Knights of the Sky

By Randell Whaley

Our hero is an experienced test pilot at the start of World War I. As soon as the US enters the war, he joins the US Army and goes to flight training. After flight training, he is assigned to an air base in France. Then he has to meet the German fighter pilots daily in dogfights over Germany. He also escorts bombers on bombing missions. He also fights the Red Baron! He is shot down behind enemy lines, and traveling by night and sleeping by day makes it back to his own lines! This book is loaded with action! He also has a sweetheart in England who is eagerly awaiting the end of the war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662474286

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Knights of the Sky

Randell Whaley

Copyright © 2022 Randell Whaley

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-6624-7427-9 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-7428-6 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Glossary for Knights of the Sky

About the Author

Chapter 1

Replacement Pilots

Jack felt the wind against his face as he flew his SPAD S.VII biplane across the countryside. It was a beautiful clear day. He was flying in formation with two other SPAD S.VII biplanes. He was number two in the formation. They were replacement pilots for an American squadron in Western France. And the airplanes they were flying were also replacements for combat losses for the squadron. They had come across the English Channel in a troopship and then taken a train to an air base in Northern France. The US Army had bought three new SPAD S.VII airplanes from France. So an Army truck had met them at the train depot to take them to the airport so they could take delivery of the three new airplanes. They had spent the night at the barracks at the air base and had gotten an early start that morning.

Jack's two companions were named Jim and Sam. He had barely made their acquaintance in London when they were briefed that they would take three airplanes with them to join their squadron in France. Sergeant Jim Simpson was in charge of the flight. He was a sergeant and already had combat experience. Jack and Sam were privates. Sergeant Simpson had gone to London on leave and found out he had orders to take an airplane back with him when he returned to duty. Sam was fresh from pilot training back in the States, as was Jack. Though Jack had been an experienced pilot before he started flight training, he still needed training in the fighter craft that they would fly in combat.

Jack had no problem keeping in an easy trail formation with the lead plane. He noticed that Sam didn't maintain his position so very well. He either let his plane get too far back or got too far ahead. So the extra years of flying that Jack had already done apparently made him a smoother and more precise pilot. But he had never flown in combat before. He knew that would be a totally new experience.

Now they were approaching their destination. Jack could see the farms below—sort of like a checkerboard, rectangular shapes of land varying in color. The freshly plowed ground showed dark brown against the yellowish-brown fields that hadn't been plowed yet.

They were flying at seven thousand feet, not especially cold at that height, cool. Then they spotted the air base where they were to land. The leader of their flight reduced his throttle to decrease height. Jack and the pilot behind him did likewise. Jack maneuvered his biplane several hundred yards behind the leader. This would give Jim time to land and turn off the runway by the time Jack touched down.

Jack saw the lead biplane land, reduce speed, and turn off the runway just before he touched down. He hit several bumps after his wheels touched, then let his biplane slow down enough so he could turn off the runway too. He just followed the plane ahead of him and taxied to the flight line. There was a man there giving them hand signals to direct them into their parking space.

There were three rows of parked biplanes in the parking area. There was a hangar just to the west. There were other buildings on the other side of the hangar. The landing runway was to the north.

After all three biplanes were parked, they climbed out and went to the hangar. The man giving them parking directions introduced himself as Bill. He said he would be their mechanic and told them he would show them where to go. They followed him into the hangar, walked up some steps that led into what looked like a ready room, and found the commanding officer of the squadron waiting for them. He greeted them and then invited them to sit down. He was medium height and build with brown hair and blue eyes. And he had a worn look on his face. He looked tired.

I wish to welcome you to VF-129, he said. "We are a fighter squadron that engages in one-on-one fighting with the German fighter craft. And the three airplanes you brought with you will help increase the aircraft availability of our squadron. But we always need replacement pilots too. So we are very glad to see you. I am Captain Waggoner.

I will have each of you fly a mission with me personally before you go on a mission on your own. It's in accordance with regulations, but I also want to personally see that you are trained right to begin with.

Captain Waggoner elaborated a few more minutes in regard to their mission and the purpose for which they were here to begin with. He explained that their mission wasn't to just liberate Europe from German suppression but to prevent an aggressor nation from invading additional countries such as Great Britain and the US.

When he ended off his speech, he explained that Jim would fly a mission with him the following morning and Jack would accompany him on a mission in the afternoon. He'd fly with Sam the following day.

Chapter 2

Chivalry

Make sure you comply with the rules of chivalry when you engage an enemy plane, Captain Waggoner admonished them. The Germans normally will challenge you by dipping a wing. You dip one of your wings to accept the challenge. You will fight duels with any German fighter craft you see, but do not, I repeat, do not gang up on any one fighter pilot. Keep it fair. We're here to win, but we will win with chivalry. We don't shoot down a helpless enemy. Jack was in the ready room for his preflight briefing for his first combat flight over Germany. Jim would fly that morning, but Jack was scheduled for that afternoon.

This made total sense to Jack. He already knew the rules. They had been covered in flight training. The German fighter planes would gang up on you if they caught you on a scouting mission, and they would attack bombers en masse, but if you were looking for a duel with a German fighter plane, they complied by the rules of keeping it one on one too.

When the captain and Jim went out to man their planes, Jack continued with his check-in procedure. He had a checklist to follow to get him familiar with the base and the squadron he was now assigned to. He learned there were five fighter squadrons assigned to the base.

After check-in, he went to the mess hall for chow. It was almost noon. He had had breakfast there that morning so he already knew where the chow hall was. While eating, he saw Captain Waggoner and Jim come in. So they had returned from their flight. They went through the serving line and got their trays filled with food and sat down to eat.

After dinner, Jack had nothing to do but wait until Captain Waggoner was ready for their flight. He was nervous—jittery, in fact. He went to the ready room, packed his pipe, and lit it. He just nervously puffed on his pipe while he was waiting for the captain to show up. Finally, Captain Waggoner walked in.

Ready to go man up? he asked.

Yes, sir, replied Jack.

So Jack and Captain Waggoner went out to man their biplanes. Jack still felt a sense of dread. He knew it was just fear of the unknown. He climbed into the cockpit of his SPAD S.VII and adjusted his goggles. Then he signaled his mechanic to start the engine. He held the brakes while the mechanic pulled down the prop and stepped clear when it started spinning. When the mechanic was clear of the spinning prop, he walked around the airplane, checking everything over. He gave Jack a thumbs-up, which was a high signal to him that he didn't see any leaks or malfunctions in his machine. Then he waited until he saw Captain Waggoner taxi out with his airplane before he signaled to his mechanic to pull the chocks so he could taxi out. Jack smelled the exhaust fumes as he followed the captain's plane out to the runway. Captain Waggoner was flying a Sopwith Camel. He noticed. Airplanes that the US Army had purchased from the British. His own biplane was the SPAD S.VII he had flown in on the previous day. He waited until the captain had started his takeoff roll before he pulled out onto the runway. As soon as the captain was airborne, he started his takeoff roll. As soon as he was airborne, his engine started sputtering. He grabbled the choke lever and started working it up and down; his engine smoothed out. Something you always had to do shortly after takeoff with a biplane, he had found. Choke the engine and get the fuel flow settled out. Then he looked for the captain's plane. He was circling a nearby town as briefed. Jack headed for him and joined up on him. Then Captain Waggoner turned toward Germany.

He found that they were flying into the sun. And this meant that German planes would have the sun to their backs. He felt the wind in his face as they continued their climb. The exhaust fumes were less once you were in the air. And you couldn't look directly into the sun. It would burn your eyes. But they could fly back and forth to the right or left to see if they saw any enemy aircraft near the sun and get all the height they could at the same time.

It got colder as they continued their climb. And Jack felt the uncomfortable feeling in his belly he always felt at higher altitudes. He also started feeling a slight headache. He was wearing his flight jacket and scarf as well as his leather helmet and goggles. But it was still cold, and the thin air made it hard to breathe. Since he hadn't flown very much for several weeks he felt these effects more than usual. He had completed his training back in the States and had been assigned to this squadron. A seven-day trip across the Atlantic in a troopship to England and then another ship ride across the English Channel had preceded his train ride to the base where the squadron was located where they picked up the new airplanes.

When he estimated they were at about ten thousand feet or so above the ground, Captain Waggoner leveled out. Jack felt a little light-headed, and the discomfort in his belly persisted. He knew it was just due to the thin air he was breathing. He kept his eyes scanning the entire sky above, below, and front of him but kept special attention on the sun. Something coming out of the sun was what he expected and was alert for. He had heard that fighter pilots had been known to be victims of surprise attacks in spite of the rules of chivalry as expressed so fervently by the commanding officer this morning. So it paid to be alert.

After a while, the captain pointed to a city down below. You couldn't make out the houses, but you could tell it was a town. You could see the pattern of roads in the town, like tiny arteries weaving through and crossing each other in places. Then he started a turn to the north. So the fact that this was where their patrol boundary normally would be was the message that Jack received from the captain's gesture. They then flew due north.

Jack continued to scan the sky to be alert for any German planes, but he also looked at the ground often. He needed to get familiar with the landmarks. It would be embarrassing to get lost over Germany and maybe fatal too. After flying due north for maybe an hour or so, the captain turned back to the west to head for home. No Germans sighted this afternoon but maybe that was just as well. He wanted to get his new pilots familiar with their patrolling area. And to do that before having them engage in combat would be better if possible.

Chapter 3

First Kill

The following day, he was scheduled for a morning flight. At the ready room, he positioned his Model 1911 .45 pistol into his shoulder holster before he went out to man his biplane. He carried a spare clip in his pocket. The pistol was an optional piece of equipment, but he had decided to carry one just in case he was shot down.

When he was taxiing out, he saw the captain and Sam taxiing out ahead of him. Sam was in one of the new SPAD planes. The CO was taking Sam out on his flight to get him familiar with the patrolling area.

Then after they were airborne, he started his takeoff roll. He had to choke the engine to keep it running just after takeoff as usual. Then he continued to climb. He leveled off when he guessed he was at about ten thousand feet in height. About thirty minutes or so after takeoff, he saw the trenches below. So that was the front line where infantrymen made bayonet charges against each other. After another fifteen minutes, he saw the river down below that marked the boundary to Germany. So he was over German territory now.

Within another thirty minutes, he saw a small dot in the sky near the sun. It was a little above him, so he added power to put his airplane into a climb and headed for it. It was about ten minutes or so before he was close enough to identify it as an aircraft. He knew it would be German. That's all it could be. A lone airplane. So that meant he was looking for a dogfight. He headed straight for him. He gripped his firing triggers and fired a quick burst to make sure his guns were clear. His guns had a synchronizer that made it fire between the propeller blades. He just kept his nose going straight for the German plane and waited until he got within range.

Just before they were within firing range, the German fighter craft dipped his left wing. So this was a German that did fight with chivalry. Jack dipped his left wing in return. Then just before they were close enough to run into each other, the German plane made a quick dive and flew under Jack's fighter craft. He recognized the type of airplane now. It was an Albatros D.V.

If he had made a quick climb, that would have put him right into Jack's guns.