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^[[November 29 1973]]

Dear Wanda, Jessica and Ted:

The observers of the 88th were sent to Cazaux three at a time. I was one of the first trio to go. Our pilots never received special training in gunnery. It would have been virtually useless^[[,]] Each of the pilots had on his plane a Vickers machine gun geared to shoot through the propeller. He could have two if he wanted them, and a few of our pilots did. But those guns were fired only when the pilot decided to dive and shoot at something on the ground. He never had an opportunity to shoot at a German plane. 

That was because we never attacked other planes. Whenever we fought in the air it was because German chasse attacked us. They always attacked from behind, and never singly. By 1918 chasse pilots no longer wandered around alone seeking adventure. What happened was that the leader of a formation would dive at you, shooting as he came. If he missed^[[,]] a second one started his dive to cover the getaway of the first. A third was waiting to follow the second, and so on. They all veered off after their dive so that the pilot of the two-seater never got a shot at them. Only the observer could fight back. His main worries, aside from being hit, were (1) that one or both of his guns might jam, or (2) that he might empty prematurely the magazines of his guns. He carried extra loaded magazines, but it took a few seconds to change them and he was an easy target while doing so. 

The observer had two British-made Lewis machine guns (of a type now obsolete) fixed rigidly side by side about a foot apart. Cartridges were fed to them not from a belt, but from a round magazine or drum that fitted on top of the gun. Each magazine held 100 rounds. If the observer panicked during a fight he was likely to empty both magazines at the first German who dived on him. The proper thing was to fire short bursts of half a dozen rounds or so, then re-aim before pulling the trigger again. The gun mount was cleverly arranged to allow the guns to be moved in any direction. With one hand on the pistol grip you could fire either gun along or both at once.

The observer's guns were part of his personal equipment, adjusted as he wished them to be. They went with him on whatever plane he was assigned to. When he returned from a mission his guns were taken out