Back on Counter Battery Patrol after recovering from the flu, with Lt Roche (also recovered), meant a 5:30am start that was rewarded with a direct hit with a bomb on a bridge near Merville. Mac (Lt. Hugh McDonald), who died yesterday, was buried later in the day.
Log Book
Date: 25.6.18 Hour: 5.30 Machine type: RE8 No.: E27 Observer: Lt Roche Time: 1 hr 30 m Height: 3000 Course/Remarks: CBP. Direct hit on bridge. Wat. in Carb.
Diary
Tuesday June 25th. CBP at 5.30 am. Very heavy mist. Dropped bombs on bridge near Merville, (direct hit). Observer fired 100 rounds behind Merville. Heavy low bands of clouds appeared about 6.45 to windward. Engine became very rough owing to water in carburettor so came home. No Archie. No Huns. Good landing. Developed a cold as after effect of P.U.O. Mac buried.
“Dropped bombs on bridge near Merville, (direct hit)”
An opportunistic departure from a counter battery patrol. Which bridge was it? Hard to tell, as there are so many, as this map extract shows:
Merville still has still lots of bridges. One of today’s tourist information boards proudly says:
As the heart of the town is surrounded by water, it can only be reached by crossing one of the seventeen bridges.
It seems unlikely that even a direct hit with one of the 20 lb Cooper bombs that were carried by an RE8 would actually have brought a bridge down. And Greg would surely have proudly said so if he had done. (Spoiler alert: he did on a later occasion!)
Water in Carburettor
A recurrent problem, with the heavy mist and low cloud.
Lt. Hugh McDonald (Mac) Buried
Lt. Hugh McDonald lies buried at plot III.D.33 at Aire Communal Cemetery, next to his observer 2nd Lt. Cuthbert Alban Marsh at III.D.34.
