OTT BE Mission 21 Infantry Contact Patrol, 05 Sept. 1918 by Mike
OTT BE Mission 21 – Infantry Contact Patrol, 05 Sept. 1918
Cpt Alexander Clarke, turned the “Big Ack” for home. Glancing over his right shoulder, he could just make out the smoke trail as their attacker peeled off and headed away.
“Well he won’t be bothering us for a day or two, at least!” he thought to himself. It seemed like his observer, F/ Sgt Sholto Douglas, had made yet another positive contribution to a fight. But he wouldn’t get any further details about that until they reached home. Unlike their usual “bus”, the RE8, this machine didn’t allow quite such easy communication between himself and his observer. One of its’ less favourable characteristics. Although he had to admit, that despite the faults, he much prefered to fly the Armstrong Whitworth FK8.
Climbing into the clouds, he felt they had done a good job for the morning. Thirty minutes should see them back at the airfield and a well earned cup of tea, a bite to eat, followed by a quick nap before the afternoon’s flight.
“I wonder what’s in store for us this afternoon?” he thought to himself.
Sure enough, thirty minutes later, he landed back at the barn, without mishap, rolled up near to the buildings where the ground crew could easily refuel and give the Big Ack the once over, then turned the bus around. It was ready to leave at a moments notice, just as soon as the Ack Emmas had done their bit.
Then the CO came striding purposefully towards them, across the field. He shouted orders for the ground crew to refuel and rearm the Big Ack as quickly as possible.
“Sorry Alex, but I’ve got to send you two back out again, now. Contact patrol, along with Harry Potser, just as soon as he and Stewart return. Bit of a panic on at HQ I’m afraid. They seem to have lost contact with the Canadians of 1st Army, pushing close to the canal east of here and they don’t like that one bit. We’ve been ordered to find them quickly.”
He produced a map and spread it out on the grass.
“Here, you see!” he said, pointing a finger to the right of the map.
“Here were the known positions on the 2nd , between Buissy, Villers-l้s-Cagnicourt and Dury. The infantry are known to have pushed on towards the Canal since then and especially during this morning, but aircraft assigned to maintain contact have not reported back. Possible EA activity, one suspects, but nobody has reported anything for a couple of hours. So off you go and find that damned infantry. I’ll send Harry after you just as soon as he returns, which should be any time now. Fly to Saudemont then take the northern part of the line to search. I’ll get Harry to search the southern sector. Any questions?”
“Any escort, sir?”
“Look up there Alex” and Alexander Clarke did just that. Two SE5a’s were circling at four thousand feet.
“Who’s up there, sir?”
“Arthur and John.”
“”Good men both.”
“Can’t spare any more than them I’m afraid. They’ve not long since taken off, but won’t want to hang around too long. Better get a move on. Looks like your aircraft is ready. Good luck!”
“Thank you, sir.”
And without further ado, he and F/Sgt Douglas mounted the FK8 and took off again, to join their escorts, 2nd Lts Arthur Hammond and John Roberts, without even the longed for cup of tea!
Twenty minutes or so later found them in position above Saudemont. The sky cleared as they flew east, but the clouds hung behind them like a grey damp blanket, threatening rain, but reluctant to go further east. No wind, for a change. The lull before the storm perhaps!
Dropping low, Alex Clarke turned north to begin his search, leaving the escorts, prowling at higher altitude, to search the skies more to the east.
A wise move as it happened, for from that direction appeared two menacing black dots, that rapidly grew larger before forming into what was always known to be there. The enemy!
Already successful in dealing with British aircraft flying here this morning, Ltns Ernst Benzler and Max Heller , approached with confidence, now comfortable with their latest scouts, the formidable Fokker DVII.
Two RAF SE5a’s closed with two Fokker DVIIs. Two Wolseley W.4A Viper V-8 water-cooled inline piston engines, of 200 horsepower, growling and snarling their way towards two BMW IIIa 6-cylinder, inline, water-cooled, piston engines developing 200 horsepower. Each pilot blasting away with either 1 x 7.7mm synchronized forward-firing Vickers machine gun plus 1 x 7.7mm Lewis machine gun (flexible Foster mount on upper wing) on the SE5a’s or 2 x 7.92mm Spandau LMG 08/15 machine guns synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades of the DVIIs.
Something would inevitably get damaged, of course.
2nd Lt Arthur Hammond was not pleased with the immediate outcome. No, not at all. His opponent, flying a yellow Fokker bi-plane, not only managed to return his fire accurately, but Hammond was aghast to find that his engine had been seriously hit. Coughing and spluttering, as unhealthily as a thirty cigarettes per day bronchitic smoker, his engine was crying out to be taken home again before it died! “Not today then Josephine!” The game was up. Nothing for it but to go home. He sent up a warning flare, to let 2nd Lt John Roberts in the other SE5a and the crew of the two seater know of his departure, then started a long turn for home. Nothing else for it. Curses!
Ltn Benzler wasn’t altogether delighted with the exchange either. Machine gun bullets from the oncoming Britisher had stitched the canvas properly and done quite considerable damage to the airframe. But he was still flying and there were still targets to deal with.
(SE5a Hammond, hits DVII Benzler “+4”; DVII Benzler, hits SE5a Hammond “+3 +Engine damage” - SE5a must retire).
Meanwhile, 2nd Lt John Roberts and Ltn Max Heller also exchanged pleasantries, the range not being judged too well by the German pilot. Roberts hit the DVII, but apart from causing temporary rudder jamming to the Fokker, little else was achieved.
(SE5a Roberts, hits DVII Heller “+1 + LRJ”; DVII Heller, misses SE5a Roberts “0”)
So the initial brush resulted in victory to the Fokkers, with one of the SE5a’s obviously unhealthy.
But just as Ltn Benzler was deciding to chase after his wounded prey and finish the job, a loud bang from behind his left shoulder startled him into sharply turning his head in that direction. What he saw was horrifying. The other SE5a had outflown Ltn Heller, turning sharply about, in time to catch him with a long range shot that had unluckily / or luckily for the Britisher, hit something vital. Whereupon the DVII had experienced an unpleasant explosion somewhere, which resulted in Benzler witnessing his friend and colleague spinning out and down towards the earth below.
(SE5a Roberts, hits DVII Heller “Explosion” - one kill to Roberts)
Arthur Hammond saw that too and thought to himself “That evens things up somewhat.” He didn’t feel quite so bad, therefore, abandoning Roberts to the task of lone escort to the “Big Ack”.
The large lumbering two seater had, by this time, begun the search for the Canadian troops that were supposed to be somewhere in the vicinity. F/Sgt Douglas, having already loaded the Very pistol provided for the job ( a very useful American invention by one Edward Wilson Very (1847–1910) – thought you’d like to know. OK you already did.), fired off his first flare. The purpose was to attract the attention of the Canadians, who would conveniently reply by laying out a white cloth cross in response and in so doing would, no doubt, draw unfriendly fire from any Germans that were nearby! That would be job done. Of course, the problem with this system, apart from that already mentioned, was the flare itself, which immediately drew the wrong sort of attention. To Ltn Ernst Benzler, the flare was like a red rag to a bull, as the saying goes, although I doubt either the pilot or the observer in the “Big Ack” had ever put that one to the test! A flare may also be answered by ground fire, were it to identify less friendly ground troops. Well, that’s the risk they took and they knew it and just got on with it. Perhaps, one day, somebody would invent a better means of communication for such events as this.
F/Sgt Douglas fired off another flare. No sign yet of any response to the first. Except, Daka daka daka daka, daka daka daka daka.
“Bloody ‘ell”
So, ignoring all thoughts of flares, for the moment, Douglas grabbed his Lewis machine gun on its’ trainable mount in the rear cockpit, and turned to face the incoming Fokker.
“Where the bloody ‘ell are the bloody escorts?” Daka daka daka daka, daka daka daka daka, he replied.
(DVII Benzler, misses FK8 Clarke “0”; FK8 Douglas, hits DVII Benzler “1”)
Daka daka daka daka, daka daka daka daka. Now the Fokker was on their tail and it was going to be very difficult to shake it off. All thoughts of flare guns and Canadian infantry were now pushed to one side. This was serious and needed all of the Flight Sergeant’s concentration.
“Where the bloody ‘ell are those so**ing escorts” did however, find its’ time to pass extremely forcefully through his mouth; screamed actually, although he wasn’t aware of the fact.
Daka daka daka daka, daka daka daka daka - “This bleeder just does not want to give up does he, the bas**rd?”
For a time, although he didn’t know it, F/Sgt Douglas was holding his own quite well. And despite the stability of the aircraft, which didn’t allow much leeway for acrobatic manoeuvering, Cpt Alexander Clarke was managing to give his observer some good shots. Daka daka daka daka, daka daka daka daka. Until, that is, he was himself hit, quite badly, by a round of 7.92mm ammunition, which almost knocked him unconscious. He kicked the rudder hard to port then did, slowly, slip into the black abyss.
(DVII Benzler, misses FK8 Clarke again “0”; FK8 Douglas, hits DVII Benzler “+1 + Smoke + 1 aim bonus)
(DVII Benzler, hits FK8 Clarke “1 + 1 aim bonus”; FK8 Douglas, misses DVII Benzler “0”)
(DVII Benzler, hits FK8 Clarke again “0 + 5 + PW + 1 aim bonus” - pilot hit; FK8 Douglas, hits DVII Benzler “+2 + Engine damage + 0 + 1 aim bonus. FK8 must retire.)
F/Sgt Douglas fired again Daka daka daka daka - “Whoopeee yea” he cried as the yellow peril veered away from them, apparently finally fought off. Douglas was certain that the enemy’s engine sounded different too. Just as well, because that was the moment his Lewis gun decided it had had enough for the time being – it jammed.
(FK8 Douglas, hits DVII Benzler “+3 + 1 aim bonus, but gun jams. DVII now with engine damage and on 14/15 damage hit points – DVII must retire. )
The “Big Ack” was now flying itself, although F/Sgt Douglas didn’t notice that for a few seconds. In fact he had time to see both the yellow Fokker heading off into the blue and signs of movement below, in the area of his second flare (what happened to the first he had no idea, as the fight with the Fokker had distracted him so thoroughly). However, the discovery was hardly good news. The troops down there were distinctly unfriendly, if the rifles pointing in their direction were anything to go by! (Response to flare “3”- Unfriendly troops identified). At which point he looked towards his pilot, forgetting that the gap between them precluded any verbal communication, only to see Captain Clarke slumped forward in a position he should not have been in!
“Bloody ‘ell” he said to himself, for the umpteenth time that day, as every day. Fortunately, the “Big Ack” was equipped with dual controls and he had recently gained a few hours flying time himself. The RAF was desperately short of experienced pilots and promotion through the ranks, via pilots wings, was a distinct possibility. Hence F/Sgt Douglas’s several useful hours of flying experience. Time to take control and get the hell out of there. He just prayed that his pilot was not dead and that he could get him back to the barn in time for some medical attention. He steered west and just kept going.
It was around this time that two more aircraft turned up on the scene. An RAF RE8 flown by 2nd Lt Harry Potzer, who was under orders to approach Saudemont and then search south of that position, up to the banks of the canal, that was currently under construction just to the west, for signs of the Canadian troops of the Canadian Corps, part of 1st Army, supposedly in the area. His observer was the relatively inexperienced Corporal Jeb Stewart, born of a dock worker father who had always wanted to go to America and who had heard of this famous General namesake (spelling not being his strong point). He had no other knowledge of the General but decided it was a good idea to name his son after him anyway. Mother had not been happy with either her husband, her son or the choice of name, so as a child, his nickname had been “brat”.
The other aircraft was another Fokker DVII, brightly and provocatively painted in red and white. This was flown by Ltn Paul Beckman, who thought he was related to the artist Max Beckmann and who, right at that moment, was day dreaming, having in his head the rather disturbing image of “Die Nacht” by his namesake (never mind the spelling).
Die Nacht by Max Beckmann
A flare caught his attention, over to his right and his day dreaming immediately ceased.
“Ach du lieber himmel”, what was he thinking! The enemy were present. Time to go to war again! He spotted an enemy aircraft, an SE5 if he wasn’t mistaken, and he was going to make it his first kill. The gap closed and he suspected that the Britisher pilot had not yet seen him. Closer he came and closer. Softly, softly, catchee monkey. Just a little closer and do not open fire too early.
“Scheisse” and this his reaction to the SE5a of 2nd Lt John Roberts turning suddenly. Of course he had been seen!
The inevitable deadly dance was once again about to commence. Two scouts, two pilots, one aim – death to the other. Destination Hades, the abode of the dead – for whom would the bell toll?
But take a breath first and consider the position of the two British two seaters.
The RE8 crew, unaware of or, more likely, ignoring the threat to their north, were proceeding unmolested on the search which would complete their mission.
Two flares dropped.
The Armstrong Whitworth, flown by its observer, now entered the clouds and relative safety. It will return to the barn and the fate that awaits its occupants. Nobody has noticed the departure, back to the barn, of 2nd Lt Arthur Hammond in his SE5a, still coughing and spluttering unhealthily.
So we return to the business in hand. Onward Christian Soldiers ….. forward into battle!
Daka daka daka daka, daka daka daka daka - the sound of music for those not yet over the hill and far away!
The first shots were fired by 2nd Lt Roberts, far too early perhaps and they missed anyway. (SE5a, Roberts misses DVII Beckman “0”) Beckman was startled and mistimed his attack, overflying by some margin. Roberts immediately took advantage and turned sharply to follow the Fokker, firing as he did so. Again he missed! (SE5a, Roberts misses DVII Beckman “0”, again!)
Then, as Beckman attempted to use the superior manoeuverability of the DVII to turn on the impudent Britisher, the latter finally managed a respectable burst of fire which actually damaged the Fokker, only for the Vickers to jam!
(SE5a, Roberts hits DVII Beckman “2 + 3 + 2 aim bonus”, but guns jam!)
For a brief while thereafter, the two combatents circled one another, Roberts trying desperately to unjam his Vickers. Until in the end, following a very near collision which shook up both pilots, it was Roberts who was out manoeuvered by Beckman.
Daka daka daka daka, daka daka daka daka. Roberts was caught at short range by shots which targeted his cockpit area successfully. The pain and the shock were none too pleasant! But fortunately for him, the wound was insufficient to knock him out, so gritting his teeth he flew on.
(DVII Beckman, hits SE5a Roberts “0 + 3 + PW”)
Meanwhile, happy that their escort appeared to be doing a jolly fine job, Harry Potser and Jeb Stewart had at last located some of the Canadians they were sent to find and had also managed to fire off more flares. Flying around in circles was not their idea of a fun day out but it was working! Slowly, the information returned. (Response to flare “1+LRJ”- Friendly troops identified).
Unfriendly troops were spotted next (Response to flare “3+PW”- Unfriendly troops identified).
As yet another flare was fired!
All of this, was only possible, of course, because 2nd Lt John Roberts, wounded as he was, had bravely continued to keep his equally brave and determined enemy DVII pilot occupied. The enemy dualists, in their single seater bi plane scouts, flew to the limits of their tourney air space, gathered in another gasp of courage and turned to face one another again – and charged!
Weapons shattered the air with their staccato barking and yet again the Fokker pilot, Paul Beckman, proved to be the better shot (well Roberts is wounded after all).
(SE5a Roberts, hits DVII Beckman “2”; DVII Beckman, hits SE5a Roberts “4”)
Turning quickly for the kill, Beckman used the superior manoeuverability of the Fokker to fire another burst, at close range, although this time, despite obviously hitting his opponent, far less damage was done than he might have hoped for!
(DVII Beckman, hits SE5a Roberts “”0 + 1 + RRJ + 1 aim bonus”)
And that, was that, all bar the shouting, because right then, Roberts saw the return signal come from the two seater. The RE8 crew had completed their search. They had vital information on board and must get it back to the intelligence bods. Escort required, pronto. Which, given that he was wounded and was definitely not getting the better of this dual with the red Fokker bi plane, gave Roberts the perfect incentive to call it a day. Time to get out of there, complete his mission and get some bl**dy medical attention, before he bled to death!
As for our RE8 crew. Well, they had had a nice quiet day. They discovered yet more of the Canadians and now had a pretty clear idea where they and the Germans were, in relation to one another. Time to go home, report their intelligence and get some well deserved food and drink inside them. Aaaaah and here came their escort, having responded to signals very promptly.
(Response to flare “0”- Friendly troops identified).
No chance for that Fokker to catch them before they were away into the clouds. Hey ho. Another job well done!
Beckman was furious, naturally. Having flown to the far end of the tourney air space again and turned, expecting the other knight of the air to do likewise, he was furious to find that the Britisher was flying off towards the clouds and the west.
(Response to flare “3”- Unfriendly troops identified).
He gave chase, of course, but there came a time when he too realised that to go further, into enemy held air space, was not a wise thing to do. There would be another chance, on another day, but he regretted not getting his first kill. He was sure he had come close!
The end
Butcher’s Bill
Central Powers
Ltn Ernst Benzler EKII;PB;WBg / RTB / No kills / All good
Ltn Max Heller PB; WBb / SD (EXP) FT / No kills
2D6 = 9 – 3 EXP = 6 – Injured skip 1D3 = 2
Result Skip 1 scenario
Ltn Paul Beckman WBb / RTB / No kills / All good
Entente
Cpt Alexander Clarke VC;MC & bar;DFC (pilot) / RTB / WIA / No kills
2D6 = 7 -1 WIA + 3 RTB = 9 All good
F/Sgt Sholto Douglas MM;DFM (Observer) / RTB / No kills / All good
2nd Lt Harry Potser (pilot) / RTB / No kills / All good
Cpl Jeb Stewart (Observer) / RTB / No kills / All good
2nd Lt Arthur Hammond MC / RTB / No kills / All good
2nd Lt John Roberts / RTB / WIA / 1 kill
2D6 = 7 – 1 WIA + 3 RTB = 9 All good
NB Aim bonuses don’t show in photos but were as follows: Against – Roberts “1”; Clarke “2”; Benzler “3”; Beckman “2”.
Victory Points
Central Powers
Shooting down enemy aircraft – 0
Forcing enemy scout from battle – 1
Forcing two seater from mission – 2
Total = 3
Entente
Shooting down enemy aircraft – 4
Forcing enemy scout from battle – 1
Finding friendly infantry (2) – 6
Finding enemy troops (3) – 6
Total = 17
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he is awarded the DFC & a CdG 
from those French chappies - MO says he's OK so lets all get down to the 
Originally Posted by Popsical
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