WAR

Reid. Near Moorslede he attacked an Albatros scout out of the sun and fired at
close range. The machine stalled and fell out of control. Collishaw then drove off
one of the enemy who was attacking Reid, and, after that, shot down one of the
enemy who was attacking Alexander. The right-hand wings of this machine carried
away and it fell in pieces. On June 17 he led an offensive patrol near Roulers,
where he attacked a formation of eight enemy scouts and shot one of them down.
On June 1 8, in the vicinity of Ypres, Collishaw and Reid each shot down an
enemy machine.
On the same day, Collishaw's Distinguished Service Cross was gazetted, and
on June 24 he and Alexander were cited by General Sir Herbert Charles Plumer,
Commander of the British Second Army and holder of the Ypres Salient.
The fighting went on day after day in the beautiful summer weather.
On June 25 Collishaw led the original Black Flight—himself, Reid, Sharman,
Alexander and Nash—on an offensive patrol over Quesnoy where they ran into
the red machines of Jasta 11. In the fight that ensued, action was too fast for
most of the men to be sure afterward what had happened. When the
Black Flight
reformed, Nash was missing. He had been wounded and forced down by Leutnant
Karl Allmenroder, the deputy commander of Jasta 11.
Allmenroder was born on May 3, 1896, at Wald, near Solingen in the
Rhineland, the son of a Pastor. He had wanted to be a doctor and had commenced
his studies at Marburg when the war broke out. He was sent with Field
Artillery Regiment Nr. 62 to the Eastern Front, but contrived a transfer to the
air service and was sent to the Halberstadt Flying School. On passing out of the
school he was posted to Fl. Abt. 227, where he flew chiefly artillery co-operation
missions. The career of Boelcke stirred his imagination and he once more sought
a transfer, this time to fighters.
In November 1916 he was posted to Jasta 11; on
February 16, 1917, he scored his first victory. On April 2 he scored his sixth,
and was appointed deputy squadron leader by von Richthofen. Allmenroder often
went out on voluntary patrols with von Richthofen and the two of them hunted
well together. At one time, Allmenroder flew an Albatros D III with a white tail
and red fuselage. He was awarded the Pour le Merite on June 14, 1917.
On June 25 he raised his score to 30 when he brought down Gerald Nash
and an artillery-spotting R.E.8 while hunting with von Richthofen.
A few days after having been taken prisoner, Nash heard the church bell
tolling in the town where he was being held in temporary quarters. He asked his
captors what was going on and was told it was Jasta 11 's funeral ceremony for
Allmenroder, who was to be taken home to Solingen-Wald for burial. Nash was
surprised by the news and asked what had happened. He was told that Allmenroder
had been shot down by one of the Black Flight Triplanes.
The Record of Combats of the Air Historical Branch of the Air Ministry gives
the following account of the actions of Black Flight for June 27,
1917: "Collishaw
and Flight Sub-Lieutenant Alexander engaged a two-seater aircraft north of
Armentieres. Although the two-seater was observed to dive very steeply, it was
probably under control.
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