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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 1238.PDF
(/yGHT) begin its trials on the very day after the raid was badly damaged. Since the raid not a single airship has come out of the sheds, and the minutest and most careful precautions have been taken against a fresh attack, of which serious fears seem to be entertained. At night the whole of the German side of the lake is in absolute darkness, while at frequent intervals star shells light up the skies. Orders have also been given to the inhabitants to stay at home in the event of an alarm. I hear, on good authority, that the Zeppelins which are under construc tion at Friedrichshafen, and are lurned out at the rate of one a month, are all of the same type. They have a speed of fifty miles an hour, and are able to lift a weight of five tons. Many attempts have been made to discover a practical system of armouring these Zeppelins, but so far with complete lack of success. It has even been found necessary to do away with the aeroplane cannon on the higher platform for fear of fire." A correspondent of the Tyd at Sluis on Monday reported:— " The aeroplanes of the Allies are to be seen at all times of the day between the Yser and the Dutch frontier, and during the night they examine the whole region with searchlights. Last Saturday a British airman dropped a bomb on the barracks at Bruges. " A telegram (rom Brussels via Berlin states that a hostile airman yesterday flew over the suburb of Etterbeck and tried to throw bombs, but was driven off by the fire of the German soldiers." In a message to the Daily Mail from Dunkirk on Monday, Mr. Basil Clarke said :— " It is stated here that Brussels has been visited by the Allies' air men, who dropped bombs on a Zeppelin shed and set it on fire. The first night air raid has been made by Allied airmen from Dunkirk, who have flown at a low altitude over the German positions on the coast. The airmen dropped twelve bombs and were able to do considerable damage because of their nearness to their marks. The aeroplanes returned safely to Dunkirk guided by light signals." Mr. W, Beach Thomas, also writing to the Daily Mail On Sunday from North of France, said :— " Two bombs were dropped from a waterplane of the Albatros pattern upon Calais this afternoon. The rare beauty of the weather and Sunday afternoon were too great a temptation to be resisted. We saw the latest varient of the old saying ' It is a fine day ; let us go and kill something.' Three aeroplanes flew also over the Haze- brouck neighbourhood, from where they were chased by the Allied airmen. At Calais I happened to be in an almost ideal position for seeing the manoeuvre. The machine, travelling fast at about 2,000 ft., came from the north-west over the sea, making a direct line for a signalling station situated on the dunes about a mile west of the town. Here the first bomb was dropped, falling into the sea and exploding as it struck. This relieved any doubts about the nationality of the airman, and as it flew over the Casino hospital a lively fusillade of rifle lire was directed against it. An unusual number of people were collected along the beach, and the excitement was great. Even the women were more interested than afraid. The second bomb was let go as the biplane topped the Casino, but it fell as harmlessly as the first, burying itself in the middle of the harbour. A few splashes of «.ater on the sides of the Pas-de-Calais, a French boat lying by the landing-stage, were the ultimate mischief. The aeroplane, rising rather higher after the bombs were dropped, disappeared' in the direction of Dunkirk, from where it was chased." A Central News correspondent reported the following from Petrograd on Sunday :— " In Eastern Prussia a daring air raid was effected by a Russian officer over Stallupoenen. The station was reduced to ruins, and a considerable part of the railway line was destroyed by the aviator's bomb*. " An Austrian aeroplane with a machine gun from Cracow attacked the Russian positions from the rear, but the bombs and bullets caused no damage. Printed appeals to Russians from 243,000 'comrades' were thrown down, promising good farer tobacco and rum. . "On a second expedition the Russian artillery brought down the aeroplane and killed the aviator. The aeroplane lies between the Russian and Austrian trenches." Writing to the Daily Telegraph on Sunday, Mr. Granville Fortescue said :— " Here we have the true ' War in the Air.' Aeroplane reconnais* sances have become so constant that hardly an hour of daylight passes without either menacing or protecting motor birds circling DECEMBER 25, 1914. above the city. Whenever the loud humming of a Taube rings through the welkin, the Warsavians scuttle to cover like chickens under a hawk's shadow. So often have the assassins of the air hovered over this town, dropping death on those below, that the sight of an oncoming flying machine sets every heart trembling. In Jerusalem Street, at the very doors of the American Consulate, four innocent citizens were killed. The Consul saw the mangled bodies huddled beside the kerb. He showed me the shattered pane of glass where the bomb bullet pierced the Consulate window. Lately Russian aeroplanes have arrived, and these have been scouting in the blue, searching for the enemy. " As yet, there has been no encounter. I find it difficult to dis tinguish the Russian aeroplanes from the French. In outline they are the same, and having the same red, white, and blue bull's-eyes painted on the planes, from the ground they look much alike. The Russian aviators feel that they have not had their chance yet, but soon they hope to set up a record that will rival that of their English allies. " The question of indiscriminate bomb-dropping is a serious one, with a non-combatant popu'ation living in the war zone. Poland, which is a counlry almost as thickly settled as France, has been a terrible sufferer. When Warsaw was first attacked the German bomb-droppers aimed at the railway stations, which might be con sidered to be of military value, and thus to be fair targets. But soon missiles were scattered over thickly-settled sections of the city, in wanton disregard of the non-fighting population, or of the women and children. In Poland no one considers himself safe from the German infernal machines." The Morning Post Petrograd correspondent on Monday sent the following account of a visit to a Russian aeroplane factory :— " It is now some time ago that I was accorded the exceptional privilege in war time, even for an ally, of visiting one of the Russian great aeroplane factories. Several have been established to keep up the large supply required by the various armies in the field. The one I visited can turn out five aeroplanes per day, or thirty a week. Imagine a London railway terminus, considerably reduced in size and with a broad gallery running all round half-way to the roof. That is the fitting department. The whole floor area is crowded with completed aeroplanes in the rough, some awaiting their engines and others certain other pieces of mechanism used in active war in the air. Around this central hall and communicating with it are a series of buildings for the preparation of the various parts, for everything, including the engines, is entirely constructed on the spot. Construc tion has been standardised, and many are the ingenious contrivances for simplifying the various processes of manufacture. " Except perhaps the building of a ship, which, is a slow process to grasp, I can imagine nothing more engrossing than the rapid assembling of these modern hawks by a few skilled workmen. When completed they are lowered down from the gallery to the floor of the great hall. Thence they proceed to the flying grounds for the testing of the engines, and they have to be pasted by an inspector, a skilled aviator, before being despatched to the army. As boxed for the railway the entire aeroplane is got into a solid packing case which might contain, say, a couple of grand pianos, out rather longer. Thus packed, they fear nothing in transit, and are easily and rapidly got to work when they arrive at their destination." The following illustration of the work of aircraft at the front was given to a Daily Telegraph representative by Corporal G. Welsby, of the Royal Horse Guards, who has returned home wounded :— "'The Indians are fine,' said Corporal Welsby, 'but there's one funny thing about them—they can't let an aeroplane pass with out firing at it. It doesn't matter whether it's German, French, or British, you can't keep their rifles down when they hear it. One day I was with some Gurkhas in charge of a transport wagon when a British aeroplane passed over. Up went all their rifles at once, and they began blazing away at it for all 1 hey were worth. Try as hard as I could, I cou'dn't make the little chaps stop until it was out of range, but fortunately none of them hit it.' **»«" "Corporal Welsby had the satisfaction of witnessing a mest thrilling air duel. A Taube was making a scouting flight over the the British lines, but to avoid disclosing their position the men were not allowed to fire. Just as the Taube passed overhead two British machines rose to meet it, and the most exciting duel took place right above the trenches. The German turned to escape, but was too late, and the three machines, darting round, above and below each other like huge birds, were engaged for several minutes, until a lucky shot from one of the,British machines brought the German fluttering down." 1238
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