Flying Minnows

[RobL]

Full title "Flying Minnows: Memoirs of a World War One Fighter Pilot, from Training in Canada to the Front Line, 1917-1918", by Roger Vee (actually Vivian Voss)

This superb book is the memoirs of Vivian Voss (unfortunately sharing a surname with the German ace Werner Voss!), a South African who was at University in the USA before going across the border to Canada to enlist in the Royal Flying Corps. The story of training in Canada is a particularly interesting aspect I knew little of before, but of course the best bits are when he reaches the Western Front, flying Bristol F2b Fighters. One of the best WW1 books i've read which i'm currently re-reading.

One particular anecdote which sticks in my mind is of his Bristol on its own chased by several Fokker DR1 triplanes, in a shallow dive trying to escape them, when he notices his Observer has stopped firing. Looking back to see why, he notices that his Observer has ran out of ammunition, and is hurling empty Lewis gun drum mags and anything else not fixed down at the chasing German pilots!

Out of print but easily available on the internet, best bet would be to look on abebooks.com

[Dolphin]

There's been some discussion on the book in a previous thread: http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...9&hl=vivian

Gareth

[SimonM]

My favourite reference to Voss is from a memoir I catalogued at the RAF Museum years ago by CE Stewart who was an observer with 88 Squadron on F2bs and recalled a comedic near disaster at Coudekerque airfield:

'Lacking other accommodation, the NCOs were messing in a commodious marquee, partially sheltered on one side by a small copse. One of our pilots, Voss, a South African, and his observer Chilton, were going up to test their guns on a target pegged down in a large pond adjacent to some marshland near our airfield. They were only just airborne, when the engine cut out.

Voss, an experience pilot, instantly did the right thing – pushed his joystick forward to keep flying speed and steered straight ahead. Straight ahead would have been fine had the marquee been anywhere else; as it wasn’t, Voss made a beautiful pancake landing on top of it, parts of the Bristol right side up, went throught the canvas as it carried the whole lot forward and down.

Unfortunately, the NCOs were, at that crucial moment, enjoying their “elevenses”; fortunately and wonderfully, no-one was hurt. In a long and fairly tough life, I have never heard such a wealth and variety of oaths and curses as roared out of that semi-flattened fabric.

When those of us who had witnessed the crash arrived on the scene, Voss and Chilton were standing amidst the debris swearing at each other – we were just in time to hear Voss say:

“Don’t be a bloody fool, the tent was a hell of a lot softer than that blasted wood. If I’d landed on top of that, you’d be picking splinters out of your backside for weeks”'

Priceless!

Simon Moody

[RobL]

Ha, fantastic! Thanks for that anecdote Simon, don't recall reading about the incident in the book, i'll watch out for it this time round