March 14, 1918
Air War:
1630 German pilot Ernst Binkenstein, flying with Jasta 51, claims a French observation balloon for victory number 1. There is no corresponding French record of a balloon in this sector being flamed, but one balloon is attacked but hauled down safely. Lt Gaston Sauvage and Adj Charles Guggenheim, 57° Cie d’Aérostières, are both okay.
1805 German ace Erich Thomas, with Jasta 9, destroys a French observation balloon for victory number 6. S/Lt Emile Ponge, 85° Cie d’Aérostières, is wounded.
German pilot Josef Schwendemann, with Jasta 41, shoots down a SPAD for victory number 3.
Scottish 7-victory ace Herbert Henry Hartley, in a Bristol F.2b, is shot through the heart and killed in a dogfight. His observer manages to land the plane safely. There is no corresponding German claim for this aircraft, and the name of the observer is not listed in any source I could find.
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“Never do anything you can't take back.”
—Rocky Russo
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