Picture of a British Recon Pilot's Log

[Olham]

On the "Jasta 2"-Website, I just found this log from Capt. John Pattern, No. 10 Sqdn, RFC.

He and observer, Lt. Leycester, shot down Erwin Böhme from Jasta 2 (green line) on the day

before Pattern had a leave of 14 days.

Pattern hit the tank of Böhme's Albatros, which had passed the Armstrong-Whitworth F.K.8;

then Lt. Leycester fired tracer rounds after the descending Böhme, which must have set the

pertol fumes afire. Böhme was the pilot, who had collided with Boelcke's Albatros and brought

it to crash. After that, he had loaded a revolver in his tent to shoot himself; but Manfred von

Richthofen held him back. Now he was to receive the Pour-le-Merite in only a few hours.

He never got it.

 

Here is the link to the site:

 

http://www.jastaboelcke.de/php/include.php?file=content/html/flieger/erwin_boehme/boehme_bio_ger.html

 

 

Edited May 14, 2011 by Olham

[+elephant]

Impressive!

[Olham]

Could anyone of our English speaking pilots write up the "Remarks" here - I can hardly read some of them.

[Dej]

The remarks read, from top to bottom:

 

Landed to a lost D. H. 4.

Forced landings by 13 machines

Photos. Camera jambed.

Engine test. Crashed u(nder)-carriage

Photos. R. E. 8 escort. V(ery). Cloudy.

Aerial Combat: 10 Camels.

Travelling flight.

Tour of Area.

Patrol.

Low reconnaissance.

Shot down.

Frackelton pilot. Engine test.

Patrol. Comic photos.

Patrol. Pitot shot.

Photos. Shot Hun down.

-

Lt. Hett pilot.

Engine and rigging test.

Patrol. Many E. A.

[Olham]

Thank you, Dej!

Does this mean, that he landed near a DH-4, that was lost in enemy terrain?

Does "jambed" mean the same a "jammed"? (I think so)

Comic photos???

Pitot shot - or Pilot shot?

[Hasse Wind]

Comic photos? Were they making a cartoon from such photos?

[SteveLohr]

On the "Jasta 2"-Website, I just found this log from Capt. John Pattern, No. 10 Sqdn, RFC.

He and observer, Lt. Leycester, shot down Erwin Böhme from Jasta 2 (green line) on the day

before Pattern had a leave of 14 days.

Pattern hit the tank of Böhme's Albatros, which had passed the Armstrong-Whitworth F.K.8;

then Lt. Leycester fired tracer rounds after the descending Böhme, which must have set the

pertol fumes afire. Böhme was the pilot, who had collided with Boelcke's Albatros and brought

it to crash. After that, he had loaded a revolver in his tent to shoot himself; but Manfred von

Richthofen held him back. Now he was to receive the Pour-le-Merite in only a few hours.

He never got it.

 

Here is the link to the site:

 

http://www.jastaboel...me_bio_ger.html

 

 

 

Interesting. According to the site, Böhme was in his late 30's when he was killed. That is remarkably old for a fighter pilot at the time.

[Dej]

Thank you, Dej!

Does this mean, that he landed near a DH-4, that was lost in enemy terrain?

Does "jambed" mean the same a "jammed"? (I think so)

Comic photos???

Pitot shot - or Pilot shot?

 

1) It's either 'to' or a shorthand for something else. Looking at it more closely, it's a similar symbol to the pharmaceutical shorthand for 'without' which would make more sense, so the line should maybe read: 'Landed without a lost D. H. 4'

2) Yes. Seems to be an Americanism, I've noticed Lou using 'jambed' instead of 'jammed'

3) Can't interpret the word any other way. Lord only knows what it means!

4) Definitely 'pitot'. There's a gap between the crossings of the two 'T's so it's not a sweeping line from the last letter. I'd guess he either had his pitot tube shot off or it was 'shot' i.e. non-functional.

[Olham]

Okay - thank you, Dej! Feels somehow touching to see these handwritten, neat lines.

[Bletchley]

My own guesses:

 

"Landed to a lost DH4", I think means that he landed next to a DH4 that had lost its way and landed at "Frivent" airfield to ask directions or to refuel (not an uncommon occurence. The pilot and observer were probably in the mess refueling as well). Not sure where this "Frivent" was, but as he took off again from there the next day I guess it was a staging post on the way to his squadron.

 

"jambed" was the same as "jammed" - I have seen it several times in diaries and memoirs of this period.

 

"comic photos" might mean that the photos were defective in some way (double exposed?). Or they mave have been taken as a strip of overlapping photos for mapping?

 

Bletchley

Edited May 17, 2011 by Bletchley

[Bullethead]

I never new RFC recon types lived long enough to bother keeping a logbook ;)

[Lewie]

I never new RFC recon types lived long enough to bother keeping a logbook ;)

 

Well a few of them wrote memoirs..

 

Frederick Libby : Horses Don't Fly