1915 Fokker Scourge (British Ace Book 2) by Griff Hosker Read Free Book Online Page B

German flag too. Put that together and it should be easy to spot from up here so keep your eyes peeled.”
    Flying at the higher altitude meant that we were faster than the rest of the squadron and we overtook them before we reached our lines. They looked to be a pathetically small handful of aeroplanes. I hoped that they would not run into Germans. They were all flying with a large interval between them. They were, literally, sitting ducks.
    The front line was even clearer from this height and stretched to the horizon in both directions. When we were over the German lines I saw an aeroplane below us.  It looked to be the Fokker Eindecker.  I wondered if it was patrolling or hunting my comrades. So long as the rest of the squadron was close we had nothing to fear from this small aeroplane which was less well armed and slower than our Gunbus.
    I kept my eye on the fuel gauge. I had the engine trimmed so that we were getting the most out of the limited fuel we had. When the land became greener I began to descend.  There were no guns firing at us here.  There were no balloons to avoid. The gentle glide down slowed down the rate at which we were using fuel.  I began to hope that we could get back without having to land.
    Suddenly Sharp’s voice was in my ears.  “Sir, have a look up ahead.  Is than an airfield?”
    He was right , it was an airfield.  I saw the windsock, the tents and the straight runway lined with the bombers. I dived down to four hundred feet to identify the aeroplanes. “Charlie, mark the airfield on the map.”
    “Done it already sir.” There was a pause.  “There look to be three of those twin engine aeroplanes down there sir.  It looks like there are men around one of them.”
    “Right get ready.  Take two bombs and throw them when I say.  I will turn around and you can drop the other two.”
    “Right sir.”
    There was no science to this, you dropped the bomb and let gravity do the rest.  We had learned to throw before we reached the target and then we had more chance of a direct hit. The arc seemed to be important.  We had not done it enough to be totally accurate.  All that we could hope for was some damage. The craters we would create would be a good result. All I was attempting to do was get the bombs as close to the three aircraft as I could.
    The machine guns opening fire told us that we had been seen.  We were travelling too fast for them to hit but it was frightening.  “Now!” I pulled back on the stick and kicked the rudder, we climbed and banked to the right.  I immediately threw it the left and began to dive. “Ready!”
    “Ready sir.”
    I could not see what damage we had done for there was a great deal of smoke.  I took our bus further to the right. “Now!”
    The two explosions lifted us slightly.  I had brought the aeroplane lower than I had intended. With bullets trying to catch our tail I headed west. When I looked at the fuel gauge I saw that my climb and dive had used up more fuel than I had wanted. I had two choices: climb and risk running out of fuel or keep at this altitude and risk the gun fire from the ground. Neither was the favoured option.  I climbed; the spare fuel meant that we could land and refuel. I also changed our course to take us further north.  I did not want to run out of fuel over No-Man’s Land. I needed a flat obstacle free field with no furrows. It was like wishing for a gourmet dinner in the mess.
    I estimated that we were thirty miles behind the German lines and I also knew that were would be other German airfields closer to the front. Sergeant Sharp scanned the horizon for enemy aeroplanes.  I was using the altitude to give some protection from enemy aeroplanes.  The German had slower machines than we did and the long slow climb would take them a long time to reach us.
    Sharp was standing and looking behind me.  He attracted my attention and pointed down; there were two Aviatiks and two Fokkers spiralling up to reach us. The