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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0637.PDF
OCTOBER 1, 1925 IN FEAR OF AIRCRAFT : Camouflage sheet is put over Dragon whilst repairs are carried out were found on the ground and were put out of action ; andnext day each of those two Wessex squadrons sent over two flights again to Odiham, and they secured a bag of threemachines. Wessex Retires On Wednesday, September 23, at 09.25 Mercian aircraft raided Wessex Corps headquarters at Weyhill and cut all THE BRISTOL KNEW BETTER : Mercian officer «'captures" a dragon which had been blown up the night before ' telegraphic and telephonie'eommunications. For 20 minutesGeneral Godley and his staff were out of action. It had seemed on the previous night that the Wessex leftflank attack would result in disaster. The Mercian 2nd Division had come up very fast and driven the Wessex rapidcolumn back. The line of retreat lay almost across the front of the Mercian 4th Division, and if both 2nd and 4th Divisionstook vigorous action it looked very doubtful whether General Godley could break oil the engagement and extricate hismen and guns. But I suppose the 2nd Division were verv tired troops and certainly very wet ones, and even a GuardsBrigade finds a limit at last. I went out that morning in the direction of Litchfield to see what was happening. As before,it was very hard to see anything. But I found a disabled Wessex dragon in a field. Perhaps I should explain that adragon is a tractor which draws a gun and can move at 20 m.p.h. across country. The delicate mechanism of the gunsights is said to find this usage rather upsetting. There was AFTER THE AIR RAID : The 7th Hussars (Wessex) were heavily attacked by No. 25 Fighter Squadron as the cavalry brigade broke cover to assemble at St. Mary Bourne an R.A. driver in charge of this dragon, a cheery soul, whodeclared that he had blown his dragon up last night, while another dragon had hauled off his gun. There were two otherdisabled dragons not far away. As I left him I spied a tin hat behind a hedge, and presently a Mercian officer emerged,revolver in hand, and dashingly captured the dragon which had been blown up and the driver who had escaped last night.Overhead was the inevitable Bristol, a Mercian one, evidently keenly interested in this dragon and a little puzzled by it.The pilot circled round several times and came a little lower. Then, evidently drawing the right conclusion, he flew off tolook for other news. Airmen admit that dragons and tanks are hard to detect when they are not moving, unless the trackhas been spotted or there is some other reason for suspecting their presence. Learning that there was nothing more to be seen on to thenorth, 1 retraced my steps and went to Dirty Corner, where I found Wessex cavalry covering the retreat of the otherarms, supported, as I found a little later, by some serviceable dragon-drawn 18-pounders. Both men and horses had hada pretty miserable time, wet weather, rations late, and one squadron had not been allowed to unsaddle for 18 hours. Hurrying for Cover : Dragon and gun running for cover at the approach of air- craft.
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