Who said the French don't engage?

[Olham]

I have just had one of these straining, intense and exciting dogfights you only find in "Over Flanders Fields".

Flying with Jasta 32 in May 1917, based at La Jolie Ferme NE of Verdun, we ran into several Nieuport 17

from the French Escadrille 77. After only seconds I knew that there were aces in the flight, and switching

on Labels confirmed that.

Damn, they gave us a fight. I know some say the French wouldn't go for fights - but these fellers were over

on our side, and they engaged us decidedly.

The fighting took much longer than usual clashes do, and my opponent played so many tricks on me in

his Nupe, that I feel like I have had some hours of training in a fighter school!

The man was all over the place, and his up-and-down tactic was hard to follow in the Albatros D.II.

I even performed barrel rolls - something I don't normally do - to be able to remain behind him, but he

never gave me a good hitting-angle for long, and I fired a lot of ammo.

Our "tango" was so close, that I could see, he carried a big serpent or dragon emblem, filling the whole

fuselage side.

I got him down in the end, and short before he crashed, I switched Labels on.

He was Maurice Jean Paul Boyau, and he had given me a great fight. His ace comrade Joseph Maria

shot my wingman down. I could get some bullets into his kite too, but then my ammo was out.

He and his wingman chased me all the way back to La Jolie Ferme, before they turned round.

 

Chapeau, messieurs!

[carrick58]

Good Flight

[Hauksbee]

In truth, they've just been luring you Germans into a false sense of security, and when you least expect it....

[Olham]

...they'd throw 5-course menues at us?

[Hauksbee]

...they'd throw 5-course menues at us?

Works every time!

[TaillyHo]

Good show, Olham.

My encounters with N.17s are sometimes like that too - tho it has more to do with my rather average piloting of the Albatros than their being ace Escadrilles.