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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0824.PDF
f/DOHf] SEPTEMBER 21, 1916. BRITISH AIR WORK. THE following was issued by the Admiralty on Sep tember 15th :— " Between August 25th and 31st a series of attacks were carried out by naval aircraft upon the Bulgarian lines of communication beyond Kavalla. On the 25th the railway- station and bridge at Buk were successfully bombed. *• On the 26th a similar attack upon the railway station at 1 Irama resulted in the burning of a large petrol store and con siderable destruction among the rolling-stock in the sidings. . Bombs were also dropped on the billets of the enemy's troops at Doksat. " On the 27th, Okgilar railway station, where the head quarters of the 10th Division were situated, was successfully attacked. The station buildings were set on fire and con siderable damage was done to the permanent-way. " On the 28th, Drama Station was again bombed. The station buildings were considerably damaged. On the same day Kavalla forts were attacked with excellent results. " On the 29th a large body of infantry and transport con centrated at Porna were attacked. Considerable havoc was caused in the village and among the troops. A large fire was Started among the stores in the transport park. The moral as well as the material effect of this bombardment seems to have been considerable, as a reconnaissance made on the following day showed that all troops, camps and transport had been removed from this district. " On the 31st an attack was made on Angista Railway % ^tat'on. Direct hits were made and extensive damage ^» caused." The following was issued by the Admiralty on Sep tember 16th :— " In the early hours of the 15th inst. a squadron of naval aeroplanes successfully bombarded the enemy's heavy batteries near Ostend. All our machines returned safely. " Between August 25th and 29th a series of attacks and reconnaissances upon the enemy railway communications in Palestine were carried out by a British seaplane squadron. These flights were made under somewhat hazardous condi tions, due to the fact that the railway runs, for the most part, behind a range of mountains difficult for seaplanes to surmount. Bombs were dropped on Afuleh Junction, where considerable damage was done to the rolling-stock, permanent way and to stores in the vicinity. A railway engine and 14 """ carriages were also set on fire and destroyed. The railway stations at Tulkeram and Ardana, and an enemy camp 4 miles north-west of Remleh, were successfully bombarded and severely damaged. " On August 26th a seaplane bombarded the railway station at Horns. This flight, carried out at a distance of 45 miles inland under extremely adverse conditions and through clouds low down on the mountains, was a singularly fine performance for a seaplane." The following was issued by the Admiralty on September 18th:— " On the afternoon of the 17th inst. a squadron of nayal aeroplanes carried out a further attack on the enemy aero drome at St. Denis Westerem. " A large number of bombs were dropped with successful results. " One of our machines was obliged to make a forced landing in Holland, and the pilot has been interned." A German Version. Berlin, September i&th. " On the afternoon of the 17th inst. German seaplanes dropped a large number of bombs on hostile naval forces off the coast of Flanders. A hit was clearly observed on a parent ship, and one enemy airman was compelled by anti-aircraft fire to land on the Dutch coast." With regard to this report, the Admiralty states that none of His Majesty's ships were hit or damaged in any way. THE following rlsuml of incidents in aerial warfare, extracted from recent reports of the Royal Flying Corps in France and Egypt, was issued by the Air Board on September 14th :— " In Egypt on August nth a B.E. 2c "machine was com pleting a reconnaissance of the flanks and front of our posi tions when it was surprised and attacked from above and behind by two hostile machines, the first indication of their presence being the heavy machine-gun fire poured into it from close range. The pilot was shot in the jaw, the shoulder, left hand and left leg. He lost consciousness, but regained it when 500 ft. above the ground, and made a landing. The observer was shot in the chest and shoulder. The latter with great effort gave his report when lifted out of the machine and then collapsed. He died of his wounds some hours afterwards. " One of our airmen in France attacked five hostile machines on August 16th. He engaged a Roland, causing it to dive, and then climbed and dispersed the remainder, two of which he forced to descend. " In France on August 22nd an offensive patrol encountered a formation of about fifteen German machines, chiefly Rolands and L.V.Gs. These were engaged by our F.Es., assisted by one Kieuport Scout. The engagement became of a general nature, all our machines being engaged. One enemy machine was seen to side-slip and plunge to earth out of control, and was subsequently seen on the ground in a wrecked condition. Three others were driven down by the combined attacks of our machines, and appeared to be com pletely out of control, although lost to view before hitting the ground. One of these (a Roland Scout) was seen to be emitting clouds of smoke as though on fire. Three other machines were seen to land under control, and the whole hostile formation was completely broken up. " The following is an account of a fight given by one of our pilots : ' While on defensive patrol we saw one of our F.E. 2B's doing photography. We followed this machine, going east of it, when we observed five enemy aircraft evidently intending to attack the photographic machine. We fired at them, opening fire at 500 yards. The enemy imme diately split up their formation, diving and making off in all directions. We closed with one machine, firing two drums into it, and actually set it on fire, but after a few seconds the flames went out. We then engaged another machine, firing one drum at it, but could not get close to it. All five hostile machines made for the ground.' " The escort to bombing machines of one of our Brigades encountered about 20 hostile machines flying in three formations, which were engaged separately. A Nieuport aeroplane first engaged the rear machine of a formation of seven Rolands, into which it fired ij drums at a range of about 15 yards. The enemy aeroplane was seen to dive to earth and turn over on its side. Our airman then turned his attention to five more Rolands, discharging two drums into one from underneath. The enemy machine turned and dived very steeply out of control, with fire and smoke coming out of the fuselage. The German formation was broken up, but our pilot got level with another machine and discharged the remainder of his ammunition into it. The enemy machine fell out of control and crashed on to some houses in the village below. During this time our F.Es. were busy fighting hard, and managed to disperse what remained of the enemy formations. Numerous enemy machines were seen to descend and land in all directions. The pilot above referred to returned to one of our aerodromes for more ammunition, and went back to the scene of the encounter, where he engaged and dispersed such enemy machines as had remained in the vicinity. " On August 28th the pilot of the Nieuport Scout above referred to attacked four hostile machines. He manoeuvred underneath the nearest, and fired one drum into it. The German immediately went down in an uncontrolled dive,, closely followed l%y our airman, who fired another drum into it at about 20 yards' range, and saw the hostile machine crash to earth. Before this he had engaged three enemy machines, two of which were seen to make forced landings. near From Other Sources. Mr. Laurence Jerrold, in the second of his series of articles young, dark captain at the aviation camp of B— on the Somme in the Daily Telegraph, says :— A , and the other young captain, this time fair, witn a ' In aviation the Bodies have ceased to count,' said the wisp of yellow moustache and a perpetual cigarette, echoed 820
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