The morning patrol took Kristian Nachtfalter, Jasta X's newest pilot, up with another new-comer. Not long after they arrived over the trenches, he spotted a two seater being set upon by 4 Allied Scouts (2 SE.5a's, and 2 Sopwith Camels). With a wag of the wings, he began to climb to gain an advantage over the enemy.
Early on the young pilot realized he had trouble spacing his guns on the enemy. While he had the advantage of altitude, he found that he over shot his target too easily.
Despite his best efforts, he always found himself on the edges of the dogfight. Finally an SE.5a was struggling and was leaving the area. Even still, he was only able to get one long burst into the plane, but because of the difference in altitude, it easily dived to make good his escape.
In his exuberance, he realized he now put himself right in front of not one, but two Sopwith Camels. He closed his eyes, and braced himself for the death that should inevitably fall upon him. His ears vividly heard the two consecutive bursts. Heard and felt the bullets whiz by, but after several silent moments he dared to open his eyes, and he realized he was still alive. He wheeled his wings over to try and get a shot at the enemy, but one performed an Immelman maneouver. Kristian panicked and squuezed the triggers for his twin spandau machine guns. But, so had his foe. This time there was the distinct pangs of bullets pummeling his engine. When the air cleared he realized his engine was sputtering and he would have to make his escape. But when he looked up, he realized the oncoming Sopwith was bearing down on him. Without thinking, he pulled hard to the right, but the Camel had veered to its left! Once again, he closed his eyes bracing for the impact. This time he felt the jarring bump, and heard the sound of of wood crunching, as his undercarriage impacted the foe's tail. When he opened his eyes, he was still flying a controlled flight... but where was the enemy? Finally, he looked down and saw the Sopwith Camel spiraling out of control.
He had no idea how he had survived his first combat mission, but, he made his way home, lagging far behind the others of Jasta X, due to his badly damaged engine.
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