Guntruck
12-11-2010, 07:12
The true story of the daring raid on the Evre airship shed :eek:
It was a warm, sunny afternoon at Evre aerodrome outside of Brussels, and Jasta 60 ace Manfred von Strudel sat back in his deckchair, feet comfortably resting on the back of his batman. He was enjoying a cup of tea and idly watching the giant Zeppelin L99 being pulled from its shed for the night’s raid when, quietly at first but growing ever louder, the distinctive strains of ‘The Ride of the Valkyries could be heard. A mile to the West and at 3,000 feet, Von Strudel could just make out a flight of DH4 bombers accompanied by a couple of Camels and what looked like an RE8. Little did he know it at the time, but Von Strudel was witnessing the first recorded use of psychological warfare.
2nd Lieutenant Blackadder sat in the RE8 and fought the temptation to whip out his Webley and plug his observer, Airman Baldrick, who was sitting behind him with a large phonograph gripped tightly between his knees, ‘The Valkyries’ blaring loud enough to drown out the sound of the engine. This was Baldrick’s latest cunning plan – to play stirring martial music as the attack went in to cause fear and consternation in the enemy. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find a copy of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ and had instead chosen a somewhat Germanic alternative.
It had all seemed so simple back at the briefing – nip over the lines, drop some bombs on the Zeppelin and be back in time for a late tea. Surprise was the key, and even the requirement that Blackadder took the RE round again after his bombing run to get photographs didn’t seem to much of a problem. That was before Baldrick alerted every hun between the front line and Berlin to their presence.
To the right Blackadder could see a patrol of two Albatros scouts bearing down on the British formation, members of the famous Jasta 81, “The Black Penguins”. No matter, he was confident they would be intercepted by their Camel escort, flown by Captain Kyte and his wingman Darcy Spiffington-Smythe. He turned and saw with horror that said escort was a long way back turning lazy circles in the sky. Kyte had dropped his pipe into the cockpit and was bent over trying to retrieve it, not noticing that he was drifting off course, Spiffy his faithful wingman following him. The words ‘dead meat’ and ‘me’ flashed through Blackadder’s mind as he looked towards the approaching Albatros.
But Oberleutnant Klaus Shave and his wingman Leutnant Hans Nees shot past the bombers, intent on taking on the Camels. Shave had seen the antics of the Sopwiths and assumed they were novice pilots, and an easier kill than the DH4s which had a nasty tendency to shoot back at you. Sadly for him, the Camel drivers were highly experienced, and soon Shave and Nees knew they had a real fight on their hands.
Not believing their luck, the bombers reduced altitude and settled on their bomb run. By now they were coming over the edge of the field and Archie had opened up on them. Almost immediately there was a blinding flash and one of the DH4s disappeared in a ball of flame and smoke. Lieutenant Hugh Jarce and his observer Airman Wayne Coat had fought their last fight. Hugh was the most popular pilot in the squadron, and the other pilots were saddened by the thought that there would now be an empty chair in the mess that only a Hugh Jarce could fill.
Archie was still popping away at the bombers and now two more Albatros has joined the fray, flown by Leutnants Max Hite and Hertz von Rental. Blackadder’s RE8 roared over the airship shed and he let go of his bombs, only to see them soar over the shed and land amongst the aircraft on the other side, where Von Strudel and Oberleutnant Willie Seyus were desperately trying to start their Fokker Triplanes. Von Strudel roared off just as the bombs fell, but his fellow pilot and his plane were shredded.
Fortunately the remaining DH4 had better luck and all managed to hit the Zeppelin shed, although Von Rental had latched on to one and shot the observer Sergeant Warren Peece right between the eyes. Peece’s demise was swift, but not before he implored his pilot with his last dying breath to write to his mater and pater, telling them that their only son had died bravely.
However, the DH4s had not totally destroyed the airship or the shed and had decided to go round again for a bit of gunnery practice. The Albatros scouts and the Fokker, having repositioned themselves to intercept the bombers as they left the scene, were sold a dummy and went in a completely different direction to the bombers, leaving them a clear run. After several drums of .303 were fired, a glow could be seen in the shed, followed by a spectacular explosion that took out the shed, the Zeppelin and all the aircraft parked nearby. The DH4s beat a hasty retreat, ineffectually pursued by the Germans. Blackadder took advantage of the confusion to complete a photographic run, and as a last act of defiance flung Baldrick’s phonograph into the burning pyre. Unfortunately Baldrick was still holding it at the time.... Mission accomplished, back to the mess to tea and crumpet.
It was a warm, sunny afternoon at Evre aerodrome outside of Brussels, and Jasta 60 ace Manfred von Strudel sat back in his deckchair, feet comfortably resting on the back of his batman. He was enjoying a cup of tea and idly watching the giant Zeppelin L99 being pulled from its shed for the night’s raid when, quietly at first but growing ever louder, the distinctive strains of ‘The Ride of the Valkyries could be heard. A mile to the West and at 3,000 feet, Von Strudel could just make out a flight of DH4 bombers accompanied by a couple of Camels and what looked like an RE8. Little did he know it at the time, but Von Strudel was witnessing the first recorded use of psychological warfare.
2nd Lieutenant Blackadder sat in the RE8 and fought the temptation to whip out his Webley and plug his observer, Airman Baldrick, who was sitting behind him with a large phonograph gripped tightly between his knees, ‘The Valkyries’ blaring loud enough to drown out the sound of the engine. This was Baldrick’s latest cunning plan – to play stirring martial music as the attack went in to cause fear and consternation in the enemy. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find a copy of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ and had instead chosen a somewhat Germanic alternative.
It had all seemed so simple back at the briefing – nip over the lines, drop some bombs on the Zeppelin and be back in time for a late tea. Surprise was the key, and even the requirement that Blackadder took the RE round again after his bombing run to get photographs didn’t seem to much of a problem. That was before Baldrick alerted every hun between the front line and Berlin to their presence.
To the right Blackadder could see a patrol of two Albatros scouts bearing down on the British formation, members of the famous Jasta 81, “The Black Penguins”. No matter, he was confident they would be intercepted by their Camel escort, flown by Captain Kyte and his wingman Darcy Spiffington-Smythe. He turned and saw with horror that said escort was a long way back turning lazy circles in the sky. Kyte had dropped his pipe into the cockpit and was bent over trying to retrieve it, not noticing that he was drifting off course, Spiffy his faithful wingman following him. The words ‘dead meat’ and ‘me’ flashed through Blackadder’s mind as he looked towards the approaching Albatros.
But Oberleutnant Klaus Shave and his wingman Leutnant Hans Nees shot past the bombers, intent on taking on the Camels. Shave had seen the antics of the Sopwiths and assumed they were novice pilots, and an easier kill than the DH4s which had a nasty tendency to shoot back at you. Sadly for him, the Camel drivers were highly experienced, and soon Shave and Nees knew they had a real fight on their hands.
Not believing their luck, the bombers reduced altitude and settled on their bomb run. By now they were coming over the edge of the field and Archie had opened up on them. Almost immediately there was a blinding flash and one of the DH4s disappeared in a ball of flame and smoke. Lieutenant Hugh Jarce and his observer Airman Wayne Coat had fought their last fight. Hugh was the most popular pilot in the squadron, and the other pilots were saddened by the thought that there would now be an empty chair in the mess that only a Hugh Jarce could fill.
Archie was still popping away at the bombers and now two more Albatros has joined the fray, flown by Leutnants Max Hite and Hertz von Rental. Blackadder’s RE8 roared over the airship shed and he let go of his bombs, only to see them soar over the shed and land amongst the aircraft on the other side, where Von Strudel and Oberleutnant Willie Seyus were desperately trying to start their Fokker Triplanes. Von Strudel roared off just as the bombs fell, but his fellow pilot and his plane were shredded.
Fortunately the remaining DH4 had better luck and all managed to hit the Zeppelin shed, although Von Rental had latched on to one and shot the observer Sergeant Warren Peece right between the eyes. Peece’s demise was swift, but not before he implored his pilot with his last dying breath to write to his mater and pater, telling them that their only son had died bravely.
However, the DH4s had not totally destroyed the airship or the shed and had decided to go round again for a bit of gunnery practice. The Albatros scouts and the Fokker, having repositioned themselves to intercept the bombers as they left the scene, were sold a dummy and went in a completely different direction to the bombers, leaving them a clear run. After several drums of .303 were fired, a glow could be seen in the shed, followed by a spectacular explosion that took out the shed, the Zeppelin and all the aircraft parked nearby. The DH4s beat a hasty retreat, ineffectually pursued by the Germans. Blackadder took advantage of the confusion to complete a photographic run, and as a last act of defiance flung Baldrick’s phonograph into the burning pyre. Unfortunately Baldrick was still holding it at the time.... Mission accomplished, back to the mess to tea and crumpet.