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Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0403.PDF
JUNK 4, 1915. bridge, which was only built a few years ago, carries practically all the traffic from Bruges and Ostend, and over it run the Berlin and Vienna expresses. " Well aimed bombs exploded on the main arches and blew a great hole in the bridge. The railway station buildings were wrecked and the lines damaged and also a quantity of stores." In a message from Boulogne on the 26th ult., a Daily Telegraph correspondent said :— " Enemy airmen have shown considerable activity this morning. A squadron of seven Taubes, according to a wounded soldier, flew over the British position near Festubert at ten o'clock this morning and threw numerous bombs, which, exploding in the air, sent long jets of burning liquid in all directions." A Daily Mail correspondent at Gravelines, west of Dunkirk, writing on the 26th, said:— " Several German aeroplanes flew over Dunkirk and the neigh bouring towns last night. They dropped 10 bombs on Gravelines, 3 near by on Les Huttes, S on Leffrinckoucke (east of Dunkirk), 2 on Coudekerque-Branche (north of Bergues), and 2 on Dunkirk. The damage done was not important. Three people were slightly wounded. The fort batteries fired on the machines, which finally withdrew." From its correspondent at Ostend the Telegraaf on the 27 th, printed the following :— " Ostend has been frequently visited by Allied aviators, and many bombs have been dropped, damaging the harbour station and numerous private houses. One of the most deadly raids took place near the post office, where an electric tramcar was hit, some fifty soldiers being killed." The following details of the French air raid on Ludwigshafen have been sent to the Koelnisclie Volkszeitung by a local correspondent:— "About 7 a.m. yesterday five or six aeroplanes appeared over Ludwigshafen, the noise of the motors awakening that part of the population which was not yet at work. The weather was calm and clear. When the machines appeared anti-aiicraft guns and machine guns opened a vigorous fire. The airmen circled over the town and the Rhine for about twenty-five minutes, and then flew off westward. " A great number of bombs were thrown, or.e of which fell in the house of Town Councillor Zeuch in the Friesenheimerstrasse, killing three persons and seriously wounding five, including Herr Zeuch. A second bomb exploded in the Maudacherstrasse, killing three and wounding four persons. " One of the aircraft is reported to have been compelled to descend near Griesheim owing to a motor defect. Both occupants burned .their machine, and were taken prisoners by troops. A great num ber of bombs were thrown on the aniline and soda factory, five persons being killed and fifteen wounded. Work was not interrupted." Advices from Copenhagen state that it is semi-officially announced in Berlin that the result of the French raid on Ludwigshafen is that out of eighteen aviators twelve returned to France, two were compelled to land, and four were shot down. No statement is forthcoming as to the damage done at Ludwigshafen. The Bruges correspondent of the Telegraaf, writing last week, said:— " The Germans established an ammunition depot at I'oelcapelle, which was blown up on the 27th by English aviators. The explosion was terrific, and about a hundred Germans were killed and seventy-five injured. " Yesterday several British aviators flew over Bruges, apparently searching for the German petrol dep6t. Our pilots have inspired such fear in the Germans that the putrol depot was recently removed at night to a private garden, despite the protests of the owner. The aeroplanes returned safely in spite of a heavy fire.' Writing from Rome on May 28th, to the Daily Chronicle Mr. M. H. Donohue said :— "The Italian dirigible M2 has carried out a successful raid at Sebenico, north of Cattaro, which the Austrians have been using as a base for submarines and destroyers. A number of destroyers were found anchored close together, and the Italian airship launched bombs, putting several of the enemy's destroyers out of action. Fire was opened on the airship by Austrian gunners, but they failed to hit her. The dirigible has since returned to the Italian aerial base, and her commander and crew have been complimented by the authorities for their courage and enterprise.'' • Writing on May 28th to the Daily Express from Geneva regarding the fighting on Lake Garda, Mr. H. Devitte said :— " Two Austrian airships attempted to bombard the gunboats, but were driven off by their guns, " The first Austrian aeroplane was brought down before Gore." In the report sent out from the German Main Headquarters, on Saturday there was the following:— "Our airmen threw bombs on the fortified place? of Gravelines and Dunkirk and on St. Omer, which is on the enemy lines of communication. Several hits were made at the hostile aerodrome north-west of Fisnes." The local correspondent of the Messaggero reported on the 28th that when the Austrian aeroplane appeared over Brindisi, two Italian aviators immediately went up to attack the enemy, who thereupon turned tail and made for Cattaro. A Central News message from Geneva on Saturday stated:— "Bombs dropped on Venice yesterday by two Taubes did very little damage. The projectiles appear to have been intended for the St. Mark's Square. One or two fell on some small houses, but the majority fell in the water. The aeroplanes quickly fled when the guns opened on them." The following details of a fight in the air near Fismes, related by the pilot of the French machine, appeared in the Matin.— " I saw an Albatros coming from the German lines at Luon, making for Chateau-Thierry and l'aris. I gave chase. The tinman was eight thousand feet up ; I rose to nine, and, as 1 had a faster machine, I rapidly overhauled him. We drew to within thirty feet of the Albatros, but had such way on that we shot right |»st, and 1 got a bullet in the shoulder, which, however, did not prevent me from continuing the chase. The Albatros then tried to escape by sinking quickly, but I flew over him and my Lieutenant got in a last volley point blank. " The Albatros dipped and plunged headlong to the ground six thousand feet beneath. We followed it with our eyes, ami saw it strike the earth, crumple up like a ball, and bound along the hillside like a rabbit. We descended in spirals. The pilot had been thrown out, and lay a few yards away. The observer lay crushed under the engine. " We found papers in his pocket bearing the name of Lieutenant von Hiilow, of the Imperial Guard, Berlin. The sight sickened mc at first, but when I found ten large bombs and forty grenades on the Albatros 1 was glad, for I realised that we had been the means of saving the lives of the innocent victims for whom these bombs and grenades had been intended." It is stated that the French pilot was offered the Legion of Honour or the Military Medal, and chose the latter. According to information received in Amsterdam on Saturday, a Russian aviator had dropped bombs on the railway station at Johannisberg. Writing from Stockholm on May 29th, a Morning Post correspondent said :— " Travellers who have arrived here report that Helsingfors has been visited by Zeppelins. Some cotton sheds were said to have been burnt down and one passenger steamer destroyed by !>ombs." In a later message he said :— " It is reported that forty passengers were lost in the fire on board the steamer ' Bore' at Helsingfors." The Eccloo correspondent of the Telegraph reported on Sunday :— " On the 26th two Allied aviators threw nineteen bombs on the aerodrome at Gartrode, southeast of Ghent, deUroying the greater part of the aerodrome. The tombs burst with terrible force, causing the explosion of great quantities <>f explosives. Forty-four soldiers were killed and some thirty wounded. " Last Tuesday two aeroplanes appeared above Ghent, recon noitring, and after a great waste of shells from the anti-aircraft guns, disappeared." In the official communique issued in Berlin on Monday it was stated :— " Near Ostend our coast batteries shot down an enemy airman."
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