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Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0769.PDF
OCTOBER 8, 1915. 7,500 feet. The British pilot obligingly dropped in order to get imo action without delay. There was a brisk, ding-dong business of machine guns and revolvers; then the German staggered, slanted over to an 80 degrees angle, and dropped, blazing like a bonfire. "A 'Pleasing Explosion.' "Aeroplanes have not been our only prey. A German observa tion balloon—one of those fat sausage shaped affairs that swing at the end of steel cables—was attacked recently. One of our pilots flew around it at 2,000 feet, to the apprehension of the observers in the car, who immediately signalled to be hauled down. The balloon was slowly descending when a shell dropped on the gasbag, accelerating its speed tremendously, and there was a pleasing explosion. " The pursuit and destruction of the Albatros previously referred to, which took place on September 13th, was another very spec tacular episode witnessed by many soldiers and civilians. " The Albatros ventured into the Allies' territory about 10 a.m. One of our pilots (you may hear his name some day) pursued it steadily, and although the Albatros ducked and tacked it could not escape. The observer worked his Maxim repeatedly, but British bullets drilled the petrol tank and radiator, cut the wings, and eventually killed both p lot and observer, just after the machine had dropped very low and was trying to rise again. " I saw the captured Albatros yesterday in a shed alongside one of the latest British machines. It affords an interesting illustration of the progress made in German aviation. To laymen, the body looks very much like that of a German aeroplane. There are large iron crosses painted on the wings and tail, and the sides and bottom of the three-ply wooden hull are painted a dull grey. "German Improvements. "The 160 h.p. Mercedes engine had been taken from its bed, and lay beside the holed petrol tank and radiator. It is particularly admired for its workmanship. The tank can carry three hours' supply of petrol, and the aeroplane and all its accessories show that it is intended for long voyages. It is built with unusual strength and solidity, with an unusually heavy gun mounting. "The most interesting improvement in the Albatros is a new cockpit for the gunner-observer behind the pilot's seat, which revolves like the gun turret on a battleship. The Maxim gun is mounted on the rim of the cockpit, and when the observer is ® ® An Aeroplane from China. A MESSAGE from Hankow on October 2nd announced that the residents of the Vang-tse Talley had on the previous day trans mitted to the Overseas Club the sum of ^1,500 for the purchase of an aeroplane for presentation to the British Government. Brave Firemen and the Air Raids. THE following statement was published yesterday in the London Fire Brigade orders :— " The undermentioned men have today been commended for saving lives on the occasion of the aid raids on September 7th and 8th :—H. E. Stone, H. Dulieu, C. E. Wheatley, H. H. Galloway, E. L. Moyn, J. T. Venes, J. W. Ridden, R. J. Hadgraft, R. B. Bullen, J. O. Small, T. Withall, and C. A. Henley. " Turncock H. Garner, of the Metropolitan Water Board, has also been commended for rendering valuable assistance on the same occasion." Another Zeppelin Raid Victim. IT was announced on the 2nd inst. that a constable of the City Police had died on the previous day as the result of injuries received in the recent air raid over the London District. The Royal Flying Corps Aid Committee. Now that the cold weather is again making itself felt we would remind our readers of the excellent work which has been done by the Royal Flying Corps Aid Committee in supplying men and mechanics of the R.F.C. with warm garments, socks and helmets as well as " comforts" of different kinds. Any contributions of such things or the means to purchase them will be welcomed by Lady Henderson, Royal Flying Corps Aid Committee, Surrey House, Marble Arch, W. In response to a request from the Front it has been possible to send out a few gramophones, and if any of our readers can help, with a few records they will be especially welcome. The following letter has been received from the South African Aviation Corps :— " I have pleasure in informing you that the three packages of gifts arrived in splendid condition, during active operations in South- West Africa, ar.d, in consequence, owing to such articles being practically unobtainable there, were doubly appreciated by all members of the Corps. crouched inside behind the gun, he can work it with one hand, and with the other swing both cockpit and gun around in any direction with great ease. " One of the five fights on September 12th was with a large enemy aeroplane, which is described as looking like a Wright twin-engined biplane. It opened tire on one of our machines at 2,000 yards from a forward gun, and when the tire was returned it retreated towards the German lines with its adversary in pursuit. " The British airman kept it in sight until it was within 2,000 feet of the ground behind the German lines. It had twin fuselage, a monoplane tail, and no elevator. " Most of the encounters between opposing aeroplanes take place early in the morning or at about sunset. "Deadly Humming Birds. " You can hear these early birds humming overhead at dawn before the army is awake. You can see them hovering above the roofless farmhouses and naked woods that mark the enemy trenches at almost any hour of the day, heedless of the clouds of shrapnel that mark their wake. You can hear them again at nightfall as they wing their way homeward over the yellow fields, flying steadily and serenely across the evening sky. " Frequently they come home with pierced wings and metal work scarred by bullets, sometimes with a wounded pilot sticking grimly at his steering-wheel, his ebbing strength just sufficient to bring him to earth. "They sail into the jaws of death and out again as coolly and lightheartedly as they test their new machines. They know that each desperate adventure may be their last, yet they set forth with an air of utter unconcern. They have had experiences more thrilling than those of any trench-bound warrior below, yet you cannot get them to talk about these wild battles in the sky. I have questioned them. ' Oh,' they say vaguely, ' it's all in the day's work.' " I have seen the report of the airman who fought a German aeroplane on September 7th and sent it to earth—a mile and a half below—like a thunderbolt, blaring and in ruins. It is a bald state ment of altitudes, times, and evolutions, written in indelible pencil on a sheet of notepaper. " I hope the day will come when the full story of these splendid exploits of British flying men can be written—when they will no longer be the anonymous heroes of the air." ® ® " I regret that owing to active service conditions our acknowledg ment was not forwarded you earlier. " Kindly convey to members of your Committee the sincere thanks and gratitude of each member of the South African Aviation Corps for their kind thoughtfulness in including the name of this Corps on your Committee's distribution lists. " Yours faithfully " H. F. BATTEN, " Capt.-Adjutant, for O.C. " S. African Aviation Corps." An Insane Act. AT Rochester on Tuesday, a mechanic named Alfred Henry Beadle, was fined £$ and ordered to pay £4 10s. damages for wilfully cutting an aeroplane propeller Vnth in. shorter than the standard length, thus rendering its use highly dangerous. It was suggested that it was an act of spite because permission had been refused lor the man to transfer his services to another firm. We should rather have thought such an act would have ljeen more within the scope of an enquiry by an expert dealing with lunatics. Airplane or Aeroplane. " F.R.S.," writing to the Timet on September 30th, suggests that the word " airplane " should be used instead of "aeroplane," which, so far, holds the field—"although generally pronounced 'airoplane ' by the great uneducated." German Naval Flyers Drowned. THE Daily Mail correspondent at Copenhagen reported on the 1st inst. that a new German waterplane had capsized the previous evening outside Trelleborg, Sweden, the occupants being drowned. To Assist German Aeronautic Fund. IN the wireless news sent out from Berlin on the 3rd inst. there was a message to the German Embassy in New York stating that an exhibition of all English recruiting posters at present issued had been inaugurated for the benefit of the German Aeronautic Fund, and had proved a great material success. German Aviators for Bulgaria. ACCORDING to a Reuter message from Athens on Monday, six German aviators had arrived at Sofia.
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