Air Stories, April 1936 — page 19: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

BRING ’EM BACK ALIVE! deadly streams of tracer as often as they came into each other’s sights. I gave it up; had everyone gone crazy ? The remaining three of us, Langrish, ‘““Woggy’’ and I, looked on in helpless bewilderment. What could one do in a case like this? A regular duel had begun, and while the two went whirling round on each other’s tails, giving burst for burst, the German anti-aircraft bat- teries far below, who must have been no less astonished than ourselves, planted little black balls of smoke round the combatants with strict impartiality. Whatever the immediate cause of quarrel between those two, I felt instinctively, from the very ferocity of their attacks, that only one of them was going to come out of it alive. Of all the extraordinary things to happen on a reconnaissance flight ! The two had broken circle now, and Moldred was hot on the tail of his enemy, his gun spurting tracer in a deadly stream. To escape him, the Hon. Charles went howling over in a wide loop. Upon which Moldred pulled up his nose, hung from his prop., and sat waiting directly in his path. Then he pressed the firing-lever for a long burst as the other, sliding over from his back, came yowling down full-pelt at him. I held my breath ; a collision seemed inevitable. But the diving $.E. and the climbing S.E. flashed past each other harmlessly and for a moment lost contact. And then there came an interruption. A shrill wail of wires made me turn my head sharply, and there, leading his formation of S.E.’s in a headlong dive on the duellists, came Captain McCrail of ‘‘A’’ Flight. Of different calibre from Langrish, he was not the kind of fellow to see two British pilots settling personal quarrels in German skies and do nothing about it. Tacca-tacca-tacca-tacca! A_ staccato rattle of fire burst from the guns of his five machines as the formation swept down on the duellists. But that was a warning only. The next moment his men had broken formation and, using dog-fight tactics, caused such confusion to the two com- turned to me. batants that they were forced to stop fighting. Then, while McCrail and two of his trusties literally hustled Moldred in one direction, the other pair from ‘‘A’”’ Flight shepherded Charles Edward in the other. Never was there such an anti-climax to a death duel. I looked round for the rest of my own flight then, and, catching sight of Langrish, flew over and fell in at his side. we scanned the sky for signs of ‘‘ Woggy ”’ Wane, but could see nothing of him. Evidently the peace-loving ‘‘ Woggy ’’ had run home by himself in sheer disgust. All the way home my head was buzz- ing with a hundred theories that might account for the amazing happenings that I had recently witnessed. One thing was certain: Moldred had tried to murder Charles Edward in cold blood. (I thought it was certain then; it did not occur to me that nobody had actually seen who fired the first burst.) I was to find, when we landed, that, so far from Moldred being accused of attempted murder, the boot was on the other leg. CHAPTER VI *“Woeggy’’ Wane Takes a Bow HE witnesses being two complete flights, the squadron office was crowded almost to capacity. The atmo- sphere was tense with drama. At his desk sat Major Tignell-Wingate, the C.O., looking more serious than I had ever seen him. The Adjutant and the three flight-commanders were ranged behind him. Moldred finished his accusation and stepped back. He was red and indignant, as befitted a virtuous gentleman who, while flying on the King’s business, had been treacherously attacked by a subordi- nate. His beefy face oozed indignation at every pore. Langrish, questioned next, confessed that he had seen nothing of the beginning of the quarrel. The C.O. frowned. He ‘*What about you, Trevelyan ? ’’ 305 Together CoOnniclooo SS (Cl Q)