Pursuit by Andrew A. Caffrey
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"Pursuit by Andrew A. Caffrey" is an aviation war short story written in the late 1920s. Set in World War I, it follows American airmen flying observation and two-seat “balloon strafer” missions, exploring the tension between strict discipline and audacious initiative in combat. The story centers on Jack Langdon, a hotshot pursuit pilot reassigned to lumbering DH two-seaters, who refuses to abandon fighter tactics. After a fatal low-level strafe with observer Akeley,
Langdon finds a kindred spirit in ace gunner Samter; together they tweak their DH for maneuverability and rack up daring balloon and aircraft kills. Their aggressive style puts them at odds with Lieutenant Charles Surry Mudd, a meticulous, cautious flight leader whose reports clash with Major Mack’s practical tolerance for results. During a Meuse River mission, Samter is wounded, Langdon’s gun jams, and he cripples an enemy by ramming a wing—only to lose lift himself. In a startling act of comradeship, Mudd slides his own wing under Langdon’s to help him limp home, then is killed by ground fire before reaching safety. The tale closes with grudging respect and a reframing of Mudd’s pride—he “fell flying valiantly”—underscoring courage, ingenuity, and the complicated loyalties of air war. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Caffrey, Andrew A. (Andrew Augustine), 1891-1970 |
|---|---|
| Title | Pursuit |
| Original Publication | New York, NY: The Butterick Publishing Company, 1929. |
| Series Title | Produced from the April 15, 1929 issue of Adventure magazine. |
| Credits | Roger Frank and Sue Clark |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 83.6 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Air pilots, Military -- Fiction |
| Subject | World War, 1914-1918 -- Aerial operations -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 76083 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-76083-4 |
| Release Date | May 13, 2025 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 396 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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