The pilot dived for the water. But before he got there his crew, seizing the fire-extinguishers which the boats always carried, put out the fire, and he climbed up again.
But the formation was broken and a dog-fight commenced.
One boat was brought down, but on the way to the water the engineer shot down a monoplane in flames.
A second boat was brought down, but at the same time the combined fire of its guns crashed an enemy two-seater.
And then, as the enemy having had enough drew off, the third boat, its tanks and engines riddled with bullets, had to land.
So all three boats were down forty miles from shore.
The pilots of the first boat, the engines of which were completely disabled, were taken off by a destroyer and their boat taken in tow. The pilots of the other two boats plugged the bullet-holes in the bottoms and repaired their engines sufficiently well to taxi to England, where they arrived next morning.
There is also the story of the pilots who went out early one morning for an airing in an obsolete boat.
Five Huns met them off the Galloper Shoal and interrupted their promenade. They were shot down, crashed in the water, and turned bottom side up.