[Received March 30, 1918]
[#36]
London Colney
March 14, 1918
Dear Mother and Father:
Just a hurried line to tell you that I have received your letters Nos. 42 and 43, with clippings and Margaret’s letter. All very much enjoyed. I also received a fine letter from Mrs. Millikin (Harriman). Father still seems very anxious about my acknowledgment of the receipt of your letters. They will all come in the answers. You can tell if the censor took out any of the pictures by checking the number of them. Each letter I said “I enclose (so many) pictures.” Knud has a more complete set (sent to him) than you all. Yours will come later.
I have finished my training on Pups. Finally got to be able to put her on the ground without breaking her up. I had one real good stunt flight on it one early morning. Now I am flying Spads. It is a very heavy small wing surface, stationary engined bus. Makes 110 mi. per hour easily level, and dives like a bullet. 160 mi. per hour is as fast as I have put her into yet. It does not loop or Immelman well but rolls and spins beautifully. I like it more than any bus I have ever flown. It is sort of substantial and true, like a battle cruiser. No kite stuff about it. I have flown them 6½ hours now. Had some real machine gun practice. Fired 250 rounds at a raft in a reservoir, diving at it with the Spad.
I am going to town tonight to a college men’s dinner and must hurry off. I will write the first chance and go into more details.
Lovingly,
Parr
Parr’s Pilot’s Flying Log Book gives the serial numbers of the Spads he was flying (A8867, A9132, A9137), which were Spad VIIs (see commentary on his letter of December 10, 1917).315
Parr’s Pilot’s Flying Log Book entries for March 13, 1918, indicates that the raft he was firing rounds at was in Elstree Reservoir, which he also mentioned in his letter of February 18, 1918.