Not quite so much fighting was done during July and August, as the change of machines from an air-cooled rotary engine (the 110 h.p. Le Rhone which had served us so well) to a 150 h.p. water-cooled stationary (the Hispano Suisa) naturally took some getting used to. These machines were again replaced in late August with 200 h.p. Hispano Suisa S.E.5s, which, though a more powerful engine than the 150 h.p., was much more difficult to keep serviceable. Nevertheless, Bishop (who was soon posted to Home Establishment—H.E., as the R.F.C. called it), Caldwell, Rutherford, W. Jenkins (afterwards killed in a collision with West-Thompson over Poperinghe), Molesworth, M.C. and bar, Hall, S. B. Horn, M.C. (whose dog Lobo was a squadron pet), and G. Lloyd, M.C. (who was promoted to captain and sent to 40 Squadron as flight commander), were all distinguishing themselves and adding to the squadron’s laurels.
In the following extract Molesworth again graphically describes a fight in which he was very nearly killed:
“60 Squadron R.F.C.,
“B.E.F., France.
“June 1917.“Yesterday I had the narrowest shave I’ve ever had since I first started Boche-strafing. I was properly caught out this time, and really thought things were all up.
“We were just over the Drocourt Switch,[32] near Vitry, when a dozen Huns got what you might call ‘uppish.’ We tumbled into a proper mix-up and, as there were only five of us, the Huns managed to break up our formation. We had arranged that, should this happen, we were to return to the line independently and re-form, so I started towards Arras, following the Scarpe.[33]
“Just as I was passing over Gavrelle I espied three fat Hun two-seaters making south-east.
“‘Here we are, my son,’ says I to myself. ‘We’ll just hop down and put the gust[34] up one of these Huns.’
“No sooner said than done. I pushed my nose down and, when within range, opened fire. The next thing I knew was a perfect hail of bullets pouring round me. Here is a rough description of my thoughts during the few minutes that followed:
“Crackle! crackle! crackle!
“‘My cheery aunt! There’s a Hun on my tail.’
“‘By jove! The blighter is making my grid into a sieve. Confound him!’
“‘Let’s pull her up in a good climbing turn and have a look at him.’
“‘Heavens! It’s “the Circus.”’[35]
“‘I wonder if old Richthof is the leader. The dirty dog nearly caught me out this time. Silly ass! didn’t hold his fire long enough, or he’d have made me into cold meat by now.’
“‘Let’s give him a dose and see how he likes it.’
“‘Here he comes straight at me, loosing off with both guns.’
“‘I hope we aren’t going to collide.’
“‘Missed! Bon! Everything’s A1. Wish I’d hit him, though!’
“‘I must pull her round quick or he will be on my tail.’
“‘Hang! I can’t shoot for toffee, but he’s pretty “dud,” too, thank heavens!’
“‘Once again, boys, round with her. Let him have it hot.’
“‘No good. Try again.’
“‘Confound it! There’s my beastly drum empty. I must spin and change it.’
“‘Good enough! Now where’s the blighter?’
“‘My Harry! He has got me stiff this time; here he comes down on me from the right.’
“Crack! crack! crack! bang! zip! zip!
“‘There goes my petrol tank; now for the flames.’
“‘Cheero! No luck this time, you old swine. Wait till I get you next show.’
“‘Here goes for the ground.’
“Luckily for me, my friend and his pals, who had been watching the scrap, thought I was done for. They therefore chucked up the sponge and departed.
“I managed to pull the machine out, just scraping over the trenches. The engine was still running, although the petrol was pouring out all over my legs. A few minutes afterwards the engine conked out altogether, and I had to land in a field. I was immediately surrounded by a crowd of men, who had seen the fight. Amongst them were some artillery officers, who took me off to their mess and offered me a ‘tot,’ which was very thankfully received, while they sent off a message to the squadron. The following is the official list of damage done to my machine:
“Six bullet holes in propeller.
“Cowling[36] shot away.
“Large holes in bottom of petrol tank and sides.
“Main spar[37] right-hand top plane broken.
“Rear right-hand under-carriage strut badly damaged.
“Twenty-eight holes in fuselage[38] and ten in the planes—two or three missing the pilot’s seat by less than an inch.”
“Six bullet holes in propeller.
“Cowling[36] shot away.
“Large holes in bottom of petrol tank and sides.
“Main spar[37] right-hand top plane broken.
“Rear right-hand under-carriage strut badly damaged.
“Twenty-eight holes in fuselage[38] and ten in the planes—two or three missing the pilot’s seat by less than an inch.”
During the 3rd Corps’ attack on August 19, 1917, Lieuts. Jenkins, Steele, Thompson, Rutherford, and Sergt. Bancroft did good work shooting up infantry in trenches and by harassing the troops assembling for counter-attacks.
On September 7, 1917, the squadron was moved up to the XI Wing to help in the battles for the Passchendale Ridge, which were already in full swing. Leaving the comfortable Filescamp station and the hard tennis-court with great regret, they were moved into tents on Marie Capelle aerodrome, near Cassel, where 20 Squadron was already stationed. The 2nd and 5th Armies were then attacking almost every day, and 60, in addition to their ordinary work of offensive patrols, wireless interception, etc., co-operated by low flying and firing at troops and transport on the ground. Twenty-five-pound Cooper bombs were carried at this time and dropped on suitable targets.
Capt. Chidlaw-Roberts, Lieuts. Rutherford, Whiting, and I. Macgregor were now prominent, while Patrick, himself a brilliant fighter, was always ready to give his squadron a lead.
Chidlaw-Roberts got a lot of Huns during September, and Caldwell and W. Jenkins continued their successes of the summer, while J. Crompton, Young, Capt. Hammersley, Lieut. W. Sherwood, and 2/Lieut. Carter were others who were conspicuous during the October fighting.
It was in September that Capt. J. K. Law, one of the sons of Mr. Bonar Law (another of whose sons had already been killed in Mesopotamia), joined at Marie Capelle. He was a tiger to fight, and, had he come through his first month, would probably have made a great name for himself. He did several “shows” over the line, and his machine was shot about badly in every one of them. On September 21, a patrol operating in the neighbourhood of Roulers, led by Hammersley and including Whiting and Macgregor and Law, saw twenty-four hostile machines and engaged eight of them. A general engagement took place, in the course of which Law was shot down and killed. He had absolutely refused to stay any longer at home, where he was doing most useful work training pilots, but insisted on being sent to France.
Life was less easy during the autumn, as the Boche had begun continually to send over night-bombing machines. Our scouts were not very successful in dealing with them, for it is very difficult to see another machine in the air at night even though it may be visible from the ground; and, although several attempts were made at this time by 70 and 29 Squadrons, stationed at Poperinghe, to attack these night bombers, they never succeeded in engaging one. The chief difficulty was that one could not ask pilots and mechanics to work all night as well as all day. If it had been possible to take a scout squadron or two off day work and set them to deal only with the German night bombers, there is little doubt but that they would have achieved some measure of success in spite of the shortage of searchlights. The authorities, however, would not hear of this, as there was too much to be done by day to spare one of our none too numerous fighter squadrons for night work. Much later in the war, July 1918 to be exact, 151 Squadron was sent out equipped with Camels fitted for night flying, and this squadron alone very nearly exterminated the Boche night bombers on the 1st and 3rd Army fronts. It was in this squadron that D. V. Armstrong added so greatly to the reputation he had already gained, and it was with them that he was killed. As things were, however, in 1917 the enemy dropped their bombs nightly almost with impunity, as anti-aircraft fire was not very effective at night, and machine-gun fire from the ground was useless against machines which rarely flew lower than 5,000 feet.