GENERAL WAR NEWS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1852, 13 July 1918, Page 4

GENERAL WAR NEWS.

AFTER-WAR FLYING. -

Germany is determined to reinn in a first-class air Power after t-lie war. Future air problems were tlie. subject of animated and exhaustive discussion at an important concress just held in Hamburg- by the Scientific Society for Aerial Navigation. A captain of the reserve named Professor Bendemann said: “At. the beginning of the war our enemies were ahead of ns in flying. Especially in England, thanks to excellent technical organisation and the impetus supplied by private enterprise, practical Hying science had made long strides for some time before the war. Meantime, however, the picture has changed, and there is no longer any question of foreign countries being in advance of us on either the scientific or practical side. Indeed, in many respects Germany has served as a model for our enemies. Naturally, we, too, have made use of enemy ideas, but not as imitators, for we have invariably and with our own methods developed these foreign ideas. After the. war international competitions will not at once be possible, because of the stand-offishness which will endure among the nations now at war.”

SMART SEAPLANE RESCUE

On one occasion a seaplane had fallen inlo the sea. A trawler eame along in time to find the pilot and observer, both exhausted, Hinging to' (lie upturned floats of their machine. The body of the seaplane was hanging upside down from the, floats, about 4ft. under water. Having rescued the two men, the'trawler crew got the wrecked seaplane alongside, with the object of passing a wire round it. This was a very difficult job, as the sea was rough and the machine under water, but in the end they were successful, and actually managed to hoist the wrecked seaplane on to the ship's rail. In this way they brought it into port, where it was found tha't the engine was still intact.

ANOTHER ESPIONAGE AFFAIR

. A fresh affair of spying is occupying the attention of the Paris court-martial. The accused is the Marquis Raymond d’Ecquevilley, formerly engineer in the employment of Krupps, for whom he construeled the first submarine launched from the Germania yards at Kiel. The son of a 'Frenchman, but bom in Spain, he returned to France, at the beginning of the war, and served for some lime in the artillery, but was eventually discharged from (lie army. Recently he took legal proceedings in order to divest himself of Ids Spanish nationality, hut the Freneh courts rejected his claim. COLOURED SCAVENGERS. Paris streets have recently gained in piclm-esquoness by the employment of coloured scavengers. Ehony-hucd Senegalese and cop-per-coloured Arabs from Algiers and Morocco, whom terra-colla fezes contrast so deliciously with (he pah' blue soldier's uniform, (-lean, or affect to clean, metropolitan thoroughfares. In ihe boulevard there is a giant negro, with the lordly gait of an African prince, who (rails his besom behind him as majestically •as if it were a peacock’s feather fan.

SURRENDERED TO AEROPLANE,

One tussle we had behind the Hun lines was with u huge convoy, which was bringing up ammunition and food for the Hun troops, writes ; 1 member of lhe R.U.C, We spread 0111 selves over Ibis convoy, and dropped bombs al four different 'points. The explosions followed each other in quick succession, and panic seized the troops escorting the convoy. Some of the men signified their readiness to surrender, ami we were then in a position to gratify their wishes, and our amused Tommies were given the spectacle of aeroplanes bringing in eaptnrccl infantry. That was one of the host week-ends I have ever spent. All the air service asks is to he given a chance of spending its week-ends like that, and Fritz will rue the day we ('aught the week-end hahil.