OTT The Early Doors Mission 4 - Verdun - 21st April 1916
Thursday, April 20th
One peg =500ft. All starting heights rolled for with 2d6
Captain John Frederickson surveyed the new flying field. It was considerably bigger than the field he had left that morning, and the patches of disturbed ground showed that it had not gone un-noticed by the enemy. There was a wood along one side of the landing strip, where hangers had been placed and camouflaged to keep the aircraft and workshops as safe as possible. The ground crew were housed in a series of wooden huts about half a mile away near another copse. Marking the third point of an almost equilateral triangle was the large farmhouse and attendant stables which had been requisitioned for the officers, and those few flyers from the other ranks. A barn adjacent to the stable block had been converted into the Officers Mess, and was notably quiet for an establishment supposed to cater to two squadrons. Another old barn between the other ranks billets and the field had been converted by the YMCA into a café for the men.
He heard his name called, and turned to see his friend, and immediate superior Major John Smyth had entered the mess.
“Well John, what do you think of the place?”
“Much better than living in tents Sir.”
“Goodness yes, must have been hell for you during that snow last month, just as we all thought Spring was in the offing. Still now that April is here, and the weather improving, the Generals are feeling as frisky as the lambs in the fields. Walk with me to my office would you old chap? I have official business to discuss.”
The Captain put down his tea on a nearby table, and with a last look out of the mess window, he followed the Major to the stables, and the squadron offices.
Friday, April 21st 1916,
Weather report: High cloud, winds variable gusting to force 5. Cold. Precipitation possible later if depression to NW moves in from Channel.
Captain Frederickson looked at the men he had chosen. This operation, like so many these days, was fraught with danger and urgency. He had left the two new boys out as experience was definitely the watchword for today.
After outlining the task before them, he gave them a final word.
“Jenkins, Strong, I am giving you the new two seater for this operation, as we are likely to be on the receiving end of far too much attention. Whatever happens, Jenkins, you must get the plates back before 0900. Anderson, you will be flying one of the DeHavilands the new chaps brought with them, I will be taking the other. Our task is to ensure that Sgt Jenkins can carry out his orders.”
Captain Frederickson looked at the balloons approaching below him, one of them was already aflame, and to the south he could see a French scout heading back into the attack. Good. So far the plan seemed to be working. The ground beneath the balloons was obscured by the same heavy mist that had threatened to delay his Flight’s take off that morning, but the rising sun was already beginning to burn it off. Hopefully it would be lifted enough for them to find their targets soon.
He looked to his left where The Fe2b was keeping station 500 feet below him, and then further across to 2nd Lt Andersons plane, keeping to his own altitude of 7000feet. As they began to cross no-man’s land, he waved to the Sergeant to begin his descent, and search for the first target. In order to ensure the best detail with sufficient coverage, it had been stipulated that the photographs must be taken at an altitude of 3000 feet. As he followed the Fee down, he noticed the Lieutenant still keeping station. As he scanned the sky for enemy aircraft, he saw Anderson waving frantically, then the shapes of two Eindekkers, just below him and to his left, heading for the French plane past the burning blimp.
He heard the faint rattle of a Lewis gun, and saw that both 2Lt Anderson and Cpl Strong had opened fire on one of the German planes.
T1m3
As Frederickson and the Fee continued their descent, the trailing EIII opened fire on the Fe2. Anderson, keeping his height advantage, let loose a withering burst of fire against the plain EIII. He saw the pilot jerk in his seat as his bullets shredded the area around the cockpit.
The pilot of the French Nieuport meanwhile, lifted its nose to fire at the red winged EIII which had previously fired at him. He cursed as his bullets went wide, then cursed again as his gun jammed. Corporal Strong was also cursing, as, torn by the multiplicity of targets around him he missed his chance of a shot.
T2m1
P4.2a
Ltn Hets was not happy. He had a new pilot to shepherd, and three balloons to protect. They had been on their way to the patrol area when they had seen one of the balloons burst into flame. The fog on the ground below them was preventing the protecting Anti Aircraft batteries from seeing any target, and if the balloons were under serious attack the observers had probably already jumped clear. He had seen the French plane flying just above the balloons, and dived to the attack, only to find three Britischers in their stupid Vickers coming to the Frenchman’s aid. With his gun now jammed, he looked on in horror as his wingman took a pasting from one of the British planes and suddenly went into a vertical climb.
Ltn Arnold had seen the British planes approaching, and had exchanged fire with the closest one.
He had concentrated too hard on getting in another burst at closer range against “his” target, and forgotten about the other plane approaching from his right until the bullets crashed around him and then into him. The pain made him clench all his muscles tightly, the stick came back and his aircraft hurled itself upwards. On the verge of blacking out with the pain, he rolled the Fokker over as it began to loop, just as he had been taught by Erich the day before. As he flew past the man who had shot him, he felt more bullets strike home on his battered plane as yet another enemy side-slipped in underneath his tail.
T2m2
Sick with the pain, his aircraft in tatters and behaving awkwardly, Ltn Johann Arnold determined to return to base.
Captain Frederickson looked about him, and saw the Sgt was back onto the course he had plotted as the most likely to find the enemy establishments they had to reconnoitre. One of the German scouts looked to be in a bad way, and Gerry was sitting above the other Hun who was also flying away from them.
T2m3
He climbed back to follow the damaged Hun, better safe than sorry.
As he did so, 2nd Lt Anderson turned away from the Red EIII to continue his duty of escorting the Fee. Ltn Hets for his part, mindful of his duty to protect the balloons, and with his gun now unjammed, dropped in behind the Frenchman.
T3m1
Ltn Arnold checked his heading, the compass seemed to be working ok, it had not been damaged in the attacks. He could not feel his right arm or hand, they hung uselessly in his lap. He looked down at the ground, rechecked his compass heading and altered course to the right. John Frederickson saw him begin to turn back towards the combat zone, and as he side slipped steeply to his left, he opened fire again. The Fokker, already badly mauled, gave up the ghost and began the long fall to earth
T3m2
Now that the ground fog had lifted, Albert Jenkins could see the first of his targets. Michael Strong was making the camera ready. Albert throttled back the Beardmore engine to give his friend the best possible chance of a good quality picture.
As Michael strong was photographing the German Headquarters, Ltn Hets was continuing his attack on the Nieuport. Firing at close range, he was delighted to see flames burst from the front of the French machine.
Ltn Hets gave the French airman no quarter. As the balloon continued to burn a thousand feet below him, he dropped the nose of his Scarlet Dragon once more and fired into the French pilot’s machine. He side-slipped the burst onto his target, and was gratified to see the Nieuport explode into fiery fragments, the starboard wings going one way, the rest of the plane spiralling down like a comet another way
T3m3
Gerry Anderson had seen the fate of the first EIII, and turned to look for the Red winged Hun. He saw the destruction of the French balloon buster, and continued his turn pushing his stick forward to lose height as he did so, in order to be able to engage this obviously dangerous opponent.
Corporal Strong meanwhile had seen one of the enemy batteries he was to photograph, and had indicated its whereabouts to his Sergeant in his usual idiosyncratic manner
“Hey Bert, the £%”£$% (*^&^$%* Fritz’s guns are over there”
Shaking his head, Albert had piloted the Fee in the direction indicated.
T4m2
As they passed over the German Battery, Sgt Jenkins again stalled the Fe2 briefly to give his observer the best possible chance of a clear picture for the backroom boys to peer at.
T4m3
As they cleared the space over the German position, Michael Strong saw the muzzle flashes of guns pointed straight up at them.
“Them *&$%^* *^%$£& Huns are shootin’ at us!” he shouted.
Sgt Jenkins already had the Fee in as tight a turn as it could take, and prayed that the German gunners were bad shots.
As they continued to turn, Captain Frederickson flew near them, but a couple of thousand feet higher up. A shell exploded in between the two aircraft, but harmed neither as it was at the wrong height.
T5m2
As the two aircraft spread further apart to avoid making such an attractive target, Mick Strong turned round in his bath tub and shouted
“Oi Bert, seein’ as ‘ow we’re ‘eadin’ back to that first &&^%$%%^^ site, I can get another *&^%$^% picture. Just to make ^&$%”£* sure”
T5m3
Gerry Anderson, who had lost the red EIII, had turned back on himself, dived down to 3000ft, and was attacking the middle balloon which had been winched down to 1500 ft by its ground crew (same rules as last mission).
Thirty seconds later, the northern balloon suddenly collapsed on its sweating crew, the fire having finally robbed it of all lift.
Sgt Jenkins slowed his aircraft to near stalling speed for what he hoped would be the last time as Cpl Strong took his 2nd picture of the German Headquarters.
Lt Anderson, engrossed in trying to take out the middle balloon failed to notice the Albatros two seater which was returning form its own reconnaissance over the British lines. The pilot, a much put upon Feldwebel was attempting to nurse the now outdated and slow CI to a better height when he saw the DH2 attacking the balloon. Much of the increased unwieldiness of the Albatros was due to the experimental addition of a forward firing machine gun. The Feldwebel, with the unfortunate name of Igor Katzewurger, fired a burst at the impudent Britischer.
T6m1
Gerry felt a tugging at his control stick, and looked around. “Oh Cripes!” he said as he spotted the blue aeroplane with the black crosses on its wings.
As the five aircraft all closed in on each other, the British planes trying now to escape back across the lines, the Red Fokker out to stop them at all costs, and the Blue Albatros, merely after some harassing shots as it returned home, the air was filled with hot lead.
T6m3
The observer of the Albatros, who had been shouting and cursing at his “chauffeur” and trying to get into a position where he could bring his Parabellum to bear, finally got his chance. As Sgt Jenkins tried to break out of the melee that had exploded around him, Ltn Horst Wessel fired a burst at close range directly into the engine of the Fee, causing it to pack up instantly.
At the same time, Ltn Hets, passing over the top of Lt Anderson, fired on Captain Frederickson, causing his engine to explode, shrapnel from it rendering the Captain unconscious, as his plane began to spiral downwards.
T7m1
As 2Lt Anderson flew out of the maelstrom of destruction, the AA gunners of the recently over flown battery scored a direct hit,
T7m2
smashing the wing struts, and causing his DH2 to plummet earthwards.
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John what mayhem! 
that made my mission look like a picnic!
Originally Posted by johnbiggles
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