Jack Malone...First Ace Page 2

Page 2

A bombing outfit was not what Malone really wanted, an opinion which was shared by Mel Alexander, Don Masson, and Sport Murton, who were also posted to Luxeuil. They accompanied him from Waterloo Station on 4 December and across the channel on the Viper , an all night trip to Le Havre. There were no cabins onboard this ex-naval torpedo-boat destroyer so the officers, a motley collection representing every military unit imaginable, played cards throughout the night. Either Murton or Masson had the presence of mind to bring along a bottle of Scotch which proved to be a life-saver, as it was bitterly cold.

Upon their arrival in Paris, the four Canadians hired a taxi. Jack Malone persuaded the reticent driver to allow him to operate the cab and no sooner had they left the curb with Malone and Alexander in the the front seat, and the excited driver helplessly sandwiched in the back between Masson and Murton, than a sudden clashing of gears brought the cab to a grinding halt. The four Canadians had to physically restrain the cab owner who cursed them wildly, and a nearby Gendarme was hurriedly summoned to intervene. Murton, who was the linguist of the group, parleyvood with both Frenchmen and, pulling out a bundle of recently purchased French bank notes, offered to pay for the suspected damage to the cab. When the money appeared, the taxi driver's face broke into a leering grin and after making a settlement both parties parted amicably.

While on the train Le Havre to Paris, the Canadians had met a classy middle-aged Femme who was, according to Alexander, "quite a girl" She became their self-appointed guide to the lures of Paris, and she took them on a tour of the French capitol making sure that "her boys" were not ripped off by the many unscrupulous cafe and cinema owners. As it was they still ran short of money and had to charge for their meals while on the train from Paris to Luxeuil.

At Luxeuil, the training and administrative headquarters of No.3 (Naval) Wing, the four Canadians settled in, and on 7 December 1916, they were officially taken on strength. Malone stated in a letter to his brother Cyril:"It (Luxeuil) is about 30 kilometers from the lines and so far I have not been over as our flight is just being organized." However, Malone, as well as Alexander, Murton, and Masson had been busy flying a few of the Wing's Curtiss JN-4s just to keep in practice. Malone did not get a real chance to impress his buddies until 11 December when he took A.W. Nick Carter for a 17-minute aerial tour above the aerodrome in Carter's Sopwith bomber 9408. What the more experienced Carter did not, realize was the fact that Malone had never before flown a 1½ Strutter. Nick Carter was so impressed by Jack Malone's flying that he wrote: "FSL Malone, wonderful pilot" in his personal logbook.

Had Malone not been so dissatisfied with his posting and with the unappealing image of himself as a bomber pilot, he wouldn't have been as captivated by the Wing's only single-seat scout, Sopwith Pup 9496 which had been tucked away in the corner of one hanger the day he arrived at the Wing. This machine was the second of three Pup prototypes built by the Sopwith factory and had been on strength of No. 3 (Naval) Wing since early September 1916. It had only been flown by a few of the more enterprising pilots including Stearne Edwards and John Sharman.

The practice and test flights that Jack had made in this 1½ Strutter fighter which he had flown on a regular basis since his first flight in Carter's bus, did not impress him. The English-built 130-hp Clerget engines in these aircraft were not wearing well; the obdurator rings having developed excessive play kept most of the aircraft in the shops. Every short hop he made seemed fraught with engine problems and the prospect of carrying extra ballast in the form of a gunlayer in the rear cockpit really cramped his style. He could think of nothing more rewarding than flying that Pup, then the hottest British Fighter at the front. He had to tell someone other than his fellow pilots of his burning ambition, and who better than his brother Cyril. In the flush of passion he decribed his feelings in a letter written on 28 December 1916:

There is a beautiful little scout here which I've just fixed up and flown for the first time today (27 Dec.). She is so sensitive you can fly her with one finger. but rather dangerous on that account. To be heavy-handed with her would be fatal. I'm glad of this because it puts the 'wind up' everybody and I'll have her all to myself.

Jack Malone and Sharman were the only two pilots who gave the Pup a workout that day. Some of the more senior pilots had returned from Ochey that morning because the weather had brought the Wing's day bombing almost to a standstill, although a few had remained to take one last crack at the enemy before winter made flying impossible. These seniors showed little interest in flying the Pup so Sharman took her up first. On his return he climbed out of the machine, vest pocket camera in hand and he snapped a shot of Malone as the impatient Canadian took his place at the controls. After a short pre-flight briefing from Sharman and a warning not to indulge in any unusual antics, Malone blipped her, tested rudder and aileron, then skillfully adjusted the air and petrol before lifting gracefully into a grey December sky. The ceiling was low, as it had been for several days, so Malone knew that the aircraft would be silhouetted against the clouds setting the perfect stage for his show: a few off-the-deck low passes, a climbing turn, then a stall, and a short dive, finishing with the Grande tour de force, a perfect landing. What exhilarating thoughts must have come to Malone's mind as he gave this exhibition in full view of the other pilots and gunlayers. At the end of the day Malone's Pup had to be overhauled. The stress and strain of the flying display was keep Pup 9496 in the repair shop for several days.

Snow had fallen regularly between Christmas and New Year's Day 1917 and the mercury had taken a severe drop, nullifying most flying. To pass the idle hours groups of officers engaged in endless poker games, while others not so inclined wrote letters or improved their living quarters. Some hardy individuals even braved the elements and walked the mile to town seeking out camaraderie of the local estaminets such as the "Leon Vart" and the "Palme d'Or". Few officers fraternized on a regular basis with the civilian population.

As if on a pendulum, the weather temporarily moderated once or twice a week. All engines were run up and activity resumed throughout the abbreviated daylight hours of early January. With very few aircraft being kept in flying trim, the more energetic tried to get in as many brief flights as they could.

On 22 January, all operational pilots at Luxeuil were told to mobilize and return in their aircraft to Ochey to resume bombing raids. As Malone was still considered to be under training and hadn't been posted to either of the two squadrons that made the fighting force of the Wing, he and a few others were granted leave to England. Just before he left he and his fellow officers heard rumors suggesting that the Wing was to be reduced in size; however, little faith was placed in such gossip.

Malone spent most of his leave in Paris, only popping over to London for a few days to make some purchases. He had a lonely time in England, as most of the boys he knew from the old Curtiss School were still under quarantine with the measles at Chingford and Freiston. His return to Luxeuil coincided with some of the coldest weather ever experienced in that part of the country and the boys who participated in a raid to the Burbach blast furnaces near Saarbruecken on 12 January 1917 suffered intensely from the penetrating cold. Three pilots and two gunlayers had their hands, frozen in spite of the fact that the surgeon had greased all exposed skin before their departure. This raid was a disaster from the beginning due to the considerable number of engines that refused to start and a litany of engine failures enroute. Only 16 of the 25 machines that started out from Ochey reached their target.

There had been little relief from the cold in over a week and Malone, on his first flight since returning from leave, had his own hands and feet nearly frozen while acting as Duty Pilot during a two-hour morning patrol of Luxeuil and the surrounding area. The rumors which had been making rounds at Luxeuil and Ochey for 3 months or more now proved to be genuine. On the morning of 27 January, while Malone was still aloft, an announcement was posted on the notice board to the effect that eight pilots, Malone
among them, had been chosen to report for scout duty at Dunkirk. Those whose names did not appear became quite upset at the news. Sharman wrote in his diary:

Yesterday eight of the fellows left to go to another Wing. Collishaw was amongst them, a fact which made both of us quite sore for we have been together for a long time now. Still, we aren't the only ones. The whole eight seem to have been chosen at the Admiralty for apparently no reason, unless alphabetical. We are very sorry to lose them and are rather hoping to join them soon.

As Jack Malone was the only pilot chosen who had not flown operationally, it was highly probable that Wing Captain "Daddy" Elder, who had taken quite a liking to Malone, had countenanced the Admiralty's decision to include his name. The chosen pilots left Luxeuil on 31 January 1917. The trip was tedious and when the train eventually arrived in Paris in the early hours of the morning the men had to bribe a taxi driver to get accommodations at the Continental Hotel, a favourite RNAS and RFC hangout. While in Paris most of the officers purchased fur-lined combination flying suits after which they polished off the day with a meal at Maxim's. The ride to Dunkirk the next day is described by Art Whealy, one of the eight:

Caught the 07:55 for Boulogne. Had a wonderful passage. Seventeen of us. French and ourselves, were packed into a small corridor with our bags on the hot floor, heated by steam. We couldn't move and our feet were nearly blistered. This lasted for about two hours then we got seated. Arrived at Boulogne at 1700 hours, found a car to meet us and drove over to Dunkirk, 35 miles. It was a terrible, cold drive. When we got to Dunkirk we were told that we were to leave for the Somme in the morning. Slept on the floor, and believe me, it was mighty cold.

The pilots had thought that they would be sent to operational squadrons to fly Sopwith Triplanes after being trained on them at Dunkirk, but this was not the case. They found the idea of going to the Somme with a fighter squadron in the depth of winter not a very pleasant one.

When the pilots left for the Somme the following morning by motor car. Jack was not among them. He had been singled out by "Red" Mulock, commander of the newly formed No. 3 (Naval) Squadron as excellent material for his new squadron and as such he was given extra flying time and attention. Mulock was not entirely pleased with some of the 12 pilots from No. 1 (Naval) Wing who composed the nucleus of his squadron. so he was trying to upgrade the personnel on his roster. Naturally, he would have preferred that most of his pilots be fellow-countrymen like Malone, but this was certainly not his main criteria in selecting pilots. Quite coincidentally, it was the large proportion of Canadians just released from No. 3 (Naval) Wing that gave the impression that Mulock was out to create a truly Canadian squadron. In any event, Wing Commander Ennis T.R. Chambers, his superior at RNAS headquarters Dunkirk would never have allowed this to happen.

While the first group of pilots who had arrived at Vert Galant aerodrome were trying to adjust to their new quarters, Malone was busy flying a few of the 1½ Strutters, Nieuport Scouts, and Sopwith Pups left at St. Poi after No. 3 (Naval) Squadron left for the Somme. Jack rejoined the pilots at Vert Galant on 8 February, travelling in the company of Mulock and two of the commander's staff, but his reception was cool as several of the officers resented the favours that his flying skill and Irish personality seemed to elicit.

These pilots were already disgruntled as most of them were suffering from nagging colds and they were annoyed at having to try the old worn-out 80-hp Pups which had been left behind by the previous tenants from No. 8 (Naval) Squadron. Some of the machines had been with No. 8 (Naval) Squadron since October 1916, and were the survivors of some heavy scrapping experienced by that squadron. In addition most still had their original engines. Whealy wrote that he "couldn't understand why, in a show like this, which is supposed to be a pucker fighting squadron, they have such dud machines. Fighting from dud machines is poor work".

In his first conference, Squadron Commander Mulock did much to ease their fears when he announced that the squadron was due to receive 16 new Pups, six of them immediately. Also a top-notch crew of riggers and fitters that he had carefully assembled began to achieve an extraordinary rate of serviceability on the old Pups previously not thought possible. For instance, Pup N.5185 (Blinky) which had been looped by E. R. Grange of No. 8 (Naval) Squadron as far back as Christmas Eve 1916, was still going strong after a refit.

As "A" flight was shy one pilot, Jack Malone became the sixth and final member. Its leader, B.C. Bell, a somewhat abrasive Australian, had mobilized "A" flight first, and as senior leader had led the squadron's initial line patrol over the Lens Front on the afternoon of 10 February. It was on this occasion that Malone, flying a borrowed machine from "C" flight, had his first glimpse of the enemy's trenches. The next morning, Bell, while leading another line patrol with Travers, Malone, and Glen, spotted an enemy two-seater being harrassed by British anti-aircraft fire. When the enemy pilot became aware of the approaching Pups, he turned northward and led "A" flight almost to Arras. At 300 yards range they fired a few rounds which were seen to pass insignificantly around the enemy machine. Owing to a shortage of petrol, the Pups left their quarry and returned to Vert Galand thus ending their first meeting with the enemy. "C" flight, led by R.G. Mack, attempted a similar patrol that afternoon but Mack's machine, one of the new ones, developed engine problems and he was forced to return to 10 minutes after take-off. Embarrassingly, "B" flight was hurried off to an Army Gunnery School near Boulogne for seven extra days of gunnery practice.