Read Online 1915 Fokker Scourge (British Ace Book 2) by Griff Hosker - Free Book Online
Authors: Griff Hosker
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as we plunged down through the air he gave both aeroplanes a burst. He missed the Fokker but struck the cockpit of the Aviatik. I saw the gunner slump in his seat. I yanked the stick to bring us back on course and behind the other Germans who were pursuing my comrades.
I saw that Lieutenant Holt’s aeroplane was pouring smoke. There were two Aviatiks beneath him and they were riddling him with bullets. I had the advantage that I was diving with a superior aeroplane and, cocking the rear Lewis, I dived on to the tail of the first one. Sergeant Sharp emptied his magazine into the first one. He took off the spent magazine. The gunner in the Aviatik saw this and he began to swing his gun towards us. I fired a short burst from my gun and I saw the bullets stitch a line from the cockpit towards the engine. Oil began to spit out over the pilot and he took evasive action. The second German turned his attention to us. I emptied my magazine towards him and then Charlie opened fire. The tail was shredded and the aeroplane began to spiral back towards the east.
The other aeroplanes had been beaten back and had to run the gauntlet of British small arms fire as they headed towards the safety of their own lines. I scanned the skies. Holt was in trouble and I stayed close to him as he took the aeroplane down in a shallow dive. He could not remain in the air. He would not make the airfield. He bounced the aircraft down on a short ploughed field. How he had found it I did not know. I thought he had made a good landing until the nose wheel broke and the right wing caught the ground. The Gunbus slewed into the ground. I brought our bus around and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the pilot and gunner emerge, somewhat unsteadily, it has to be said, and wave at me.
“Right, Sharp, let’s go home.”
As soon as we landed I saw the senior sergeant, “Sergeant Jackson, you had better get a lorry. Lieutenant Holt has crashed in a ploughed field about six miles away. They are both walking and I think we can save the engine.”
“Right sir, if we keep going on like this we’ll have to begin building aeroplanes ourselves.”
I left Sergeant Sharp and the mechanic to repair the holes in the bus and to service her. I had a report to write. I was half way through when Lieutenant Campbell came in. “That was a bit of a shambles today.”
I gestured fo r him to sit on my cot. “Don’t be daft, man. Holt is a young pilot. He will get better and you got the rest back, didn’t you?”
“I suppose so but what can we do when they come on our blind spot like that? Head on or flying alongside we are superior but once they get below us even the Aviatik can have a pop at us.”
I had been thinking about this. “The problem is, Billy, if we loop it works in their favour, they can fire at us as we go up and around and I have never tried to loop the other way. I suspect we might lose a few observers.”
I put the report to one side and took out a fresh piece of paper. I drew a crude FE 2. “Let’s try to visualise it.” I drew a Fokker beneath and behind the Gunbus and dotted lines to the engine. “Well that is the problem. The question is, how to solve it.”
When I had left home after my last leave my dad had given me a short pipe. He had been so pleased with his Christmas present that he had a spare which he wanted me to have. “It’s a good little smoker and, when you smoke it, it will remind you of home.” He had given me some bar tobacco. I had smoked it a couple of times already and, as well as making me think of home it helped me think. I filled the pipe while Billy looked at my drawing.
He took my pencil and said, “Do you mind sir?”
As I puffed I said, “Go ahead.”
He drew another FE 2 attacking the Fokker. “Now if we could do that then we would not have a problem.”
The pipe was drawing well. The pipe seemed to slow me down but that, in turn, made the brain work better. At least
I saw that Lieutenant Holt’s aeroplane was pouring smoke. There were two Aviatiks beneath him and they were riddling him with bullets. I had the advantage that I was diving with a superior aeroplane and, cocking the rear Lewis, I dived on to the tail of the first one. Sergeant Sharp emptied his magazine into the first one. He took off the spent magazine. The gunner in the Aviatik saw this and he began to swing his gun towards us. I fired a short burst from my gun and I saw the bullets stitch a line from the cockpit towards the engine. Oil began to spit out over the pilot and he took evasive action. The second German turned his attention to us. I emptied my magazine towards him and then Charlie opened fire. The tail was shredded and the aeroplane began to spiral back towards the east.
The other aeroplanes had been beaten back and had to run the gauntlet of British small arms fire as they headed towards the safety of their own lines. I scanned the skies. Holt was in trouble and I stayed close to him as he took the aeroplane down in a shallow dive. He could not remain in the air. He would not make the airfield. He bounced the aircraft down on a short ploughed field. How he had found it I did not know. I thought he had made a good landing until the nose wheel broke and the right wing caught the ground. The Gunbus slewed into the ground. I brought our bus around and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the pilot and gunner emerge, somewhat unsteadily, it has to be said, and wave at me.
“Right, Sharp, let’s go home.”
As soon as we landed I saw the senior sergeant, “Sergeant Jackson, you had better get a lorry. Lieutenant Holt has crashed in a ploughed field about six miles away. They are both walking and I think we can save the engine.”
“Right sir, if we keep going on like this we’ll have to begin building aeroplanes ourselves.”
I left Sergeant Sharp and the mechanic to repair the holes in the bus and to service her. I had a report to write. I was half way through when Lieutenant Campbell came in. “That was a bit of a shambles today.”
I gestured fo r him to sit on my cot. “Don’t be daft, man. Holt is a young pilot. He will get better and you got the rest back, didn’t you?”
“I suppose so but what can we do when they come on our blind spot like that? Head on or flying alongside we are superior but once they get below us even the Aviatik can have a pop at us.”
I had been thinking about this. “The problem is, Billy, if we loop it works in their favour, they can fire at us as we go up and around and I have never tried to loop the other way. I suspect we might lose a few observers.”
I put the report to one side and took out a fresh piece of paper. I drew a crude FE 2. “Let’s try to visualise it.” I drew a Fokker beneath and behind the Gunbus and dotted lines to the engine. “Well that is the problem. The question is, how to solve it.”
When I had left home after my last leave my dad had given me a short pipe. He had been so pleased with his Christmas present that he had a spare which he wanted me to have. “It’s a good little smoker and, when you smoke it, it will remind you of home.” He had given me some bar tobacco. I had smoked it a couple of times already and, as well as making me think of home it helped me think. I filled the pipe while Billy looked at my drawing.
He took my pencil and said, “Do you mind sir?”
As I puffed I said, “Go ahead.”
He drew another FE 2 attacking the Fokker. “Now if we could do that then we would not have a problem.”
The pipe was drawing well. The pipe seemed to slow me down but that, in turn, made the brain work better. At least
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