DiD Campaign Pilot Log Entries of RAF_Louvert, (beginning 10/30/1916)

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

W4180 - 778 20,000 - 6/16 . . . 10432 - M1070 30,000 - 10/16 . . . (HWWP1484/1) Forms/W3318/2 . . . RNAS Form W. 3348.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mission Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

Squadron: B Sqdn 1 Wing, (attached to RNAS-2)

 

Type and No. of Aircraft: Sop. Strutter B1, three in flight

 

Pilot: Flt Lt. Frederick W. Chapman

 

Observer: None

 

Locality: St. Pol Sur-Mer

 

Date: 30 October 1916

 

Time: 08:16

 

Duty: Bombing

 

Height: 12,000'

____________________________________________________________

 

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Rolled from field with Flt Lt. Quentin Bartles and Flt. Lt. M. Mountjoy-Standfast (wing). Climbed ESE to 12,000' and crossed the lines due west of Douai. Moderate Archie as we approached target aerodrome on the eastern edge of Douai. Descended to 7,000' and released bombs, which struck the field directly in front of hangers on south side. Fires seen burning and believe to have destroyed one aircraft parked on field. Climbed back to 12,000' as we returned. No EA seen during entire flight, although AA bursts were noted far to the north near coastline. Flight time, 96 minutes.

 

 

Submitted by Flt Lt. F.W. Chapman, 30-10-16

.

 

.

W4180 - 778 20,000 - 6/16 . . . 10432 - M1070 30,000 - 10/16 . . . (HWWP1484/1) Forms/W3318/2 . . . RNAS Form W. 3348.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mission Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

Squadron: B Sqdn 1 Wing, (attached to RNAS-2)

 

Type and No. of Aircraft: Sop. Strutter B1, three in flight

 

Pilot: Flt Lt. Frederick W. Chapman

 

Observer: None

 

Locality: St. Pol Sur-Mer

 

Date: 30 October 1916

 

Time: 13:12

 

Duty: Bombing

 

Height: 9,500'

____________________________________________________________

 

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Lifted off with Flt Lt. Quentin Bartles and Flt. Lt. M. Mountjoy-Standfast (wing) on our second mission of the day. Climbed east and leveled off at 9,000' due to thick cloud banks above that height, crossing the lines due west of Thielt. We encountered very heavy Archie as we went over the mud and adopted evasive tactics to throw off their aim. Descended to 7,000' as we approached our target aerodrome 10 miles east of Thielt. Got a good angle on the row of hangers and released our bombs which struck the field and two of the buildings. We could see several fires burning in the hangers while we turned to the west. Climbed to 9,500' as we returned. Still no EA to be seen anywhere in our AO. Flight time, 81 minutes.

 

 

Submitted by Flt Lt. F.W. Chapman, 30-10-16

.

 

 

.

W4180 - 778 20,000 - 6/16 . . . 10432 - M1070 30,000 - 10/16 . . . (HWWP1484/1) Forms/W3318/2 . . . RNAS Form W. 3348.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mission Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

Squadron: B Sqdn 1 Wing, (attached to RNAS-2)

 

Type and No. of Aircraft: Sop. Strutter B1, four in flight

 

Pilot: Flt Lt. Frederick W. Chapman

 

Observer: None

 

Locality: St. Pol Sur-Mer

 

Date: 31 October 1916

 

Time: 09:59

 

Duty: Scramble

 

Height: 500'

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Claims for two Albatros scout planes submitted.

 

 

We were pulled from our mid-morning tea when inbound EA were sighted approaching from the east at 5,000'. All available pilots prepared to take to the sky immediately and my flock of four, consisting of Flight Lieutenants Quentin Bartles, W.C. Rasmussen, and M. Mountjoy-Standfast (wing), were in the air first. We no sooner cleared the field and were beginning to gain some altitude when we were bounced by five Albatros scout planes. We broke in different directions and I managed to get directly on top of one of the Huns who had overshot on his dive. I dropped onto his tail and sent a volley of about 30 bullets into his cockpit and engine, and he began smoking profusely. He attempted to pull up and above me and I hit him again with another 20 bullets, after which the craft shuddered and slipped tail-first into the ground. No time to look further as a Boche was now on my six, so I jinxed to port to throw off his aim, then turned hard to starboard and he zipped by. I kicked my rudder back again to port and soon found myself trailing my would be attacker, and was able to send two good volleys of about 20 shots each into the ship. He lost control within seconds and as I followed him and hit him with another short burst his undercarriage hooked some trees west of our aerodrome and he crashed. I suddenly realized my mount was losing power and as I began to turn around towards the field my engine quit and I had to land in a meadow about half a mile from camp. The altercation felt like it had gone on for an hour but upon checking my watch I discovered I was but 12 minutes in the air. I climbed from my Strutter and as I hurried on foot towards our aerodrome I could see the rest of the lads were successfully driving off the remaining Boche. A stellar morning's work.

 

Submitted by Flt Lt. F.W. Chapman, 31-10-16

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

W4180 - 778 20,000 - 6/16 . . . 10432 - M1070 30,000 - 10/16 . . . (HWWP1484/1) Forms/W3318/2 . . . RNAS Form W. 3348.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mission Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

Squadron: B Sqdn 1 Wing, (attached to RNAS-2)

 

Type and No. of Aircraft: Sop. Strutter B1, three in flight

 

Pilot: Flt Lt. Frederick W. Chapman

 

Observer: None

 

Locality: St. Pol Sur-Mer

 

Date: 1 November 1916

 

Time: 13:31

 

Duty: Bombing

 

Height: 12,000'

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Another day of rain, making it three in a row now. Lifted off with Flt Lt. Quentin Bartles and Flt. Lt. Richard Macklroy (wing) to bomb a particular Boche aerodrome near Roubaix. Climbed SSE through heavy clouds and leveled off at 12,000'. We crossed the lines near Menin and were pleasantly surprised by the lack of attention being given us. However, we soon had a surprise of an entirely different nature when old Archibald came up with an horrific barrage that was dead on. Apparently the Hun had sorted out our exact altitude from the clouds we were flying along the bottom of. I no sooner began zigzagging when my kite took a massive hit and the Clerget started to sputter and cough. I turned straight away towards our own lines and had to put into a shallow dive to keep up air speed. I was losing petrol and was just able to clear the mud when the motor conked. I glided as long as I could and ended up in a field near one of our own artillery outfits south of Kemmel, and was able to phone for a lorry and crew to come rescue me and my bus. Flight time, 79 minutes.

 

 

Submitted by Flt Lt. F.W. Chapman, 1-11-16

.

 

 

.

W4180 - 778 20,000 - 6/16 . . . 10432 - M1070 30,000 - 10/16 . . . (HWWP1484/1) Forms/W3318/2 . . . RNAS Form W. 3348.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mission Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

Squadron: B Sqdn 1 Wing, (attached to RNAS-2)

 

Type and No. of Aircraft: Sop. Strutter B1, four in flight

 

Pilot: Flt Lt. Frederick W. Chapman

 

Observer: None

 

Locality: St. Pol Sur-Mer

 

Date: 2 November 1916

 

Time: 10:14

 

Duty: Scramble

 

Height: 200'

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Claims for two Albatros D-II scout planes submitted.

 

 

It was déjà vu . We lads were again enjoying some tea and biscuits when the mid-morning calm was broken by the alarm of incoming enemy planes. ‘A’ Flight was still out on patrol; one man was convalescing; and my wingman, poor old Monty, had gone west just the day before; which left Flight Lieutenants Quentin Bartles, W.C. Rasmussen, Richard Macklroy, (my new wing), and myself to contend with the Hun threat. We weren't but 200' in the air when six Albatros scout planes bounced us, (same type as two days earlier, which we determined to be the D-II from one that crashed nearly intact west of our aerodrome). Things happened so fast it was tricky to keep tabs, but I was able to get numerous 20-to-30 shot volleys into three separate Boche planes, one of which was seen to crash in the trees south of our aerodrome, the other catching fire right in front of me as I put a burst into him, (I felt awful for the chap as I watched him try to land his flaming kite only to crash and explode: bloody horrid way to die). During the fracas I noticed Flt Lt Bartles flying low to the north with a Hun on his tail and his kite smoking badly and feared he may share the same fate as the Hun I’d just torched, but learned later he had set down in one piece near the beach. Flt Lts Rasmussen and Macklroy held their own, and with the aid of our MG's around the field succeeded in destroying or driving away the remaining attackers. Flight time, 15 minutes.

 

Submitted by Flt Lt. F.W. Chapman, 2-11-16

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

W4180 - 778 20,000 - 6/16 . . . 10432 - M1070 30,000 - 10/16 . . . (HWWP1484/1) Forms/W3318/2 . . . RNAS Form W. 3348.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mission Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

Squadron: B Sqdn 1 Wing, (attached to RNAS-2)

 

Type and No. of Aircraft: Sop. Strutter B1, three in flight

 

Pilot: Flt Lt. Frederick W. Chapman

 

Observer: None

 

Locality: St. Pol Sur-Mer

 

Date: 2 November 1916

 

Time: 13:50

 

Duty: Bombing

 

Height: 12,000'

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Will this wretched rain ever stop? Had to slog up and into it again this afternoon when we were assigned a bombing mission on a Boche aerodrome several miles south of Douai. Took off in my Strutter, formed up with Flt Lt. Quentin Bartles and Flt. Lt. Richard Macklroy (wing), and together we climbed SSE to our working altitude of 12,000'. Very heavy clouds as we crossed the lines directly east of Armentières. Watched as our big guns pounded the Hun front lines in that sector, (which may have accounted for the lack of Archie). A flight of five Nieuport "chasseurs" from a French escadrille were patrolling over Courcelles and as we approached they suddenly dove down on a lower trio of enemy two-seaters. Continued on over Douai and to the target without incident and dropped our eggs from 7,000'. We must have misjudged the winds below us as our cargo hit wide of the aerodrome and did little more that create a few craters in an empty field next door. We noticed six EA about 3,000' below coming our way so we turned west and got ourselves back to the friendly side post-haste. Heavy Archie as we crossed over Vimy Ridge, but no real damage done by it. Turned and set a course NNW back to St. Pol Sur-Mer and came home without any further excitement. Flight time, 106 minutes.

 

Upon landing we learned of the loss of W.C. Rasmussen. Another of our brave lads gone west to join the choir invisible. His jolly nature will be missed 'round the dinner table.

 

Submitted by Flt Lt. F.W. Chapman, 2-11-16

.

 

 

.

W4180 - 778 20,000 - 6/16 . . . 10432 - M1070 30,000 - 10/16 . . . (HWWP1484/1) Forms/W3318/2 . . . RNAS Form W. 3348.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mission Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

Squadron: B Sqdn 1 Wing, (attached to RNAS-2)

 

Type and No. of Aircraft: Sop. Strutter B1, five in flight

 

Pilot: Flt Lt. Frederick W. Chapman

 

Observer: None

 

Locality: St. Pol Sur-Mer

 

Date: 3 November 1916

 

Time: 10:00

 

Duty: Railyard Attack

 

Height: 6,000'

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Finally, a day without rain. Cold and cloudy, but dry. Also provided another change of pace when we were assigned a Hun railyard to attack east of Lens. Took off directly after mid-morning tea at 10:00 sharp, with Flt Lts Quentin Bartles, Darcy Jarrow, Dick Richards, and Richard Macklroy (wing). As I was assigned leader of this particular sortee I took it upon myself to rearrange our flight path, (the brass hats haven't a clue sometimes about the situation along the front). Our target was only a few miles beyond NML so I decided to cross as low as possible and avoid Archie altogether. We alt'd up to the SSE and flew over Bailleul at 6,000', then turned due south and continued on to Liévin. Along the way we were treated to an exibition of French aerial fighting as we watched five Nieuport scouts attack four Boche two-seaters near Herlies. By the time we were out of range we had seen them down one and send the others packing for home with smoke pouring from their kites. Over Liévin I gave the sign and we dove down and hedge-hopped straight east above Fritzie's noggin, so low we could have picked his hat off. Not a single shot sent our way as we went around the south edge of Lens and along to the railyard. I brought the lads up to 300' for the bomb run so as not to frag ourselves, and when the time was right I let go my eggs then banked hard to starboard and dropped back down to the trees. I watched with great satisfaction as the main depot exploded along with two troop cars. The rest of the lads had equal success and after a quick gun pass on the MG nests we called the job done and jinxed our way west. We hugged Mother Earth all the way back across and I took but a handful of hits in my lower port wing, which did nothing of import. Once back on the friendly side we alt'd up and retraced our tracks. Turning to the north we watched a massive, ugly green gas cloud roll from the east right over our PBI in the trenches near Loos, (made me sick knowing the agony that wisp from Hell was about to cause). We had climbed to 6,000' and were just above the La Lys river when we spotted four enemy B/R planes heading eastward at best speed. They were a good 4,000' over us so we decided not to give chase as we had no hope of catching them. Made our turn at Bailleul and sallied on NNW, noting a very heavy AA barrage being put up to the east somewhere near Elverdinghe, but could make out no EA due to the distance. Landed without incident to find that confirmation of our target destruction had already been called in by a Scots infantry position that had witnessed the attack. Jolly good mission, with a final tally of the depot, five pieces of rolling stock and an MG nest destroyed. Only thing that would have made it better is if I'd had a camera along to get a photo of the mess we made for the Kaiser.

Flight time, 69 minutes.

 

Submitted by Flt Lt. F.W. Chapman, 3-11-16

.

 

 

 

 

 

.

W4180 - 778 20,000 - 6/16 . . . 10432 - M1070 30,000 - 10/16 . . . (HWWP1484/1) Forms/W3318/2 . . . RNAS Form W. 3348.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mission Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

Squadron: B Sqdn 1 Wing, (attached to RNAS-2)

 

Type and No. of Aircraft: Sop. Strutter B1, three in flight

 

Pilot: Flt Lt. Frederick W. Chapman

 

Observer: None

 

Locality: St. Pol Sur-Mer

 

Date: 4 November 1916

 

Time: 14:31

 

Duty: Artillery spotting

 

Height: 4,000'

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Nearly had a wash-out due to the heavy rains that returned during the night, but HQ decided this afternoon we had to do an arty spot for the big guns south of Armentières. So, despite the torrential downpour, by mid-afternoon I was in my Strutter climbing into the grey skies with Flt Lts Quentin Bartles and Richard Macklroy off my port wing. We alt'd slowly through the wall of water but upon our approach to Armentières my motor began coughing like a sailor with the croup and despite all my fiddling with mixture and throttle she would not settle down. Within another few minutes I conked altogether and had to set down in an empty field near a small farm on the La Lys. Was able to catch a ride in a hay wagon to a nearby escadrille and phone for a lorry and crew to come and bring my bus home, and the Commander was kind enough to send a car ahead for me as he had news he wished to share ASAP. Upon my return to camp I was informed that my claims had been apporved and that I now had four kills to my credit. The day was not a total washout after all, and once I'd dried out and gotten into fresh clothes I went over to the officers' mess and treated everyone to several bottle of the local wine. Tonight I shall sleep the sleep of the victorious, and the slightly gassed.

 

Flight time, 33 minutes.

 

Submitted by Flt Lt. F.W. Chapman, 4-11-16

.

.

Edited November 4, 2009 by RAF_Louvert

[Ras 0]

Nice report, Sir. Looks very professional looking

[carrick58 23]

N ice report

[Red-Dog 3]

Is this were we are posting reports?

[Macklroy 2]

Great post and great mission Sir!

 

Looking forward to getting up in the active role as well soon enough. Nov5th my new crate arrives I think.

 

Red_Dog - You can post After Action Reports here. Combat reports to update info on siggis site go through him via the http://www.hetzer.talktalk.net/sitenavigation.html

 

S!

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Thanks Gents, glad you enjoyed the report, there will be more to come soon.

 

As to Red-Dog's question, it's my understanding that Siggi wants each of us to start our own Pilot Log thread and post there and he will then link your pilot entry on the DiD roster to that specific thread. So, this thread would be for my pilot's posts, Red-Dog would start his own thread like this for his, and so on for each of the DiD flyers in this campaign. Perhaps Siggi will correct me if I am wrong here, but that is what I gathered from his posts.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

 

 

[Siggi 10]

.

 

Thanks Gents, glad you enjoyed the report, there will be more to come soon.

 

As to Red-Dog's question, it's my understanding that Siggi wants each of us to start our own Pilot Log thread and post there and he will then link your pilot entry on the DiD roster to that specific thread. So, this thread would be for my pilot's posts, Red-Dog would start his own thread like this for his, and so on for each of the DiD flyers in this campaign. Perhaps Siggi will correct me if I am wrong here, but that is what I gathered from his posts.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

 

I don't want it, it's just on offer for those who wish to make use of it.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Siggi

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Sorry Siggi, poor choice of words on my part. You suggested we might do it this way if we'd like to.

 

.

 

 

[Dej 17]

I, personally, think it's much better to have a thread each than to bury an individual's adventures amongst everybody else's. I don't see it as so much of an imposition on the forum as others might.

 

Again, personally, I'm not going to bother trawling through, for example, Lou's posts looking for Olham's story... nor vice versa.

 

To keep it simple, let's have one thread per pilot...

 

Lou, apologies for the hypocrisy of hi-jacking your log thread to advocate having one each