2nd Lt. John Horton dragged himself out of his bed and dressed just before dawn on the 8th June. After a hurried breakfast he climbed wearily into the cockpit of his DH2 and prepared for the first patrol of the day.
For the past few days 52 Squadron had been tasked with protecting the Canadian ammunition dumps near the Ypres salient as they prepared to re-take Mount Sorrel from Fritz - it was considered vital to this effort that the enemy should be denied intelligence on the build-up.
As John reached the patrol area he saw two specks in the distance, flying towards him from the German lines. He turned the DH2 to intercept, and soon realised that he was facing a two-seater escorted by the red Eindecker of Hans "Houdini" Hübner!
With the Adjutant's order to protect the ammo dump "at all costs" ringing in his ears, John ignored the Eindecker and made a head-on pass at the two seater - which he realised was a Albatros of some sort.
In the blink of an eye he was past both enemy machines, and as he looked back over his shoulder saw that his burst had caused the Albatros to trail smoke.
He also saw that the Fokker was sliding between his plane and the Albatros, and that the Observer in the two-seater was swinging his Parabellum into position as the pilot turned to get the DH2 out of the blind spot behind his plane's tail.
The Observer opened fire and bullets thudded into the DH2, but John also saw him hammering at the machine-gun as it fell silent.
Realising this left them at his mercy, John Immelmanned to get back onto the reconnaissance plane's tail, but managed to get in a snap-shot at the Eindecker as it crossed in front of him.
He then emptied the Lewis gun's drum into the tail of the two-seater, and watched it literally disintegrate as it dove into the ground just short of the ammo dump. As he flew over the wreck he could see Canadian troops running towards the crash site.
John turned his plane around, and scanned the skies for the Eindecker - and was horrified to see Hübner moving in to attack from the left. A long burst stitched bullet-holes across the DH2's wings, and John braced himself for the coup de grâce!
It didn't come, and John breathed a sigh of relief as his plane slid out of the Fokker's arc of fire! He also saw a chance to get onto Hübner's tail - he was determined "Houdini" wouldn't pull off another miraculous escape!
John Immelmanned again, and found himself on the Eindecker's tail. He made the most of the opportunity, and poured a long burst into the red machine.
But Hübner was not going to give up without a fight! Before John knew it the Fokker had Immelmanned, and the two machines made a fast head-on pass as he continued to fire his Lewis. Bullets thudded into the DH2's cockpit, and he had a fleeting impression of flame as the Eindecker whizzed past.
Looking over his shoulder, he saw Hübner's plane leaving a fiery trail as it rapidly side-slipped and dove towards the ground. It eventually crashed just short of the front lines, and John was sure that the German pilot would soon be captured.
When he returned to the aerodrome he was met with the news that not only had "Houdini" managed to elude the troops had tried to capture him, but also that one of the Canadian AA machine gun crews protecting the ammo dump were trying to claim his victory over Hübner!
THE BUTCHER'S BILL
Albatros C1
Vzfwbl. Kurt König SD EXP ET / - / 0 Kill.
Crash roll 10 -3EXP = 7 Bruised miss 1 scenario
E&E roll 5 -1WND -1FLM = 3 Captured & Escaped miss 1d3 scenarios (roll 3) for total of 4 scenarios
Ltn. Wilhelm Ulmer SD EXP ET / - / 0 Kill.
Crash roll 6 -3EXP = 3 Severely Wounded miss 1d6 scenarios (roll 1)
E&E roll 3 -1WND -1FLM = 1 Captured
Obltn. Hans "Houdini" Hübner SD FLM ET / - / 0 Kill
Crash roll 7 -2FLM = 5 Injured miss 1d3 scenarios (roll 1)
E&E roll 10 -1WND -1ET -1FLM = 7 Landed Almost Home miss 1 scenario (total 2)
2nd Lt. John Horton RTB / - / 2 Kills
[Dave - if an explosion counts as a FLM for E&E then Kurt is also captured - wasn't sure about that one]
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