9 against 27 or the biggest air battle of the phoney war !
9 against 27 or the biggest aerial battle of the phoney war :
November 6, the sun deigned to show itself and, as a large clearing settled in the sky of Lorraine, a mission of protection of a Potez of Metz was requested. It was to be marked by the biggest air battle of this "phoney war".
It is Lt Houzé who was in charge of this mission with a formation of 9 aircraft which took off towards 14 h, a patrol-guide of the "Cigognes" (Houzé, de Montgolfier, Bouhy) and two patrols of accompaniment "Sioux" (Lefol, Legrand, Audrain) in the one (Dugoujon, Trémolet, Saiès) in the other one.The appointment had been fixed at 7.500 m with the vertical of Metz. The Potez was climbing in large spirals above its field when its guardian angels took it in charge. It immediately headed for the Saarland where it was to operate between Sierck and Merzig. The Curtiss surrounded him in a large combat formation, in order to be able to intervene in the best conditions.
Potez 63-11 "Reco"
As the device reached the lines partly covered by a large cloud system, Houzé suddenly saw about twenty 109s flying at the same altitude as the Curtiss, a few kilometers to the north. They seemed to be playing hide-and-seek with the gray and black clouds. Houzé, who was inspecting the sky, counted a dozen others that were standing about 1,000 meters from the first group. For the first time in this war, the French fighters were facing a complete group.
Each German group, whatever its weapon subdivision (fighter, reconnaissance, bombing) was divided into three squadrons. Each of them comprised 15 aircraft: 9 aircraft in line, 3 in squadron reserve with crews, 3 in park reserve, without crews. It was similar to the French squadrons, but with one more per group.
Houzé, at the age of 29, had acquired a solid reputation as an exceptional pilot and the best leader of the 2/5. He would prove this time and again during the French campaign and show that he was more concerned with looking after his pilots and getting one of them out of trouble than with "chasing victories". He was an excellent maneuverer, calm and cold, who never left anything to chance.
He immediately took advantage of the sun, which was favorable to him, to take advantage of the high patrol of the 109s, but this maneuver, ordered by radio, was not followed by the two accompanying patrols, which found themselves below Houzé and too far to his right. The officer then returned to them while continuing to climb and turn to get closer to the enemy.
This was the moment the Germans chose to launch their attack. The two lower formations dived on the patrols of Lefol and Dugoujon on which they had a comfortable superiority of altitude, while the upper patrol engaged against that of Houzé which it also dominated.
This was immediately the signal for the dislocation and the beginning of a great circus. A fantastic whirling melee, made of individual fights, succession of fast passes, brutal parries, lightning counter-attacks during which the pilots had most of the time "the eyes behind the head". For a fraction of a second, a pilot would try to adjust an opponent. He thought he had him in the center of his collimator and suddenly he received at the same time in the plans, a burst which obliged him to abandon this chosen victim to fight with his aggressor who, well placed, was about to shoot him down.
Curtiss H-75 (P-36)
A series of dives of 2,000 or 3,000 m, at 700 km/h, followed by a steep climb, ending with a very tight turn, so as not to fall into the trap of the adversary who is about to "pick you off" when your attention is relaxed. The eyes sting, the ears buzz, the engine and the crackling of the weapons reach you in a "cotton universe". The smell of gunpowder, despite the oxygen mask, is unbearable... The aerial combats of 1939 were much faster and already took a different form than those of 14-18.
Messerschmidt Bf-109 D
Numerous clouds had invaded the area, turning epic duels into hide-and-seek games.
It was Lefol who scored the first French victory by shooting down a 109 in France. He attacked a second one, but had to abandon it to avoid the action of a third. The 109 did not have far to go. It made a light dive to the ground, with the left half of its tail section out, emitting thick white smoke. It returned to its lines.
Legrand fired a 109 and saw it explode on the banks of the Moselle. Trémolet clung to an adversary, machine-gunned him copiously, but the second he showed "signs of death" (symptomatic smoke, gasoline fumes, abnormal dive while sinuating), the officer received a hail of bullets and had some difficulty in freeing himself. He succeeded thanks to a huge black cloud, but he was forced to land on his stomach on the field of Metz, a bullet having cut an oil pipe.
De Montgolfier got rid of a 109 that hit the edge of the Saar. As for Bouhy, he pursued a 109 seriously damaged by the loss of "a few metal sheets", far into enemy territory, where he deemed it prudent to give up because he was unable to catch up to the 50 meters or so that would have allowed him to give it the coup de grâce.
For his part, Houzé bore the brunt of the German avalanche and, alone, with his radio out of order, endured the embrace of 4 or 5 adversaries bent on his downfall and who never gave him the chance to get rid of any of them.
- I was in a tight spot," he confessed on his return. "My radio was silent, my engine was failing because it had taken a few bullets, and I kept turning like a brute in order to disgust the guys who were taking turns behind me. I had no time to look around to see if a Curtiss would come to the rescue... I assumed they were just as bad off as I was and I had no time to speculate on the outcome of this extraordinary bullfight. I still turned, having no other alternative, while keeping to the edge of the canopy, and as my engine became less and less cooperative, I tried to get closer to the ground... "
Finally the Germans abandoned it, having probably problems of fuel. Houzé returned to Toul with a Curtiss whose plans had been transformed into a skimmer by the machine guns of the 109s and which he had to resign himself to landing on his stomach, his train refusing to leave.
The Curtiss H-75 or P -36 n° 5 of Lt Houzé lands on its belly while returning to its Toul-Croix-de-Metz airfield (SHAA)
While their leader was struggling to save his life, Dugoujon and Legrand regrouped at about 3:15 pm at 6,000 m above Metz. They then saw a Potez that they believed to be their protégé, which was returning from Germany after its mission was completed. At 1,000 meters above the Potez and preparing to block its path, the two pilots discovered 6 Me-109's. They climbed to meet them.
New melee. Legrand shot down a 109 that plunged on its back towards Germany while smoking, Dugoujon got the better of another one that lost a metal sheet and dived vertically towards the Saar. The others did not insist, Legrand, running out of gas a few minutes later, managed to land in a field near Lesse.
Salès, who had obtained his first success the day before, added a remarkable double to his record. A battle he recounted in his squadron's logbook:
"Our patrol had faced up by climbing to the maximum and at the time of the engagement we had a very slight altitude advantage over the higher 109s.
I turned to the right very tightly, swooping on an enemy that I had to abandon before shooting him, as I was immediately framed by the tracers of another. I turn on him and find myself in his tail after a full turn. As soon as I fire my first burst, he takes off, stinging and emitting grey smoke. I dive behind him, following him in all his evolutions, pulling him between 150 and 100 m. After two or three minutes of this game, the German makes a light candle at the top of which the pilot evacuates the edge.
At this moment, I am at 50 m from him. In order not to hit the parachute that was deploying in front of my cowling, I pulled with all my strength on the stick. This maneuver completely knocks me out. I must have brushed his canopy... The guy was hot. When I come back to me, he has made contact with the ground. I turn to find his landing point. Not far from there, there is a casemate of the Maginot line and a large iron pylon on top of a hill. I think I am in the vicinity of Saint-Avold.
I then climbed above the low clouds that covered the terrain in this area and a few minutes later, I saw a Curtiss struggling with two 109s. I chase the one I consider the most dangerous for the comrade. As soon as I fired my first burst, it took off, smoking like the previous one. I apply the same tactics that had worked so well for me.
The maneuver was identical except that I passed him twice during a dive, the German having reduced the throttle brutally each time. Twice, I thought I was framing him, but I was able to get back on his tail without too much difficulty. We almost hit the ground together because, misled by the poor visibility, we straightened up at the last moment. The pursuit in low level lasted several minutes. I had only the machine gun on the right wing firing, the others having no ammunition left. I spared my cartridges from that moment on. Finally, one or two kilometers before crossing the Saar, the 109 caught fire 100 meters above the ground and crashed into a wood on the northeast slope of a plateau, just below a line of batteries that dominated the valley between Sarrebourg and Sarreguemines. The guns fired at me without hitting me. It was about 3:20 pm.
Ten minutes later I found two Curtiss with which I returned to Toul. "
The balance of this battle was established with 10 victories: 8 sure of which 6 were homologated and 2 probable.
The Army's film department sent a few reporters the following day to put this series of exploits into images. In the absence of adversaries, a group of 9 Curtiss took to the air and engaged in a debauchery of attacks on a fictitious enemy, in this case 2 Potez 63 in which the cameramen had settled as best they could.
On November 11, Édouard Daladier returned to Toul, accompanied by some members of parliament and Generals Vuillemin, d'Harcourt and Tétu, to congratulate the pilots whose courage and heroism had not wavered, on the contrary, since the beginning of hostilities. He emphasized that the battle of November 6 had had a resounding impact, not only in France, but throughout the world, especially in the United States, where the newspapers had taken advantage of the occasion to recall some of the exploits of the first "La Fayette". Some Croix de Guerre were awarded to those who had distinguished themselves during this day.
Jean GISCLON
(C) Extract from the book "L'Escadrille La Fayette" (Ed. France Empire - 1975) http://aviateurs.e-monsite.com
Curtiss P-40F W.O.G Jean Gisclon
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