1916 Angels over the Somme (British Ace Book 3) (6 page)

‘
I understand that your squadron flies the FE 2 Gunbus which patrols our sector. I would like to applaud the courage and the zeal of the five aeroplanes which, today, saved the lives of many of my boys.  We were being attacked in the flank and it would have gone ill for us had those five aeroplanes not destroyed the attacking Germans. We took our objective and only lost a hundred and fifty men in the process.  That low figure was due, in no small measure, to the heroism of your pilots.  When we come off the line I will call in to thank them personally. 

Colonel Patrick McCartney, Officer Commanding
.’

There was silence as he finished.  I was taking in the fact that a hundred and fifty men had been lost out of a thousand strong battalion and these were considered light losses! As Randolph sat down the colonel stood. “Well done, to those pilots who flew under Captain Harsker today.  The adjutant is right.  Our war is not just against the German aeroplanes but the German infantry too.”

There was a buzz of noise. “They aren’t far from your neck of the woods Bill.”

I nodded. “A good stretch of the legs.  That makes me feel better knowing that they were neighbours.”

“Aye and as they are a Pals Battalion they would be lads like us.”

We ate for a while in us each of thinking of home and men we knew who might have already died in the bloody fields of the Somme.

“We are following the Major tomorrow, Gordy.  We will be leaving a short time after they do.  We think the Germans might be planning some retaliation.  We have knocked them about a little over the last couple of days. We will be going in high to watch for the enemy fighters and we need the advantage of height. If we attack then we will do it in two columns. You take Carstairs to the port of me. It will give us a fine cone of bullets. I think making the first kill in any combat makes the difference.”

He nodded, “I have noticed they mark their aeroplanes differently from ours. I think you got their leader first, you know the one with the red propeller, the other day?”

“You are right.  It might be worth noting who we are fighting; keep a sort of record.  I know that they have some good pilots.  When I was in the hospital the newspapers were full of the names of their better pilots.  It seems the German newspapers like their heroes.”

Before I turned in I went to find Sergeant Hutton.  “Better warn the other gunners, sergeant, that we are flying earlier tomorrow.  We will be supporting the Major.”

“Righto, sir.  I’ll make sure they are up bright and early then to check the buses and the ammunition. Did I hear that the foot sloggers we saved today were the Pals?”

I shook my head, the news had got to the Sergeant’s Mess almost instantly. Was there some kind of ESP going on? They seemed to know what we all said as soon as we said it. It was uncanny.  I smiled at Sergeant Hutton who was rarely this serious. “Yes why?”

“The wife’s cousin is in one of them.” He shrugged, “It makes what we do more personal like. They are ordinary blokes like me. See you in the morning, sir.” He strode off to his quarters. And I wondered how many other people I knew were in the trenches of the Somme.

We sat on the grass by our buses as Major Leach led his five aeroplanes east.  The next fifteen minutes seemed to drag. It seemed to me that I ought to address the men. I remembered Lord Burscough doing so before we went into action when I was in the Yeomanry. I stood, “Remember chaps, today you will have to think on your feet. We have no idea what might be waiting for us.  Unless you get a signal from me or Lieutenant Hewitt, it is still
‘follow my leader’
.” They all nodded their understanding. “Let’s get aboard and remember what we do in the air will save lives down below.”

It took some time to reach our cruising altitude. At the height we flew all sound from below was drowned out by the mighty engine throbbing behind us.  We could see far below the strike of shells and the flash of muzzles. What we were watching for was the rest of the squadron.

“There sir! A mile away to the south east.”

I saw that Major Leach had formed a circle and there looked to be more than fourteen aeroplanes swooping down on them. The Germans, although they had ambushed the Major, were in for a shock.  I turned so that we would approach them from the north east.  The bright sun would be behind us and we would have the advantage of height. I watched as Gordy slowly drew level with me.  Flying fifty feet from my wing he gave me thumbs up. We both knew what we were doing.

I saw that they were biplanes, mainly Fokkers, but there were a couple of different ones too. I noticed that all of them were flying faster than the FE 2s which were circling still. That was ominous.  The Eindecker had never been able to out run us; it looked like these could.

“Ready Sergeant?  I will fire my gun at the aeroplane ahead of us.”

“Right sir.  I’ll see if there is a better target.”

I took that as a compliment.  The sergeant was assuming that I would hit the aeroplane I aimed at. We were going as fast as the Gunbus could fly when we swooped down on the Huns.  I saw one aeroplane with a yellow tail plane.  It made as good a target as any. The Germans were diving on the squadron’s aeroplanes and then trying to swoop underneath.  The gunners were all defending each other but I could see damage on many of the wings and Lieutenant Green’s bus had a little trail of smoke coming from the engine.

I waited until we were just fifty feet from the yellow tail. I gave a short ranging burst as I slowly lifted the nose. Once I hit I gave a longer burst. The effect was to stitch a trail of bullets until they struck the pilot in the back and the aeroplane spiralled away.  Lumpy fired as soon as I did and he hit the tail of the next aeroplane in line.

I banked to starboard and another biplane, not a Fokker this time, came into my sights. I saw it for barely a heartbeat but I pressed on the trigger and saw that I had struck it.  Lumpy fired half a magazine and he must have hit the fuel tank for the aeroplane exploded in a fireball throwing us up into the air. I fought the Gunbus to regain control.  Luckily it was a stable aeroplane and we soon began to fly straight and level.

The Major and his aeroplanes were still in their circle and heading west. It was a slow process but a safe one. We had the option of joining them but I felt we had the upper hand.  I began to climb. I noticed Lumpy changing his magazine. He never wasted any time.  He wanted to be ready to fire as soon as he saw a target.  As soon as he had reloaded, and as I banked, a Fokker began to climb to attack us.  Hutton leaned around as far as he could and fired a short burst. Sergeant Laithwaite’s gun behind joined in and as I completed the turn the two sergeants had him in a cross fire. The bullets penetrated the engine and I watched as the propeller stopped and smoke began to pour from the engine.  It started a deep death dive to the ground. The pilot had no chance.

“Well done, Sergeant.”

“Up ahead sir.”

I looked and saw two biplanes diving at me.  I lifted the nose and aimed for the one on the left which would soon be in my sights when I completed my turn. “Lumpy, take the one on the right!”

The two aeroplanes began firing. They were trying to emulate the two sergeants and get me in crossfire.  However I could fire at both of them. I heard the tear of canvas as their steel tipped shells ripped into my wings.  I waited. Lumpy fired before I did.  When I opened up a moment later the Fokker tried to bank away.  It was a mistake. In this game of dare he had blinked first and paid the price. My bullets tore into his fuselage.  I watched as he continued his dive towards his own lines. He would land but he was out of the combat. Lumpy had also damaged the second biplane and it too began to limp east.

I watched as Lumpy changed magazines and I dived after the two fleeing enemy aeroplanes.  Our bullets had slowed them down and we began to catch them.  I hoped that my two pilots were still watching my tail. I took a chance and fired at eighty feet.  I saw my bullets rip into the tail of the German.  The damage caused by Lumpy had already made it unstable and when the controls were shot away it just dived into the ground.  I banked and began to climb.  As I did so I heard the rattle of a Lewis gun and saw Johnny finish off the Fokker I had damaged.

As we turned west again I saw that Major Leach had left the circle and was leading three of his aeroplanes towards the fleeing Germans. I slowly pulled the stick around so that we, too, were heading east. We were a little behind the others but I watched as two more Germans were destroyed. When Major Leach turned west again we began to climb.  We would make a protective umbrella high above the others.

I saw Lieutenant Green’s bus on the ground.  He and his gunner looked to have survived but I could not see on which side of the lines they had landed. The front line on the third day of the Somme was a very fluid affair. I could see that, as we flew over the infantry, the static lines of a few weeks ago had gone.  It looked to me as though they were fighting in woods, across hedgerows and over roads.  That would be close combat and ugly. We were lucky to be soaring so high above the ground.  And then I thought of the German whose aeroplane’s engine had been hit by Lumpy and me.  His death would not have been any better.

As soon as we landed Sergeant Hutton and I checked over the aeroplane for damage. It looked to be the wings and the tail which had been hit.  They would not take long to repair. The newer Gunbuses did not have the tripod wheel and I was grateful for that.  The front wheel used to get shot up too easily for my liking making the landing very difficult.

I headed for the adjutant’s office when I landed.  I had a report to give and I was keen to hear what the Major had to say. He was just finishing when I entered.  “Well done, laddie, although it was a wee bit dangerous to head over their lines.”

It was as close to a dressing down as Archie could manage. “It was a calculated risk, sir, and we managed to down two more of the enemy.  It’s a war of attrition on the ground and in the air now.”

“Aye, you are right and the Gunbus is a solid little plane.  They can soak up a lot of damage.”

“But those Fokkers are much faster than we are and they had another new one there too.”

Randolph flourished a sheet of paper, “A Halberstadt. We just had a memo from headquarters.”

“That means we have to fly smarter.”

“It does indeed, Captain Harsker.”

I pointed to the map.  “The same sector tomorrow then?”

Captain Marshall shook his head.  We have to send the four flights out on reconnaissance tomorrow.  The brass want to know where the front line has reached and what the Germans are doing just behind their lines.”

Archie sank into a chair. “Great, that means I’ll have to take two virgins out tomorrow.”

I walked over to the map. “Which is the patrol which will be the easiest?”

Randolph joined me, “Here, Bazentin le Petit and Mametz woods. They are the closest to the airfield.”

“Then why don’t you patrol that with the virgins.  The rest of us all have the experienced pilots anyway.”

“I don’t like to do that Bill.”

“I know but Freddie and Johnny are the most experienced pilots. They can handle the pressure.”

“You are right and Randolph, see if you can find out what happened to Lieutenant Green eh?”

We were about to leave when the Colonel came in and angrily slammed a letter on the desk.  “Those damned brass hats have not got the first idea about esprit de corps and pride in a regiment.”

Archie and I had no idea what had upset him but Captain Marshall read the letter and said, “It seems that Number 11 Squadron is so successful that they are giving that number to a brand new squadron of Gunbuses. They are straight from Blighty.  It is hoped that the cachet of the name will give the new pilots confidence. We are to become Number 41 Squadron.”

I knew what the colonel meant.  I had had real pride in my yeomanry regiment and it had had a history going back to the Napoleonic Wars. “Well sir, it isn’t as though we use the number 11 a great deal.  I think the men will get used to it.” The colonel shook his head, “Besides we can create a name for ourselves.  Why don’t we use the name, 41 Squadron?” They all looked at me as though I was cracked. “The Germans identify their aeroplanes and leaders.  We could paint the number 41 on the tail and then the flight number on the cockpit. That way the men won’t worry about the number 11.  We could even make the 4 and the 1 interlink to make them look distinctive; it could become a sort of squadron insignia.”

I saw Randolph nod and when Archie spoke I knew I had his support. “I think it is a good idea.  And the flight and number will help us when we are in the air.  It is worth a try sir.  It is just a lick of paint after all.”

We waited expectantly, “Very well go ahead.” He stuck his jaw out pugnaciously, “But those brass hats are still idiots!”

When we went to our aeroplanes the next day the identification numbers had been painted on and they made everyone stop and stare. We all had the flight and then a number.  I was C 1.

Johnny liked his. “Number 2 is my favourite number! Excellent! That is a good luck sign!”

Everyone found something to like about the new numbers.  Most of the sergeants and many of the officers were superstitious and they sought some connection with them.  It appeared to work for there was a more optimistic and bantering atmosphere as the aeroplanes were checked before we took off.