1918 We will remember them Page 7

He nodded and pointed to the bullet holes next to the engine. “It just shows what a tough little bus these are. We will have to strip the engine and see what damage has been done inside.” He pointed to the darkening skies. “Besides it looks like a weather front is moving in. I reckon we will have rain tomorrow, sir.”

  Bates confirmed the weather forecast when he gave me my whisky. “Yes sir, we have rain forecast for the next three days and it looks like a nasty storm. It will be good to give you a little rest.”

  As I lay in my bath I reflected that I did not want a rest. I wanted the war over so that I could go home and see my girl.

  There was, however, a party atmosphere that night in the mess. Only Ted looked to be unhappy. We had shot down six Germans and only lost two. Our replacement Camels had arrived which showed us that we had a better rate of production than the Germans.

  We were on the pudding course when Lieutenants Thomson and Lowe burst in. The old colonel would have reprimanded them for not changing out of their flying gear but Archie just shook his head. They came straight over to me and both saluted and then shook my hand. “Sir, we can’t thank you enough. We both thought that we were in the cage for the duration and then you came screaming down. We both knew that you were too good a shot to hit us and when the lorry exploded we grabbed the bally guns, shot our guards and legged it and then when you came back you were so low I thought you were trying to pick us up! You saved us, sir. Thank you again.”

  “You are welcome Lieutenant Lowe but I was worried that I might hit you.”

  He shook his head, “Not even close sir! Marvellous flying and shooting!”

  Archie nodded, “And now, gentlemen, go and get changed. The sergeants will have your meal ready when you return.”

  Ted was grinning, “Thanks Bill but I can see my little talk last night did no good. It has made you even crazier!”

  The rain and inclement weather was a mercy on many levels. Our bodies and our buses were healed. The good feelings after our success continued for many days. Most importantly, Flight Sergeant Lowery discovered how to get a little more speed from the Camels. Since the saboteur he and his mechanics had examined every piece of the engines. They had taken them apart and put them together so many times that they could do it blindfolded. They began to tune and adjust the engine to a sophisticated level. On the second day of our enforced holiday I took shelter with him in the workshop.

  “I think we can get a few more miles an hour out of the engine sir. You might get even more at higher altitude.”

  “That is good news. I hate not being able to catch the new Fokkers.”

  “Well when this awful weather lets up, sir, you can try it out.” He nodded to the rain which was sheeting down. “Mind you I am happy. It means we don’t have to patch up broken machines. I much prefer working on making a good machine even better expected rather than mending damage.”

  As I left him I reflected that, whilst they shared none of the glory or the medals, the ground crew were equally responsible for our success.

  The second week of September was still as overcast. Archie and Randolph were summoned to Headquarters. I was left in charge. Doc Brennan released my injured pilots and I saw them in the mess. Lieutenant Jenkin sought me out for a quiet word.

  “I have just spoken with Jack Fall, sir. He has his first kill. And he followed your orders to the letter.” I nodded. I could not see where this was going. “The thing is, sir, I have been a bit of an idiot. I arrived here thinking I could win the war on my own and I resented being stuck where I thought I was out of the action. I was wrong and I have a lot to learn.”

  I smiled, “If every pilot arrived here as the finished article I would be surprised. We all have to learn. I am still learning. When we first encountered the Fokker Triplane I was flummoxed. I didn’t know how to defeat it. I had to learn. The day that you stop learning is the day you should be worried.”

  “Why is that sir?”

  “Because that is the day you will die! This is a war fought by young men. Young men learn quickly. In this war you are either the quick or the dead. Be quick, George, and learn all that you can.”

  When Randolph and Archie returned they were followed by a lorry which was carrying a great deal of new equipment. The packing cases were taken to a workshop and Archie sent for me and Ted. We sat down and Archie poured us a whisky each. He said nothing for a while then he smiled.

  “That was a strange meeting. The general began by praising us for our skill in handling the Flying Circus.”

  “But they hammered us!”

  “Apparently we got off lightly compared with the other squadrons. I had thought that the meeting was just a pat on the back session. You know the sort of thing: ‘you are all doing very well. Carry on with the good work’ that sort of thing. Then he told us that we are to be one of the first squadrons to try out the new radios. It is an experiment. There doesn’t appear to be an ulterior motive behind it.”

  “Radios? In an aeroplane?”

  “I know. It surprised me too. The lorry that followed us has the radios and the crews. There are three for the aeroplanes. Ted and I will have one each and you will have the third one, Bill. I am afraid that you will have the harder job. We can use our gunner to speak to the airfield but you will have to fly, fire your guns and talk on the radio.”

  “When do they fit my extra arms?” They laughed and I sipped the whisky. “What about the weight?”

  “The weight?”

  “Yes Flight has just managed to get more speed out of the old bus and the last thing I want is to carry a bunch of unnecessary radio equipment which will slow me down.”

  “There is no way out of this, Bill. The General wants it trialling. If it works then we could fit it to all the aeroplanes and, some day, you could talk to your pilots in the air.”

  I could see the advantage of that but I was still not convinced.

  Randolph gave us the solution. “Look Bill, we try it out without the stress of combat. If it adversely affects the performance of the Camel or the Bristol then we take it out and tell the general that we gave it a trial.”

  Ted nodded, “It seems to me it is worth a try. I mean it would allow us to reinforce our buses if we had a problem or warn the field that we had damaged aeroplanes coming in. I can see the potential.”

  I laughed, “The world is upside down. Ted is the optimist and Bill the pessimist. Very well sir. We give it a try when the weather clears.”

  “And that will be tomorrow. When we were at Headquarters the meteorologist told us the front was clearing from the west. We can try the radios in the morning and, if they work, have a sortie in the afternoon.”

  “Tomorrow sir? When are the radios being fitted?”

  Archie chuckled, “Even as we speak!”

  Flight Sergeant Kenny was the youngest flight sergeant I had ever seen. He looked even younger than some of my pilots. He was at my bus working under the critical gaze of Senior Flight Sergeant Lowery.

  “Did you know about this contraption, sir?”

  “I just heard about it, Flight. Do you think it will cause a problem?”

  Before he could answer Sergeant Kenny popped his head up from my cockpit. He looked at me, “It shouldn’t be a problem, sir. You aren’t exactly a big chap.” He pointed to the space behind my seat. “We are putting the radio here in the centre of the aeroplane so that it won’t affect the balance and the trim. I will run a cable from the engine to power it.”

  “Who said you could touch my engine?”

  “Steady on, Flight. Let’s hear the sergeant out. We are going to give them a go tomorrow and if they spoil the bus then they will come out.”

  Sergeant Kenny’s head popped up again, “The General won’t be happy about that sir!”

  “The General doesn’t have to fly these things. I do. Now how do I operate the bloody thing?”

  “Well sir, it is one way only.”

  “One way?”

  “Yes sir. You talk to us but we
don’t talk back to you.”

  “Then how do I know you have heard what I say?”

  “Well you don’t, sir, but the equipment will work. Trust me. It is pukka stuff!” He saw the look of doubt on my face. “You have this microphone around your neck and you just speak into it. The transmitter is set to transmit all the time so you don’t have to switch anything on.” I grunted. That was one thing at least. He chuckled, “Mind you sir, it means the operator on the ground hears every word you say.”

  I found myself liking this cheerful and engaging young sergeant. “Well they had better be prepared for some choice language, sergeant. I will not worry about offending your young operator.”

  He nodded, “Don’t worry sir. That’ll be me.”

  Sergeant Lowery and I stood to one side. I spoke to Lowery quietly. “How big is it?”

  “It is bulky but it only weighs about the same as a Lewis gun and its ammo. What worries me, sir, is that this is the thin end of the wedge. I hear they are thinking about fitting oxygen to them too. Sergeant Kenny is right to worry about the balance but how do you fit oxygen bottles too?”

  “We’ll worry about that when we have to. I can see the advantage of having these in the spotters though. We could direct artillery fire much more easily.” I saw that Ted was wandering over and I headed towards him. “Carry on, sergeant.”

  “Well Bill, what does it look like?”

  “Not as bad as I thought but it transmits only. The ground can’t talk to us so we don’t know if the message gets through.”

  “We will just have to try it. At least it is only in three aeroplanes. If we can’t work it then it will go no further.”

  I sent Freddie up with the Camels to try out the improvements made by the mechanics while I went up to test the radio and to see if it affected the flight. Sergeant Kenny showed me how to fit the microphone around my neck. He had rigged up a hook above my head and it hung from the hook until I looped it around my neck.

  “You just speak into it, sir. When you land I will tell you if I had any problems hearing you. I will be working with you and I have two lads working with the other officers.”

  “It seems an expensive waste of men.”

  He did not seem put off by my criticism. “Oh don’t you worry about that sir. By the time they are fitted to every aeroplane we will have improved the technology. This system is a hundred times better than the one we used last year. Don’t worry, sir. It will be fine!” He gave me the words he wanted me to say. It struck me that it would not be a fair test if he knew the words I would be speaking but I bowed to his expertise.

  Before I tested the radio I had a far more important task; I would test the modifications which had been made by the mechanics. I knew that it would not be an accurate evaluation. That would have to wait until I came up against the Fokkers but I would get a feel for the changes which had been made. I began to climb as steeply as I could. There was no loss of power which delighted me. I banked and flew straight. It seemed to be as fast, if not faster than it had been. The air speed indicator said that I was going faster but they were notoriously inaccurate.

  I descended to a better altitude and began transmitting. I said all that I had been told to say and then the naughty boy in me decided to test the equipment properly. I remembered a ribald song we had sung in the cavalry which I had taught to Charlie Sharp and I began to sing it.

  I don't want the Sergeant's shilling,

  I don't want to be shot down;

  I'm really much more willing

  To make myself a killing,

  Living off the earnings of some high class lady;

  I don't want a bullet up my bumhole,

  Don't want my cobblers minced with ball;

  For if I have to lose 'em

  Then let it be with Susan

  Or Meg or Peg or any whore at all.

  I had forgotten the second verse so I sang the first one again.

  When I landed I went directly to Flight Sergeant Lowery and gave him my report. “Well the good news is that the radio equipment doesn’t seem to affect the aerodynamics and the modifications you made appear to work.”

  “Good. That is a relief then. Here are the two Bristols sir.”

  Archie and Ted came over with their gunners. “How did it work then, Ted?”

  He shrugged, “Hard to say. Jack said all the words he was supposed to but we will have to see what the radio lads have to say.”

  When we entered their workshop Sergeant Kenny was laughing fit to bust. “Well sir, I hadn’t heard that song before. I didn’t know officers used such words.”

  I laughed too. “I was a sergeant before I was an officer. So it came over clearly?”

  “Yes sir. Clear as a bell. It works.”

  The other operators had heard their messages too. “Good; then this afternoon we will have a shufti over the German lines. It is all very well using it when I can see the airfield but what about when we are over enemy lines?”

  “It should work, sir. But we will see eh?”

  Freddie had noticed an improvement in performance and we took off in the early afternoon to see if we could catch the Germans napping. With the Bristols to starboard and Freddie above us we headed east. There were no troop movements this time but, in the distance, I saw the smoke from the railway line. They were resupplying and reinforcing the front line.

  We flew down the German trenches. I took the opportunity to send a message back. It was not important, I just told Sergeant Kenny, what we were doing. It was more a test than anything. The Bristols machine gunned the trenches while we watched. It was something of an anti climax when no Huns came to chase us off. We headed home when we had been aloft for two hours. We had the endurance of two and a half hours but there was no point in risking running out of fuel.

  This time, when we landed, I went directly to Sergeant Kenny. “Well?”

  “Loud and clear sir. I told you, it works.”

  Chapter 8

  The lack of German aeroplanes was explained when Randolph reported to Headquarters. The German airfields had been overcast and they could not fly. It was an important lesson. The Bristols could have carried bombs and done even more damage to the trenches. My Camels could have engaged in ground attack too.

  We went up again the next day but without Archie. He and Randolph were summoned to headquarters. We presumed to report on the radios. Gordy took up Archie’s crew so that his gunner could become familiar with the technology.

  For the first time in over a week I had a full complement of pilots. I was slightly less nervous than I had been. My pilots had all learned from the disasters of their first flights. Even so I scanned the eastern horizon for signs of the enemy. Ted and Gordy led their flights at the same altitude. It proved to be a wise decision. Three German squadrons were waiting for us, expecting us to attack their trenches again. They were at the same altitude as we were. I did not see any triplanes and so I assumed it was not the Flying Circus. That was proved to be the case.

  I sent the message back to Kenny that we had met over thirty six Germans and that we were attacking. He could do little about it but I was anxious to use the radio in combat conditions.

  We launched our attack in four columns. It contrasted with the wide waves of the enemy. They could bring more guns to bear but then they would risk collisions. Our method put the leader at the front in the gravest danger but as they were the best pilot it was a risk worth taking.

  I saw that we were facing the Fokker D.III. It had two guns and was fast but it was not as fast as we were and did not have the manoeuvrability we did. I guessed that the Germans would choose the easier and bigger target of the eleven Bristols. If they did they would learn that Gordy and Ted had a nasty sting in their tails.

  I cocked my Vickers and shouted, for no real reason, “Charge!” I suspect I was aware that someone was listening. I flew directly at the Fokker with the tallow propeller and spinner. We had learned that they were usually the leader. He must have been nerv
ous for he fired too soon. His bullets struck my wings and my wires but a quick glance told me that they were still whole. This was an aerial game of chicken. Who would blink first? I raised my nose a little to invite another burst from him. This time I felt his bullets strike my wheels and then I dipped my nose and, as I did so, gave him a five second burst. My sudden movement had thrown his aim and, at one hundred feet, the range was so close that my twin Vickers struck his propeller and then his engine. I must have struck something vital for he suddenly dived beneath me. I think my wheels must have clipped his tail as I flew over him. I felt a little judder.

  The next flight was upon me and I turned slightly to starboard. It was a manoeuvre intended to allow the rest of my flight and Freddie’s flight to fire obliquely across the enemy line. For that reason I fired at two hundred yards. It was like a war of attrition. If each of us hit the same target with a short burst then we had a good chance of downing them.

  I felt bullets strike my fuselage but we were a smaller target and they did little damage. I saw smoke appear from a Fokker in front of me and then he was past and I fired at the next one in line. I suddenly heard an explosion next to me and my Camel was thrown to the right as Lieutenant Clayson hit the fuel tank of the Fokker I had damaged. I no longer had a target and I began to climb. I wanted the freedom and flexibility to swoop down on the Germans and use our superior speed to maximum effect.

  I saw in my mirror that some of the Germans were trying to match our climb. They were being left for dead. Flight Sergeant Lowery had certainly worked his magic. I banked to starboard and brought my flight down like avenging angels of death. I kept banking and brought us around to attack the climbing Fokkers. Their attempt to match our climb had been a disaster. I opened fire at the side of one and I raised my nose to fly over him and allow the others to fire at him. Once I had passed him I was able to descend and fire another burst at the next one in line. It was almost too easy. Had they been the Fokker Triplane they would have been a smaller nimbler target but these older Fokker Biplanes only had their two guns in their favour. We held all the other aces.