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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0275.PDF
MA*CH 30, 191& i/po^n AIRCRAFT WORK AT THE FRONT. OFFICIAL INFORMATION. British. W»>' Ojjlct, March 25M. " On March 23rd, General Townshend reported that his camp at Kut-el-Amara had been bombarded by enemy aircraft and guns at intervals during the period March 2Ist-23rd. His casualties, how ever, were slight, and the general situation remains unchanged." General ffeadcjuarters Frame), March 2btlt. " One of our aeroplanes which went out yesterday has not returned.' French. Paris, March 21st. Evening. "To-day one of our pilots brought down a German aeroplane, which fell in flames in the region of Douaumont. Last night our aircraft bombarded the railway stations of Dunsur-Meuse and Audun- ie-Roman and bivouacs in the region of Vigneulles." Paris, A/arch 26th. Afternoon. " During the nijht of March 25th-26th, two of our aeroplanes dropped sixteen large-sized shells on the enemy bivouacs at Nantillois and Monttaucon." Paris, March 26th. Evening. "This morning one of our pilots brought down a German aero plane, which fell near our lines in the region of Douaumont." Russian. Petrograd, March 27/h. "The flights of German aviators along the whole Dvinsk front are growing more frequent, and at Dvinsk they dropped twenty bombs. "The enemy dropped bombs on the station of Stolbtzi and at Kaibanovo, south-west of Minsk." Italian. Rome, March 2yd. " Our aeroplane scouting expeditions ascertaining the presence of considerable rolling stock on the Vallobaca-ldria line, other aeroplane squadrons bombarded Oppacchiasella, Costanjevica, and Nabresina, returning afterwards unharmed to our lines, despite the violent tire of numerous enemy anti-aircraft batteries. " Enemy aeroplanes dropped bombs on Asiago and Telvo, in the Sugana Valley, where no damage was done." Rome, Merck ZJth. " This morning a group of hostile aviators flew over the plain lietween the lsonzo and the l'iave with the object of damaging our communications in the rear and the bridges over the rivers. The attack failed completely. The accurate salvoes of our guns brought down one machine near Ajello and a seaplane in the Grado Lagoon, while a third machine was brought down by rifle tire near the Piiula Bridge on the Piave. Of the six enemy aviators a major, chief of the squadron, was killed, and the remaining five were taken prisoners." German. Berlin, March 22nd. " Three enemy aeroplanes were put out of action by our aviators in aerial engagements to the North of Verdun. Two of them came down behind our front to the north-east of Samogneux. The third crashed down in flames behind the enemy lines. Lieutenant Boelkc has thereby brought down his thirteenth, and Lieutenant l'arschau his fourth enemy aeroplane." Berlin, March 24//1. " An aeroplane belonging to an enemy squadron which attacked Volovec, west of Lake Doiran, was shot down into the lake." Berlin, March 26M. " Near St. Quentin an English biplane fell into our hands, undamaged. Alter an aerial battle, a French aeroplane fell down in the Caillette Wood and was dashed to pieces." Berlin, March 2,/h. "Our airmen dropped bombs on the railway stations at Dvinak and VVilmejk and on the railway depots between Baranowitschi and Minsk." Austrian. Vienna, March 21* t. " Our aviators last night appeared over Valona and successfully bombarded the port and camp. They returned lafcly, in spite ol the heavy enemy fire." Turkish. Constantinople, March 24///. " On the night of March 2ist, our airmen effectively l>ombarded the enemy's camp at Kut-el-Amara." From Other Sources. The Times correspondent at Amsterdam, writing on Mareh 20th, said: — "The Telegraaf learns that one aeroplane was above Zeebrugge at 2 o'clock this morning. The German defence-guns fired furiously, the German guard posts feverishly exchanged light signals and every thing betokened great activity on the Flemish coast. " At about 4 o'clock a Biitish squadron appeared and began to nombard the German positions. " Further details published by the Tehgtaaf from Flushing show that a great fire was observed to be raging at Zeebrugge at 4 o'clock this morning. " The Germans have recently greatly strengthened the Zeebrugge coast defences. Their submarines working in the North Sea during the last few weeks have Zeebrugge as their base. ' On Sunday afternoon an aeroplane, which was supposed to have been engaged on a raid on the English coast, returned to /-eebrugge, where every day captive balloons with lookouts ascend to a height of 6,500 feet." Mr. James Dunn, writing to the Daily Mail, from Rotterdam, on March 21st, said :— " As a naval and air base Zeebrugge is now of little value. The combined air and fleet bombardments have reduced the harbour to a chaos of crumbling masoniy. "Practically the only things to efcape damage were two sub marines, which were promptly submerged in the dock when the attack began. Three torpedo-boats were driven into the open sea to escape the falling bombs. They manoeuvred within the charmed cucle of the minefield, but were continually harassed by Allied air men and forced further seawards, only to be chased by British destroyers as hounds chase a hare 'The majority of the air bombs fell on Solvay Works, which caught fire, and in the harbour, where several minelayers were badly "imaged. Eye-witnesses of the bombardment say that fiie and death rained from the heavens on the stricken port, which now looks like a huge scrap-heap." A Central News message from Amsterdam, dated March 22nd, savs;— ° "Although the Germans have taken every ptecaution to prevent '•" 'eakage of details in regard to the damage caused by the Allies' re-U air raid on Zeebrugge, a frontier correspondent states on what he declares to be absolutely trustworthy authority that the damage U5ed, especially to the coast batteries, was very heavy. A large number of guns were destroyed entirely, and others which suffered serious damage have now been sent back to Essen for reconstruction. "Over 200 marines and artillerymen were killed, and the numlier of wounded must be very great, in view of the fact that one hospital train alone, which passed Ghent station from /ecbrugge, contained over 350 wounded men. It has been ascertained that some Herman aeroplanes were completely destroyed by the Allies' bombs, while one German aeroplane, which had ascended and brcame engaged in a fight with a French airman, was shot down by him, the German officer in it being wounded." A correspondent of liet Volt on the frontier says that during the recent Allied aerial attack an aerodrome near Ostend and »ix German aeroplanes were destroyed. At Zeebrugge a German torpedo-boat was towed in by another torpedo-boat. It had six dead and thirty wounded on l>oard. Mr. W. L. McAlpin, writing to the Daily Mail from Paris on March 22nd, says :— " Nothing that has happened since the attack on Vaux has caused such a sensation in the Verdun region as a balloon accident which occurred a few days ago. One of a group of ' sausages,' as the soldiers call them, was floating captive at the end of its cable 3,000 ft. high when the steel rope snapped and the balloon shot upwards, taking an officer with it. " Suddenly an officer shouted out,' He's jumped.' The watchers saw a little grey spot detach itself from the balloon and fall rapidly for some distance. The speck grew larger and those on the ground realised that the observation officer had Confided his life to bis parachute. He eventually landed safely near the French lines. " Telling his story later, he said : ' I was at a height of 3,000 ft. when 1 felt a slight shock. I thought my telephone wire had given way. A minute later I noticed that the other " sausages " near me were becoming smaller. Then 1 looked over and saw that the cable had snapped. I had already risen 1,800 ft. The wind was carrying me towards the Germans, and it was imperative to take immediate action. I tried to pull the ripping valve (which release? the gas), but the cord got entangled. " ' Climbing on the edge of the car I jerked at it in vain. All this time the balloon was climbing rapidly. I tore up my maps and papers to prevent them from falling into the enemy's hands, and threw the fragments overboard Suddenly I remembered my parachute. As you know, every observation officer while on duty- wears a special tunic with a parachute attachment. Opening the 275
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