RFC
Lt P Rhodes Be2 (11)
2ndLt C Wagner Be2 (7)
Lt T Harper DH2 (N)
Lt P Henry DH2 (P)
Central Powers.
Ltn Nagler (blue) Habl
Ltn Barnekow (red) Halb
Charles Wagner tapped furiously at his fuel gauge hoping to make the needle move one way or the other.
At this height the cold was biting and was freezing both man and machine. Without an accurate reading of his fuel he worried he might not make it back to the airfield and a warming mug of tea loaded with some of the Wing Co “special brew” .
Looking round he could see Rhodes in the second BE2 .
He looked as miserable as he felt. Alone , his observer sidelined to compensate for the weight of the bombs under the fragile planes wings , Wagner could see the observation balloon beginning to be wound back to the ground. That meant only one thing. Archie.
Sure enough the black and white puffballs appeared in front of the planes the 2 AA batteries zeroing in on their targets. Wagner signalled to Rhodes and they each focused on a target.
The brief had been for 2 passes each of 3 bombs. Wagner had decided that they should release their load in rapid succession on each run hoping to carpet the targets with their explosives . “Here goes “ he muttered to himself
Rhodes watched as the bombs straddled the targets.
one coming close
but no cigar.
Wagner adjusted his speed to great effect.
Direct hits on the first 2 and 50% on the last
A shell exploded high and to the right of his plane (0) rattling the wires but doing no damage
Rhodes saw the Halb first, even before Harper in his DH2 who had just caught up with the 2 seaters.
Regardless he pressed on the bomb release button twice .
The first landed partially on a truck column. Unable to re align on another target Rhodes prepared to turn for a second pass.
Nagler by this time had closed on the bomber. Rhodes was his first target, his rounds hitting Rhodes fuselage .
The AA began pounding the skies again . Shells whistled between Hun and RFC planes alike.
Wagner's plane rocked, smoke spewing from his engine and fabric flapped in the slipstream as a shell exploded ahead of him.
Chaos ensued as the 2 bombers and Nagler manoeuvred dangerously close to each other.
Harper waited for Nagler to drop into his LOS .Banking his plane right onto Naglers tail ,his rounds hit the Germans rudder and crept along the body of the plane rupturing the the fuel tank
That was enough for Nagler who turned away passing close to Wagner but too far away to get a shot in.
Harper stalked the crippled scout turning into the Hun. Bullets flew , not that many from Nagler whose gun jammed Not so Harpers who further peppered the Halb
The AA boys got a bead on the DH2 putting a shell close enough to require a change of flight suit.
With fuel running low Harper broke off the attack.
Nagler weaved his way towards his lines but the fire by this time had enveloped the wings and the Halb began to tumble towards the depot
Wagner's plane was close to falling apart . His part in this sortie was over. Jettisoning his remaining bombs he headed West losing height as he went till he was out of range of both the AA guns and roving scouts
As planned Henry arrived to escort the remaining bomber home
Rhodes made a final run before turning for home.
Ltn Barnekow who had just arrived was there to make sure he didn't
Henry opened up his throttle aiming to cut Shaffer off a short burst got the Germans attention
long enough for Rhodes and Harper to get out of the combat zone .
Henry had enough fuel for a few more rounds with Barnekow But the inexperienced Adler knew when to quit . "Another day perhaps " as he looked down on the smoking wreckage of Naglers plane.
Butcher's Tally
B]RFC [/B]
Lt P Rhodes Be2 (11) RTB 0kills
2ndLt C Wagner Be2 (7) RTB 0 kills
Lt T Harper DH2 (N) RTB/ 1 Kill
Lt P Henry DH2 (P) RTB
Central Powers.
Ltn Max Nagler (blue) Habl SD/FLM/FT 0 kills
Rolled 3 -2FLM = 1 KIA
Ltn Heinrich Barnekow (red) Halb RTB
Well there you go with all the discussion that this mission has generated re high level bombing et al my first instinct was to drop the bombs in a carpet which worked for Wagner but not for Rhodes. Never flown that high in terms of pegs so a bit of glue was require to ensure easy movement.
Nice to get out of the comfort zone of low level recon /bombing so thanks for that John
As for who won , in the words of the Italian SAS motto "Who Care Who Wins"
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