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Aviation History
1918
1918 - 0158.PDF
QUOTING from the late Lieut. G. W. Devenish's book—" A Subaltern's Share in the War," " W " emphasises the following philosophic unconcern of the homely " Coo."" Cows usually appear quite indifferent and often you see them wandering about in between our trenches and theenemy's quite unconcerned. . . One would persist in getting in front of my gun (an 18-pounder) so we had to driveit off by chucking empty cartridge cases and clods of earth at it. One dog there was in abject terror, and tried to burrowits way into the ground in a barn." BRAZIL'S contribution to fighting units against the Huns should be anything but negligible, especially from the moral point of view. One contingent will assuredly be welcome in 1918, that of the Brazilian aviators. They are exceedingly keen observers, have almost phenomenal initiative, and are likely to make big efforts to put up-a record score for numbers of enemy machines accounted for. Apropos the widely published interview with Sir EricGeddes regarding the ' holding " of the pirates during the past 12 months unrestricted U-boat campaign of the Huns,a very live story is published in the Liverpool Journal of Commerce from Mr. J. S. Margerison which graphicallydepicts one method by which the submarine menace is being held. A seaplane spots a U-boat lying on the sea-bed, andsends out a wireless signal. Ten miles away, so the narra- tive runs, a long, lean destroyer and four squat trawlersdetached themselves from a pack of hounds working a covert, and hastened to the kill. Meanwhile the seaplane circled round,but when the surface ships arrived her instructions, delivered by wireless, were curt and precise. Acting upon them, thetrawlers stationed themselves at the four corners of a wet quad- rangle, while the destroyer kept her guns ready to talk toFritz should he appear above the surface. The trawlers at the corners of the wet quadrangle got out their sweeps—long wire hawsers of an incredible stoutness, with a heavy " kite " in the centre to keep their bights down on the sea-bed—and commenced to steam towards each other. As their pairs of vessels met, their wires simultaneously engaged them-selves under the U-boat's bow and stern, and commenced to work their sinuous way between her hull and the sea bottom.It was then that a strange thing happened. Two round, black objects seemed to detach themselves from her hull and floatsurfacewards, to hover a second, and then to commence bobbing down the tide—bobbing down towards a lane muchfrequented by those ships which brought food, munitions of war, and hundreds of other things to England's shore. " MINELAYER, eh ? " called the seaplane's observer.—"That's it, lad," came the telephoned answer "But her eggs can wait for a minute." The trawlers, continues Mr.Margerison, still steaming towards each other, now crossed, and their dependent cables held the U-boat in a kind ofwire cat's cradle. She seemed suddenly to wake to her danger, for, with a bound, she tried to disentangle herself from themeshes which held her. But it was no use ; the trawlers had been too long at the game to leave any loop-holes,and the submarine was doomed. " Got him," signalled the seaplane. " Thanks," replied the destroyer, " We'll givehim five minutes to come up and breathe—but no longer." The time passed, and still Fritz made no further move. Ata flagged signal from the destroyer the port foremost trawler and the starboard after one clipped a small red tin of high explo-sive to the bar-taut wire, and allowed it to slide downwards till it touched the U-boat's hull. It was the seaplane's turnto wave a flag, and immediately there followed the crashing of two fists upon two firing keys, the uprising of two grey moundsof water, and a rumbling, muffled explosion. The wires snapped in the middle, and the trawlers' crews flew to coil them down.The seaplane circled twice above the patch of rising oil, ascertained that Fritz had been destroyed and notified thedestroyer of the fact. Then, with her observer slipping a drum of cartridges into his machine gun, she sped off afterthose objects bobbing down tide. A burst of rapid firing, and the first of the devil's eggs, its buoyancy chamber punc-tured, sank with a gurgle ; the second gave a better show, for it exploded grandly—and harmlessly—as [the bulletsreached him. FROM the " Court Circular " February 4th :— "The Prince Albert, attended by Staff Surgeon Louis Greig, R.N., left Buckingham Palace for the Royal Naval Air Station, Cranwell." IN a short airism last week reference was made to the " turn»" of a pilot over the West End, as described by a daily newspaper. Reference, in quite another strain, to the same incident also received prominence in a contemporary. In FEBRUARY 7, 1918. this connection we have received under date February 4th, the following communication from '' an interested spectator "* asking for publication, which request bare justice demands should be honoured. The letter is as follows : " I beg that you will grant me the hospitality of your columns to comment on an attack made on some stunt pilot, in the last issue of one of your contemporaries. "This paragraph was headed ' A Disgraceful Exhibition" and has caused intense amusement to hundreds on account- of the gross ignorance displayed by the writer. " Putting aside the question of gopd ©r bad taste and of the reason for the flight concerned, let us consider the article as an apparently reasoned comment on Aeroplanes, Aero Engines and Flying. The machine was described as a ' somewhat antiquated single seater biplane ' ; its type happens to be known throughout the air services as ' The Wonder of the War,' and though to a certain extent superseded, it is still a Service machine, still very popular amongst pilots who fly,, and still known as a ' Sopwith Pup.' " In his comments as to ' what made the performance little less than criminal,' namely the handling of the engine,, the writer absolutely ' touches mud,' and any doubts as to his ignorance of aviation in general, and Aero Engines in particular, are finally confirmed. As for its mis-firing,, there isn't a pilot in the world who can throttle down a 100 h.p.. Monosoupape engine without its mis-firing. When the writer- states that the engine ' stopped dead ' for several seconds on more than one occasion, he shows that his fears for his own skin had been allowed to stultify his vision and reason. " ' This child,' for one, would never let his engine ' stop- dead ' when at 400 ft. over St. James's Church, Piccadilly.. Having sympathy with his engine, he knows better than to. loop the loop or nose dive with his engine full on. " After such a display of ignorance on matters aeronautical, naturally the statement ' the flying was none of the best " loses its weight and is reduced to the standard of the social gossip so freely proffered in the cheaper illustrated press. I may say that it was not the opinion of scores of excellent pilots who saw it nor of the well-informed writer of the para- graph in your last issue. " The display did not cause ' anyone in the vicinity who understands flying ' (and there are.-a few, aren't there, or perhaps the writer doesn't know) the gravest alarm, only in- telligent interest because they are capital sportsmen and saw- that the pilot could fly. " The pilot' could well be spared,' could he ? " THE Eccentric Club Matinee at the Empire Theatre next Monday, the nth February, in aid of the Harwich Minesweepers' Dependents' Fund, promises to be quite unique in character. The Rear Admiral commanding at Harwich- has consented to some 20 minesweepers (who be it remembered work in conjunction with seaplanes) appearing in their sea- going togs in a set scene which has been specially prepared for the occasion. In additions, in the phraseology of the Hon; Secretary of the Club, a galaxy of stars are lending their aid in connection with the programme which, in itself, will- be a valuable souvenir, as it will contain several drawings and sketches by some of the best known artists of the day, including cover design by the inimitable Bruce Bairnsfather. Madame Ada Crossley will be there, and Jose Collins, and. Shirley Kellogg and Elsie Southgate, Violet Loraine and George Robey, Phyllis Monkman and Jack Buchanan, Mabel" Sealby and Lauri de Frece, Teddie Gerard and Walter Williams, Be^ttie and Babs, Harry Dearth, George Graves, LynrHarding, Neil Kenyon, Nelson Keys, R. G. Knowles, Harry Tate, Bransby Williams, and other favourites. Through the generosity of Mr. Sheriff Hepburn some two- hundred wounded soldiers will occupy the amphitheatre. The Lord Mayor of London has promised to be present. The Matinee is under the patronage of Their Majesties- the King and Queen, and all the Lords of the Admiralty: Already over ^1,600 has been secured. Still there are seats for sale—Stalls £2 2s. Box Circle, £1 is., and a few boxes. £2,000 should be certain ; ^2,500 is aimed at for this supreme' charity—the widows and orphans of the men who are pre- venting our living in the horrors of a " beleagured city." TEN YEARS AGO. Excerpts from the " AUTO." (" FLIGHT'S ") precursor and sister Journal) of February, 1908. "FLIGHT" was. founded ai<- the latter end 0/1908. THE ZEPPELIN AIRSHIP. According to the Berliner Neueste Nachrichten, the G3r man'Government has decided to purchase Zeppelin's airship for 2,150,000 marks, provided that it accomplishes a 24-hourflight at a greater height than has hitherto been atai ned,. 154
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