1915 Fokker Scourge (British Ace Book 2) (6 page)

Gordy and Ted looked at me and shook their heads. “Bastard! This is a suicide mission Bill.  Just fly over their lines and then come back here.
One aeroplane behind enemy lines stands no chance.”

“No Gordy.  I will do the mission as ordered.
If I refuse I play into his hands for I will look like a coward and I will not give him that satisfaction. It is my own fault for talking back to him. I will pay the price of telling the truth. He will keep on at me until he succeeds anyway so I might as well bite the bullet and get it over with.”

As I went to my tent to get my flying gear I began to work ou
t where the airfield might be.  The odds were that it would be further from the front than the fighter airfields.  It meant I had further to go and further to return.  Even if I avoided the Germans on the way over they would be waiting for me on the way back.  Perhaps Gordy was right and it was a suicide mission.

Sergeant Sharp was already at the aeroplane looking with some interest at the four bombs being fitted to the outside of the front of the aeroplane.  “What’s this all about sir?”

“It seems the major has great faith in us, Sergeant Sharp.  He is sending us to find the German bombers who did so much damage to our own field.”

His jaw actually dropped.  “We are going alone?  That is madness.”

“I don’t know.  One aeroplane has a slightly better chance of getting through than a whole squadron.  Besides, we do not have a whole squadron. We will just have to do the best that we can. But,” I added cheekily, “keep a German phrase book handy eh? Just in case.”

He laughed, “We are a pair of mad buggers sir.”

“Bring a spare can of petrol.  We may need it. And you will need to plot our course on the map so that we can tell the major where the airfield is when we get back.”

The heavier engine
, extra fuel and the bombs made the take off a little longer than usual but we eventually rumbled into the air. I told Sharp my plan as we climbed to ten thousand feet. I wanted to be well above any enemy fire from the guns on the ground. “Those bombers have a long range and I think they will be well behind enemy lines.  That is why we have the extra fuel in case we run out. When we chased them from our field they were heading in this direction and I think they will have taken the shortest route to get back to their field. We are looking for a green patch of land with half a dozen twin engine aeroplanes. There will be a windsock such as the type we use.” I chuckled, “And probably a German flag too. Put that together and it should be easy to spot from up here so keep your eyes peeled.”

Flying at the higher altitude meant that we were faster than the rest of the squadron and we overtook them before we reached our lines.
They looked to be a pathetically small handful of aeroplanes. I hoped that they would not run into Germans. They were all flying with a large interval between them. They were, literally, sitting ducks.

The front line was even clearer from this height and stretched to the horizon in both directions. When we were over the German lines I saw
an aeroplane below us.  It looked to be the Fokker Eindecker.  I wondered if it was patrolling or hunting my comrades. So long as the rest of the squadron was close we had nothing to fear from this small aeroplane which was less well armed and slower than our Gunbus.

I kept my eye on the fuel gauge. I had the engine trimmed so that we were getting the most out of the limited fuel we had. When the land became greener I began to descend.  There were no guns firing at us here.  There were no balloons to avoid. The
gentle glide down slowed down the rate at which we were using fuel.  I began to hope that we could get back without having to land.

Suddenly Sharp’s voice was in my ears.  “Sir,
have a look up ahead.  Is than an airfield?”

He was right
, it was an airfield.  I saw the windsock, the tents and the straight runway lined with the bombers. I dived down to four hundred feet to identify the aeroplanes. “Charlie, mark the airfield on the map.”

“Done it already sir.” There was a pause.  “There look to be three of those twin engine aeroplanes down there sir.  It looks like there are men around one of them.”

“Right get ready.  Take two bombs and throw them when I say.  I will turn around and you can drop the other two.”

“Right sir.”

There was no science to this, you dropped the bomb and let gravity do the rest.  We had learned to throw before we reached the target and then we had more chance of a direct hit. The arc seemed to be important.  We had not done it enough to be totally accurate.  All that we could hope for was some damage. The craters we would create would be a good result. All I was attempting to do was get the bombs as close to the three aircraft as I could.

The machine guns opening fire told us that we had been seen.  We were travelling too fast for them to hit but it was frightening.  “Now!” I pulled back on the stick and kicked the rudder, we climbed and banked to the right.  I immediately threw it the left and began to dive. “Ready!”

“Ready sir.”

I could not see what damage we had done for there was a great deal of smoke.  I took our bus further to the right. “Now!”

The two explosions lifted us slightly.  I had brought the aeroplane lower than I had intended. With bullets trying to catch our tail I headed west. When I looked at the fuel gauge I saw that my climb and dive had used up more fuel than I had wanted. I had two choices: climb and risk running out of fuel or keep at this altitude and risk the gun fire from the ground. Neither was the favoured option.  I climbed; the spare fuel meant that we could land and refuel. I also changed our course to take us further north.  I did not want to run out of fuel over No-Man’s Land. I needed a flat obstacle free field with no furrows. It was like wishing for a gourmet dinner in the mess.

I estimated that we were thirty miles behind the German lines and I also knew that were would be other German airfields closer to the front. Sergeant Sharp scanned the horizon for enemy aeroplanes.  I was using the altitude to give some protection from enemy aeroplanes.  The German had slower machines than we did and the long slow climb would take them a long time to reach us.

Sharp was standing and looking behind me.  He attracted my attention and pointed down; there were two Aviatiks and two Fokkers spiralling up to reach us. The spiral rise was easier on the engine and yet kept us in constant view. Sergeant Sharp cocked both Lewis guns and waited. 

“Try the Lee Enfield.” I mouthed.

He nodded and took out the rifle. He leaned on the cockpit, his face close to my hands and he aimed at the aircraft climbing. It would be a lucky shot if he managed to hit them but, if he fired, slowly and methodically, it might unnerve them. We just had to buy some time. Time was as precious as the fuel which was rapidly running out.  The FE 2 was not a good glider but, if I picked the right angle of descent we might be able to get down and refuel safely but we had to shake off our pursuers.  If we had had more fuel then I would have used the Gunbus’ superior speed to escape.  More speed would just make us run out quicker.

The crack from the rifle made me jump.  I saw Sharp work the bolt as he fired again. I was curious to see the results but I had to concentrate on the fuel. The engine gave a little cough.

“I am going down, Charlie, brace yourself.”

As I pushed the stick forward I realised that we would, briefly be at the mercy of the Germans.  I hoped that Lady Luck was still with us. I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw that there was just one Fokker and one Aviatik remaining.  The other two were disappearing east.  Either Sharp had discouraged them or they did not think we could be caught before we reached our lines.  We began to pick up speed and the Germans dropped back slightly
. I saw a patch of green ahead.  It was behind the German lines but it looked flat enough to land.

Sergeant Sharp suddenly stood up and the Lewis began to chatter.  At the same time I felt the thump as steel jacketed bullets struck the tail. I could see that the field was young wheat.  It would not be as smooth as an airfield but it would have to do. I watched the ground.  Sharp resumed his seat clutching the empty magazine. I wondered why the firing from behind had stopped. I hoped that they had run out of ammunition rather than the alternative that he was waiting for us to land and hit us when we would be a sitting duck.

The nose wheel touched and I gave the slightest of movements with my fingers.  The other wheels caught.  We had no power, the fuel had run out some time earlier and we soon came to a halt. I grabbed the Lewis and fitted a fresh magazine. Charlie leapt out with the can of petrol and raced to the rear of the aeroplane. The two Germans swooped down towards us. The Fokker had a difficult job to hit us for his gun was above his propeller and he had to risk putting his nose into the ground to hit us.  The Aviatik would have to fire when it had passed.  It all meant that we had some time.

I pulled the trigger and gave the monoplane a short burst. I hit the side of the cockpit and he banked away.  I fired a second burst at the biplane.  Although I missed he, too, jinked away.  As he rose the gunner sent a hail of lead towards us. The end of the wing showed where he had hit us. I heard Sharp shout, “Contact!”

I sat down and pushed the starter.  The propeller spun, the engine coughed and then fired. With no chocks to hold us we began to move and Charlie leapt into the cockpit like a jack rabbit. It was now that we were at the mercy of the two Germans. They had turned and were flying towards us.  I began to pull back on the stick. They were heading for us.  The Fokker was firing while the brave pilot in the Aviatik was trying to get his gunner a shot. He had to get ahead of us to do so and that would mean it brought him into Sergeant Sharp’s sights. Charlie’s Lewis gun sprayed both of the Germans and a momentary movement to the side allowed us to slip between them.  The rear gunner sprayed us with bullets and I heard the thud as they struck home. The engine began to falter.

We had been hit and we were not yet home.  I turned west, towards the setting sun.  We did not have the luxury of being able to climb and so I headed across the German lines hoping that our low altitude would confuse them.  We zipped over the trenches no more than forty feet above them. We could see the German faces as they stared at the apparition which raced for home. Their bullets buzzed like angry bees but, mercifully, none struck. When I saw
brown uniformed arms waving I knew that we were over the British lines and I began to look for the airfield. It struck me that I had never landed in the dark and there would be no lights on the field.

“Sharp.  Get the flare gun out. When we are close to the field
, fire three flares.  We will see if we can use them to land.”

To be honest I did not expect a landing we would walk away from.  I just hoped I could get us down in one piece.
There was still a glow in the west when I sighted the airfield in the distance. I began to lose altitude.  Sharp fired the first flare and I saw the field illuminated as it slowly descended. As he fired the second one I saw a series of fires erupt along two lines.  They were giving me lights to guide me.  Although it was not the smoothest of landings I was just pleased to be down.

As soon as the engine stopped I closed my eyes and leaned forward.

I heard Gordy shout, “Are you all right, Bill?  Are you wounded?”

I opened my eyes and smiled, “No Gordy but I am a little tired and I could eat a horse with the skin on.”

My two friends helped me down. Ted chuckled, “Don’t worry, the cooks have kept the mess open for you.” They clapped me on the back.  “Did you do it then?”

“Find the airfield?” He nodded. “Aye and we dropped the bombs on a couple of their planes.”

Before I could say any more the major strode up to me. I wondered if I would get a well done or some praise.  I should have known better.  “I will expect your report in the next hour Lieutenant.”

“But sir he hasn’t eaten!”

He gave a grim smile, “This is war, Lieutenant Hewitt.  He can eat when he has written the report.”

I stared at him.  He had hoped I would have died on the raid. I changed the stare to a smile. “I will really enjoy this food Gordy.  Lead on!” I gave the barest of salutes and walked into the mess tent. 

The major just spluttered. “In an hour Lieutenant.  An hour!” He was almost squealing and I began to laugh.

As I picked up the plate of food Ted said, in all seriousness, “He means it! He’s mad as a fish that one.  He will court martial you.”

“He can do.  I am not worried any more. Besides we have the map and the report will be brief and to the point.  It will take me no more than ten minutes to write it.”

Gordy handed me a bottle of beer.  “We thought you might like this too!”

“You beauty!” I drank the beer first.  It went down in one and was probably the best beer I had ever drunk. The food was wolfed down in less time than it took to collect it. “Here give us some paper.  Ted, go to the bus you’ll find the map in Sharp’s cockpit.”

I had the report already in my head and I wrote it simply but I made sure it was well organised. By the time Ted had returned it was finished. “Here Gordy,” I gave him some money, “Buy
the three of us a couple of bottles of beer.  I reckon we deserve it and I’ll deliver this to the adjutant.”