Does anyone have a reference that details the loss of a 25 Sqn DH4 piloted by Lt. John R. Zieman on 2 June 1918? He and his observer Tannenbaum landed safely in a field after their engine was knocked out by fighters just after they crossed the line. They were on a mission to photorecon German rail yards near “Trelonne”, which I think was actually Trelon. The report says they crossed the line in the French sector

Here is an excerpt from an account of the incident, written by Zieman some 51 years later when asked by former squadron mate T.R. Cripps to describe it:
“As planes of a Reconnaissance Squadron (25), we were flying from the French Sector of the line, with our target the Hun railw3ay yards at Trelonne (sic).
“About 12 planes from different squadrons were taking part in the Reconnaissance flight. Our Flight Commander was John Pugh of Edmonton [Alberta, Canada]. We crossed the line directed, at 15,000 feet on that hazy summer morning at 7 a.m. We were about 200 metres over the line, when attached by the Hun planes, about 14 of them rising from the target area. Signalling between our planes was effected by the ‘lead’ plane dropping ‘very’ lights. Our wrong signal resulted in one of our own planes being hit by a bomb mistakenly dropped.
“Our first indication that our plane had been hit by Hun fire, was the buzz of machine-gun fire, as bullets struck the left side of our DH4. Then our engine conked out. My Observer, Tannenbaum, waved his arms to show from which direction the Hun planes were attacking. I looked for the nearest pasture, for Ikonw I hd to bring the plane down from 14,000 feet without an engine – at the same time avoiding telephone wires and fences. As we glided down, I saw the Hun planes getting out of the way and waving to us for goodluck. (That was a gentleman’s war, especially between airmen.) Eight or ten followed us down, as we side-slipped to regulate our direction.
“It was only a few minutes until we landed in a pasture….”
Thanks
David Fuller