Pursuit

In the restless skies of World I, a young American pilot named Jack Langdon feels the sting of bureaucracy when his command pulls him from the fast‑moving pursuit squadrons and ships him to a two‑seat De Havilland trainer. A razor‑sharp gunner at heart, he refuses to let a heavier aircraft swallow his fighting spirit, insisting that a true chase pilot flies on the enemy’s tail no matter the machine beneath him. His terse exchange with a stern officer at the combat school reveals both his pride and the frustration of being treated as interchangeable gear.

At the ramshackle airfield of Romorantin, Langdon meets a ragged crew of fellow cadets and an irascible instructor who doubts the little planes’ worth. Their banter over “ten‑ton trucks” and the grueling drills paint a vivid picture of early aviation’s gritty reality, where courage is measured in miles of sky and the willingness to keep fighting even when the odds feel like a bad joke. The story captures the clash between youthful determination and the relentless grind of war‑time training.