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June 28, 1918 First time over the lines today. Reved up the bus and got 1625 r.p.ms on the ground. Made a quick but twisty takeoff and climbed in left hand circles over the aerodrome to a height of 2000 meters. Found Lt. MacClure and later Mac and I hitched our wagons to our star (Put)^[[David Putnam]] and all three headed towards St. Mihiel. When I left the ground my engine worked beautifully, ^[[the air speed indicator (which is not of much use)]] showing 115 miles per hour on the level and ^[[with]] a rapid climbing ability. And my machine gun was half loaded and ready for work. I tried my new hair trigger on my altitude attainment and saw that on pulling the Bowden control the cam worked O.K. But when I joined the formation
Transcription Notes:
'Put' is surely short for Putnam, the American flying ace who has just become their commander. mandc: actually someone has faintly penciled the name (David Putnam) in above the "(Put").