Early Doors Mission 5 - The Bigger They Come May 3rd 1916
Arnout Walbers sat in the dirt behind the wall at the back of the grounds of the rectory. He’d been caught scrumping apples again from the orchard and he’d got his knuckles wrapped once for stealing and then again for lying. He couldn’t explain why he had lied about it but the fact that he had done so with a mouth full of the tart green apple and the core still in his hand, but it had earned him another 5 wraps of the cane across his knuckles and he sat there sucking on them as he plotted his revenge on the old miser and how he would run off to join the heroes fighting the Germans.
He’d be a hero like the ones in the stories, rescuing his fellow men from hordes of charging German cavalry or shooting down German pilots as they tried to bomb the towns at night while the women and child slept. He liked stories, he enjoyed telling them as well, his mother called them lies and more often than not his stories had earned him a twisted ear or the belt across his buttocks normally administrated by his grandfather.
Looking up at the clouds he saw shapes of dragons, whales and dogs heads, and a cloud slightly darker than the rest caught his attention growing darker still and constantly changing shape, and then he saw it.
Bolting to his feet he vaulted the rectory wall running blindly through the orchard towards the back door of the church.
“Arnout! This is a house of the Lord stop that shouting!” In the pale light of the church it took Reverend Janssens a moment to realize the boy was in distress.
“Who’s here? Slow down Arnout.”
But before he could make any sense of the words the boy was off again, normally he wouldn’t bother but Mrs. Walbers had been widowed a few years back and her son was missing on the front and he felt he had an obligation to look after his flock and he pursued the boy out in to the sunlight.
He caught up with Arnout at the end of the path and took him by the ear.
“Reverent, the Martians, there here H.G Wells was right!” shouted Arnout as he tried to break away from his captors vice like grip.
“More of your stories? I’ll have none of that talk boy, it’s of the devil!”
As the final words left Rev. Aerts lips the sun was blotted out completely and a long dark shadow crept out across the coastal town of Westkapelle like oil on a tranquil lake.
He looked up forgetting the boy, who bolted down the road towards the center of the town.
“God save us all” he whispered as one by one the bells of Westapelle started to ring out in one voice.
2 hours earlier:
2LT. Ronald Tuffield was not a happy man, he had a pounding headache which was a result of the fumes coming off the freshly doped and painted Nieuport 16 he was piloting, even when airborne he could still smell them, it was if he was enveloped in a cloud of it. He was very unhappy because the Belgium mechanics didn’t have enough paint to finish marking up the two test planes they were flying and they where sorely missing the roundels on the top wing and other insignia, the last thing he wanted was to get pounced by a overzealous friendly aircraft that shot first then looked. Finally he wasn’t happy as he had been promised that he’d be able to take both aircraft back to his new squadron, only to find out that some Ace by the name of Ball or something had taken this as his personal aircraft and would be sent off tomorrow morning leaving him grounded for 2 days.
It was a small mercy when the mechanic that went by the name Dom had promised he’d have the right colour paint to finish off the roundels by early next week and the French were as usual blustering and making excuses about the second plane but they insisted that a replacement would be found by the time they headed to his new Squadron with another replacement 2 Lt. Robert James.
They had both been top of their class in flight school and was supposed to have been sent directly to their new squadron on the front but somebody had the bright idea to make them part of an evaluation group that was testing out the newly built French Nieuport 16’s and if they proved successful they would be taking them back to the front for combat evaluation, that’s if they survived today.
At 3am that morning both men had been woken by a dispatch rider with orders to get airborne immediately they were supposedly to try and intercept a German Zeppelin that was about to make landfall along the Belgium coastline and across the border in to Germany, no doubt enemy scouts would also be up looking for the missing Zeppelin but nobody had any idea when and where the Zeppelin would be spotted, both of them believed it was a wild goose chase akin to finding the needle in a haystack, a very large needle, agreed but the sector they were to patrol was a rather large haystack.
Looking down on Belgium through the gaps in the clouds 2Lt. Ronald Tuffield wondered if the front would look as tranquil, he looked around again scanning the sky and a grin erupted on his face, there off on their 10 o’clock high was the Zeppelin emerging from a huge Cumulus cloud bank, no doubt they had been hoping from cloud cover to cloud cover. Pulling out his flare gun, Tuffield fired off a green flare and banked his plane towards the Leviathan.
Kapitanleutnant Otto von Schubert was proud of his men, they had completed their mission against very tough odds, enemy aircraft and poor weather had battered his Zeppelin but the poor weather had also been a blessing in disguise and they had been able to hide in the heavy cloud cover.
They had no real idea where they were but he was hoping their estimated plotting would put them somewhere along the Belgian coastline. He could drop below the cloud cover for a look to see where they were, but he didn’t want to take the risk as no doubt the British and the Belgian’s would be out looking for them but he needed to know where they were.
Picking up the horn for the internal communication he addressed his men.
“Gentleman you have proven yourself beyond a doubt to be valiant heroes of the Empire, I have decided to drop our current altitude to get a better idea where we are and then hopefully plot the most direct route back to the Fatherland, alas due to the damage we sustained we will not be able to return to the safety of the clouds. I have no doubt what is waiting for us when we break cover from these clouds but I know you will have the courage and the skill to deal with them, Gentleman it has been a pleasure.”
As he replaced the horn a cheer went up from the men on the bridge and was echoed at each manned position on the Zeppelin.
The Engineers adjusted the ballast and the Zeppelin slowly descended and as she did the coastline of Belgium became visible through the gaps in the clouds, the navigator peered down on the coastline spreading out before, he turned to his captain.
“Sir that is without a doubt the coast of Belgium and I’m positive that’s Westapelle!”
Kapitanleutnant Otto von Schubert nodded and turned to the rest of the officers.
“Gentleman, prepare for action.”
Ltn Manfred Spatz couldn’t see a damn thing, moisture from the clouds was thick on his goggles and there was no end to these cloud banks, he had lost his wingman Ltn Gerhardt Reiher about half an hour after they had crossed the Belgian lines.
He had been issued with the new Fokker D.I for this mission, it was a joy to fly, faster and a lot more manoeuvrable than the Eindecker his Jasta was using, however the addition of the top wing cut visibility drastically and it had taken some getting used to having a solid bar across your field of vision and right now he needed that visibility. Scanning around him for a break in the clouds he was suddenly blinded by the sun as he popped out of the cloud like a cork from a champagne bottle.
There ahead was the stricken Zeppelin and by the looks of it she had unwanted company as he saw the exchange of fire in the distance. He hadn’t realized that he had lost so much altitude and had to take sudden evasive action when AA artillery open fired on him from below.
Dropping his altitude some more he returned fire on the AA battery, as he zoomed overhead he unleashed another volley before yanking back on the stick and powering up the throttle to gain altitude.
2Lt. Ronald Tuffield split formation heading towards the back of the Zeppelin, hoping to draw the attention of the gunners that bristled throughout the huge craft. His wingman 2 Lt. Robert James was armed with the new ‘Buckingham’ ammunition that was an incendiary round that would hopefully ignite the gas in the giant cells located within the giant.
His own mission was to protect Tuffield from any possible enemy aircraft that might join the fray as 2 LT was under strict orders not to use the ‘Buckingham’ ammunition against enemy aircraft and even the crew compartments of the Zeppelin. It was preposterous; brass had even made him carry written orders on his person stating so. He had no idea how a dead German was going to complain, but top brass was full of hair brained ideas such as this.
2 Lt. Robert James lined his approach perfectly; he was going to hit the Zeppelin head on. His ‘Buckingham’ ammunition only had an effective burn range of 320m and he wanted to shoot length ways through the massive structure of the Zeppelin in the hope of igniting as many cells as possible.
He scanned the sky and could see the tell tale signature of the AA artillery guns firing in the distance but right now he had bigger things to worry about, he just hoped Tuffield was on the ball.
Tuffield’s aircraft was buffeted by some turbulence throwing of his aim at the most crucial moment, he wasn’t sure if he had hit the partially obscured balloon but he was aware of the Zeppelin’s crew return fire and heard the faint patter of bullets puncturing the membrane of his wings.
He fired again raking the main gondola with accurate fire, watching as holes and tears appeared in the thin sheet metal.
2 Lt. Robert James raced towards his target he judge he was about 250m from his target and pressed the trigger switch on his stick.
CLICK!
Trying desperately to keep the plane under control as he sped beneath it. He watched as the gondola spat fire at his wingman and was horrified at such accurate fire.
Gefreiter Günter Schulz tracked the enemy fighter as it swung towards him, only someone looking directly at his face would have seen the slight twitch in his right eye as the bullets slammed in to the gondola. He waited, watch for that perfect moment when he was sure of his aim. The Zeppelin was a very stable platform to fire from, it seemed to slide across the sky and once you had got used to the slight rocking sensation firing at other aircraft became child’s play.
He waited till he could make out the pilot and pulled the trigger, Günter eye twitched as he saw the Nieuport burst into flames leaving an oily smear in the sky behind it.
2 Lt. Robert James jinked his aircraft as he swooped under the belly of the Zeppelin its vastness blocked out the sky above him distracting him from the bullets that crazed passed him harmlessly.
Ltn Manfred Spatz raced towards the Zeppelin as AA artillery shells burst around him, they were becoming more accurate and one burst right beside his aircraft pattering the plane harmlessly with small pieces of shrapnel, if they had fired a few seconds earlier the story would have been very different, Spatz thought to himself.
Tuffield yanked back on the stick as hard as he could and nearly put his right foot through the floor as he stamped his right foot down on the yaw pedal as the flames tried to envelope the cockpit. He had to extinguish the fire somehow as well as keep the flames away from him and fuel tanks.
2 Lt. Robert James was amazed when he finally cleared the stoppage, and fired again at the colossal beast, however the rounds seemed to pass straight through the Zeppelin without hitting anything vital and without igniting. He was less than happy that the main gondola was bring very accurate fire down on him ripping his upper wing to pieces and he had to take evasive action to prevent the plane from slamming in to the belly of the Zeppelin.
Gefreiter Günter Schulz kept the cross hair of his Spandau LMG fixed slightly ahead of the enemy aircraft, he wasn’t sure what manufacturer it was and he would report this directly to the Kapitanleutnant, but first he meant to rid the skies of it and pulled the trigger as the plane presented its tail to him.
Tuffield didn’t feel the bullet that penetrated his spine; he slumped lifelessly in the cockpit the stick loose between his hands. He tried desperately to move his hands, his feet anything.
As the plane naturally levelled out he watched the flames slowly turn back towards the delicate fabric of the Nieuport and the last thing he was aware of was the sudden whoosh of flames.
Günter watched as the fireball dropped from the sky until it hit the water, his right eye twitched and leaning out of the gondola’s firing position he scanned the sky for more prey.
Ltn Manfred Spatz saw the fireball out the corner of his eye but and new the threat there had been dealt with, he fixed his attention to the remaining aircraft that had slunk under the Zeppelin and gave chase.
2 Lt. Robert James throttled up his Nieuport 16 ready to Immelmann turn and get back in to the fight, as the plane reached its vertical he realized to late his school boy error as his aircraft no made a perfect target for the gunners on the Zeppelin.
Unteroffizier Heinrich Schlichting could hear the chatter of his comrades guns but as of yet nothing had crossed his path. “He’s coming your way shouted” Obermaschinist Jakob Baumann and before the last words had registered the enemy fight roared from beneath the gondola.
He tracked the plane and to his astonishment the plane went vertical right in front of him, he jammed back the trigger and the Spandau LMG barked to life spitting out shell casings which tumbled in to the void below him. He saw the rudder ripped to shreds and then the top wing collapsed and broke away in one large section, the plane losing momentum hung motionless in the sky, then elegantly the nose turned to the ground and the plane fell from sight.
A roar erupted from the jubilant crew as the news of last enemy scout had been downed; another roar went up when the Kapitanleutnant announced that their escort had arrived, although there were several choice remarks regarding them. However they were about to pass through an AA artillery battery and all hands needed to be ready.
Spatz gave the gondola a close fly by, after seeing the final enemy scout go in to a death dive and he turned his attention to the AA artillery that the Zeppelin would need to pass through before the relative safety of the Belgian countryside and home.
The AA artillery men immediately saw their peril and started opening fire on the incoming scout all three opening up in quick succession at the fragile plane. Spatz didn’t flinch as shells burst around him and his speed gave him the advantage as the crews desperately adjusted their aim at the incoming plane.
He focused on the nearest placement and opened fire, walking the rounds into the position and saw large chunks of earth jump into the air and finally across the gun, but as he adjusted his aim to fire again the guns stopped.
As he went to work clearing the stoppage the ground crews continued their barrage.
Korporaal Peeters cranked the gun as fast as his arms would go turning the barrel of the 75 towards the enemy plane he only had seconds to gauge the height, range and speed of the aircraft but he knew his trade. He stepped back covered his ears and the gun barked.
The shell soared in to the sky at just over 274 meters per second; it travelled the 2.6km to its target in just under 10 seconds. The explosion drove the shrapnel outward in all directions at over 300 meters per second shredding everything within its path indiscriminately of man or machine.
The Fokker D.I’s flimsy construction could not withstand a direct hit and it was a small miracle that it held together.
Spatz coaxed his aircraft down desperately looking for somewhere to land, he noted to himself that the visibility had improved greatly due to the huge rents in the doped linen of pretty much all the surfaces. As he passed over the AA artillery he turned his stricken aircraft towards the boarder in the hope of at least crashing behind friendly lines as all hope of protecting the Zeppelin was gone and now it was a fight for his own life.
The methodical work of the gunners was seamless, working tirelessly together in smooth well rehearsed actions. The crew heard one of the other batteries open fire in the distance and then another.
There gun fired sending another round high in to the sky.
Spatz saw the shell burst out of his peripheral vision, he heard the snap of guide wires and the crack as the top wing parted from its supporting struts and the lower left wing parted from the fuselage, with no lift the plane fell from the sky.
Ltn Gerhardt Reiher dropped his altitude even further looking for familiar land marks, the maps the Jasta had of Belgium were not the best he’d seen but it’s all he had. Constantly hopping from cloud bank to cloud bank he searched high and low for the missing Zeppelin, he had given up long ago looking for his wingman and soon he would need to turn for home as his fuel was diminishing fast.
He cleared another cloud bank and there in front of him was the missing Zeppelin. He let out a sigh of relief, but he was anxious just how much help he could be with his current fuel reserves. The sky around him was full of dark oily clouds that drifted lazily to the east synonymous of anti-aircraft shells and he spotted the 1st ahead of him in a cornfield. Dropping his altitude more he peppered the area with machine gun fire, he needed to get lower.
Hopping over trees and hedge rows he fired another burst at the truck carrying the 75 gun and was rewarded with a flash as the live shells ignited and exploded vaporizing the truck, gun, crew and setting fire to the field.
The AA crews however had changed their targets unaware of the new airborne threat behind them and opened up on the giant, another shell reached up only to fall back to earth having not detonated due to a dud timer.
As the shadow of the Zeppelin passed over the crew of the AA gun the Zeppelins gondola’s machine guns opened fire raining bullets almost vertically down on the hapless crews, another explosion tore the truck and gun to pieces and a cheer went up from the crew.
Still out of reach from its 75, the final Belgian AA crew opened fire on the new threat. The pilot was equal to the challenge ducking and weaving his aircraft as he raced towards the gun.
Ltn Gerhardt Reiher held his fire until the last possible moment and fired a long volley of fire in to the remaining gun; the crew didn’t stand a chance as the bullets tore through them and the truck leaving a silent tangled mess of machine and men behind.
Returning to the Zeppelin Reiher formed up beside the command gondola and saluted them.
As they passed over the Belgian boarder more aircraft joined the slow procession and finally Reiher with regret peeled off to return to the nearest aerodrome.
Dedicated to the very talented Clipper1801 AKA; David for making such a spectacular gaming piece and also taking the time away from his recovery to post the model out to me. Many thanks again and speedy recovery!
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