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Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0296.PDF
AIRCRAFT WORK AT THE FRONT. OFFICIAL INFORMATION. IN the despatch, dated April 22nd, from Sir John French, there was the following:— "On April 19th one of our airmen carried out a very bold and successful single-handed attack on an airship shed near Ghent. He had to run the gauntlet of the fire directed from a captive balloon as well as from the ground, in order to attack his objective. In spite of this, he descended to within 200 ft., and effected his object, causing a large explosion in the shed." In the despatch, dated April 23rd, from Sir John French, it was stated :— " This morning one of our aviators, during the course of a reconnaissance which he completed successfully, damaged a German aeroplane and forced it to descend. " Our flying corps also brought down another German machine about Messines." In the despatch from Sir John French issued on Monday evening there was the following:—• " One of our aviators bombed Courtrai Station this afternoon and destroyed the junction. Although wounded he brought his machine safely back to our lines." In the despatch from Sir John French, issued by the War Office on Tuesday, there was the following :— " In addition to the destruction of Courtrai Junction, mentioned in my communique last night, our airmen yesterday bombarded successfully the stations and junctions at the following places:—Tourcoing, Staden, Roubaix, Langemarck, Roulers, Ingelmunster, and Thielt." In the despatch, dated April 20th, from an " Eye witness " present with the British General Headquarters, there was the following :— "On the next day, the 17th, one of the enemy's Minenwerfer was knocked out by our howitzers on the left, near Ypres, and in the same quarter a German aero plane was brought down in our lines by our aviators. The pilot was killed and the observer captured "During the day, Sunday, a German aeroplane was damaged in a fight with a British plane, and forced to descend. It managed, however, to reach its own lines." In the despatch dated April 23rd, from " Eye-witness," it was stated :— "The chief event of interest which has occurred elsewhere on our front is the aerial raid made on the 19th, against the German airship shed near Ghent. As stated, it was carried out by an officer single-handed. Carrying three heavy bombs besides hand-grenades, he arrived near his objective about 5 p.m., and found that a captive balloon was anchored on guard. It was a calm evening, which enabled him to manoeuvre, and as he was reconnoitring the position he threw one bomb at the airshed, clearly visible below, from a height of some 6,000 ft. Then, on discovering that he was being fired at from the car of the balloon as well as from the ground, he flew over the balloon, and, descending in a spiral directly above it, so that its occupants could not shoot at him, he threw his second bomb at it. This missed its target, but exploded below, probably doing a certain amount of damage, as by this time the whole neighbour hood of the aerodrome was alive with soldiers running about and shooting. " Still planing down steeply as directly under the balloon as possible, so that its occupants could not con veniently shoot downwards, and the troops below could not shoot upwards, for fear of hitting their friends in the car, and continuing to throw hand-grenades at the enemy balloon until he was below it, he descended to a height of some 200 ft. before he dropped his last bomb on to the airship shed below. He then flew back to his base untouched, though the planes of his machine were perforated with bullet holes. Beyond the fact that a heavy explosion was caused, it is not possible to say what damage was done to the enemy's shed." In the afternoon communique issued in Paris on the 21 st inst, it was stated :— " Belgian aviators have bombarded the arsenal at Bruges and the flying ground at Lissevegh." In the evening communique on the same day it was stated:— " Our aeroplanes bombarded in the Woevre the head quarters of General von Strantz and a number of con voys, and in the Grand Duchy of Baden at Loerrach an electric power station." The following official note was issued in Paris on Wednesday evening :— " During the course of the day of the 27th our air craft dropped thirty-two shells on the railway station at Bollwiller, and sixty shells on the railway station at Chambley, where they set fire to an ammunition store. The railway station at Arnaville and the junction of the lines from Chambley and Thiaucourt were bom barded by night. "On the 28th one of our aircraft dropped six pro jectiles on the dirigible sheds at Friedrichshafen. The pilot saw a cloud of smoke rise from the roof of a shed. Twenty-one shells were dropped on the railway station bridges and works at Leopoldshoehe. During this bombardment one of our aircraft fell in the German lines. " In the course of the day four German machines were pursued and hit by our aviators. One fell in flames in the enemy's lines near Brimont, and two others came down near our trenches—one in Cham pagne and the other in the region of the Ancre—and were destroyed by our artillery. The fourth landed in our lines at Muizon (west of Rheims). The two German aviators, who were unwounded, were taken prisoners." In a communique issued by the Belgian Minister of War on Saturday it was stated :—- "Notwithstanding the very strong wind our aviators have been able to do some useful reconnoitring." In a communique issued in Petrograd on the 21st, there was the following:— "A number of German aeroplanes appeared over Baelostok on April 20th, and dropped about 100 bombs, killing some of the civil population. No particular damage was done. "On the night of April 20th the town of Ciechanov was bombarded by a Zeppelin, but the bombs dropped did no damage. We have successfully bombarded Soldau Station." In a despatch from the Russian Commander-in-Chief, published in Petrograd on Sunday evening, it was stated:— " Our Ilya Mourametz aircraft, on the morning of the 24th, made a successful attack on the station of Neiden- burg, where their bombs caused a number of fires and destroyed part of the railway line." 296
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