They both rushed to me, “I say, sir, a bit of a sorry mess eh?”
Freddie looked really upset. “Poor Captain Sharp. They didn’t stand a chance… any of them.”
I nodded. “A whole flight gone in the blink of an eye. Ten of our comrades. What a waste!”
I saw that Ted had his arm in a sling while Gordy had a bandage around his head. Ted shook his head, “Lucky Bill again!”
I pointed to my bullet riddled Pup. “You think so? If it hadn’t been for the foot sloggers I would be lying out there with Charlie and the others.” I pointed to Archie. “How is he?”
“His gunner is fine but he took a couple of slugs in the shoulder. They are having the devil’s own job to get him out.”
Senior Flight Sergeant Lowery walked over and his face was drawn. “Is it true sir, about Mr Sharp?”
“I am afraid so Flight. The only consolation is he wouldn’t have felt a thing.”
He gave me a sad look, “I am not sure I would take that as consolation. He was telling me about his young lady, your sister, and the plans they had made for the future. I shall miss him. He was, begging your pardon sir, the nicest officer in the squadron. He always had a cheerful word and a smile. He had so much to live for. ”
“I think, Flight, that the future is a luxury we can’t afford.”
As I trudged to the office I wondered how to tell her. She was not next of kin and would not receive a telegram. I would have to write to her. I suddenly remembered the letters Charlie had written and I ran to the office. Freddie and Johnny stared after me in amazement. “Has the mail gone, Flight?”