7
THE YPRES TIMES
First Airman V.C.
He died of his wounds the next day, before he could learn that he was to be
the first of those who were to win the Victoria Cross for work in the air. It was
not inappropriate that he should head the list, for he was one of the pioneers of
flying in England. He had been flying for two years before he qualified for his
pilot's certificate in 1911; his faith in the air had never wavered, and he had
converted many to his faith.
Boelcke's Grim Fight.
On September 27th our offensive patrols found numerous enemy formations
in the morning before the weather broke with drenching rain. One patrol of six
Captain BOELCKE.
Martinsydes of No. 27 Squadron was attacked near Bapaume by five biplanes led
by Boelcke, who gives an account of the fight in a letter home. He tells how his
first victim (2/Lieut. H. A. Taylor), after a brief fight, fell like a sack. He goes
on to recount how he then got behind another Martinsyde, which tried in vain to
shake him off, and how he was surprised, after hitting the aeroplane with many
bullets at close range, to see it fly round in continuous circles.
I said to myself," writes Boelcke, the fellow is long since dead and the
machine is flying so because its steering apparatus is fixed in the right position. I
