Great early war bombing mission

[PatrickAWlson]

This one was fun.  I had an assignment to attack a train.  I armed my Albatros C.II (Fe2 in drag) with three 112 lb bombs.  I reduced fuel to under 50% to be able to get off the ground.   

 

First there was the takeoff from a snow covered airfield.  As the plane built up speed it finally lifted off the ground.  With trees approaching there was a tremendous urge to pull back on the stick.  This was to be avoided at all costs as the plane would lose air speed and stall.  I kept up the slight forward pressure and let the increasing air speed build lift, clearing the trees by  a not entirely comfortable margin.

 

The flight to the target was uneventful.  Upon arriving I saw the train a couple of kilometers from the station.  Fortune smiled as it was heading into a nice straight stretch of track that would allow me to line up my bomb run.  With a five second delay the bombs had to be placed in front of the  train.  I dropped the first directly over the train, and the second and third in front of it.  It was the third one that got the train.  Unfortunately, it also got me.

 

This is what my plane looked like.  Amazingly, it was still flying.  I managed to take it back across the lines and landed at a forward base without injury.  The ground crew came over, removed the engine and machine guns, and used the rest as firewood.