Marshalling Yard
Sir:Sgt Barnes of No. 5 Sqdn was assigned to photograph the marshalling yard behind the centre of our sector. I took 2Lts Carson-Jeffries, Bellefeuille, and Kerneels-Pépin with me as escorts. Barnes' pilot was Sgt Woollacott, on his first operation over the lines despite having arrived on Sunday. We took off in light rain, and climbed quickly to 1000 feet.
Enemy machine gun emplacements were active, with Bellefeuille's and Kerneels-Pépin's aircraft being holed. I was forced to take evasive action to avoid being hit, myself. We circled around the marshalling yard and approached from the south in a successful attempt to avoid its defences. The rain stopped and we climbed to 3000 feet, and Barnes exposed his first plate under overcast skies.
After that first plate was exposed, three Halberstadt D3s attacked. One of them tried to separate Barnes and Woollacott from the rest of us, but Carson-Jeffries stayed with them. His persistence payed off, as the Germans eventually broke off, and Woollacott returned to 3000 feet so Barnes could expose a second plate.
After exposing that second plate, three more Halberstadt D3s attacked. Woollacott rapidly took Barnes and his two plates out of the fray. I managed to drive one of the Chambermaids off, and damaged another one. It was trailing smoke as, once again, the Germans broke off. Woollacott climbed back to 3000 feet and Barnes exposed his third plate.
Considering the petrol we'd used in these two dogfights, three plates seemed sufficient to me, and I gave the return signal. A course was set over the yard's defences to conserve petrol, and we descended to 1000 feet to avoid Archie. Kerneels-Pépin's machine was holed by machine gun fire from the ground before we reached Beaumont. After passing over that town, two Albatros D3s dove on us. Barnes drove one of them off before Woollacott extracted them from the fight. The other one soon broke off.
We were attacked again as we crossed the lines, this time by two Halberstadt D3s. While no damage was taken by either side, this combat left the SPADs dangerously low on petrol. Fortunately, an Advanced Landing Field was on the other side of Mercatel. Unfortunately, we were attacked for a fifth time as we flew over the remains of the town. Four Halberstadt D3s engaged us, and the dogfight soon split into three parts. One Halberstadt focused on Woollacott and Barnes, one on Carson-Jeffries, while the remaining two took on Bellefeuille, Kerneels-Pépin and myself. Bellefeuille had gotten separated from the rest of us after the initial attack. Kerneels-Pépin and I soon found ourselves running out of petrol, and we set down safely in a clearing just as four Albatros D2s arrived to support the Halberstadts.
Later, I learned that Carson-Jeffries and Bellefeuille also were forced down out of petrol. None of us were injured, and only Carson-Jeffries' machine sustained any damage. Woollacott managed to keep out of the Halberstadt's sights until all the Germans returned to their side of the lines. He proceeded safely to Corbie aerodrome, where Barnes' third plate was found to be satisfactory.
(signed) Lieutenant Hamish Lumley
BFlight, No. 54 Sqdn RFC
April 17, 1917
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- Victory Points
- Average Quality Photographic Plate (Barnes) +20
One Allied Scout w/ Minor Damage (Carson-Jeffries) -3
One German Scout Damaged/Aborted (Lumley) +3 - Total +20
1 comment:
Five encounters at five rounds each consumed 60 AFT (including the two AFT at the end of each encounter to climb above tree-top level). Even if SPADs are successful in combat, their chances of returning to base in good weather are slim.
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