ODDS OF EIGHT TO ONE IN THE AIR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 112, 29 January 1918, Page 5

ODDS OF EIGHT TO ONE IN THE AIR

'AVIATOR'S RECKLESS FIGHT. . Some idea of the heavy odds against : which the British'air service at home I has to battle is given in tho report by i a squadron commander of the R.N.A.B. ! of his share in the defence of his coun- ' try in a recent air raid. "When at 11,000 ft," ho says, "I saw ten Gothas coming inland. I climbed up to them and engaged one.on the right of tho formation about three miles out to_ sea, at something over 12,000 ft. Fired 100 rounds from straight behind' his tail at 100 yards range. Bullets, were Ft?on to enter the Gotha's fusilage. Machine started into a low spin. I followed and fired about twenty-five more into him to make sure. My gun then , jammed, and in trying to clear I got into a very fast spin with my engines on. Got out of this just in time to see the enemy crash into the sea. "T. then landed, had- my gun jam cleared, and went up after the remaining eight Gothas —one had been ■ shot down in flames—and oaught up with them at 14,000 ft.', and engaged them in turn from both above and below; then devoted all my attention to one Gotha,: and after firing 200 rounds into him silenced both his guns. I think both German ; gunners must have been hit, as I was able to get within 60ft. of him without being .fired at. I finally ran out of ammunition," Here is another instance. Two British seaplanes on- submarine patrol above the North Sea sighted a submarine on the surface travelling at about fourteen knots. Two men were observed on the conning-tower. Like a , pair of hunting kestrels the seaplanes swooped down to a height of ,800 ft., and the leading, machine dropped a bomb, which burst on the starboard side of the submarine, halfway between the stern .and conning-tower. • The submarine heeled slowly. over to . port, and remained in that position. ■ The bow rose into the air as. she stopped and began to sink. The second • seaplane then dropped her bomb, which hurst in front of the conningtower. On yet another occasion a seaplane, flying at eighty miles an hour, dropped a bomb on'a submarine. It exploded, ' tearing, a great rent. in the . . vessel's hull.' Flashes of flame were then 'Been spurting from.the water ahead, ■ and through the mist three more hostile submarines were sighted in line abreast, reinforced by three hostile destroyers and two seaplanes. All were firing at the British seaplane, which, however, _ turned and again flew over the sinking submarine. A .second bomb was dropped, and the submarine sank, leaving a large quantity of oil, air bubbles, and wreckage floating on the surface.