FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0352.PDF
|/OGBT) MAY 21, 1915. AIRCRAFT WORK AT THE FRONT. OFFICIAL INFORMATION. Tin; following announcement was made by the Admiralty on Monday afternoon :— "The Zeppelin that attacked Ramsgate early this morning was chased off by Eastchurch and Westgate machines as far as the West Hinder Lightship. When off Nieuport she was attacked by eight naval machines from Dunkirk. Three machines were able to attack her at close range by fire. Flight Commander Bigsworth dropped four bombs when 200 ft. above the airship. A large column of smoke was seen to come out of one of her compartments. The Zeppelin then rose to a great height, 11,000 feet, with her tail down, and is believed to be severely damaged. All our machines were exposed to a heavy fire from the Zeppelin. No casualties." In the despatch dated May 1 ith from an " Eye witness " present with the British General Headquarters, there was the following :— "During the day, May 9th, also, our aeroplanes attacked several points of importance. One of our airmen who was sent to bomb the canal bridge near Don was wounded on his way there, but continued and fulfilled his mission. Near Wytschaete one of our aviators pursued a German aeroplane, and fired a whole belt from a machine gun at it. The Taube suddenly swerved, righted itself for a second, and then " nose- ended " from a height of several thousand feet straight to the ground. On the other hand, a British machine was unfortunately brought down over Lille by the enemy's anti-aircraft guns, but it is hoped that the aviator escaped " Allusion has already been made to an absurd story printed in the Frankfurter Zeitung of December 18th, according to which one Erich Callies, volunteer, in hospital at Leipzig-Plagnitz, stated that when a prisoner of war with the British he had been forced to make flights on an aeroplane, to identify the German troops, and to throw bombs upon them. Lies die hard, how ever, and this one has cropped up again in another form. A vague statement to the same effect has been officially circulated amongst some of the British officer prisoners in Germany, and those of the Royal Flying Corps have been warned that any recurrence of this—imaginary— behaviour on the part of their comrades will entail severe measures being taken against those in captivity. " It is difficult to say whether the authorities in Germany really believe that we have been taking prisoners up in aeroplanes or whether they are merely making use of the newspaper article as an excuse for future ill-treatment of our officers." In the despatch dated May 14th from "Eye-witness" there was the following :— " On the same day (Monday, 10th) one of our airmen had a thrilling experience. He was alone in a single- seater aeroplane, in pursuit of a German machine. While trying to reload his machine-gun he lost control of the steering gear, and the aeroplane turned upside down. The belt round his waist happened to be loose, and the jerk of the turn almost threw him out of the machine, but he saved himself by clutching hold of the rear centre strut—the belt slipping down round his legs. While he hung thus, head downwards, making desperate efforts to disengage his legs, the aeroplane fell from a height of 8,000 ft. to about 2,500 ft., spinning round and round like a falling leaf. At last he managed to free his legs and reach the control lever with his feet. He then succeeded in righting the machine, which turned slowly over, completely " looping the loop," whereupon he slid back into his seat. This constitutes a record, even in a service where hairbreadth escapes are of daily occurrence. " There have been many duels in the air which have invariably resulted in our favour, several German machines having been brought down either by our aero planes or anti-aircraft guns. A few of our machines have also been hit and forced to descend, though this has not been brought about by the enemy's airmen, but by gun and rifle fire from the ground." In the official communique issued in Paris on Sunday evening there was the following :— " We captured more houses in the northern part of Neuville, and blew up a German captive balloon to the east of Vimy, while our aeroplanes bombarded the station of Somain." In an official statement issued in Cettinje on May x 5th it was stated :— "An Austrian aeroplane flew over the Montenegrin positions on Mount Lovtchen and threw six bombs, without, however, doing any damage." THE BRITISH AIR SERVICES. UNDER this heading are published each week the official announce ments tf appointments and promotions affecting the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing) and Central Flying School. These notices are not duplicated. Byway tf instance, when an appointment to the Royal Naval Air Service is announced hy the Admiralty it is published forthwith, but subse quently, when it appears in the LONDON GAZETTK, it is not repeated in this column. Royal Naval Air Service. THIS following appeared in the Admiralty announcements of the 13th inst. :— The following temporary Lieutenants, R.N.V.R., have been pro- promoted to the rank of temporary Lieutenant-Commanders, K. \. V. K. : \i. Kerr and A. Congreve. To date April 27th. The following temporary Sub-Lieutenants, R.N.V.R., have been promoted to the rank of temporary Lieutenants, R.N.V. R. : A. Hansford, J. F. Hedley, and E. N. G. Morris. To date April 27th. The following have been entered as probationary Flight Sub- Lieutenants and appointed to the " President," additional, for K. X. A.S., to date as stated : C. C. R, Edwards, May 17th ; N. G. H. Sturt, May 12th ; as well as N. Blackburn and C. C. Wyllie, for temporary service, to date May 17th. ^ Capt. Royal Flying Corps, W. F. MacNeece transferred to R.N.A.S. as Flight Lieutenant, and appointed to the " President," additional, for R.N.A.S. To date April 19th. Flight Sgt., R.F.C., H. MacGrane transferred to R.N.A.S., as Warrant Officer, Second Grade, and appointed to the " President," for R. N. A. S. To date May 19th. The following appeared in the Admiralty announcements of the 14th inst. :— Temporary Sec. Lieuts. T. A. Moncton and R. V. Southwell granted temporary commissions as Lieutenant R.N.V.R., and appointed to the " President," additional, for duty with R.N.A.S. To date May 12th. u IT' 1^0 B' Hooke and c- F- Abell entered as Lieutenants K :^-V-^-> and appointed to the " President," additional, for duty with R^.A.S. To date May 13th. T. S. Sharratt entered as Sub-Lieutenant R.N.V.R., and appointed to the " President," additional, for duty with R.N.A.S. I o date May 13th. 352
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
