IN THE AIR.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 3 July 1917, Page 5

IN THE AIR.

THE LATE RAID. GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION. BY GERMAN COMMANDER TERRIFIC NATURE OF BRITISH DEFENCE. Received 10.45 a.m. NEW YORK, July 2. The Times' special cable from Berlin by the commander in the recent air raid on London gives a thrilling description of air fights with the British aviators. He states the German aeroplanes flew in bursts of flame and explosions all ,I'ound. Wjhil/? the commander claims the raid was a success, he admits the great dash and gallantry of the British airmen. -.-..-; The commander says: We left honte at ten in. the morning, and approached the English coast through a cloud bank, the cloud leaving at .Sheerness. We flew straight towards London. Now as the. British shells . reach pur altitudes, we climb higher,, following W-i windings of the Thames. As the cloud bank rolls away we see our goal, namely, London's sea of, houses; then far below appears the of England's pursuing machines. Little clouds of cotton, seemingly by magic appear in our path. These exploding shells multiply with astounding rapidity. We fly through them till we sec the Thames bridges and fower of London and Rank of England.

It is now time to attack. I push the levers, and anxiously follow the flight of the bombs. As they strike it is a magnificently, terrific , spectacle from mid-air. The earth seems rock ; houses seem to disappear in craters. Meanwhile, the projectiles from the defence guns are exploding .and spluttering all round, and our escape seems miraculous. English fliers suddenly appear ahead, blocking our return. Aeroplanes appear on each side, above and below. As all started firing the noise was terrific. The machines opened fire at 20U metres. One Englishman was particularly brave and tenacious, and gave us no rest, he kept up an incessant fire for ten minutes, the bullets showering all round our heads, cutting through the planes, till at last a whole sheaf of shots entered his body and his machine fell. It is imposible to quote the narrator's remarkable admission of the terrific nature of the British defence, the fire showing the range was accurate, and British aviators in large numbers quickly mounted to repel attacks. The narrative claims military works as the objectives.