AlbertTross

Epower - I saw the reference to West Point, an American of Irish descent....a Bostonian then perhaps. Time will tell I'm sure. So Felix felt need to cleanse his soul. Its a skillful priest who can use his own opaque history to help others to whom it is very much clear and troubling. But then....troubles? what troubles? When there is a delightful mademoiselle to flirt with. Looking forward to the next chapter......

Epower- A warm welcome to Felix, he's clearly had enough life already to fill a book and enough battles to fill another. Vimy Ridge being a prime example. An interesting account of a bloody affair. An Irishman eh, I wonder what we shall learn about his past and his reasons for joining the legion. I'm looking forward to it. As for Edward....he's enjoying the challenge of being combative in his cumbersome two seater but he knows he's running a risk. He does want to fly scouts of course, but hopefully will be around long enough to find out about Kehr.

Raine - Douglas seems to have become something of a flak magnet, he could do with losing that ability. When the weather finally relents from winter to spring there'll be enough for him to worry about I think. Huntington seems one of those who has the unfathomable ability to get on everyone's nerves without really trying. As for Edward, when he's been able to fly it's been fun...certainly. The DFW is a strange bird, it doesn't look structurally tough whereas the Roland does, but it clearly is. It takes a beating and can dive like a SPAD (almost). The main gripe is the lack of forward view, having to lean around the 'upturned bathtub' in front of you.

Obflugm Edward Reimann MFFA II Nieuwmunster 2 confirmed victories 3rd February to 9th February 1917 The weather thankfully eased for a few days and Edward, together with his faithful beobachter Hasse, were kept busy. This was a good thing, as Edward had had some trouble putting the near miss in his previous mission out of his mind. Hasse, who had a habit of dwelling on the morbidity of war, had spent the previous evening getting very intoxicated. Leutnant Wald, who was normally strict with the alcohol intake of his pilots and observers, allowed it on this occasion as he could clearly see how it had affected Hasse. Edward, made of sterner stuff, enjoyed a drink but left it there. Ebersbach had commented that it was all another sure sign of Leutnant Wald's 'softening' since the birth of his child. Edward simply thought it was the sign of a good and empathetic C.O. The sorties over the next few days varied, from bombing raids on the front lines to note taking and photographic reconnaissance of various points along the front from Nieuwpoort to Ypres. On the 5th, Edward was flying towards Menen when he spotted flak bursts over the German side and then spotted a trio of enemy two-seaters crossing his path. For a split second there was hesitancy. Edward searched the sky several times. Then he came to his senses, reproaching himself as he turned to head after the now departing BE2's. He quickly closed the gap and picked a target as the trio of enemy aircraft split up. He went after the leftmost aircraft and blasted the enemy with several good bursts. The BE tried to evade but Edward swung around with him and continued firing into the cockpit. Finally he saw the pilot slump forward and the BE nosed down. It continued down into the ground. As Edward took stock he noticed he had crossed the lines a little and hastily crossed back and returned to his planned mission. Although the claim was inevitably denied (Edward and Hasse were alone and the enemy had fallen over the lines), Leutnant Wald congratulated the pair. The 6th and 7th were washed-out by the weather but on the 9th, Edward was again heading to the Ypres salient. He spotted a lone aircraft ahead. Edward checked his gaze, it couldn't be! Could it? It was! It was a single enemy BE2, well over German lines. Edward couldn't believe his luck, but something bothered him....where was the flak? He scoured the skies but saw nothing, although heavy clouds made it difficult to be thorough. He decided to press home his attack on the enemy aircraft. He came around behind the BE, who had now realised his predicament and tried to run away. Edward fired long and hard into the enemy and another burst was accurate and went straight into the cockpit and slayed the pilot. The BE2 went into a death dive which only ended when it smashed into the ground near Menen. At that moment, Edward saw more aircraft coming out of a nearby cloud. It was a kette of Albatros scouts and Edward breathed a sigh of relief and realised why there had been no flak. The lead Albatros waggled his wings and the pilot waved towards Edward. The trio of Albatros took up position above and behind Edward and escorted him on the rest of his mission. As he landed at Nieuwmunster, Edward rolled up behind the now stationary Albatrix. Climbing down he made his way towards the friendly scouts. The Albatrix pilots met Edward half-way. The leader introduced himself, Oberleutnant Gotthard Sachsenberg. Saschenberg was the newly oppointed C.O. of Marine Feld Jasta I. He congratulated Edward on his victory over the BE2 which he was happy to confirm. He explained his kette had been stalking the enemy aircraft but had lost him in the clouds. Leutnant Wald came over and joined the conversation, he had clearly met Saschenberg before. When Saschenberg explained what had occurred and Leutnant Wald confirmed that Edward now had 3 confirmed victories, he (half) jokingly invited Edward to join him at MFJI. Edward, blushing brightly, thanked the Oberleutnant. Leutnant Wald interjected that Edward was very much needed at MFFA II for the foreseeable. The MFJ pilots stayed long enough to enjoy an evening in the kasino together with Edward, Wald et al.

Obflugm Edward Reimann MLFA II Nieuwmunster 2 confirmed victories 29th January to 2nd February 1917 Edward was sitting in the kasino with several others when Leutnant Wald came in, he had another marineflieger with him. "Meine herren, may I introduce Flugmaat Daniel Kehr". There were muttered welcomes from those gathered. "Flugmaat Kehr is our newest pilot. Please make him feel welcome!" finished Leutnant Wald who turned and left. Edward and Ebersbach made their way over to Kehr. "I am Obflugm Ebersbach and this fine fellow is 'King!'" said Ebersbach. Edward rolled his eyes whilst Kehr simply looked nonplussed. "I'm Obflugm Edward Reimann. Pleased to meet you" explained Edward. "Where are you from?" He enquired. "I hail from Bisingen on the northern edge of the Swabian Jura." confirmed Kehr. The three talked for some time, Flugmaat Kehr was 23 and had originally been conscripted into the 214th Baden Reserve Regiment in 1914 but had applied for a transfer to the kreigsmarine in early 1915. His father had served in the navy and Daniel was accepted and served on several vessels until training as a pilot late in 1916. Although he seemed pleasant and talkative enough, Edward had the impression Kehr was hiding something, covering for some deepset trauma with his chatty and overfriendly nature. Edward let it go for now, there would be time a-plenty to delve deeper. The weather had been bad for days now. Heavy rain had become clear and freezing nights so that the airfield was completely icebound. It was that cold, the mechanics had lit fires underneath the aircraft to prevent the engines and especially the pipes from freezing solid. By the afternoon of the 29th, it had thawed enough for talk of a flight later that day. At that point however a shout went out that incoming aircraft had been spotted. Edward, Ebersbach and Kehr made their way out where several others had already gathered. Edward saw the growing shapes indicating the incoming aircraft. He counted four fairly large aircraft and as there was no siren or flak he assumed they were German. As the aircraft got nearer Leutnant Wald announced "these are our new kites meine herren!". "DFW's! The latest versions, straight out of the factory." Wald continued. "What's happening to our Rolands herr Leutnant?" asked Edward. "We will be keeping three of them" confirmed Wald as the first of the DFW two-seaters landed. The MLFA pilots spent the rest of the day examining their new mounts. Leutnant Wald announced that tomorrow would involve a series of familiarisation flights. Edward spent several hours over the next two days in his new aircraft. He found it a little slower than the Roland but a much better climber and far more manoeuvrable. It could also dive like a hawk and had a forward firing machine gun just like the Roland. On 1st February Edward was sent to photograph the lines south of Nieuwpoort. The photography went well enough but just as he was about to turn for home, a sixth sense made him look up over to his left. As he did he saw an enemy Triplane speeding down, just about to commence his attack. Edward banked steeply towards his attacker but felt the machine shudder as bullets ripped through the wings and fuselage. He pulled a tight turn and Hasse's machine gun barked a response as the Triplane tried to get on their tail. Edward pulled every move but bullets continued to strike the DFW. Finally, a telling burst from Hasse finally made the Triplane cut off and run for home. Edward needed to trim the aircraft all the way home but they landed safely. They had been lucky....VERY lucky and Edward knew it.

End of month stats Obflugm Edward Reimann MLFA II 8 missions - 14 hours 2 confirmed victories 3 unconfirmed

Obflugm Edward Reimann MLFA II Neuwmunsterit 1 confirmed victory 22nd January to 28th January 1917 Edward sat with Ebersbach and Jung having a breakfast of bauernomelett. The morning mission had already been briefed. They would be heading to the railyard at Bailleul and had orders to attack it. "We attacked Bailleul a few months ago do you remember Jung?" asked Ebersbach. Jung, with a mouthful of food, nodded and made a grunting sound as some kind of confirmation. "Yes it was a nasty business. We lost Langer if I recall" Ebersbach continued. Again Jung grunted and chewed. "Why is it so bad?" asked Edward although he believed he already knew the answer. "The flak Edward. As soon as you appear over the lines it is constant and the route takes us near the Ypres salient!" said Ebersbach. "Too near!" spluttered Jung, still chewing his food. Ebersbach nodded. The four Rolands took off in bright but weak sunlight and climbed upto 8000 feet before heading out towards the front. Right on cue the flak started as they crossed the lines. The air bubbled with explosions. One close call had Edward lurching upward and another left several (thankfully small) holes in the left upper wing. Eventually the target came into view and Hasse dropped his bombs skillfully. Edward rolled and was able to see several large explosions bring the railyard to a burning shambles. https://combatace.com/gallery/image/50821-1jpg/ The trip back was just as fearsome but thankfully uneventful. Edward reported his damage and went off to clean up. The 23rd had Edward taking photos of the fortifications near the coast. On his return he saw flak bursts over the lines and then spotted the target. A flight of BE2's crossed overhead. https://combatace.com/gallery/image/50823-3jpg/ Edward swung around and climbed up. It didn't seem the English had spotted Edward, or at least they made no evasive maneuver as he came up underneath. He lined up on the rearmost enemy aircraft and poured bullets into the foe. Too late the pilot of the BE tried to give his gunner a shot. Edward however raked the cockpit with bullets. The pilot slumped forward and the engine burst into flame. https://combatace.com/gallery/image/50824-4jpg/ The stricken BE plunged into the depths. With the other enemy aircraft now some distance away, Edward decided to head home. With no witnesses however the claim was inevitably rejected. Wald consoled Edward with "You know you got him meine freund". The following day, Edward, Ebersbach, Jung and Wald attacked the lines previously photographed by Edward the previous day. https://combatace.com/gallery/image/50822-2jpg/ The 25th a washout and Edward spent the day writing to his mother. The 26th was another bombing mission to attack the airfield at La Lovie. Again the flak was terrible but the attack went smoothly. https://combatace.com/gallery/image/50828-8jpg/ As the four Rolands started their journey back something made Edward look up. Just as he did so he caught sight of an enemy aircraft launching an attack on Jung who was somewhat higher than Edward. https://combatace.com/gallery/image/50829-9jpg/ Edward nervously searched the sky for more enemy aircraft and spotted another two enemy aircraft pass underneath him. The aircraft had three wings and seemed very fast. https://combatace.com/gallery/image/50825-5jpg/ Edward watched as Jung desperately tried to throw his assailant off but seemed to be getting nowhere. Edward climbed and tried to help his kamerad. Just as he lined up a burst at the Triplane he watched in horror as Jung's Roland lurched over and spiralled down like water in a plughole. Edward, angry but calm, came around behind the Triplane and fired a long burst into the Englishman. The Triplane lurched but swung around and tried to run. Edward shouted for Hasse to be ready. He rolled and allowed Hasse to fire a telling burst down into the enemy. The Triplane now slowed and Edward swung around behind him. Edward lined up and fired a long burst. The English pilot slumped forward and the Triplane nosed down and went straight into the ground. https://combatace.com/gallery/image/50826-6jpg/ https://combatace.com/gallery/image/50830-10jpg/ The other two enemy aircraft scarpered on seeing their own fall. Edward joined up with Wald and Ebersbach and they headed home. It was a subdued melee once the aircraft had landed. Ebersbach looked at the ground and Edward tapped his shoulder as a sign of his understanding. Wald appeared and did likewise. For all Jung's pomposity he was a well liked and respected pilot. Wald called Edward to his office a little later. "Sad times Edward" remarked Wald. "Indeed sir. I was just getting to know him" replied Edward. "War has no respect for friendships junge" Wald continued. "However, war sometimes throws up such happenings and its how we deal with them that define who we are". said the Leutnant. Edward nodded. "How you dealt with it was first rate Edward. That was some of the best flying I've seen, and in a immovable beast like the Roland as well!" exclaimed Wald. "Danke herr Leutnant. I... did what I could." replied Edward, immediately admonishing himself for the timidity of the response. "You certainly did. To defeat a Triplane in such a way is no mean feat. I can confirm the victory myself having seen it all!". "You are proving yourself a fine pilot Edward. I'm very pleased to have you with us." confirmed Leutnant Wald. A memorial service was held on the 27th for Jung although no confirmation had been received from either the English or headquarters. The rain fell again on the 28th washing out the day's flying but the unit received a very unexpected delivery.