Vasco 3 Posted September 7, 2009 (edited) Gentlemen! Please find below the daily report covering 94th Aero Squadron operations for the 1st September 1918: Mission 1 - Patrol Enemy Lines - T/O 08:15 Pilots Stumpjumper - A Flt Commander Burning Beard von Baur Sitting Duck A Flt, reinforced by elements of B and C Flt was tasked to patrol the front lines to the west of Verdun. Shortly before reaching the front lines the formation encountered 8 Albatross fighters from Jasta 3 attempting to establish air superiority above the lines. Although the Albatrosses had the advantage of altitude, the flight commander climbed with his flight to meet them head on. During the engagement 5 Albatrosses were seen to fall for no loss. The kills were attributed as follows: Stumpjumper - 2 Albatros DVas, Burning Beard - 1 Albatros DVa, von Baur - 1 Albatros DVa, Sitting Duck - 1 Albatros DVA. As no other threats were encountered during the patrol, the flight commander gave permission for the flight to engage an observation balloon in the area. This was seen to detonate and fall to the ground. This kill was attributed to Sitting Duck. Mission 2 - Attack on Rail Junction - T/O 12:09 Pilots Burning Beard - A Flt Commander von Baur Sitting Duck Stumpjumper A Flt, again reinforced by elements from the remainder of the squadron took off and headed northeast towards the designated target at 12:09. During the pre-flight briefing the flight commander made it clear to all pilots that it was his intention for the formation to remain below 3,000' to avoid high-flying enemy patrols. However, during the flight one particular pilot who will remain nameless (although his name rhymes with 'Clueless Schmuck') flew well above and behind the formation to secure a personal advantage should the formation encounter low-flying enemy aircraft and was spotted by a formation of Fokker DVIIsat high altitude. The enemy flight pounced on the this pilot and had him burning within seconds. By this time the flight commander had ordered the as yet undiscovered flight to return to the pilot's aid. During the ensuing combat, one other pilot lost his life when he collided with one of the Fokkers (von Baur)and Stumpjumper had to make an emergency landing after downing one of the attacking aircraft but falling foul of the Fokker's wingman. Although the flight was badly depleted, the flight commander continued towards the target and conducted several straffing runs on the rail junction with the few remaining members of the flight prior to returning to base. As squadron commander, I cannot praise the dedication and tenacity of this officer highly enough, almost as highly as I would recommend court martialling Sitting Duck should he have survived. Mission 3 - Ballon Defence - T/O 15:31 Pilots von Baur - A Flt Commander Burning Beard Sitting Duck Stumpjumper Both A and B Flt were tasked to provide top cover for an observation balloon located approximately 2 miles south of the Argonne forest. The flight established a position above the balloon at 8,000' and patrolled between the balloon and the front line. A flight of Albatros DVa's were seen to cross the lines heading directly towards the position of the gasbag so the flight commander ordered the formation to climb to intercept. During the dogfight 3 of the attacking aircraft were downed for the loss of one pilot (Sitting Duck). Just as the last aircraft was seen to fall to the guns of the squadron commander, a second flight of 4 Fokker DVIIs decended on the formation. von Baur collided with the aircraft he was pursuing (again!) but not before he had downed another of the flight. Burning Beard sufferred a catastrophic engine failure due to several hits on his cowling but managed to land safely on our side of the lines. The tally was as follows: Stumpjumper - 2 Albatros DVas, Burning Beard - 1 Albatross DVa, von Baur - 1 Fokker DVII. The current tally of active pilots/kills is as follows: Stumpjumper - 5 (ACE) Burning Beard - 2 Submitted respectfully on 1st September 1918, Vasco Officer Commanding 94th Aero Squadron Edited September 7, 2009 by Vasco Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
von Baur 54 Posted September 7, 2009 Addendum to Group Commander's report, from the other side (and I ain't talkin' about behind German lines ). I would have to respectfully contradict the group commander's assesment of my unfortunate mishaps. While it is true that my standard attack procedure is to approach as closely as possible, often within 50 yards, before firing in neither case did I make contact with the aircraft with which I was engaged. In fact in the first instance, just before death closed it's icy grip around my heart I saw the aircraft (or what was left of it) that collided with me continuing it's trajectory at nearly 90 degrees to my flight path, port and slightly upwards. I never saw anything of the second German plane that hit me, but it was such a devastating impact that it wrenched both top and bottom wings from my SPAD, and there is no way I could have hit the aircraft I was following that hard. I submit that in both cases the real culprit in this is not my airmanship, but rather the poor visibility offered by the large chord of the SPAD's wings, both top and bottom. This coupled with the fact that they have a turn radius only slightly smaller than a British Dreadnought, while we are forced to confront the extremely nimble Fokker D-VII, which I believe will become recognized as the best German fighter of this war, if not one of the best from any side and whose pilots have access to parachutes while we still have none, leads one to an inescapable conclusion...that the top brass must be getting some form of 'royalty' (which you may read as 'bribe') for their choices of equipment. And this may well extend down to group level. (Vasco, please be assured this was all done with tongue fully in cheek. Which is probably why I spilled so much of my drink while I was posting it.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vasco 3 Posted September 7, 2009 (edited) LOL!, Understood von Baur. It's nice to get a response to these mission debriefs once in a while, especially humorous ones. Vasco Edited September 7, 2009 by Vasco Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stumpjumper 3 Posted September 8, 2009 i stillnot lovieng the spad but ah well wont complain to loudly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
