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Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0064.PDF
(/ySfifj JANUARY 22, 1915. Then began a game of " hot or cold." As the three a small dynamo which had been left partially unwound ! walked to and fro the sound would grow louder or fainter. Finally, by a process of elimination, the sound was tracked down to a certain cupboard. The ticking was now unmistakably that of a clock. Stooping down, the three investigators were barely able to discern in the shadows a small round object with insulated cables leading away from it. The three men stood erect looking very undecided at one another, not knowing whether to run or to further investigate. The same thought flashed through their minds—A bomb ! It is generally claimed that in moments of extreme danger a few seconds suffice to review one's whole life. By a similar mental process, the manager's mind at once conceived how easy it would be for some German to have secured employment at the works in order to get an opportunity to blow them up with a timed bomb. All this takes much longer to write than to happen, and before the manager could utter a warning one of the friends hauled out the mysterious object from beyond the shadows. It however proved to be only ® ® The mysterious ticking still remained, and it was even tually traced to a cheap alarm clock belonging to one of the workmen. XXX It appears that some of the R.F.C. mechanics are not only artists with chisel and file, but can on occasion wield pen and brush to good purpose, as witness the menu card, seen in the accompanying photograph, which set out all the good things of which the mechanics' mess at Upavon partook on Christmas evening. These cards, by the way, must have entailed a considerable amount of work, as they were all drawn and coloured by hand. After the banquet followed a few hours of singing, playing, and general merry-making. Captain Paine, on looking in during the festivities to see that everything was in order, received a rousing greeting, and at the close of the evening, by my informant, there were no " dreary beggars " about. " ^EOLUS." ® ® AIRCRAFT AND THE WAR. IN an article on the subject of the German aeroplanes which were recently sighted over the English Channel, the Frankfurter Zeitung of January 12th stated :— "The flight over the Channel was not the accidental success of some especially clever airman, but a systematic attack carried out by a squadron of some sixteen aeroplanes. If the object of the raid —the cruise was no doubt intended to extend to the English capital —was not achieved, that was due not to uncommonly comprehensive defensive measures on the English coast, but purely to the thick fog, which hindered the operation. At any rate, Dover has been bombarded, and the terror which the expedition has unquestionably caused is easy to understand." A Daily Express correspondent at Copenhagen, writing on January 13th, said :— " A Berlin message states that a German aeroplane dropped bombs on Warsaw's main thoroughfare, the Moskovisky Prospect, and caused much damage. " A linoleum factory was set on fire and various buildings were destroyed." Mr. Granville Fortescue, writing to the Daily Telegraph from Warsaw on January 13th, said :— "Aviators report much movement in Lowice, which has been interpreted as an evacuation. If this is so, the wave that threatened Warsaw has broken." Writing from the Belgian frontier on January 13th to the Daily Express, Mr. Percival Phillips said:— " It is the intention of the Germans in Flanders to develop the aerial phase of the campaign against the Allies' armies. " This is siiown by information reaching me to-day from several sources in Belgium. The recent despatch by the Germans of a fleet of more than a dozen Aviatik machines over towns in the possession of the Allies is merely one indication of the increasing strength of the raiders, whose energies are devoted to the dropping of bombs on undefended communities. " In addition to the base at Ghistelles, which has already received a visit from a squadron of opposing aeroplanes, other bases are being constructed by the Germans in the vicinity of Ghent, Namur, and Li6ge. " That the enemy realise the danger of attacks on a large scale by the aerial scouts of the Allies is shown, not only by the elaborate precautions the German; are making to protect their hangars and petrol bases against bombs, but also by the establishment of night signal stations. These are furnished with searchlights, by which the Germans can intercommunicate between them. " The inhabitants of the villages between Salzaete, Ghent, and Bruges were last night suddenly aroused from their beds by the firing of anti-aircraft guns. The frightened population could see the sky streaked with great moving bars of light as the men in charge of the German aerial defence stations in that region strove to locate what they believed to be hostile aeroplanes cruising eastward from the coast. " There is nothing yet to show that there were any of the Allies' aeroplanes aloft over Flanders last night. The spectacular activity of the enemy may be due to one of many false alarms which they are continually receiving from the coast. Nevertheless this event is an interesting illustration of their activity in the attempt to frustrate surprise aerial attacks. It is an illustration, too, of their realisation that their contemplated campaign of ' terrorism ' is a game at which two can play." A message from a Daily Telegraph correspondent at Boulogne on the 14th inst. said :— " News comes to hand that a German aeroplane was seen early today over Amiens, and was followed by a French aviator, who managed to bring the enemy to earth. The officers in the machine were killed. The aeroplane was captured intact." A correspondent of the Matin, writing from Soissons on January 15 th, in giving a description of the retreat across the Aisne, said :— " A French aeroplane signalled the arrival of German reinforce ments by rail from Laon. The aeroplane received orders to bombard the trains, but, after dropping several bombs, the machine and pilot were hit and compelled to descend to the north of Sainte Marguerite, between the two lines. French troops succeeded in rescuing the wounded pilot by a bayonet charge." Mr. G. Ward Price, writing to the Daily Mail from Northern France on the 15th inst., said :— " Yesterday two German aeroplanes set out again towards Dunkirk, but between that town and Furnes they passed over an anti-aircraft gun, which drove both of them back, one disappearing behind the line of dunes out to sea." In a message from the Franco-Belgian border, received in London on Saturday night, a Daily Chronicle corre spondent said:— " News has just reached me that British aviators, working in con junction with the French and Belgian aviators, have accomplished a successful air raid over Ostend. " Several bombs were dropped on the railway station and military barracks. Loud explosions followed and the damage done is con siderable. We suffered no casualties. Nine airmen are believed to have taken part. " The British and other fliers were engaged with three German Taubes during the forenoon, and again in the afternoon. " One of our machines was hit in nine places, but without impair ing its immediate efficiency. " From this machine no fewer than 18 bombs and half a dozen grenades were dropped on German military works and railway centres. Considerable damage was done to the railway at one point. It is not known what damage was done by the other bombs, but it was evident that the raid caused great consternation among the Germans.'' 64
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