WAR

—
in late summer, 1917, a Bavarian named Rudolf Stark was flying with Jasta 34
stationed near Verdun. Flying over familiar ground which he had covered many
times as a two-seater pilot, Stark was nevertheless a greenhorn
ein
Neuling—as
a fighter pilot.
One day on patrol with two squadron mates, Stark was left behind when
the other two spotted a French Caudron and went for it. At just that moment,
Stark caught a glint in the air above him and looked up to see a Nieuport diving
on him. The Frenchman opened up with his
machine guns and Stark desperately
went into a hard turn, his ears filled with the sound of bullets cracking through
the fuselage behind him. The Frenchman was on his tail and stayed there, putting
short bursts into the machine. A blow on his shoulder caused Stark to lose control
of his aeroplane for an instant and it dropped in a spin. He recovered, and
as he straightened out, the rattling behind him began again. He turned this way
and that trying to work his way close to the German lines where he hoped the
threat of German ground fire would drive away his tormentor. He was dizzy
from his frantic stunting when he thought he was safe and risked a look around.
No Nieuport in sight. He made his way home and landed. The aeroplane was not
so badly shot up that it collapsed on landing—in fact, it was hardly shot up at all.
There were sixteen holes in the fuselage, but that didn't account for all the
noise. His shoulder strap had been shot loose and one end had been flung out
of the cockpit, the buckle rattling against the plywood fuselage during the wild
aerobatics.
Leutnant Rudolf Stark eventually became an Ace with six confirmed victories,
but he had to master his imagination first.
Stark.
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