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Gregvan · 11 October 2009, 10:43 AM

Hi Everyone,

Well, Hal and MT have asked, "What can you say about Geiseler's first 'victory' and the captured British crew?"

If this captured British crew were from an FE2d, and they were captured on 30 April in the morning: well, here goes: EDITED:

No. 57 Sqdn FE2d A1966 of No. 57 Sqdn shot down near Douai, Lt. CS Morice and Lt. F Lrathey left at 6 AM, the a/c wrecked but crew OK.

No. 57 Sqn FE2d A6352, crewed by 2Lt E D Jennings and 2Lt Lingard, both POW. They are generally credited to

Lothar von Richthofen.

No 57 Sqdn FE2d A6380, severely shot up - Lt Ryan died of wounds and 2Lt. B Soutten was also wounded; they left at 9 AM for Lievin-Noreuil.

No. 57 Sqdn FE2d A6402, crewed by Lt. PT Bowers and 2Lt ST Wills, both POW. Was this von Tutschek's victory?

Henshaw's The Sky Their Battlefield states that the "sweep" of twenty fighters (sic?) from Douai in the morning variously met 57 Squadron FE2d's, escorted by 8 (Naval) Squadron Sopwith Triplanes, some Bristol fighters on reconnaissance, 56 Squadron SE5's and then a patrol of 18 Squadron FE2b's, who suffered casualties.

FE2b No. 6998 of No. 18 Squadron was on a photo reconnaissance escort, flown by Sgt. T. Whiteman and 2AM J H Wynne. The 18 Sqdn FE''s came into combat with single-seaters in the Baralle-Marquion area at 0930 British time. This FE was very badly shot up, with Whiteman wounded and Wynn later dying from his wounds; their undercarriage collapsed on landing and the aircraft crashed. However, it reportedly crashed on an advanced landing ground, I read nothing about the crew becoming prisoners. This has been equated with Han Klein's (Jasta 4) claim for an "FE A" near Ribecourt.

FE2b No. A5481 of No. 18 Squadron was also in combat with enemy aircraft; its fuel tank was shot up and it was forced to land near Monchy-au-Bois, and wrecked in a crash landing. The crew of 2Lt. S H Bell and Lt. D W McLeod were unharmed.

A 20 Squadron FE2d, No. A5143, was hot by anti-aircraft fire on return from a bombing flight; its controls were shot up and it was forced to land at Eykhoek, near Poperinghe, and overturned and burned. The crew of Lt. D Y Hay and 2AM E H Sayers were both injured.

There was another 20 Squadron crewman wounded that day, 1Lt. H M Coombs, but I have no more details.

This has been edited, thanks to GMU's intervention. See below.

Greg

11 October 2009, 10:43 AM	#29 (permalink)
Gregvan Forum Ace of Aces Contributor Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: St. Charles, Iowa Posts: 3,626	Hi Everyone, Well, Hal and MT have asked, "What can you say about Geiseler's first 'victory' and the captured British crew?" If this captured British crew were from an FE2d, and they were captured on 30 April in the morning: well, here goes: EDITED: No. 57 Sqdn FE2d A1966 of No. 57 Sqdn shot down near Douai, Lt. CS Morice and Lt. F Lrathey left at 6 AM, the a/c wrecked but crew OK. No. 57 Sqn FE2d A6352, crewed by 2Lt E D Jennings and 2Lt Lingard, both POW. They are generally credited to Lothar von Richthofen. No 57 Sqdn FE2d A6380, severely shot up - Lt Ryan died of wounds and 2Lt. B Soutten was also wounded; they left at 9 AM for Lievin-Noreuil. No. 57 Sqdn FE2d A6402, crewed by Lt. PT Bowers and 2Lt ST Wills, both POW. Was this von Tutschek's victory? Henshaw's The Sky Their Battlefield states that the "sweep" of twenty fighters (sic?) from Douai in the morning variously met 57 Squadron FE2d's, escorted by 8 (Naval) Squadron Sopwith Triplanes, some Bristol fighters on reconnaissance, 56 Squadron SE5's and then a patrol of 18 Squadron FE2b's, who suffered casualties. FE2b No. 6998 of No. 18 Squadron was on a photo reconnaissance escort, flown by Sgt. T. Whiteman and 2AM J H Wynne. The 18 Sqdn FE''s came into combat with single-seaters in the Baralle-Marquion area at 0930 British time. This FE was very badly shot up, with Whiteman wounded and Wynn later dying from his wounds; their undercarriage collapsed on landing and the aircraft crashed. However, it reportedly crashed on an advanced landing ground, I read nothing about the crew becoming prisoners. This has been equated with Han Klein's (Jasta 4) claim for an "FE A" near Ribecourt. FE2b No. A5481 of No. 18 Squadron was also in combat with enemy aircraft; its fuel tank was shot up and it was forced to land near Monchy-au-Bois, and wrecked in a crash landing. The crew of 2Lt. S H Bell and Lt. D W McLeod were unharmed. A 20 Squadron FE2d, No. A5143, was hot by anti-aircraft fire on return from a bombing flight; its controls were shot up and it was forced to land at Eykhoek, near Poperinghe, and overturned and burned. The crew of Lt. D Y Hay and 2AM E H Sayers were both injured. There was another 20 Squadron crewman wounded that day, 1Lt. H M Coombs, but I have no more details. This has been edited, thanks to GMU's intervention. See below. Greg __________________ Greg VanWyngarden Last edited by Gregvan; 11 October 2009 at 01:53 PM.