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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0473.PDF
JUNE I, »9I6- From Other Sources. l/OCHT] Mr. Stanley Washburn, writing to the Times from Verdun, says:— - " Verdun itself is apparently hidden from the direct vision of the enemy, but ranges long ago corrected by aeroplanes have been established these many months. It is questionable, however, how much check the gunners have on the target at present, since it has become unhealthy for the German aeroplanes to show themselves in this vicinity in the day-time. There is no question that the French absolutely dominate the air at Verdun, for while I saw dozens of French aeroplanes sailing hither and thither at will, I did not see a single German machine dnring the entire day. .... " Leaving our observation point we motor back to the outskirts of the town, where the General shows us one of his anti-aircraft stations. Here are set up a number of 75's on special mountings. In the centre of the station, suspended on a small platform, is a brass bell. The moment an enemy machine is sighted the bell is sounded, and no matter from which direction it may be coming, eveiy gun is on the target and the three corrections necessary for the first shot have been made within fifteen seconds. The mathe matics are extremely interesting. A very intellectual young man, with a book of logarithms, a pad, and a pencil, undertook to explain to me how the ranging was done. While he was drawing neat triangles and polygons and painstakingly dropping perpendiculars here and there, the enemy dropped three shells not too far away, and I regret to relate that I cannot at this time recall a single one of the equations or figures which he so kindiy worked out for my instruction." A Reuter message from Venice on May 16th says:— " Yesterday evening, shortly before 9 o'clock, the look-out stations reported the approach of enemy aeroplanes. "The alarm was immediately given. A raid was made upon Venice and Mestre. An intense fire from antiaircraft guns pre vented the assailants from descending upon the towns attacked, and thus diminished the effect of their bombs. " In Venice only one private house was damaged, and no one was injured. At Mestre two persons were killed and a number slightly injured, and some very slight damage was done. " At 10 o'clock the enemy aeroplanes, still pursued by the fire of our artillery, retired to their bases." The Salonica correspondent of the Petit Parisien, writing on May 16th, says:— " A squadron of British aeroplanes left at dead of night and bom barded with complete success the town of Porto-Lagos. A number ot fires were caused by the bombs which were dropped. " French aeroplanes, fourteen in number, have bombarded at Xanthia Bulgarian concentrations to the north-east of the town. They dropped eighty bombs of large calibre causing wild panic. All the machines returned safely. German aeroplanes did not have time to retaliate in any way, as the action of the French squadron was so rapid and decisive." A correspondent of the Telegraaf announces that he has received information from the Belgian frontier which confirms the report that the French airmen Ramond and Maudrynaud, who are now interned in Holland, nearly destroyed a Zeppelin some weeks ago in an air battle above Bruges. Mr. A. Beaumont, writing to the Daily Telegraph from Milan on March 17th, says:— "Austrian aeroplanes again perpetrated night incursions over Venice, Mestre and Udine. "Following the railway line from Venice to Mestre, they tried to drop bombs on an express train which had left Venice for Bologna at nine o'clock, and in which two Royal Princesses, Volanda and Mafalda, were travelling. At the same time a Royal train with (>ueen Elena was coming from Udine, and entered the station of Mestre at half-past nine. The Royal Princesses at once entered the train of their mother, which started away. Reports of the anti-aircraft guns and bombs were heard as far as Padua, and when the Royal train reached that station with the Queen and Princesses 'here was quite an ovation in their honour, and they stood at the carriage windows, smiled, and thanked the crowd for their loyal demonstration. "Just before dawn, about four o'clock in the morning, Udine '•vas visited by a squadron of eight or ten aeroplanes, which had been able to approach treacherously at a great height, favoured by light clouds and mists. They dropped a number of bombs, and one % ® Aircraft Work In Mesopotamia. IN the paper; regarding the Mesopotamian campaign issued by :he India Office on Monday, in response to a question put in the Commons by Mr. Pemberton Billing, there are three references to •urcraft work, two dealing with aviators' reports on the state 01 me Turkish troops at Suliman Pak ; while in the third General Nixon says that he sent Major-General Kemball, by aeroplane, on of these unhappily fell in the midst of a crowd of boys and youth* who were standing m a little open place just outside the town and gazing at the sky Eight of them, aged from 7 to 11 years, were \r IJ1 ' tW0 others were severt'1.V injured." Mr. Edmund Candler, writing under date" May 9th in the Daily «Kr reKardln? the sic8e of K>». says :— On January 2nd the first hostile aeroplane was sighted. From February 13th to March 22nd aviators' bombs caused more damage than shell lire. On March iSth one lxrnib fell on the hospital, Killing six British soldiers and wounding twenty-six—fourteen severely—of whom four died. On March 21st four Until* were dropped in the neighbourhood of headquarters, killing many Arab women and children, and the aviator sank a horseboat on the lira which carried a 4-7 in. gun. After this the aerial bombardrocnt slackened, possibly through lack of ammunition." A Central News message from Amsterdam, on May 17th, says t— " Another frontier correspondent confirms the reports sent yesterday regarding an Allied air raid in the Dixmudr region Two airmen dropped a number of bombs on various German fortifi cations and on railway stations in Flanders." The Daily Mail corres|>ondent at Athens on May 17th re ported :— " Recently a Hritish aeroplane flew down to a l>oat containing three Austrian officers just off Smyrna, blew up the boat with bombs, and killed two of the officers." According to the Echo Beige, an Allied aeroplane dropjied five bombs on military stores near Roulers and escaped in spite of heavy German fire in the direction of Dixmude. From Athens it is reported that an aeroplane, proljably Austrian, flew over the Island of Rhodes on Monday and dropped numerous lximbs on the Italian barracks. There is no news of the remit of the raid. Mr. Gerard Price, writing to the Daily Telegraph from Salonica, on May 17th, said :— " French army mechanics are rebuilding, on the open space round, the ruins of the Zeppelin which, after great labour, have been extracted from the marshes and towrd here in barges. The great bare ribs, spaced out with gaps between for exhibition purposes, look like the skeleton of some great prehistoric animal on view in a museum." According to a Central News message from Amsterdam, a Northern France correspondent states that in the meantime the (Jermans are strongly reinforcing their artillery, while the increas ing activity of their airmen is becoming very marked. Writing to the Daily Telegraph from Salonica, under date of May 19th, Mr. G. T. Stevens says: — " During the night, a squadron of enemy aeroplane* crossed the frontier and threw bombs on our encampments at Topsin, Hunardja, and Kilkis, causing no damage and wounding only one soldier. They then attempted to come to Salonica, but by this time our own squadrons were up, and an aerial battle ensued, in which the enemy was driven back. " Our squadrons, pursing, in their turn l>orol>ed important enemy encampments with, it is believed, good results, for flames followed by dense smoke were observed to rise. All our aeroplanes returned safely." The Telegraaf learns from the Belgian frontier that aviators bombed Zeebrugge about half-past 2 a.m. on May 21st. The explosions were clearly audible on the Dutch frontier, as was also the tire of defensive machine guns on the aeroplanes. Flashes ei fire were seen alxive the Flemish coast. Today, in splendid weather, a number of Allied aviators reconnoitred the German positions. Writing from Milan to the Daily Telegraph, on May 21st, Mr. A. Beaumont says :— "Vast aerial attacks are reported from various points adJH. the Venetian plains, and a few victims arc recorded. At Cividale and Moraro the enemy fled in the direction of Udinc, and were driven off in consequence of the intervention of Italian aviators." The Politiien's correspondent at Esbjeib states that some fisher men who have arrived there re|x>rt that they met two armed German trawlers and a Zeppelin in the North Sea on May 20th. It is possible, adds the correspondent, that the heavy cannonade heard about forty miles off the shore on May 20th was from British ships in pursuit. ® * October 19th and November 5th, from Kut to confer with Major- General Townshend. The Lights of London. A NBW Order has been issued by the Home Office regarding the reduction of lights, &c., in the Metropolis. It is the same as the Order issued in February, except for the time in which the regulations apply, which is now from ten p.m. until half an hour before sunrise. 473
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