by Griff Hosker
They looked relieved. Gordy said, “Better keep it at six hundred feet unless we get low cloud cover, sir.”
“Righto, Flight.”
There were more mechanics at the aerodrome and Sharp was saved the ordeal of spinning the propeller. We had not rigged up the tubes and so I said, “Keep the map open and follow our route. It will be good practice. I will tap you on the head when I want you to do anything. If you have to open fire then you will hear me, believe me!”
As we bounced and trundled down the grass I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. I was not just leading three aeroplanes this time, I was piloting one. I had only flown the Gunbus once before but I knew that every aeroplane, even the same type, had their own idiosyncrasies. I was relieved when we pulled up into the air and I steadily rose to six hundred feet. As we flew down the Thames, slowly reaching the correct altitude, I listened to the engine and played with the controls. I needed to know the different sounds the aeroplane made. I wondered if Sharp was worried by that. I noticed that he had tightened his belt and held on to the sides as we had taken off.
Once we reached six hundred feet I tapped him on the head. When he turned around I mimed cocking the gun. He nodded. I tried to keep the aeroplane as level as I could. He had to take off his belt and stand to do so. I remembered what an ordeal that was. When it was done he turned and grinned boyishly. I smile back my reassurance. I mimed for him to sit down and I saw the relief on his face.
I cocked my own Lewis. I hoped I would not have to fire it for I had not briefed Sharp about keeping his head to one side.
When I saw the sea ahead I waved my left hand from the cockpit. Gordy would see that from his aeroplane and would know the turn was coming up. As we passed over Dover I saw the smoke and flames. They had been bombed. That was sad for Dover but good news for us. It meant that we would not meet any German aeroplanes or Zeppelins coming west. I used the harbour as my marker and turned east. As I did so I glanced astern and saw the line of aeroplanes. Gordy was perfectly positioned but the others were struggling to maintain their altitude. Some were higher and some were lower. Major Brack would not be happy with such sloppy flying.
We were approaching Calais when I saw smoke below me. It was an Albatros and it looked to have been damaged. It was wave hopping. We needed to descend anyway and I put the stick forward to get to a better altitude. We picked up speed as we did so and Sharp turned around in alarm as we drew nearer to the German. He mimed firing and I shook my head. I saw the observer turn around and then tap the pilot on the head. Gordy and the others had descended and the pilot waggled his wings to show that he would surrender. I flew next to him and mimed putting his aeroplane behind mine. I wanted Gordy’s gunner to have him in his sights. As I overtook him I could see that his tail had been damaged and his engine had been struck. He wanted to make sure that he could land and there were too many guns between him and home for that in such a damaged aeroplane. He was happy to sit between our buses.
As soon as we had passed Calais I turned the aeroplane and headed for the aerodrome. We were flying at three hundred feet. I put the stick down when I saw the field in the distance. I reached down and took out the Very pistol. I fired a rocket in the air. He might be a German but we needed to have the fire crews and medical staff on hand for his landing.
I slowed down so that I was flying level with him and I gestured for him to land first. He nodded and crabbed the stricken craft towards the green sward. He was a good pilot and managed to get it down in one piece. We were low on fuel and I wasted no time in getting down myself.
As I taxied I saw that the major himself was speaking with the captured pilot. There appeared to be no injuries. I was curious about the German aeroplane and I looked forward to inspecting it.
“Sharp, better bring your things and I will show you your billet.”
“Sir.” I could see the relief on his face that we had crossed the sea and landed safely.
As we passed the German pilot and observer, they clicked their heels together and saluted me. Major Brack smiled, “Well done, Sergeant Harsker.”
The pilot’s face turned to a snarl. His English was accented but understandable. “You are a sergeant? I thought you were an officer! You were leading the aeroplanes!” He said it accusingly as though I had deceived him in some way.
I was bemused, “Yes sir, I am a sergeant but I was leading the flight.” He turned away and began to stomp across the field. “I would not have surrendered had I known.”
I saw the flash of anger on Major Brack’s face. “But you did, so behave with a little better grace.” He shook his head and waved his arm at the two soldiers who held guns on them both. “Sergeant Davis, take them to the guardhouse until we can get them over to Intelligence.”
After they had gone he gave me an apologetic look, “Sorry about that. So, you had an eventful flight. I see they all made it.”
I nodded and then said quietly, “Some of their station keeping was a little below what you might have expected, sir.” I suddenly realised that I was criticising officers. “Of course they are new aeroplanes. It takes time.”
“Quite so, Flight Sergeant. There will be no operations tomorrow, we will practise formations.”
“Sir.” I was relieved. I needed to get to know Private Sharp.”
Gordy and his crew reached me at the same time that Ted hurried over. “Our first capture! Do we share that amongst us all Bill?”
“I have no idea Gordy. If he had flown off I would have let him. I think he thought we might jump him.”
Ted threw his cigarette butt away, “Dozy bugger; I would have legged it home. Their aeroplanes are faster than ours.” He pointed to the Albatros. “I wouldn’t mind having a look at that one.”
“Yes, I wonder what they will do with it.”
Chapter 21
Sadly we did not get the chance to inspect the aeroplane and it was taken away on the back of a lorry. The major told me that it would be added to my tally as the pilot had said, before he knew that I was a sergeant, that he had surrendered to me. The major told us of other men who had shot down a number of enemy aircraft and that those with five or more were called aces. I did not count those balloons and aeroplanes I had destroyed whilst a gunner and so this was my first. It seemed like a game to the major but to me it was just a measure of how close we were to winning the war and the tally of one captured aeroplane would not make the war end tomorrow.
Two days after we had returned home our flight was given a patrol. The two days training had been spent in flying the aeroplanes in formation. They had proved immensely useful. Sharp was a much more confident observer now. He still had to fire his guns in anger but everything else was satisfactory. The sector was quiet now and the line had been stabilised after the battle of Neuve Chapelle. I discovered that all of the new observers had been trained in Morse code and we were equipped with a signal lamp. This was to allow us to communicate with the ground. As Gordy and I had the new observers we went on patrol with Captain Dundas watching us. For poor Ted it was yet another affirmation that he had no luck. “Young kids still wet behind the ears and I have to be their baby minder.”
Our improvised speaking tube still worked and I know that Charlie Sharp appreciated it. For some reason he seemed in awe of me. I later discovered it was because I was a sergeant and pilot. It gave him hope that he could aspire to such lofty heights. We climbed to a thousand feet above the trenches. We were well out of machine gun range and it was too expensive to waste artillery shells on us. It made for safe flying. We rarely got balloons now as they had an early warning system and the balloons were already on the ground by the time we reached them. However it did mean that, so long as we were about, their balloons couldn’t be used to spy on our trenches.
It was sad to see the devastation caused by the shelling. Where there had been woods, hedgerows and buildings, now there was a sea of mud, albeit drying out after a brief dry spell. I glanced up. Ted’s aeroplane was three hundred feet a
bove ours flying lazy circles and seeking enemy aircraft.
Sharp’s voice came in my ears. “Flight, if you fly along the lines for a mile or so I think I can see their artillery.”
“Righto.” I found myself using the same phrases that his lordship had. I wondered how he was getting on in his single seater.
“Hold it there sir while I mark it on the map.” Charlie was a meticulous draughtsman and far more careful than I had been when I had marked maps. After a few moments he said, “If you fly over our lines I will signal the coordinates.”
I knew that Gordy’s observer would be doing the same thing and I did not worry that we would be out of contact with each other. Our babysitter in the skies above was our insurance policy.
“Hold her steady there, Flight.” I saw the lamp flickering and, when it stopped I spotted the acknowledgement. “You can go up a little if you like and I will spot the fall of shot.”
He was a cool customer. I was not sure how I felt about being in line with a target when there was an artillery barrage. I spiralled up a couple of hundred feet and positioned us above the area known as no-man’s land. It looked bleak. I could see puddles and ponds amidst the wire and barriers. I did not enyy infantry trying to slog through that lot.
“Any idea where Sergeant Hewitt is?”
A moment later he said, “A couple of miles to the north. It looks like he is doing the same.”
I did not like that. Captain Dundas was our only protection. Being that far apart, he would have a difficult task to cover us both effectively. I saw the smoke and then heard the crump as the British artillery opened fire. They were just using one gun to make it easier for Sharp to spot the fall of shell. We both watched as the shell exploded just fifty yards short of the German artillery. We saw the crews racing around as the dust settled.
“Back again, Flight.”
I took us down and back to the British trenches where Sharp relayed the information. Once it was acknowledged then we resumed our lofty perch. This time the bang and the smoke were much louder. Even as they were hurtling towards the German 42cm guns the Hun was firing blindly in the hope of hitting our guns.
I heard a scream in my ear as Charlie saw the first German gun disappear as it was struck. “Steady on Charlie.”
“Sorry Flight. They are bang on. If you go back I can signal them and then we can leave.”
Even as we spiralled down I could see, to the north, that Gordy was under attack. Captain Dundas had been between the devil and the deep blue sea, he was a long way from Gordy.
“Send that now Charlie. Sergeant Hewitt is in trouble.”
“Right sir.”
As his lamp flashed I banked to starboard. Gaining height had meant that we would now have more speed as we hurtled north to try to come to the aid of my two friends. I could see that there were three aeroplanes attacking them. Suddenly Charlie shouted, “Three German aeroplanes sir.”
“Where away?”
“South and east sir, about a mile away.”
It still made sense to go to the other two. Isolated we could be picked off but together we had a chance of defeating these six aeroplanes.
“Charlie, you will have to fire the rear Lewis.” I knew that he was afraid and I saw the colour drain from his face as he stood and faced me. I mouthed, “Open your legs wide!”
He nodded. It actually made it easier to keep your balance but, more importantly, it allowed me to fire my fixed Lewis. I could see that Gordy was heading back over our lines and his gunner was pouring lead into his pursuers. Ted had not opened fire which told me that he was still too far away. The moment he could Ted would add his firepower to that of Gordy. I hoped Charlie remembered what I had said about short bursts and firing late. We were now level with Captain Dundas but approaching from an oblique angle. The nearest German was two hundred yards away and we were only gaining slowly. The Gunbus was just not fast enough.
I saw Charlie gesticulate with his arm. They were on us. I nodded and he gave a short six shot burst. The German had the disadvantage that, like me his machine gun was fixed but he was even worse off as his gun was on the top of his wing. He had to adjust for the height difference. I saw the line of bullets as they flew high wide and handsome. I was tempted to jink to the right but I remembered Captain Dixon. I kept it straight. Charlie would not fall to his death on his first combat mission. There was another burst from Charlie and then I concentrated on the aeroplane before me. It was the second in the line. I cocked the Lewis and flew directly for the engine of the Albatros. The observer suddenly whirled his gun around to fire at me but it could not get a shot at us and I saw the bullets as they flew beyond our tail. At a hundred yards I fired a short burst and then again at fifty. The German pilot saw me and banked hard right. I kept on going. I would have to make a slow gentle turn or risk my gunner’s life.
I saw Ted give a burst from his Lewis and the German flew back into my sights. I fired again. It was a snap shot but I hit the pilot. He slumped forward and the aeroplane began to dive into the ground. There was no cause for celebration as the Germans chasing us stitched a line of holes along the wing. One of the cables sheared. We could not take much more damage. Sharp tapped the magazine of the Lewis- it was empty. I mouthed at him to sit down. I would have to fly my way out of trouble.
It was now five against six and as Charlie sat and I was able to bank I saw Gordy’s gunner and Ted combine to hit another Albatros which wheeled away with a smoking engine. My manoeuvre had thrown the aim of our pursuers and I began a climb. I knew it made us slower for a short time but it also meant that at least two of the aeroplanes chasing me flew by, unable to slow in time. At the top of my turn I banked to port, towards the German lines and it fooled my last pursuer.
Charlie had connected the speaking tube again. “Charlie get ready to give this German everything you have.”
We were diving towards the tail of the second of our pursuers. My move had confused him and, losing us in the sky, he was heading after Captain Dundas. His gunner spotted us and his Parabellum LMG began pumping bullets in our direction. They were steel tipped projectiles and could pierce our engine. Luckily we had two bodies protecting ours! Charlie held his nerve. I saw the German gunner trying to reload his gun and Charlie gave him a long burst. He slumped to his death and the gun was silent. The German was now helpless. Charlie’s shots had struck the engine and, with smoke pouring, the pilot headed east.
My dogged pursuer was still there and more bullets appeared in my wing. I glance at the damaged cable and saw that another was fraying. I would have to keep the aeroplane as stable as possible. I head Sharp’s voice in my ear. “He’s leaving sir. Captain Dundas has hit him.”
“Then let’s go home. Keep your eye on the damaged cable.”
“Will do.”
I saw Gordy, now well ahead of me, and his engine was smoking. The flare he set off showed me it was serious. Our fairy godmother still hovered behind us but I could see from the bullet holes that it had suffered as much damage as we had. This had been an expensive patrol. Gordy’s landing was not the best but I saw two of them climb down from the much damaged aeroplane. Then it was our turn. I landed her as gently as I could but there was an almighty crack and one of the struts gave way as we touched down. Miraculously the top wing just lay on the bottom wing and we rolled to an ugly halt.
The mechanics raced to us and pushed us out of the way of Captain Dundas’ machine which rolled to a halt between us and Gordy. I climbed out and waited for Charlie. He looked unsteady as he touched the ground. I shook his hand. “Well done, young ‘un. You did well.”
“Thank you Flight. I thought we had bought it.” He lowered his voice. “Thank you for flying straight. The lads told me about the time the pilot flew upside down with you hanging on the Lewis.”
“You never know Sharp, that may happen sometime but not on your first mission eh?” I looked at the damaged Gunbus. “Well we have our work cut out tomorrow.”
He looked at me in
surprise. “But you are a pilot!”
“All the more reason for me to fix my own machine. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. But that is for tomorrow. Let’s get washed up and then you can take your maps and reports to the intelligence officer.”
Lieutenant Marshall had been promoted to Captain and given the role of Intelligence officer. It suited his organised mind.
Gordy and Ted caught up with us. Ted put an arm on each of our shoulders. “I’ll tell you what lads, that was bloody good flying out there.” He jerked his head at Captain Dundas. “The dozy bugger wasted time worrying which of you to help. It would have been a disaster.”
I laughed, “But it wasn’t so forget it. We have learned a lesson today. Next time Gordy and I will stay closer together.”
“Amen to that brother.” He grinned at me. “Another two and half and you will be an ace!”
“Don’t be daft. I was just lucky.”
Gordy shook his head, “I should be so lucky.”
Major Hewitt was delighted and, when we made our report we saw that he had a black board in his office. Our names were there and next to them the number of kills. As I went in I saw him putting my new successes up there. My name was at the top. I was the leading pilot in the squadron.
Major Hewitt nodded, “You two could have been flying for months you know.” He stared at Ted. “How about you, Flight?”
Ted backed off, “No sir. I am quite happy doing what I do sir!”
Major Hewitt said, “There is something a little incongruous about you saying you are happy, Thomas, you always look as though you have the worries of the world on your shoulders.”
Our aeroplane took three days to repair during which time our flight was stood down. All three aircraft had suffered damage. It left just the major and the seven lieutenants to patrol. He divided them into two flights and he led the one with just three aircraft. The first day was a milk run. They came back without firing their guns at all.
