GERMAN AIR HERO’S DEATH.

Taihape Daily Times, 4 January 1918, Page 7

GERMAN AIR HERO’S DEATH.

< KILLED 3Y BRITISH PILOT. A THRILLING DUEL. The body of "Voss, the famous German airman, who was recently reported missing in a German communique, has been found behind the British lines Ho was killed in a battle with a British airman, whose successful combats in the clouds have gained for him a great reputation in the aerial fleets of both armies. While patrolling at a height of nearly a mile and a-half with other planes, the British airman was attacked by a triplane and another machine. Voss was the pilot of the former. Two other British machines immediately flew to the assistance of their comrade, and a third German as promptly came up. Eleven German machines could be seen hovering in the distance in the hope of finding a favourable opportunity to join in the fray and overwhelm their adversaries, but ten British machines kept circling about, thus preventing them from approaching within machine-gun range. The third enemy fighter lost heart and dived away, but the triplane and its consort fought with remarkable skill. Our first fighter singled out the triplane, which was piloted by a master hand, and a thrilling duel followed. The machines wheeled and ducked repeatedly, each trying to get above the other, and our men kept up a continuous fire with his machine-gun, exhausting several drums of ammunition without apparent effect on his opponent. They were so close at times that their wings nearly touched. Suddenly Voss swerved and the planes nearly came into collision as he dropped to avoid a sudden burst of machine-gun. fire. Our man saw him. gliding westward with his engine shut off and dived after him, pumping bullets into the triplane. It reeled, dropped and disappeared. The victor sailed away, and it was not until later that the broken German machine was found on the battlefield, with Voss’s body still wedged in the pilot ’s scat. Other thrilling air fights have taken place recently over the Flanders battle front. A young British officer who crossed the line had a most exciting adventure. Ho chased an enemy aeroplane, , but abandoned it when five others turned in his direction. Seeing 15 men on a railway lie descended and scattered them with machine-gun fire and then dropped a bomb on an ammunition dump, sotting it on fire. Again he was attacked by enemy planes and in diving to escape them he came into a heavy German barrage which was supporting one of the many abortive counter-attacks. A shell went through the machine, cutting the controls, and he spun towards the ground, recovering just in time to land safely, though dazed, behind our wires ..Two soldiers were helping him out of the wreckage when another shell killed one of them and wounded the other. The airman tried to assist the latter when he himself was wounded by a third shell. Several stretcherbearers came forward, and w r cro carryiug both wmunded men away when another shell exploded, near them, throwing the stretchers and their occupants into a great crater. The airman did not wait for further assistance, but crawled hurriedly away despite his W'Ounds.