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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0595.PDF
JULY 13, 1916. saw that the hostile observer was firing wildly into the air, and evi dently had been wounded. Despite his own wound, the British officer chased yet another hostile machine and fired his remaining drum at it, but had to break off the fight for lack of ammunition. On the day following there were eleven combats in the air, and four enemy machines were brought to earth. On Monday last eleven air fights resulted in the shooting down of a Fokker, which crashed to the ground, and two biplanes were destroyed. These incidents in the air are exclusive of successful attacks on German kite balloons and the dropping of bombs on railway stations in the possession of the enemy. In addition, our airmen have developed an extraordinary aptitude in obtaining photographs and bringing back valuable in formation on the subject of enemy positions." The Times correspondent, writing on July 9th, says :— " In the unusually clear air, one of the most beautiful sights which I have ever seen was a fleet of 22 of our battleplanes manoeuvring over the enemy's lines, the squadrons circling, crossing, and inter weaving at various altitudes. What their mission was I do not know, but besides the great beauty of the spectacle in itself, it would be difficult to conceive anything which could give a more thrilling impression of our mastery, not only of the air, but of the enemy's air service." Mr. G. Ward Price, writing to the Times from Salonica, on July 3rd, says :— " Another brilliant air raid was made this morning by a French aeroplane, which bombed Sofia for the second time since the Allies came to Macedonia. The pilot was a Frenchman who is perhaps better known at Hendon than even in his own country. He started at 4.30 a.m., and did the return flight of over 300 miles in 5 hrs. 25 mins. It took i\ hrs. to reach Sofia from Salonica, and from a height of only just over 6,000 ft. 10 bombs were dropped on military establishments in the Bulgarian capital. It was evident that great alarm was caused by the reports of the bombs, for the two airmen could see a whole line of trams stop dead. Anti aircraft batteries in the town shelled the raiding aeroplane without hilting it, and on the return journey the batteries on the hills north of Demir Hissar had evidently been warned to look out for it, for a violent fire was opened as soon as the Frenchman got within range. No harm was done." A semi-official statement issued in Paris on July 4th says :— "Finally, the part played in the battle by the French and British air services is considerable. Since July 1st no enemy airmen has been able to fly over our lines, and as aircraft of to-day are the eyes of artillery, it can be said that we have blinded the enemy, thus clearly disabling him for purposes of riposte. " According to the reports of our airmen, there appear to be only two or three more successive systems of defence to force, before battle in open country becomes possible." Mr. W. Beech Thomas, in his despatch to the Daily Mail, "dated July 4th, says :— " But things are quiet on the whole. The enemy is suffering from several things. The muddle of the retreat is one. Another is the want of targets, since his aeroplanes have been driven back and his kite balloons destroyed from the air. He is for the moment blind and not a little out of breath." ® ® AIRCRAFT IN THE IN the despatches from Sir John Jellicoe regarding the Battle of Jutland, fought on May 31st and June 1st, there are the follow ing references to aircraft work and the part played by the seaplane ship. In Sir David Beatty's report of the preliminary stages he says :— " From a report from ' Galatea ' at 2.25 p.m. it was evident that the enemy force was considerable, and not merely an isolated unit of light cruisers, so at 2.45 p.m. I ordered ' Eijgadine' (Lieutenant- Commander C. G. Robinson) to send up a seaplane and scout to N.N.E. This order was carried out very quickly, and by 3.8 p.m. a seaplane, with Flight-Lieutenant F. J. Rutland, R.N., as pilot, and Assistant Paymaster G. S. Trewin, R.N., as observer, was well under way ; her first reports of the enemy were received in ' Engadine' about 3.30 p.m. Owing to clouds it was necessary to fly very low, and in order to identify four enemy light cruisers the seaplane had to fly at a height of 900 ft. within 3,000 yaids of them, the light cruisers opening fire on her with every gun that would bear. This in no way interfered with the clarity of their reports, and both Flight-Lieutenant Rutland and Assistant Paymaster Trewin are to be congratulated on their achievement, which indicates that sea planes under such circumstances are of distinct value. " At 5.5 p.m. ' Onslow ' (Lieutenant-Commander John C. Tovey) and 'Moresby' (Lieutenant Commander Roger V. Alison), who had been detached to assist ' Engadine' with the seaplane, rejoined the battle-cruiser squadrons and took station on the starboard (engaged) bow of' Lion' (Captain Alfred E. M. Chatfield, C. V.O.). " He (the enemy) was gradually hauling to the eastward, re ceiving severe punishment at the head of his line, and probably fTDcST] The Times special correspondent at the British Headquarters, writing on July 6th, says :— "One must again recur to the extraordinary superiority of our Air Service over that of the enemy. There is not a man in the British Army who has not an almost unlimited admiration for our airmen, and throughout the operations they have been a delight to watch. Their value in observation has been immense. As minor instances, it may be told that in one case an airman signalled the whereabouts of a convoy of nine enemy lorries on a road quite invisible except from the air. One of our heavy liaiterie; opened fire on it and destroyed three of the lorries, and the rest escaped by bolting. " Another airman a day or two ago was flying near Flers, four miles or so in German territory beyond our line at Contalmaison, when he saw infantry marching on a road, came down and played a machine-gun on them, getting home unscathed. The story of the airmen on this front during the last two weeks would furnish Mr. Kipling with material even more full of romance and reckless daring than the story of the submarines." The Timts correspondent at Amsterdam, in a message on July 6th, says that a captive balloon floats above Ostend. The Daily Mail correspondent at Amsterdam, writing on July 5th, says :— " The Germans appear to be transferring a huge air force to the west. Six or seven Zeppelins went wist through Belgium on Monday, and since then aeroplanes have been moved both by rail and by flight." According to the Politiken, a very large Zeppelin passed over the Skagerrak on July 5th. Observers were enabled to have a good view of the airship, which, when she had arrived over the extreme end of Skaw, returned and proceeded in a southerly direction. From Christianssand, Norway, it is reported that during the previous few days Zeppelins have been sighted off Christianssand and off Lillesand, making reconnoitring trips. Mr. G. Ward Price, writing from Salonica on July 8th, says :— " The daily activity of the artillery on the frontier was diversified to-day by an attempted German aeroplane attack on the French positions south of Doiran. One of the enemy machines which came under the fire of the French anti-aircraft batteries was brought down, and fell in flimes near the lake." Mr. Stanley Washburn, the Times special correspondent with the Russian Forc:s, writing from Lutsk on July 5th, says : — " The Gsrmins are increasingly dropping bombs from their aeroplanes upon all the important towns in the rear of our line, with a daily toll of civilian dead and wounded, but with practically no result in any other quarter." The Morning Post correspondent at Salonica, writing on July 9th, says :— "French aviators were again active to-day. They dropped several bombs on the military establishments at Monastir and also on Fort Rupel and the Bulgarian camps at 1'etritch. According to the local Greek journal, German aeroplanes yesterday dropped fifteen bombs at Sorovitch, killing some Greek soldiers and wound ing other soldiers and civilians." ® ® NAVAL BATTLE. acting on information received from his lighi cruisers, which had sighted and were engaged with the Third Battle-Cruiser Squadron. Possibly Zeppelins were present also." Dealing With the events on the morning of June 1st, Sir John Jellicoe says:— " The enemy, however, made no sign, and I was reluctantly com pelled to the conclusion that the High Sea Fleet had returned into port. Subsequent events proved this assumption to have been correct. Our position must have been known to the enemy, as at 4 a.m. the Fleet engaged a Zeppelin for about five minutes, during which time she had ample opportunity to note and subsequently report the position and course of the British Fleet. " A cruiser squadron was detached to search for ' Warrior,' which vessel had been abandoned whilst in tew of ' Engadine ' on her way to the base owing to bad weather setting in and the vessel becoming unseaworthy, but no trace of her was discovered, and a further subsequent search by a light cruiser squadron having failed to locate her, it is evident that she foundered. "Sir David Beatty reports in regard to the ' Engadine' as follows :— " ' The work of " Engadine'' appears to have been most praise worthy throughout, and of great value. Lieutenant-Commander C. G. Robinson deserves great credit for the skilful and seamanlike manner in which he handled his ship. He actually towed "Warrior" for 75 miles between 8.40 p.m., May 31st, and 7.15 a.m., June 1st, and was instrumental in saving the lives of her ship's company.' " I fully endorse his remarks." 595
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