WAR

1
"Collishaw led a (second) offensive patrol and led his formation down to
assault a formation of three red-coloured Albatros believed to belong to No. 1
Jasta.
Another hostile formation of three red Albatros had taken up a threatening
attitude above and so Collishaw decided to open fire at long range on the targets
below. (This was the flight led by Allmenrbder.) He did so, and while he was
firing, the uppermost hostile fighters assaulted him and his pilots. There was no
time to see what happened to the lower targets, as Collishaw and his pilots had
to take immediate avoiding action. Collishaw had six indecisive combats during
this
patrol.
"On the same patrol, Collishaw's flight became involved in a general engagement
with a flight of Albatros near Courtrai and Menin. Collishaw destroyed
one in pieces in the air and he shot the pilot in a second Albatros. Confirmed by
the pilots in his flight."
A hard day's work. In regard to the specific encounter in which Allmenroder
was shot down, Collishaw has this to say: "There was nothing at all
spectacular about my adventure with Allmenroder. I was flying with two other
Triplanes and I saw three Albatros scouts below and to a flank and on looking
around I saw a second three Albatros well above and to a flank in the opposite
direction. It was rather an awkward position for the Triplanes, as we could easily
become the meat in the sandwich. However, the upper formation did nothing
untoward and I thought that they had not seen the Triplanes. I therefore decided
to make a rapid attack on the Albatros below and then leave the scene
quickly. I made the signal for the assault to my pilots. We went down in a steep
dive and I opened fire on the central leading Albatros, while my two pilots
opened on the adjoining targets. I had fired from long range, as I intended to do
a "tip and run" raid, and had expended perhaps 100 rounds, when suddenly
I felt my aircraft hit by bullets. At the same instant I saw my target go out of
control. I immediately took violent avoiding action and so did my pilots and we
rejoined at the lines. At the time, I paid no attention to this brief, what I thought
of as indecisive, action. Experienced pilots, when suddenly attacked, always took
such violent avoiding action, which momentarily placed their aircraft out of
control. As I had fired at long range, I simply thought that the German pilot was
acting normally and that there was nothing more to the affair. It was not until
Gerald Nash returned from P.O.W. and told me about Allmenroder's death that
I knew what had happened.
"The pilots in Allmenroder's formation could scarcely believe that he had
been shot down because the firing had been done from such long range. A
German officer observer on the ground watched Allmenroder's fall. His aircraft
went momentarily out of control and then proceeded to glide, what appeared to
be normally, to the eastward; but after a brief interval, the Albatros went into an
uncontrolled dive
and crashed."*
* The material relevant to Collishaw's successful attack on Allmenroder was loaned to the
author by Mr. O. A. Satcr of Jamaica, L.I.,
110
N.Y.
* * *