IN THE AIR.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 12 July 1917, Page 3

IN THE AIR.

FIGHT IN THE Alls. BEITISH PILOTS TRIUMPH. LONDON, May 15. The special correspondent of the London Times tells a thrilling story of f how five British aeroplanes fought and beat 27 German machines, sending nine crashing to earth, crippled or in flames. It was on a Saturday. Our men started fairly late in the afternoon, and at 5 p.m. were well over enemy country. Two enemy machines appeared and then turned and made will all speed for home, the British ■following closclyt, Very (soon three German squadrons closed in and the fight started. With the exception of the flight leader, all our pilots were practically new men, and some had only been in France a fortnight. The actual fighting lasted for a full hour, from 5 o'clock to 6 o'clock, an extraordinary time for such a thing, and during all that hour our men fought tooth and nail. And the fight had lasted but a few minutes when we drew first blood, and an enemy machine which Captain A. had attacked went down in flames, with the wings of one side shot away. Then it was Lieutenant B.'s turn. He caught his

adversary at close range went down, turning over and over as it fell straight down 11,000 feet, leaving a

trail of smoke behind. Lieutenant C. scored next, his enemy's machine spinning plump down to where, somewhere

below the haze it must have crashed. Then, for a moment, it seemed as if eur luck was turning. Lieut. B. 's en-

gine gave out, and he was 'compelled

to leave the formation.' It is simple phrase, but what it means is that, helpless, and with engine still, the aeroplane dropped down out of the fight from 11,000 feet down to 3000 ft. It was a dizzying drop, and as he fell an enemy, seeing him defenceless and scenting prey, went after him.

A CRITICAL MOMENT. But other eyes were watching. Lieut. C. saw his crippled comrade slipping downward, and saw the German diving after. .Quick as a flash he followed, and before the German could do his work the British aeroplane was almost touching the tail of his mach-, ine, and in another second the German turned clean over in the air and then crashed nose foremost into the abyss. Then, almost by a miracle, B.'s engine caught its breath again. Once more the machine was under control, and 8., who was one of those new to the game, climbed and tgjoined formation. He had to climb some 8000 feet, with the baffled 'Archies' blazing at* him from below, up into the inverted hell above, where his four comrades were fighting enemies who outnumbered them six to one. Just as he 'rejoined' another German fell. It was A.'s second victim of the day, and friend and foe alike saw the machine go, sheeted in flames, down into the gulf. Then once again it seemed that a throw had gone against us, for still under control, but with the flames bursting from its reserve petrol tank, one of our machines began to drop. Again an enemy, glimpsing an easy quarry, dived, flaming ruin as it fell, but, quicker than he A. also dived and while our crippled machine (still belching flames) slid off, with t its nose • set for home, the German, mortally hit, dropped like a stone." Strange enough, our burning aeroplane got home after an exceedingly risky journey. Like a great blazing meteor, it crossed our lines, and came to earth on safe and friendly ground. Meanwhile the wonderful fight was drawing to a close. The British pilot, Lieut., D., emptied a belt from his machine-gun into an enemy when so close that his wings almost brushed the other's 'rudder; und tfoe Icnemy turned turtle, clear over on his back, and spurting out a thick column of black smoke, went down. Some of the enemy were already drawing off, but our men were in no mood to letftthem go. It is harder to get out of a losing fight than it is to begin it, and before the enemy mob could disentangle itself from the battle, two more of their machines had gone to earth —one, his third in the fight, falling to Lieut. C. ' and one to Lieut. E. Then the last four of our machines, still lords of the air" came home.

VON BULOW'S CIRCUS. There is good ground for believing that the enemy fleet which was smashed up wa 8 what is known as 'Von Bulow's circus.' There ar e two of these 'circuses' in the German Army, 'one commanded by Captain Baron von RisChthofen, and the other by Von. Bulow each comprising from 24 to 30 machines (or that number take the air together), which travel from German aerodrome to aerodrome, staving perhaps a week at each, for the purpose of making spectacular flights and instilling courage into the local flying men, and impressing the infantry on the spot. The German airmen nowadays in- these parts rarely tries to fight unless the odds are four to one or so in his favour. The other day he

sent up twelve machines to attack one of ours above one of his aerodromes. Our man got one of the twelve, and then came safely home. Again and again, far out over his territory, we fight him with three machines to ten or a dozen and hardly ever does he cross our lines, except as a party of three or four, which may slip by our fighting men by hiding behind clouds, and make a sudden raid on one of our observation aeroplanes at its wheels above the battlefield below, or hurriedly dashes for one of our kite balloons.