Diary And Letters Of A World War I Fighter Pilot, The by Christopher Burgess Page B

sorry that I haven’t written lately but really I haven’t a moment! We work from 8.am to 8.pm with very little time off all afternoon & we are working on Sundays just the same. My work consists in sitting in the front seat of an F.E. armed with a Lewis Gun & firing at rafts in the sea & flags towed 100 ft behind another machine. The latter practice is rather hard as a flag isn’t much of a target. I am quite an expert observer now & stand up on the front seat of an F.E. with impunity, grabbing on of course jolly tight. I will try very hard to get a couple of days before I go. I guess I’ll get it all right. When we are not flying we are generally firing on the range – a vile game! Imagine 4 machine guns in the space of 15 yds firing bursts of 20 rounds all together. It’s a perfect inferno. I am a fair shot with a Lewis gun!
    Turnberry.
    22nd August 1917
    The weather has been pretty dud lately & so there has not been much flying & we have been on the ranges much of the time. Today we left the Lewis gun & are now doing the Vickers gun which is nice & easier to work. I think that on leaving here I will probably go back to my Squadron & will likely go abroad on the following Friday. I will apply for leave till then & will probably get it all right. I expect I shall go out on a D.H.5. I really shan’t be very sorry to go out as there is none of this beastly red tape & hot air that fills all home squadrons! Besides it will be a great rag shooting down Fritz.
    Guy to May (his sister)
    Â 
    No 2 Auxiliary School of Aerial Gunnery,
Royal Flying Corps,
Turnberry.
    24 August 1917
    Dearest
    Â 
    Thanks awfully for your topping letter. I haven’t written for some time but will make it up now.
    As you will see I am at Turnberry now at last. It is, I am afraid, not much of a catch & a great deal too like work! We are on from 8 am till 8 pm & working jolly hard all the time – chiefly shooting either on the range or from aeroplanes with machine guns at rafts in the sea or towed flags. It is great fun!
    It is great sport standing up in the front seat of an F.E. & as the railing is only about 2 feet high you have to hang on pretty tight! I had 3 days in Edinburgh before I came up here & stayed in the ‘Caley’. I had a simply top hole time all by myself! I saw Molly but I am afraid Molly is not much of a catch – she hasn’t grown up a bit & has not much in her. However – I made up for that & my latest is Jane Hansen – the little Danish friend of Mrs Westergaard. She is not v pretty but quite topping! We had dinner together in the Caley & then I saw her home in a taxi! What ho! likewise ‘Ow Snice’! I wish I had seen the ‘little pedigree dawg’! Do you remember that! I went over to Troon & had a great time on Saturday. Jack’s fiancée is a v nice girl. Cecil is quite impossible! He is I believe going into the R.A.A.S. He “thought of going into the Infantry but he didn’t like the idea of that. If he can’t get into the R.A.A.S. – oh they will have him in the R.F.C.!” He composes music & got an unfortunate lady to play me one of his waltzes! It was some waltz! ‘Orrid! However – !
    Yes, I had a near shave of going out the other day. I expect I shall go out as soon as the course is over. I shall be quite pleased to go out & I have no intention of getting picked off if I can possibly avoid it!
    I am on a new bus now at Croydon called the D.H.5. (These details, please don’t mention to anyone). It is a weird looking bus & looks like this – [No drawing available] –
    If you compare it with my drawing of a Pup you will see that the wings are ‘staggered’ backwards instead of forwards like this – [No drawing available] – It is the only bus like this. The pilot has a grand view. They are pretty fast, & you have to land them at 90 m.p.h.! I have ‘looped’ & ‘rolled’ them but they