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Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0582.PDF
[/jjGHT] " The extent of Austrian espionage is demonstrated by the fact that the raid was made on the only night when Verona was without a protecting air fleet, and half an hour after the regular vigil had ceased.'' A report from Calais on July 29th stated that a Taube had flown over Calais and Marquise, dropping bombs which did no damage. In the German communique of July 30th there was the following:— "Two British airmen, who were obliged to descend on the water near the coast, were captured." In the German communique of the 31st it was stated :— " The damage done by enemy airmen was unimportant. A French aeroplane was shot down by our anti-aircraft guns near Freiburg." Mr. H. F. Prevost Battersby, the MORNING POST correspondent at the British Headquarters, writing on July 31st, said:— " The German airmen have thought that an attack on St. Omer would be worth their while. Had they been able to come to that conclusion a couple of months, or even six weeks ago, there would have been some point in their selection of that particular town for their attentions, but, as has happened before, they have Income a little behindhand in their dates. " The first attack was made on Wednesday, 28th, at 11.30 p.m. Something like half a gale had been blowing from the south-west all day, with heavy rain squalls in the morning, the last sort of weather that would tempt an airman, though, in the ordinary routine ol duty, weather seems to be entirely disregarded by the Royal Flying Corps. The wind had moderated towards evening, and the sky cleared, with a more westerly shift of wind. The moon, but two days past the full, rose shortly before nine, and, when the attack was made, was shining with a brilliance which has been specially noticeable during the past week, in spite of much obscured and rainy weather. As is natural, not much reliable inlormation can be obtained of the attack. At that distance from the front people have long since ceased to look up at the sound of an engine in the air to see if it could belong to an enemy, and even near midnight the sound of an aeroplane over head would not cause any apprehension. It would also require expert observation to discriminate at night between German aircraft and our own, and it was probably the explosion of the first bomb which signalled to anyone the enemy's arrival. Observations made thereafter, when bombs and star shells are dropping from the sky, are naturally somewhat liable to error, and it is not surprising that the aircraft engaged are variously estimated from one to three. It seems certain that between them they dropped six bombs, that they succeeded in killing a couple of civilians, a baker and his wife, and doing a little damage to house property. The attack was repeated at 7 a.m. on the morning of the 30th by a single aeroplane, which dropped one almost harmless bomb, and made off again in a con siderable hurry." In the German communique of the 1st inst. there was the following:— " Yesterday the great aerial activity was continued. The British flying ground at Saint Fol, near Dunkirk, was attacked, thirty bombs lieing dropped. The German aerodrome near Douai was Unsuccessfully lw>mbardcd by an enemy squadron. Here one of our battle aeroplanes shot down an enemy aeroplane. On the French flying ground near Nancy early this morning 103 bombs were dropped, and eighteen hits were observed on tents. The enemy machines which ascended for the defence could not prevent the attack. Six German aeroplanes attacked fifteen French machines over Chateau Salins, and during 45 minutes' fighting several hostile machines were forced to land. When enemy ® ® Fatal Accidents in France, FROM further information received from Paris, it appears that the machine which caught fire and fell near Porte de Versailles, recorded in last week's Flight, was piloted by Jean Benoist, while the passenger's name was Maujoin or Migeon. The cause of the accident is unknown. A message from Chartres states that on July 30th two aeroplanes collided at the local aerodrome. One pilot was burnt to death and the other seriously injured ; both machines were wrecked. German Flyers Killed While Motoring. ACCORDING to the MAI IN, Captain Jaegerhuter and Lieutenant Schinnerer, two of Germany's most prominent aviators, while pro ceeding in a motor car from Sarrebourg to Rieding, met their deaths. Something went wrong with the steering-wheel, as the car was AUGUST 6, 1915. reinforcements came up our airmen retreated without loss. To the north of Saargemuend a French aeroplane was forced to descend, and the occupants were captured. A Central News message from Amsterdam on Monday stilted *• • ' " It is reported from Strassburg that on Thursday last a large air squadron flew over the neighbourhoods of Werkweiler (.'Mestz- weiler) and Walburg, and dropped twenty-five bombs, without, however, causing much damage. Some persons were injured. In the German communique on Monday there was the following:— .„ _ , "South of the Ban de Sapt our artillery shot down a drench captive balloon. «' Near Longemar, east of Gerardmer, one of our battle aeroplanes forced a French aeroplane to land." The DAILY TELEGRAPH correspondent at Rotterdam on Monday reported :— "This afternoon four Zeppelins passed Vheland, going m a westerly direction." Writing on Monday, the TIMES correspondent in Pans said :— " The squadron of German aeroplanes which succeeded in reach ing Nancy on Saturday morning dropped a large number of explosive and incendiary bombs. Three civilians were more or less slightly injured, and one or two fires broke out which did not do much damage before they were extinguished. "Another squadron of five enemy aeroplanes, taking advantage of the hare, again tried to reach the town early yesterday morning, but they were driven off by a French air squadron and by anti aircraft batteries. Eight German aeroplanes also flew over Luneville within the space of a few hours. A number of bombs were dropped, but no damage was done." The MORNING POST correspondent at Amsterdam, writing on August 3rd, said :— *' A German airship, the ' L 19,' was sighted off Terschelling to-day by a Dutch steam trawler. It circled several times round the trawler, and shortly afterwards four German torpedo boats came up and made a search on board." In the German communique of Tuesday it was stated:— " A French captive balloon which was torn from its anchorage during a storm was caught by us north-west of Etain." Mr. G. Ward Price, writing in the DAILY MAIL of Wednesday on the first year of war, said :— " ' The story of the aeroplane during this war,' said M. Maurice Farman, the well-known French constructor, yesterday, ' has been one constant series of improvements. The machines we are making now are more reliable, able to carry greater weight, and have a longer range of action than those that were built before the war. The role the armed aeroplane is playing in the war is simply immense, and is only equalled by that of the scouting and fire-cjntrol machine. " ' Moreover, the system of controls has been very much simplified. In six weeks any man of ordinary adaptability can be made a perfect airman.' " ' What do you think of the new big-engined machines?' I asked M. Farman. " ' I think that there's a danger of going too quick. These double- engined machines of immense h.p. are tricky things, and I am afraid there is a chance of bad accidents with them.' " One of the notable developments of the air motor during the war is the gain of the fixed motor at the expense of the rotative type. ' The triumph of the fixed motor," was one French airman's answer to the question as to what had most struck him in air developments during the campaign." ® ® passing a carriage, with the result that it collided violently with a tree by the roadside, and overturned on the occupants, crushing them so badly that they died almost immediately. German Seaplane Wrecked. A REUTER message from Copenhagen on the 29th ult. stated that the fishing cutter " Ane Kirstine" has arrived in Fredericks- haven with the wreckage of a German seaplane, which was fished out of the water some miles west of the Skaw. Parts of the wings, the whole rudder, some tools, &c, which were found indicate that it was a new machine, and that the disaster was of recent occurrence. Bulgarian Flying Officers Killed. MESSAGES from Sofia on July 29th, stated that while flying over Sofia a military aeroplane fell owing to motor trouble The two military officers in the machine were killed 582
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