AIRMEN'S FIREWORKS SHOW

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 298, 5 September 1918, Page 6

AIRMEN'S FIREWORKS SHOW

BOMBING A GERMAN AMMUNITION DUMP

AND SETTING HIS PLANS AWRY

(By Lieutenant W. A. Bnrneß.)

"Direct hits were obtained upon an enemy dump at ." Such announcements are so frequent as to have become commonplace, and even, perhaps, a littlo tiresome to civilian readers; just the dull record ot a dull piece of routine, they probably S"cm. But the thing itself is different from its record, and bombing dumps often proves tho most exciting and spectacular form of work. The importance of its effect upon enemy 'planes and operations can hardly be exaggerated. On ono particular night there was not enough moonlight for a long raid, so the target given us was a Genir-in ammunition dump. We welcomed the change, for, naturally, the strain of long-distance raids into Germany, night after night, becomes a bit wearing. Dumps arc, of course, situated as near as possible to the firing line; aDd so mean short raids. Dumps are by m) menus easy targets to find at night, for they are seldom situated near any definite landmarks, and are usually well .camouflaged. By the study of maps and photographs, however, we had pretty well located the position of this one, and started out 011 the raid with high hopes of success. Wo flew almost due east from the aerodrome, until we struck a wall river. Its waters were, clearly visible, gleaming far below us like a silvei thread. We followed its twists and turns for some time until we came to a loop, and here we left our guidewater is the best of all guides at night —and struck off on a north-easterly compass course. AYe had calculated that five minutes' flying 011 this courso would bring us over the objective, and so it was now time to throttle back tlio engine in order to lose height. Lowef and lower we came, until, glaring down at the end of the live minutes, we could junt make out the outline or sheds. This was good, but we let out a parachute flare to light np the ground, and mako sure we were over tho target. This promptly dispelled all doubts, for the Hun searchlights opened up at once, and a hail of ma-chinc-gun bullets leapt up Irom the ground. Anti-aircraft guns had been firing for some time, hut the shells were' bursting well aßove us, and giving no trouble. The parachute flare proved a real ifrieud, because both searchlights and machine-guns concentrated upon it, 'giving us just sufficient time to dive swiftly, release our bombs, switch on the engine, and start climbing. A "Pleasing Exhibition."

When we turned again to observe results, we woro shown the very finest firework display 1 ever attended. Ammunition 'was cracking off at. .record speed, dense clouds of smoke were rising, and highly-coloured flames wore leaping a hundred feet end more from the ground. Wo watched this pleasing exhibition for some minutes, until the cough of "Archie" burst near by teminded us that wo were still over Hi'tiland, and so with a lastvlook and a grin of satisfaction from pjHot to observer we turned aiid steered for homo.

• The whole job occupied exactly fiftyeight minutes; hut it must have cost Germany hundreds of man-power hours in munitions works—thero was still some fire there at r.oon next day—nivl saved our French- aliies a good many casualties, for, as it happens, that big dump, we learned, was to serve a hit of front facing French troops. The long-distance raids over Germany, of course, help the French even more than the British, because they strike at the foot of Germany's munitions; supply sources and transport, and the French hold a longer line than the British, and therefore nave direct profit from every British raid over. Germany's production centres on the Rhine.