Free 1918 We will remember them by Griiff Hosker Page B

attack. I saw that the twenty three aeroplanes were in lines of five stacked above each other. I watched as the first five dived to attack Archie and the others. We swooped towards the rest of them.  I hoped the rear gunners of the Bristols could handle the five Albatros who screamed towards them.
    One of the Fokker pilots caught sight of us and he began to turn to face us.  The others were a little slower and their tardiness meant that a gap appeared between the two end aeroplanes. The margins between success and failure are minute at eight thousand feet when you are travelling in excess of a hundred and ten miles an hour. I was slightly quicker on my guns and I opened fire at four hundred feet.  My first short burst ripped into his engine and he peeled off to the north.  When you were outnumbered then kills were not so important.  You needed to rid the skies of the enemy aeroplanes. Roger gave him a second burst and I saw flames licking around his engine.  The Germans had issued some parachutes to its pilots and I caught a glimpse of the pilot as he hurled himself over the side.
    I adjusted my nose and fired a short burst at no more than a hundred yards from the second Fokker. I caught him side on and I fired a second burst. I was close enough to see him die and I had to jerk my nose up to prevent me crashing into his bus which flew straight in his dead hands. Another burst missed the third Fokker but my sudden appearance was like a fox in a hen house. The neat lines of the Germans were broken while our line astern ploughed through them. Each Camel gave the Germans a burst of .303. As I zoomed over the last Fokker I began to bank to starboard.
    We could fly inside the larger Fokkers.  The German pilots turned to port to match our turn but I was able to give a long burst to the second German line.  I hit the wings and fuselage of one German who barely missed hitting me as he pulled his aeroplane up and over me.  I felt the wind from Lieutenant Clayson’s bullets as he gave a long burst into the surprised German.  With smoke pouring from a wrecked engine he began to spiral to earth.
    Freddie and his flight had had even more success.  He had more aeroplanes and twice our fire power. I watched the last of the Fokkers heading east. I was tempted to follow them when I remembered Archie and the Bristols.  I saw the four remaining Albatros as they nipped inside the less manoeuvrable Bristol. I saw two Bristols on the ground; their crews had their hands up as irate Germans captured and then prodded them towards the east with the butts of their rifles.
    We screamed down like avenging eagles. I waved my arm to indicate to Jack and Roger that they should choose their own target. We needed maximum firepower. I gave one Albatros a long burst and Ted’s gunner finished him off.  The remaining three Albatros broke left and I heard the chatter of Jack’s guns as he destroyed one. Roger was following a second and I turned my attention to the captured Bristol crews.
    I dropped to the lowest altitude I could.  There was a German vehicle and the guards were pushing the four airmen towards it. I took a risk and gave a long burst at the lorry.  The Germans dived to the ground.  As the lorry exploded I caught a glimpse of my four comrades as they grabbed guns and began to run to the British lines some half a mile away. I banked to starboard and swept over the four.  As soon as I was over them I fired my two guns until they were empty. It was like firing a shotgun at close range.  The grey uniformed Germans were stopped in their tracks.  As my gun clicked empty I pulled hard on the stick to climb away from the angry Germans’ ground fire.
    My detour meant that I was the last to land and the other flight leaders were waiting for me. Ted ran over, “Did you see Thomson and Lowe?” His voice betrayed his anxiety.
    “They were captured but I fired at their captors and the last I saw they were heading for our lines.” I