SIX HUN MACHINES DOWN
WONDERFUL EXPLOITS OF BRITISH BOY-AIRMAN.
How a British boy-airman brought down six Hun aeroplanes in one day during two flights behind the enemy lines has just been revealed. Unfortunately, the 20-year-old hero of the adventure, Capt.
John L. Trollope, R.F.C., is now officially reported missing, exactly a week after his day of victories. He was last seen by his squadron commander "fighting hard over the enemy lines." The record feat of destroying the six Hun aeroplanes was accomplished on March 21, the day that the Germans launched their hate bolt against the British lines. Capt. Trollope's modest account of the day's work hardly gives a just impression of the hazards and odds which he overcame in order to surpass the previous record bag of five Hun machines in one day. In a letter to his mother, Mrs. Howard W. Trollope, of Green Hayes, Banstead, Surrey, written on the evening of his triumphs, he wrote simply:
"This has been the most wonderful day of my life. I myself have destroyed six Hun machines—three this morning and three this afternoon. The first this morning I shot to pieces, and it broke up in mid-air; the second went down in flames—both of them two-seaters. The third, a single-seater, which literally exploded in mid-air and fell in pieces. Then I saw two two-seaters quite low down, which I crashed. After this I saw on of our fellows attacked by 12 Huns. I went up to him and let him get away, but ran out of ammunition, so returned to the squadron."
This is all Capt. Trollope made of the episode. Other accounts, however, show that the airman was at times engaged with several hostile machines at the same time. On one occasion he met a party of three of the enemy trying to cross the battle-line. In the middle of the engagement his machine-gun jammed, and he had to draw off. The moment his gun was going again he closed once more with his opponents, the nearest of whom was attacked at point-blank range. This was one of the machines which "fell in pieces." Since returning to the front last January the gallant airman had brought down 18 enemy machines. Six machines down in a day is believed to be a record, the best achievement hitherto standing to the credit of the late Capt.
Albert Ball, V.C., who once brought down five Huns in one day. Capt. Trollope, who is the younger son of the late Howard Trollope, of Westminster, was a despatch-rider in France during 1915, and only took up flying during the autumn of 1916. Within a few weeks of qualifying he was out in France. Only recently he became a champion air fighter. He was educated at Banstead Hall, and left Malvern College to join the Army. His elder brother is abroad with the Queen's Westminsters. Mrs. Trollope said that there is hope that her son is alive, as a strong west wind was blowing on the day that he failed to return, and it is thought that he may have landed safely behind the enemy lines owing to engine trouble.
The News of the World - Sunday, April 07, 1918
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