Dogfight: The Supermarine Spitfire and The Messerschmitt BF 109 by David Owen

Author:David Owen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / Aviation
ISBN: 9781473830684
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2015-06-19T16:00:00+00:00

1. Green, Augsburg Eagle, p. 44.

2. Deighton, op.cit., p. 93.

3. Green, op.cit., p. 124.

4. Brown, op.cit., p. 213.

5. Fernandez-Sommerau, op.cit., p. 70.

Chapter Fifteen

The Rest of the Field

At 11 am on 5 April 1917, six Bristol Fighters of 48 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps took off to patrol the Western Front between Douai and Cambrai at 3,000 feet. They were led by Captain William Leefe Robinson VC, the first pilot to shoot down a Zeppelin on a night raid over England. With a two-man crew the Bristol F2B was fast, compact and well-armed; its 190 horsepower Rolls-Royce Falcon engine gave it a top speed of 123 mph.

With a pilot and a gunner it followed set tactics. Flying line abreast let gunners combine their fire against enemy attacks. Unfortunately, they were being stalked by brand-new German fighters, Albatros DIII single-seaters. Even more unfortunately, they belonged to the crack fighter unit Jasta 11, masters of their trade. Most unfortunately of all, they were led by Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron.

The German fighters plunged in from different directions to divide the British fire, and exploit blind spots where British gunners risked hitting their own machines or pilots. Meanwhile, the British flyers turned to enable their gunners to aim at their attackers and lost their defensive formation. One by one the gunners ran out of ammunition and the planes were shot down. Four out of the six were destroyed, and Leefe Robinson crash-landed and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. Only one returned to base.

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