54 Sqdrn. 'B' Flight - End of Day Report - 17 April, 1917.

Mission 64: Photographic Reconnaissance

Average Quality Photographic Plate (+20)
One Allied Scout w/ Slight Damage (-3)
One German Scout Damaged/Aborted (+3)
+20 VP's

Mission 65: Bombing Raid

Six Bombs on Target (+60)
Mission Offset (-10)
+50 VP's

Mission 66: Twilight Patrol

Patrolled 1 Hex (+2)
One German Two-Seater, previously damaged, Shot Down (+15)
+17 VP's

Victories

One German Two-Seater (Major Wagner)
To Date: 7 Aircraft and 9 Balloons

Casualties

None Today

Replacements

Lt Lumley's and 2Lt Bellefeuille's assignments made permanent
One SPAD VII
Denied:
One SPAD VII

Ratings Changes

2Lt Carson-Jeffries FR +1
Sgt Barnes BR +1

Victory Point Totals

+87 Today
+93½ To Date

54 Sqdrn. 'B' Flight - Twilight Patrol - April 17, 1917.

Sir:

With No. 19 Sqdn withdrawn from the offensive, and all of No. 54 Sqdn's scouts down out of petrol around Mercatel, I decided this would be a fine time to see developments along the lines for myself.

Visibility was good, so I took my machine to 15,000 feet and made my way to Arras, where I waited for twilight. I let a couple of individual Albatros D3s from Jasta 11 pass beneath me, but when an Albatros D2 came in sight four thousand feet below me, I decided to attack. We fought our way down to 6000 feet before the Albatros escaped. I returned to 15,000 feet, where I found a damaged Albatros C3 trying to make its way to the German lines. The observer put up a good defence, but eventually I was able to shoot the C3 down.

By now, the sun had set, and I descended to 1000 feet to wave to our troops. I refrained from strafing the enemy trenches, as the two combats had used most of my ammunition, and I wanted to save what little remained in case another hostile aircraft intercepted me in the clear sky. I did not have long to wait. I'd just begun heading south when a Halberstadt D3 attacked. I used up the rest of my ammunition to no effect, and broke off. I could not, however, make any progress along the lines, as I found myself tangling with the Red Baron. Only one of his guns was flashing in the twilight, and of course my guns were silent, but he and I put on quite a show for the troops before I broke away.

Further attempts to patrol along the lines seemed likely to be futile with such good visibility, so I headed back to Corbie, passing over Mercatel and the Advanced Landing Field. An Albatros D2 and D3 surprised me deep behind our lines, but I soon out-maneuvered them and landed safely at the aerodrome.

(signed) Major Benjamin Wagner
C/O No. 54 Sqdn RFC
April 17, 1917

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Victory Points

Patrolled 1 Hex +2
One German Two-Seater, previously damaged, Shot Down (Wagner) +15

Total +17

54 Sqdrn. 'B' Flight - Bombing Raid - 17 April, 1917.

Marshalling Yard

Sir:

Corps Intelligence must have seen something worrying in the photograph Sgt Barnes obtained this morning, as I'd barely found my billet when I was detailed to bomb that same marshalling yard. Sgt Woollacott was my pilot, and Sgt Barnes accompanied me, piloted by Sgt Hill. As all the scouts of "B" Flt, No. 54 Sqdn, were down out of petrol around Mercatel, we had no escort and I chose altitude for our protection. We climbed to 20,000 feet through slowly dissipating cloud, and followed the route Barnes had used this morning. Formations of hostile aircraft were seen far below us both immediately before and after crossing the trench lines, but of course we declined to attack. We approached the yards from the south, successfully avoiding the defences as Barnes had done this morning.

By this time the cloud cover was light, but we still had to descend to drop our bombs. Passing through 13,000 feet, a single Albatros D2 appeared 2000 feet below us. Thinking that an attack would give us the advantage of surprise, we dove on him. The pilot was wary, and we circled for a bit, Woollacott and Hill keeping him occupied until he'd had enough and broke away. The fight had taken us to 7000 feet, so we descended another 1000 feet to improve our accuracy, and dropped our bombs in two passes, scoring several hits on buildings and equipment.

The skies had cleared, and I was concerned that we would still be vulnerable to Archie even after we'd gotten above most German patrols by returning to 20,000 feet, so I had Woollacott take us northwest, passing over Lens, in a route home that was longer overall but spent less time over hostile territory. Numerous German patrols were seen below us, but we ignored them and arrived safely at the aerodrome.

(signed) 2nd Lieutenant Erskine Ford
No. 5 Sqdn RFC
April 17, 1917

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Victory Points

Six Bombs on Target +60
Mission Offset -10

Total +50

54 Sqdrn. 'B' Flight - Photographic Reconnaissance - 17 April, 1917.

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
B Flight, 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

April 17 Assignments

WEATHER:

Overcast – cloud clearing later. (AM 10-) (PM 9-)

“B” Flight No.54 Sqdrn:

Any Time: Photo Reconnaissance, Bombing Raid.