Storm Clouds on the Horizon
PART ONE: Autumn had settled in and the wind wailed through every crack and crevice. In the Jasta billets in town ragged threads of smoke rose from every chimney and the pilots gathered for a drink against the chill. The door opened, letting a rush of leaves and wetness in followed by the outline of the Hauptman, his collar turned up against the weather. The men quickly came to attention but were quickly invited to remain at ease as the captain removed his 'mutze and warmed his hands over the stove. "What news, sir? Will this rain cease and let us back in the air? "My friends", he began slowly, "the British incursions into our airspace and downing our balloons must stop, and we will stop them. For the offensive to succeed we must be able to see their dispositions and adjust our artillery, or the assault will stall and fail. To have this intelligence means the balloons must stay aloft. In the presence of enemy aircraft they will not be drawn down - you will protect them and drive off the British. We will make an example of any that try, a lesson they will long remember. Tomorrow the weather will clear, we will take to the air, and we WILL be masters of the skies in our sector. Every available aircraft must be ready to take off at first light. We have adequate stores of fuel and arms to put you into the air and return you repeatedly until twilight. The Kaiser is watching. Are there any questions?" "No Herr Hauptman!" "Then let us enjoy today, and be prepared for our greatest labors tomorrow. I will see you on the flight line at first light. Guten nacht, mein herrs."
"Bloody awful!" "Ah quit your complaining, lad, this is naught compared to fall in the Pennines!" The men grumbled, good naturedly, as soldiers have always done from time immemorial. But they were tense, perhaps more than usual, as the higher ups had been watching a lot of build-up behind the Hun front lines. Could only be days away from trouble. "Well if they cawn't see, the cawn't attack, chaps. And if the weather doesn't hold them back, we will. Those bloody balloons have to come down as fast as they go up. Keep 'em blind and groping, I say". "Stackard's got the magic touch - send him out again!" they said, jostling the RNAS pilot good naturedly, "He bagged a Drachen and came back with petrol and bullets left!".
"Don't worry, lads, you'll all get your chance tommorow. Weather's clearing and we'll be up at dawn and bring those buggers down." "Hear, Hear!" they cried, and emptied their pints.
Tomorrow would tell the tale.
PART TWO: (Courtesy of wingman Willi)
Prologue - (found scribbled on the back of last week's roster by an unnamed pilot)
It’s 1917, November 1 and clouds occasionally blot the sun;
The day is cool and moist and so, it is a good day to hunt the Hun;
Our boys in the trenches report that they see Drachens arising in morning mist;
So we break the fast, to the flight line we sprint, leap to our kites armed to assist
The men on the line now being observed
to be made artillery fodder, a fate not deserved.
Downing the Drachens, no easy task
with flak bursts around us (must refill my flask);
We are Luke and Coppens (Frank and Will)
and flaming the Drachens is our particular skill.
No easy targets will we face today
if Jasta Heidemann has anything to say.
Lead by the Blue Max anointed we face
Stachel and Heidemann and that Klugermann Ace.
Ever undaunted we fly into the sun
On Wings of Glory to bring down the Hun.
PART THREE:
"So, Lieutenant, let's go though this slowly and for the record."
Harvey slouched back in the chair and, hands still shaking, lit a cigarette.
"We came in at the same altitude as the balloons - myself, Bartlett in his DH-4 on my right, Luke and Coppens to my left. We were to let the crazy yank and the Belgian Coppens go straight for the sausages while the two-seaters flew round them like maypoles and let Wright and Naylor pour the lead into 'em. Well here we go, just get past those bloody triplanes, just get in close, see, until it fills your entire forward view, and ratatatatat, and next thing you know the entire world is fire and the balloon is dropping and I can hardly breathe from the heat. Lucky we didn't come up a cropper on that one, but the plane kept flying with a bit of the left aileron holed where the flames hit it. Well then we get's in close and try to circle the second balloon like we planned, and I'm trying to get Wright a clean shot and more Fokkers are hitting us first from one side, then the other, until she starts to shudder and get's real sloppy. Well, we keep coming around and we get nearly a full belt from the rear gun into 'er and it just takes it and takes it. We get riddled again and the engine starts up on me and I'm having a hard time keeping her in the air, so we put the nose down and turn it towards home. Guess it was about then that Elwood in his Camel finally found a soft spot and the balloon started down for the last time. We just kept diving away and nursed it back to the aerodrome at tree top level."
BUSTER flight showing Bartlett/Naylor, Coppens, and Luke. Attr. to Wright.
RNAS escorts Stackard, Elwood, Dalls, and Collishaw.
Defenders from Jasta 11H - Heidemann in the D.VII, supported by Von Klugerman and Stachel coming in from the North
Defending from the south - Manfred, Lothar, and Hans.
The Prize. For the Entente they must come down. For the Kaiser, they must stay aloft!
The following was transcribed from a conversation with Von Klugerman on the trip back to the Jasta)
"After sitting for an uncomfortable amount of time in our cockpits in the dark, we were given the command to get our planes in the air. They had arranged to put a wireless set in an old Albatros D.II which was patrolling over no man's land and this let us know the enemy was approaching you see. We would be joined by other Jastas in the air over the front. We arrived just as the fight was developing. Stachel was of course anxious but Otto was being sensible and keeping us together. As we approached the Drachens we were to defend, Stachel bolted from formation and turned right in front of Otto and may have clipped his Fokker’s wing. After the sudden explosion of the first Drachen, the usually unflappable Otto seemed to struggle with his craft thereafter and had difficulty keeping engaged. I last saw him leaving the area to the North. I assume he made it back to base?
By now the air was thick with planes, and no chance of staying in formation, but the true jaeger can focus on his prey and ignore all else. I was able to put bursts into several of the enemy but avoiding collisions with our and their planes, and the balloons, and the clouds drifting thought the area made for some tricky flying. No sooner would I sight in someone than I was dodging a stream of bullets from a new direction. Stachel had by then decided to be a good wingman, but was mostly successful in avoiding damage to himself. Those Sopwith triplanes that showed up on our flank were giving us fits and could match us turn for turn as we attempted to put ourselves between the remaining balloon and them. Then my damned motor started sputtering and bucking and I was losing power and altitude. Having done all that a gentleman and servant of the Kaiser could be expected to do, I tried to turn back towards our field but could not maintain altitude. Then from around the side of the balloon that damned DH-4 turned right into me and put more bullets into the engine and upper wing, so I put the nose own and looked for a smooth spot behind our trench line. Fortunately the harvested fields' furrows were smooth and even, thank God for German precision, and I was able to land it without incident, where you found me.”
The following recommendations were added to the record after the remaining pilots returned to base.
1. Leutnant Oswald, who was in the D.II in front of the battle from the beginning was able to maneuver his Albatros in, around and through the confusion to survive with surprisingly little damage. He saw the action clearly and could almost count the bullets holes but could not figure out what was keeping those RNAS and RFC Teufeln in the air.
2. Jasta 11 and 11H had a difficult time defending from those British Two Seaters. The Von Richtofens, Manfred and Lothar gave a good account of themselves as as well as Hans Kirchstein, except that the damage to Hans was mounting and he was injured and his DR-1 could no longer stay airborne. His plane came down behind friendly lines but it ground looped and he was left unconscious and bleeding. The Baron's Red Triplane is always a target and he was getting frustrated with the damage he was taking. The engine caught fire and although the Baron got the fire out, and Brother Lothar was protecting and shooting, when the second balloon went down it became necessary to return to Jasta 11 as fast as he was capable to keep his Fokker intact. The still stunned Heidemann, Oswald and Lothar also made it to the ground safely as the enemy disengaged and sped back over the trenches.
3. Flieger Abwehr Kanone were largely ineffective in the engagement due to the mix of friendly and hostile aircraft in the space around the balloons. Recommend engaging the enemy further out and catching them before and after they pass the balloons.
PART FOUR
Coppens and Luke begin to climb and head straight for the balloons. The 2-seaters stay at balloon altitude and prepare to sweep around form the south.
The lone Albatros heads straight for the Scouts and attempts to disrupt their attack, giving the defending Jastas time to maneuver into position.
Leutnant Oswald makes a heroic head-on pass into an Immelman, ending up between the two enemy scouts. Their greater speeds allows him to kick to the left and to the right while being passed, getting a burst in at each of them before the zoom out of range.
The southern triplanes split to either side of the south Drachen, two to tackle the onrushing Spad and Hanriot, one to attack the two-seaters.
The D.II getting in a shot as he's left behind while the DR.I's approach
Clouds, balloons, antiaircraft bursts, and crowded skies make near misses routine and crashes nearly unavoidable. Kirschstein and Luke near-miss while Heidemann comes on.
The first balloon goes down abruptly in a ball of flame, damaging 2 nearby Entente aircraft.
Face-off between Stackard and Die Rote Baron sets the tripe alight. He'll have to disengage and get that fire out.
The area round the balloons is thick with planes, frustrating the efforts of the Archie crews below.
Clouds, balloons, planes in close proximity as Luke make another pass with his SPAD, before reversing course and coming back over the top for another.
God's-eye view of the action below. Stackard had an affinity for presenting himself broadside to one triplane after another, which nearly spelled his doom.
Although not the first, Harvey was the last to put rounds into the striped Fokker that day, and it began a steep dive, hit the ground and flipped without burning.
Stackard getting hit again, this time by Stachel, before diving out of the fight and limping home with nothing but angels holding his kite together.
Elwood sets Stachel alight, but not before he gets a critical hit in on Harvey, concussing him and causing him to fly on instinct for a few rounds until he can shake it off, a piece of shrapnel in his scalp and blood in his eyes. After that, his crate starting to shudder and his sense of luck running out, he decides to disengage and head back to base, diving out of combat.
With Luke crossing over back and forth, the DH-4 circling round it, the second balloon was finally vulnerable, and a burst by Elwood finally got it heading for the ground. The air was still buzzing with aircraft, and while Stachel was still trying to get his fire out, Willi came across to chase off Elwood.
Collishaw, who had beeb doing an almost superhuman job of anticipating the near collisions and getting in perfect firing position only to have his guns jam again and again, finally got his chance and got a steady stream of lead in Von Klugerman's triplane, and watched it spin down, straighten out and land across the trenches.
Their attack successful and without the loss of a single pilot, the Entente planes gun their engines and turn towards home. The Jastas, having been bested, did not give chase, but returned hoping to hear of the fate of their downed pilots.
EPILOGUE:
There would be no champagne in the chateau tonight, nor a Blue max for any Jasta aspirant. They had learned some hard lessons, and although they had dealt over four aircraft worth of damage in total, it was spread over too many targets. They must have more persistence and discipline! Zahigkiet, Ordnung und Disziplin!
As for the Entente pilots, that evening was for more congenial, saluting each other, the Squadron and the King with a pint or three. Two balloons at the cost of one Camel, one Brisfit, and no aircrew lost, plus a total of three air-to-air victories! With more such missions, someone will surely make Ace!
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You are rapidly becoming a raconteur of renown 
______
Originally Posted by Willi
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