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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0924.PDF
I/LIGHT The engagement is announced of Flight Sub-Lieutenant LEONARD G. MAXTON, R.N., only son of Mr. and Mrs. James Maxton, Belfast, and RUBY, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. DARTFORD HOLMES, of Huddersfield, and only grand-daughter of the late Henry J. Chapman, The Firs, Westgate-on-Sea, Kent. The engagement is announced between Captain JOHN S. SHAW, R.F.C., eldest surviving son of Mr. and Mrs.. J. G. Shaw', Royal Cross School, Preston, Lancashire, and GLADYS K., second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. JAMES LAWSON, Latham House, Preston. The marriage between Second Lieutenant MALCOLM TOD, the Black Watch and R.F.C., youngest son of the late A. Max- well Tod and Mrs. A. Maxwell Tod, of Heath Cottage, West Byfleet, Surrey, and MARGARET EVELYN MAY, only daughter of the late J. CURLTNG BATES, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., and Mrs. F. Curling Bates, of 62 A, Central Hill, Upper Norwood, took place at Christ Church, Gipsy Hill, Norwood, on September 5th-. Items. At the Investiture, held at Buckingham Palace, on August 29th, the King handed the V.C. to Squadron Commander ' J. Dunville, R.N., which was awarded to his son, Second Lieutenant JOHN SPENCER DUNVILLE, late 1st Royal Dragoons, for most conspicuous bravery. It will be remembered that Lieutenant Dunville, when in charge of a party consisting of scouts and Royal Engineers, engaged in the demolition of the enemy's wire, this officer displayed great gallantry and disregard of all personal danger. In order to ensure the absolute success of the work entrusted to him, Second Lieu- tenant Dunville placed himself between a non-commissioned officer of the Royal Engineers and the enemy's fire, and thus protected, this non-commissioned officer was enabled to Air Fighting in August. THE British and French communiquis published during August show that 179 enemy aeroplanes and nine enemy balloons Were brought down, and 118 enemy aeroplanes and two enemy balloons driven down, says the Times in its monthly summary of air fighting. The Germans during August claim to have shot down 131 Allied aeroplanes and 15 Allied balloons. Eighty-six British machines are reported by our Headquarters as missing. The French give no particulars as to losses, and the Germans announce the loss of only five aeroplanes. In August Guynemer had his fiftieth air victory, and Was elected an officer of the Legion of Honour. The Germans claim that in this month their " Chasing Echelon No. 4," under Capt. Richthofen, brought down its two- hundreth adversary. Eight raids by the R.N.A.S. on points in Belgium are recorded. British Reports. Enemy machines brought down . . .. .. 106 Enemy machines driven down out of control .. 83 British machines missing .. .. . . .. 86 Enemy balloons brought down .. .. .. 2 Enemy balloons driven down badly damaged .. 2 French Reports^ Enemy machines brought down .. .. .. 73 Enemy machines driven down in their own lines.. 35 "Enemy balloons brought down .. .. .. 5 German Reports. British, French or Belgian machines shot down .. 131 ' German loss of machines admitted .. .. 5 Allied balloons brought down .7 .. .. 15 Zeppelin Fugitives Caught. THE two members of a Zeppelin crew Who got aWay from Stobs internment camp in Roxburghshire on August 23rd were recaptured during the week-end. Salving a Gotha. • - .•->'. IT is understood that salvage operations have resulted in some portions of the Gotha raider which fell into the sea off Margate being recovered, together with some of the armament. Two bodies are said to have been recovered. •German Seaplane Destroyed. * IN connection with the brush off the Jutland coast, which resulted in the sinking of four German mine-sweepers, the Ringkjoebing A mtsavis learns that German aeroplanes and submarines took part in the scrap, that people observed an aeroplane shot down, and that a vivid glare of fire from the burning vessels illumined the sea. • • *; ~" * Aerial Mails in Mexico. ACCORDING to a report from Monterey, Mexico, the army and navy authorities of Mexico have established an aerial mail service between the capital and Pachuca, a distance of 110 miles. Each machine carries 500 lbs. of mails. SEPTEMBER 6, 1917. complete a work of great mportance. Second Lieutenant Dunville, although severely wounded, continued to direct liis men in the wire-cutting and general operations until the raid was successfully completed, thereby setting a magnificent example of courage, determination and devotion to duty to all ranks under his command. This gallant officer has since succumbed to his Wounds. Captain WEDGWOOD BENN, M.P., has for some weeks been in hospital in Rome, suffering from malaria, but is now con- valescent. In addition to receiving the D.S.O., and being twice mentioned in British despatches, Captain Benn has just been cited in the French Orders of the Division de Syrie for gallantry. Since June, When he was home on short leave, he has been attached to the flying service at the front. The will of the late Lieutenant PERCY OGDEN, R.F.C., aged 41, of Fellside, Manisty, Keswick, of the British American Tobacco Company, Bristol and Liverpool, son of the late Mr. Thomas Ogden, founder of Ogdens, Ltd., who died at a military hospital on June 7th, has been sworn at £64,899. The funeral took place at Brookwood, on September 3rd, of Flight Sub-Lieut. BASIL HELBERT, son of Colonel G.- Helbert, Chief of the South African Records, London, Who died suddenly at Norbury, on August 29th, aged 22. Lieut. Helbert, Who took part in a memorable affair in the Channel about a year ago, When he met with an accident, Was accorded the unusual distinction of being buried with full naval and military honours. Detachments from the Navy and the Naval Air Service Were present under Lieut. Neill, in addition to 100 men of the South African Infantry. The band of the Naval Air Service played Chopin's Funeral March and the " Dead March," volleys Were fired, and the " Last Post " sounded by Naval buglers. A Record Air Week. . WRITING to the Daily Mail from the War Correspondents' Headquarters in France on August 28th, Mr. \V. Beach Thomas says :— " I have just read the summing up of a week's journeyman's work by our Flying Corps in France, and it so excels all that is on record in fact, or indeed in fiction, that I Will omit the stirring tales of all individual adventures in favour of a mere naked epitome. The properest Work of the airmen in War is the finding of the enemy's guns and directing fire on them. That is what matters most, though it is the least dramatic in telling, and it is chiefly in this department that past experience has been chiefly excelled. " From August 14th to 21st our airmen helped the guns to range on well over 700 German batteries. They and the gunners worked so Well together that 128 gunpits were totally ' destroyed, and among the batteries 321 separate explosions Were caused. " The figures indicate the immense scale of the artillery fighting, as well as of aerial observation. Indeed, such now is the intensity of the gunfire that What is called a counter- attack does not necessarily imply any movement of infantry at all. " Under good observation from the enemy it may be as dangerous for the field gunners to fire as for infantry to go over the parapet. At the same time .unobserved gunners can drive back the infantry Without the need of help from their own infantry. Such experiences have been common in the last few Weeks. In the recent fighting the gunners have had almost the same sensation of a hand-to-hand battle as the charging infantry, and have needed the same sort of courage and calmness. " In places the Germans, though they have lost their so- called grand stands or super-observation points, as Vimy and Hill 70 and Messines and Pilkem Ridge, have still one or two ridges which force all the duty of observation on our airmen. "As to the rest of this unparalleled \Veek in our airmen '8- records let the bare figures speak for themselves. They flew in the week over, 1,200 hours ; they took another 5,000 photo- graphs of the enemy's territory ; they dropped over 2,000 bombs, amounting to about 36 tons in weight; they fired more than 30,000 rounds from low levels at the enemy's infantry and gunners ; they brought down 68 enemy planes, and are known for a certainty to have driven down 90 more, of Which a great number were certainly destroyed. " It must be remembered that our authorities are as strict as an adverse judge in sifting the evidence of crashed machines. Many not recorded even as hit are crashed, as later evidence has often proved. The German airmen, rather like the German gunners, have been braver at night than by day. They have bombed many places from hospitals to harvest fields." 924
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