Victory 59

Combat Report: 0730 hrs, between Poelcapelle and Langemarck, this side of our lines. Spad one-seater. English. During a fighter patrol with four gentlemen of Staffel 11, I saw beneath me a single Spad flying at an altitude of 3.000 metres above a solid cover of cloud. The adversary was probably trying to find flying German artillery planes. I attacked him, coming out of the sun. He tried to escape by diving, but in this moment I shot at him and he disappeared trhought the clouds. Upon pursuit, I saw him beneath the cloud, first plunge straight down, then at about 500 metres altitude explode in the air. Due to the new, very poor incendiary ammunition my pressure line, intake manifold, exhaust, etc, were again so damaged that I would not have been able to pursue a merely wounded opponent. Consequently, he would have escaped and I had to see that I glided as far from the Front as possible. Weather: fine.