OTTED Mission 14: Retrieve the Spy - February 14th 1917
February 14th 1917 Wednesday
Weather: poor, heavy cloud above 5000ft. expect heavy rain, possibility of snow further north. Winds moderate.
Major Vaughn was in the newly appointed briefing room, a wooden barn like structure recently built onto the collection of farm buildings the squadron called home. Seated before him were three pilots, 2Lts Jenkins, Duval and Bayliss.
On the wall behind him, a map of their sector of the western front and the enemy occupied area behind it to some depth.
“Gentlemen, I have a special task for you which involves a trip some distance behind the lines, and for you Jenkins, a landing on a makeshift landing area, namely a road outside a French village! The Boches are up to something, and our French hosts have an Agent looking in to it. We have been asked to get this chap out of the area and back to safety so he can be debriefed in detail. He has managed to get to this point here.” The Major used a billiard cue to point to the map. “We are assured that an aeroplane can land and take off again, and that the locals can be relied upon for assistance.”
The Major leaned forward; “Jenkins, I know what kind of intelligence we get for this kind of thing, have a good look before you commit yourself, you are too valuable to me to be lost in some damn fool operation.”
He switched his gaze to the two other pilots; “Bayliss, Duval, there has been quite a lot of interference from the enemy to recent observation flights in the area, which is one of the reasons for the man on the ground approach by our allies. Be Vigilant! As this is a retrieval flight, Jenkins will be without Sgt Strong so your presence is doubly important. If any Huns do approach, keep them away from the two seater at all costs.”
“Retrieve the spy gentlemen, retrieve the spy!”
2nd Lieutenant Jenkins, MM, C de G and lonely for the Sergeants mess, flew over the last major navigation point with his brother officers behind him in V formation at roughly 4000 feet. They had flown the first part of the way skimming in and out of the low cloud ceiling, but he had led the flight lower to confirm their location and finalise his approach.
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Despite their precautions, reports of possible enemy aircraft had reached the Germans, and an additional aircraft had been scrambled
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to join the two on permanent patrol
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Turn 1
The two scouts escorting Jenkins, and the two German scouts on patrol spotted each other at the same moment, and altered course to intercept.
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Ltn Hans Kühne opened fire at long range to no effect, 2Lt Stewart Bayliss returned fire also without result.
Seconds later, Kurt Duval and Willi Klein, having waited, opened fire.
Klein’s guns raked the Spad from stem to stern damaging the rudder, but Duval had closed in to pick his target more carefully and caught Klein in the right leg
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Jenkins had spotted the village he was to put down near. Seeing that his escorts had successfully engaged the enemy scouts, he put his nose down and turned towards his destination.
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Turn 2
As Duval and Klein separated, Duval’s only thought was how to get back to the Albatros he had just engaged, thus he failed to see the DIII approaching from the east
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Stewart Bayliss, more mindful of his duties, circled over the Strutter as Jenkins continued his approach to the village below, while Kühne, for reasons unknown, flew westward.
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Duval and Klein both Immelled, firing upon each other the instant their guns came to bear. Duval’s shooting skills, earned on hunting trips in the Canadian wilds, stood him in good stead; the bullets from his single gun caused significantly more damage than the twin guns of his less experienced foe.
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Bayliss meanwhile watched in amazement as Kühne continued to fly towards the Front
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Suddenly, finally, Bayliss spotted Ltn Erich Hets in the DIII and turned towards him.
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Seeing his chance, he snapped off a quick burst, hitting his target, but causing only minor damage. His burst ended abruptly; the gun had jammed!
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Albert Jenkins had seen the road leading out of the village, and groups of people scattered along it. There was no sign of field grey anywhere, so he put the nose down and using the ‘Blip’ button, brought the speed of the Strutter down to near stalling speed for a short landing.
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Duval used the Immelman manoeuvre again to bring his sights onto Klein’s DII. Klein, rather than Immel again, had side slipped and now banked his plane to the left. The bullet wound in his leg throbbed continuously, his foot moved stickily in his flying boot, but beyond that it functioned. He was brought out of his reverie by the zing and thud of bullets hitting the tail of his aircraft. He swore at himself, he knew better, the verdammte Englander should have shot him down for his lack of attention.
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Ltn Hans Kühne, white with fear, continued his flight westward and crossed the lines towards the enemy and dishonourable surrender. In his breast pocket were the latest letters from his girlfriend and his mother. The one had let him know that their unofficial engagement had been replaced with something official arranged by her father, the other told him of the deaths of his brother and his father down in the mud and filth of Flanders, and in a stupid accident near Ploesti Rumania respectively. His mother’s words of loss, and hope for his survival, and the tear stains of her grief evident in the ink blots and smudges had completely unmanned him.
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Albert Jenkins felt the wheels touch the ground and flicked off the magnetos. As the Sopwith rumbled to a halt, several men looking like farm labourers swarmed towards him. The part of the operation he feared most had come. He stood up in his cockpit and yelled “ne tooch pah! Trez frahjeel! Most of the men stopped open mouthed at the butchering of their language, a couple of them grinned and one moustachioed chap of disgraceful habiliment shouted out ‹‹ Qu'est-ce que tu veux m’sieur?›› In desperation, Albert looked at the piece of paper he had been given and tried “Jer shersher le grand moustache” the Frenchman snorted and replied in faultless English “ I hear the boating is fine at Henley” Jenkins almost fainted with relief! The grinning Frenchmen were doubled up with mirth, while ‘Le Grande Moustache’ stroked his appendage and introduced himself as Capitaine Aristide De Pardieu. “ What were you trying to say to us when you landed?” asked the Captain. Jenkins replied “I was asking those blokes not to grab hold of the wings. If someone puts ‘is ‘and through the wing, we’ll have trouble getting up again.”
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Klein meanwhile was making up for his earlier lapse of concentration. Duval’s Vickers had jammed during his last attack, and Bayliss was still hammering at his Vickers following its jam. Klein fired a burst at long range into Bayliss’ machine as it drifted into his sites.
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On the ground, with the Captains help, Jenkins was overseeing the turning of his machine. Luckily one of the grinning Frenchman not only also spoke english, he was an Observer in the Aéronautique Militaire, and was able to assist greatly in assuring no damage was caused by his compatriots zeal in accomplishing their task.
The sudden roar of an approaching engine caused them to look up in shock as Ltn Hets dived towards them.
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Bayliss jerked his head round as bullets hit his plane aft of the cockpit. “Bloody hell! Where did he come from?” he pulled the plane to the right but Klein also pulled right, and his plane was that bit more manoeuvrable. At close range he poured more bullets into the rear fuselage
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The weakened fuselage spars disintegrated under the onslaught, the rear of the fuselage parted company with the rest of the aircraft, and 2nd Lieutenant Bayliss plunged to earth.
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Kurt Duval watched with horror as Stewart Bayliss’ plane broke apart and plunged earthward. He knew precisely when it hit the ground as it immediately burst into flame, large parts surging outward from the explosion.
He crouched forward, stick between his knees, reaching over the windscreen with both hands to work on the gun. He was determined to bring down the Hun who had claimed his friend.
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As Jenkins and his helpers turned the Strutter round, Ltn Hets in the DIII roared over head. Realising this was a deliberate landing, he flew on until he judged the distance sufficient to perform an Immelman and be immediately on target. Capitaine De Pardieu was in the rear cockpit and the French Observer had just swung the Sopwith’s engine into life when the Leutnant began his attack. Bullets began to stitch holes in the port wing as the Strutter surged down the lane.
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As Jenkins hauled the aircraft into the sky, more bullets chewed into the wings and fuselage around him. He was shocked by how close the firing sounded behind him. Unbeknownst to him, his passenger had unlocked the Scarff mount and was returning fire with the Lewis gun.
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As the bullets continued to thump into the shuddering two seater, Jenkins felt the rudder bar kick under his feet. “Oh bugger” he thought “I hope the bloody rudder aint gone”. He risked a glance over his shoulder and was surprised to see a puff of smoke suddenly sprout from the engine of the Hun who was “Bloody hell, he’s right up my arse” he yelled. He yanked hard on the stick forcing a steep bank, pulling the stick into his groin at the same time to force a left turn while giving the Frenchman the largest possible window to shoot through.
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Hets was caught out by the turn. He had seen his bullets damage the enemy plane’s rudder and was turning to the right preparatory to a swing left in the hope that weaving would spoil the aim of the rear gunner; He was too good a shot by half! He was unsighted, and his engine was belching smoke when the rear gunner let loose once more. Bullets flew around him, he tried to make himself small as the cockpit area was turned into a sieve.
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He felt the plane get away from him. The control wires to the ailerons were severed, and part of the rudder bar was missing, shot out from under his feet. He waited for the pain in his body and legs…..nothing! A miracle surely.
He prayed earnestly for a second miracle “Lieber Gott, lass die Erde weich sein und der Winkel nicht zu steil.“ (“let the ground be soft and the angle not too steep”)
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All this while, Duval and Klein had been stalking each other around the sky
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Neither of them could bring their guns to bear.
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As Ltn Hets began his untimely descent and time of prayer, Duval was in position to see the end of the two seater’s duel.
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He turned now with thoughts of the return home in mind. Klein saw an Albatros fluttering groundward, smoking and uncontrolled.
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As Duval began to chase after Jenkins and his passenger, Klein turned into a closing arc
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As Jenkins continued to climb and Duval sought to catch up, Klein finally managed to get him in his sights
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Duval felt the bullets hit, but nothing important seemed to have been damaged. He kept the throttle fully open, knowing he had the faster machine.
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Klein gave chase, hoping the grey scout would turn back, but Duval and Jenkins, their mission almost complete, headed for home
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At last, outpaced even by the tattered two seater Klein turned for home as the British planes headed for the frontlines and on homewards.
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it's been some time since I have seen one of your AARs for OTT 
Killed me last year hence the Bullseye Award
Well that was a "nail biter" John.
Originally Posted by tikkifriend
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