On the 17th of May we had a good day. One of our scout 'planes wanted
to take some pictures near Verdun, and I was asked to protect it. I
met him above the Côte de ---- and flew with him at a great altitude.
He worked without being disturbed, and soon turned back without having
been fired at. On the way back, I saw bombs bursting at Douaumont and
flew over to get a closer view. There were four or five other German
biplanes there; I also noticed several French battleplanes at a
distance. I kept in the background and watched our opponents. I saw a
Nieuport attack one of our machines, so I went for him and I almost
felt I had him; but my speed was too great, and I shot past him. He
then made off at great speed; I behind him. Several times I was very
near him, and fired, but he flew splendidly. I followed him for a
little while longer, but he did not appreciate this. Meanwhile, the
other French battleplanes had come up, and started firing at me. I
flew back over our lines and waited for them there. One, who was much
higher than the rest, came and attacked me; we circled around several
times and then he flew away. I was so far below him that it was hard
to attack him at all. But I could not let him deprive me of the
pleasure of following him for a while. During this tilt, I dropped
from 4,000 meters to a height of less than 2,000. Our biplanes had
also drifted downward.
Suddenly, at an altitude of 4,700 meters, I saw eight of the enemy's
Caudrons. I could hardly believe my eyes! They were flying in pairs,
as if attached to strings, in perfect line. They each had two engines,
and were flying on the line Meuse-Douaumont. It was a shame! Now, I
had to climb to their altitude again. So I stayed beneath a pair of
them and tried to get at them. But, as they were flying so high and
would not come down toward me, I had no success. Shortly before they
were over our kite-balloons they turned. So fifteen or twenty minutes
passed. Finally I reached their height. I attacked from below, and
tried to give them something to remember me by, but they paid no
attention to me, and flew home. Just then, above Côte de ----, I saw
two more Caudrons appear, and, thank goodness, they were below me. I
flew toward them, but they were already across the Meuse. Just in
time, I looked up, and saw a Nieuport and a Caudron coming down toward
me. I attacked the more dangerous opponent first, and so flew straight
toward the Nieuport. We passed each other firing, but neither of us
were hit. I was only striving to protect myself. When flying toward
each other, it is very difficult to score a hit because of the
combined speed of the two craft. I quickly turned and followed close
behind the enemy. Then the other Caudron started to manoeuver the
same way, only more poorly than the Nieuport. I followed him, and was
just about to open fire when a Fokker came to my aid, and attacked the
Caudron. As we were well over the French positions, the latter glided,
with the Fokker close behind him. The Nieuport saw this, and came to
the aid of his hard-pressed companion; I in turn followed the
Nieuport. It was a peculiar position: below, the fleeing Caudron;
behind him, the Fokker; behind the Fokker, the Nieuport, and I, last
of all, behind the Nieuport. We exchanged shots merrily. Finally the
Fokker let the Caudron go, and the Nieuport stopped chasing the
Fokker. I fired my last shots at the Nieuport and went home. The whole
farce lasted over an hour. We had worked hard, but without visible
success. At least, the Fokker (who turned out to be Althaus) and I had
dominated the field.
On the 18th of May I got Number 16. Toward evening I went up and found
our biplanes everywhere around Verdun. I felt superfluous there, so
went off for a little trip. I wanted to have a look at the Champagne
district once more, and flew to A. and back. Everywhere there was
peace: on earth as well as in the air. I only saw one airplane, in the
distance at A. On my way back I had the good luck to see two bombs
bursting at M., and soon saw a Caudron near me. The Frenchman had not
seen me at all. He was on his way home, and suspected nothing. As he
made no move to attack or escape, I kept edging closer without firing.
When I was about fifty meters away from them, and could see both
passengers plainly, I started a well-aimed fire. He immediately tilted
and tried to escape below me, but I was so close to him it was too
late. I fired quite calmly. After about 150 shots I saw his left
engine smoke fiercely and then burst into flame. The machine turned
over, buckled, and burned up. It fell like a plummet into the French
second line trenches, and continued to burn there.
On May 20th I again went for a little hunting trip in the Champagne
district, and attacked a Farman north of V. I went for him behind his
own lines, and he immediately started to land. In spite of this, I
followed him, because his was the only enemy machine in sight. I stuck
to him and fired, but he would not fall. The pilot of a Farman machine
is well protected by the motor, which is behind him. Though you can
kill the observer, and riddle the engine and tanks, they are always
able to escape by gliding. But in this case, I think I wounded the
pilot also, because the machine made the typical lengthwise tilt that
shows it is out of control. But as the fight was too far behind the
French front, I flew home.
The next day I again had tangible results. In the afternoon I flew on
both sides of the Meuse. On the French side two French battleplanes
were flying at a great altitude; I could not reach them. I was about
to turn back, and was gliding over L'homme mort, when I saw two
Caudrons below me, who had escaped my observation till then. I went
after them, but they immediately flew off. I followed, and at a
distance of 200 meters, attacked the one; at that very instant I saw a
Nieuport coming toward me. I was anxious to give him something to
remember me by, so I let the Caudrons go and flew due north. The
Nieuport came after me, thinking I had not seen him. I kept watching
him until he was about 200 meters away. Then I quickly turned my
machine and flew toward him. He was frightened by this, turned his
machine and flew south. By my attack, I had gained about 100 meters,
so that at a range of 100 to 150 meters, I could fill his fuselage
with shots. He made work easy for me by flying in a straight line.
Besides, I had along ammunition by means of which I could determine
the path of my shots. My opponent commenced to get unsteady, but I
could not follow him till he fell. Not until evening did I learn from
a staff officer that the infantry at L'homme mort had reported the
fall of the machine. In the evening, I went out again, without any
particular objective, and after a number of false starts I had some
success. I was flying north of Bois de ----, when I saw a Frenchman
flying about. I made believe I was flying away, and the Frenchman was
deceived by my ruse and came after me, over our positions. Now I
swooped down on him with tremendous speed (I was much higher than he).
He turned, but could not escape me. Close behind the French lines, I
caught up with him. He was foolish enough to fly straight ahead, and I
pounded him with a continuous stream of well-placed shots. I kept this
up till he caught fire. In the midst of this he exploded, collapsed,
and fell to earth. As he fell, one wing broke off. So, in one day, I
had gotten Numbers 17 and 18.