AIR SQUADRONS IN BATTLE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 71, 17 December 1917, Page 14

AIR SQUADRONS IN BATTLE

EVERYDAY SCENES IN THE WAR ZONE '.

EXPLOITS ON THE WEST FRONT THRILLING EXPERIENCES THE fighting in the air on the Western front, never dull, has received an added thrill. The. Germans have begun to paint their machines in tho most bizarre patterns and colours. The, English suggest the German pilots adopted the plan from the American Indian, in tho belief that an airplane painted like a demon, or one with the right wing scarlet and tho left violet, would strike terror to the stoutest British heart. If this seems ah-, surd, even for German logic, a. more likely explanation lies in the fact "that air-fighting is still a matter of individual, personal combat, and, as the knights of old wore each his distinctive and brilliant coat of arms, so theso German pilots daub their machines until there is no possibility of mistaking one man for another. Whatever thereason, there are gay colourschemes on tho Western front, says., the New York "Sun" :— "Each day the British pilots bring home from over the lines new reports of fantastic, creations encountered amid tho clouds. The gayest feathered songsters that have come north with the spring can not hope to rival the variegated hues of the 'harlequin birds that rise daily from the German airdromes. The coming of tin's fantastic, order of things in the air was first heralded by a squadron of scarlet German planes ten or twelve days ago. Tt was then noticed that some of the enemy machines were striped about the, body like , "Nowadays nothing apnears too..gnady to meet the tastes of the enemy airmen, who seem to have been fjiven carte blanclie with the paint-brush. "There are green'planes with yellow noses, silver planes with gold noses, khaKi-coloured 'planes with greenisligray wings, 'planes with red bodies, green wings, and yellow stripes, 'planes . with red body and wings of green on top of blue, ''planes with light blue body and red wings. Virtually all the gaudiest machines go in for red body effects with every possible combination of colours on their wings. Some have one green wing and ono white. Some have green wings tipped with various colours. i "One of the most fantastic, met in the last few days had a scarlet body, brown tail, reddish brown wings, with white Jlaltese crosses against a, bright green background. One machine looked like a pear flying through the air. It had a. pear-shaped tail, and was. painted a ruddy brown, just like a big ripe fruit. "One of tho piebald squadrons encountered was made up of white, red, and green machines. There were still others palpably painted for what has come to bo known as camouflage purposes—as guns, wagons,, and tents aro often painted to blend with the landscape and thus avoid detection."

STiLL MASTERS OF THE AIR. But, in spito of paint of whatever colour,.the Allies arc still masters of tho air, though it is a superiority for which they must battle' stoutly. The Germans aro making a sturdy fight, and just as new army corps and additional batteries are scut in on the surfaeo to hold the Allies from tho bonding Hindcnburg line, so hundreds of new machines arc tossed up to contend for control of tho skies. It is an exciting game, "Tho Sun" continues: "A short time ago enemy machines dropped three bombs near a. railway station in the British linos, but in one. of tho half-score of raids carried out last night by tho British not less than fifty-six big bombs were dropped on a single Gorman encampment. A tremendous German ammunition dump was blown up, the explosion being so terrific that one of the British aeroplanes, 2000 feet above it, was blown completely uosicle down, and the surprised pilot had a busy thirty seconds getting his 'plane on an even keel again. One British squadron had its eves on this dump for some time, and tiio fliers were in high glee to-day over their success. ,„-,., "In the fighting recently the British sent six Germans crashing and drove down cloven out of control. As a result nf bombarding and fighting only livo British machines were missing. The toll of machines brought down is no index to tho number of fights that occur daily. Manifestly these are indecisive where brilliant pilots meet and IHit each other until exhausted without either being able to give the other •the unluck bullet,' All the fighters expect to get bullets through their machines daily. It is only the unlucky' one that counts. "One distinguished young Briton came flviug home a few days ago grinning almost from ear to oar because he had been in a. fight with four hostile red •scouts. He sent one crashing and outmanoeuvred the rest to such an extent that they were able-to put only three bullets iiito the 'bus.' "It is tho custom nf all flying services now to permit the better-known pilots to flv when and where they will in • search of legitimate prey. The beforebreakfast exploits of a single British pilot with such a roving commission may be taken as typical of the daily adventures and not unusual. "Taking tho air about six o'clock', he cruised toward the morning sun and saw throe British bombing machines hVliting five German Albatross scouts. Ho dived at one of the scouts and be;rau manoeuvring for position when ho saw one of the British bombers diving stceplv with » hostile craft on his tail. "Trie British scout dived for this machine until he saw the bomber llattvii out and slip away. Ho then clunked to 7000 feet, whore lie foil in with another British fighting macjiipp but I he nair mid not protvec.tlrd ' (ar when suddenly they were set, upon by seven German scouts, all Albatrosses, including the. live who had 'previously broken off the. battle. "TVre. was rough-and-tumble, lighting for livo or ten minutes, when tho British scout, who was mounted on a. fleet tiiplano, got within twenty yarils ol ono of 'the Germans and fired 'pomlblsmk into him. then watched him stall, turn over backward, and tost saw iiim spinning at WOO feet. "Turning sharply, the tripl.anc pilot iaw his companion heavily piifpjrd well below him, and was diving to his assistance, when the nose of onn'ol the German nllaolsiw? machines d'ived into an inevitable crash, and ijhe /ithcrs made off." BOMBING. A bombing expedition in which ihe aeroplanes must manoeuvre in squadrons is moro difficult than individual combat, savs an article w Ihn British Roval I'Mviug Corps l»""*hed 'I lie Sun" bv the British Uiir oflice. S hombinc expedition will be. inaugurated bv an order'like this, sayi* the account'. ' '"The FnllnwiiiE bombyng will he carried out by No. ■- Squadron at night (10 p.m., iy midnigh'/, ami 'J a.m.): At each of these time- three machine!:, each carrying eieht '20-rmmid bombs. will bemli respectively P . <-'■•- H •' 7 ■ "Thus the operation order read one

evening in France. Just an ordinary order, too. for bombing is carried out day and night incessantly. Bombing by-night is usually carried out on towns and villages known to lie. resting-places of the German troops, and it is part of the work of the Royal Joying Corps to see that the Mini never rests. "Fritz after a ha.rd spell in the trenches is withdrawn to some, shelltorn village behind bis lines to rest. Ho enters the mined house that forms bis billot, and, with a sigh of contentment at. reaching such luxury after the miseries of trench-life, prepares to sleep in peace. He dreams of home, and then out of the night comes the terror of the. air. ''A bomb falls in hTs billet, exploding .with a. territio report and doing more damage to the already mined walls. Possibly a few of bis comrades are wounded or killed. Other explosions take place close by and the whole village is in turmoil. "Fritz does not sleep again. His nerves arc, kngled and all possibility of sleep is gone. The nest day he is in a worse condition than after a night in the trenches. This, continues night after night. The damage to German morii|« '«• enormous. "From the aerial point of view things are different. A pilot warned for uiahtflving takes.it as be takes everything else, with apparent unconcern. He realise? tliat he will have an uninteresting ride in the dark; the danger from 'Archie'' will.be small, for an aeronlane is a difficult target to keep under ohscrvatvin with r>. searchlight, and the danger from hostile, aircraft will be sin- 11 "!- "still. . "He leaves the aerodrome and quick-

ly climbs up into the darkness. Below bi.ni arc the very faint outlines of fields, woods, and villages. Ponds and streams show more distinctly, and the roads show faintly through the night. Ho is usually alone, and has no observer to bother about. When he has attained sufficient height, at a signal from the leader ho heads for the lines. Over the trenches the star-shells of the infantry may be seen, occasionally the flash of a. badly-concealed gun glints in the darkness, or the exploding bombs of a trench-raiding party cause liny {.parks to glimmer far below. Probably the enemy, hearing the sound of engines, will turn on his searchliglifs and sweep the sky with long pencils of light. The pilot may be picked up for a second, and a trifle later the angry hang, bang, bang, of 'Archie' may he heard, firing excitedly at the place where the aeroplane ought to bo but is not—the. pilot has probably dipped and changed his course since ho was in the rays of the searchlight. Me may bu caught again fur an instant and the pcri'ornmcco is reheated. "Before long the vicinity of the target is reached and ho prepares to drop his bombs, usually eight in number. A little before lie is over ths spot the first bombs will be released, for the tiajectory of the bomb follows the course of the machine if I lie. latter keeps on a straight course, and when it explodes the aeroplane is si ill overhead. Down far below will be seen a tiny burst of flame: possibly a. large lire blazes up and the pilot knows that his. work is good. He thru turns and repeats his performance until all his Iwni'f's are exhausted, when he I urns for Tiomc. "Bombs aie usually dropped from a low altitude al, night in order to be filter of getting the target, If during Hie performance any leal searchlights are lurnerl on, 'Archie' • ■els husv and a merrv same of hide-Siid-:,cek' and cut-th»-bcams lakes place. If.the aeroplane is very low. . and horabs are &oniefcinic-» dropped from

a height of only a few hundred feet, it, is highly probable that tho bursting shells do mnro damage- than tho aeroplane's bombs, and it..is almost impossible, to wing an aeroplane by night. "Over tho lines the pilot probably meets more searchlights, dodges thorn, ami gradually descends. Below him he. sees tho aerodromes of the surrounding squadrons lighted up for landing purposes. Should ho be in doubt as to which is.his own ho fires a certain combination of signal lights and is answered from below. He then lands, hands bis machine over to the mechanics, ino turns iri." OPERATIONS IN DAYLIGHT. Daylight bombing requires more careful organisation, for, instead of bombarding a countryside to shako the nerves of sleeping troops, day-bombing is carried out to destroy certain specili<: targets. Itailroads. store and ammunition dumps, and hangars are the favourites, and' a daytime expedition means a battle, with the Gorman air fleet'. Hence tho bombing squadron is convoyed, remarks the War Office's article:— "The raiding machines fly in formation and are surrounded by other machines used solely for protective purposes. Generally a raid is carried out by machines from two squadrons, the bomb-carriers belonging to a corps wing and the escorting machines to an army wing. ".All the machines meet at a prearranged rendezvous well on our side of the Ihe at a certain time, and a given altituw'. There they manoeuvre into their correct formation. A flight commander leads the. raid and his

machine is distinguished by streamers tied to It. "When N he sees that all the machines are in their correct positions , he tires a signal light and the whole body movcaoff to their objective. Needless lo say, such a cloud of aeroplanes presents a tempt- | j ing target to "Archie." and sheila burst all around the machines. As, ; however, Frit/, nearly always seems lo i I fire into the brown wilh tho hope of ■ I bagging any of the machines, casualtics rarely result, and the formation is I not disturbed. j j "Once over the target the fighters j I scatter and pativil the neighbourhood ; I while the bombers discharge their niis- ! silcs on th" objective, t'.sually. unless ' ! anti-aircraft lire is very heavy, they descend ;•■ lew thousand feet to make, j surer of the target, and when their work is coinv>l"tod rise again lo the. ! I level of the escort. i "Results can usually be fairly judged ' , by day. An ammunition-dump quickly | shows if 'l is hit. and stores mini hurst i i inl.i flame. Railway stations or June- : ! lions show clearly damage lo buildings I or iivorlurnod trucks, hul the damage j ! In tho track itself is hard lo estimate, j i .Wodrouios may he bombed for' the t | purpose of desl roving enemy machines ! I in i.lioir hangars m- morel'' in oriler lo | I snoil the landing bv blowing holes all j jover the place.' ll is with great do-j light that, ii liilof remarks in his rennrt j Ihnl a hoslile machine, surrounded by ! mechanics, was abnnl to ascend, but j th."l. instead be bad descended In within | a few hundred, feet, and obtained ~ j direct hit. with l he- rostill that the en- j "iny machine, including the surround- < ill"' ecu, 'seemed to be severely d.un- . aged." "One officer on ,•> bomb-raid saw his chance in Ibis wav, descender] lo t'lfl feel under intense ride-tire, .successfully bombed the enemy machine, which was just nmorgins from its hangar, and j then tried lo mah" off. I'liforlunatoly. | at this moment his engine petered out. I

possibly on account of the enemy's fire, and he had lo descend. ".By skilfully planing he managed to descend about'three-quarters "f " mile anav, in full view of the enemy. Instead of giving up the ghost and at once tiring hi's machine, this officer jumped out and. utterly unperturbed bv the. German fire or by the Hiins making across country to take, him prisoner, commenced to insnecf the eneinc. liiickily, he found the oaiiFe of the trouble at once, put it/ rightr-it was/ink a trifling mishap- adjusted the controls, and swimc the propeller. "The engine started, he jumped in with the nearest Hun only a hundred yards off. and. opening the throttle, 'raced over the "round and into the air pursued by a futile fusillade of bullets. His engine held nut and he safe. ]y renamed his aerodrome, after bavins been reported missina by bis comrades. For this c.«canade ho received ihe Military Cross—a well-earned reward." , AERIAL WTTLES. 'I'h© fun begins when all tho bombs have been, dropped and tho squadron starts for home. On tho way over the attack has been so swift thai, the Germans have been able to make' no effective resistance, but while the bombs fell', their fighting planes got into the air. and now they attack to cut, off the hnniluV squadron ifrom the British line?. %i aerial battle promptly ensues, declares "The Sun": "It is a favourite Brr.he manoeuvre to detail some of _ his slow machines to entice our lighters away from the main body. . and. when this ■ has been accomplished, to attack

the remainder with Fokkers, which dive from aloft on to tho bombing■inachine.s. This trick is now well known, and the lighters rarely leave their charges until the latter are m comparative safety. "Sometimes a Hun of more sporting character'than his brothers, will wait alone for the returning convoy, hiding himself thousands of feet up in Hie clouds until he sees his moment. Then, singling out a machine, he will dive at it, pouring out a .stream of bullets ;-s he falls. Sometimes he achieves his cbiecf. and a British machine falls to earth, but whatever the result tho Hun does not alter his tactics. He dives clean, through the v.liole block ol machines down many thousands of feet, only flattening out when close to the ground. "The whole affair is so swifi—justciie lightning dive—that long before ;i tighter can reach the Hun the hitter is auav, thousands of feet below. _ and heading lor home and salety. Kvery Kokkoi" pilot knows tliat once his surprise dive is over be has no chance n"ainst am other machine - -the build ui the luikker only allows, this one method of attack- and be dof-s not slop to argue about it, 'His offensive dive, becomes a defensive one- that is tho solo difference. "Sometimes a large squadron of German machines, composed ol various types of aeroplanes, intercepts a ieliirning formation. If if .;<■ crawl 'aerial battle ensues. 'I he British lighting machines spread out in a screen' to 'allow the bombing-machines a'chance of escap-:. and then attack Hie Huns as they arrue. In one place one I'mi.-h aeroplane will be delendiii" itself from two or three. Gorman machines: close bv two or three of our bui"S will he occupied in sending a Hun lo his death ; elsewhere move equal combat rice, and fliu whole sky becomes an aerial battlefield, where machine; perform marvellous evolutions, piil-tiui: the. lies'- trick of pre-war. days ,e,rv much in tho shade. No sooner has a pilot accounted for his foe l\v

killing him, forcing him to descend, nr making him think discretion the bettor part »f valour, than he turns to ilia help of a hard-pressed hrollier. surprising thy cnniny l>y an attack from the rear or otherwise .creating', a diversion. "A tingle shot, in (he petrol tank proves fatal: loss of pressure ensues, the engine fails, and the pilot is forced to descend. Ho can usually hind safely, but should he be in enemy territory ho must lire his machine and prerv.re for a holiday in Germany. Should he. oe fortunate enough to 'plane over cur lines, little damage is done; the lankcan be repaired and the machine made serviceable again. But for the time being he is out of the tight. Sometimes the escaping petrol may ignite, and the pilot and observer perish in the flames —the most terrible fate of all. "The aerial battle ends in one. of V*o ways—one side i s oilt-mu'iopiivrcd, outnumbered, and ha.s lost several machines and flies to safety, or. the more usual ending, both sides exhaust their ammunition, only a, limited quantity perforce being carried, and the fight is of necessity broken off. Meamvhile the bombing-machines have probably crossed the line in safety, and their duty is finished. Should they be attacked by a stray machine they are armed and rpiite capable of guarding themselves against, any attack except one m force."