HEROIC FRENCH AIRMAN

Taihape Daily Times, 13 May 1918, Page 3

HEROIC FRENCH AIRMAN

A wonderful story of a Trench airman's almost superhuman courage is related by Mr Henry Wood, the U.P.A. correspondent with the French armies. The fact that the incident described

took place in the earlier days of the war does not dim its lustre, but adds rather to the wonder of the achievement

It should be borne in mind that the French biplane of that period was a clumsy instrument compared with the speedy and quick-climbing Fokker # A double-motored biplane of a Fernch aviation squadron had taken the air, piloted by a mere corporal, and . a machine-gunner. Their task was to observe the fire of a battery and regulate each shot of the latter by wireless messages from their biplane. Hardly had they begun, .their'"task when they were attacked by a FokkeT In the heat of the fight the bullets from the Germans' machine-gun completely severed the left foot of tho corporal piloting the French machine. Mastering the pain he snatched up the copper ring of a 75 shell which happened to be within his reach, and twisted it about the istump 'of his leg until he had stopped the flow of blood. A moment later, finding that his shot-away foot had fallen into the steering mechanism of tlie plane, he reached, over picked it up, and tossed it over his shoulder to the machinegun operator at the back of him, said "Here, keep this for me. It's in the way here.'' ; For twenty-five minutes he kept at his post of observation, carrying out the one unbreakable order for observation pilots, and then when his halfbour service was up flew back to his artilJeiJ;" and alighted fainting.