IN THE AIR.

Taihape Daily Times, 24 May 1918, Page 5

IN THE AIR.

NEW GERMAN GIANT PLANE. CARRIES TWO TONS OF BOMBS. NINE PASSENGERS ACCOMMODATED .. Received 10.50 a.m. LONDON, May 23. A correspondent at French, headquarters gives the following particulars of the new giant Gotha bombing plane which the Germans employed in the latest night raids on France and England. It has a wing spread of forty metres, driven by three motors, each of three hundred horse power, and accommodates nine passengers; but on raids the crew numbers five or six. in order to permit of carrying more bombs and petrol. The plane carries about two tons of bombs, including one of about a ton weight, containing 850 kilos of explosives. Owing £o the difficult} 7 of landing at night with machines of such a size, there will probably be a high proportion of losses through accidents.

LONG RANGE AERIAL RAIDS, MUCH DAMAGE DONE. Received 10.50 "a.m. LONDON, May 23. Sir Douglas Haig’s aviation report says: We dropped twelve hundred bombs on various targets, including aerodromes near Ghent and Tournai, and billets in the neighbourhood of Armentieres, Bapaume, and Bray. Me cropped over twelve tons of bombs on aerodromes used by the enemy nightfliers; also two tons of bombs on the chlorine factorv at Mannheim, causing three large fires, and two tons on railway stations at Thionville and Karthaus. At dawn on Wednesday two formations carried out a long distance raid against the important railway triangle at Liege. They dropped twenty-two heavy bombs. The first formation bombs caused three very large fires, which still burnt fiercely three-quarters of an hour later when the second formation flew over Liege. The other machines dropped twelve heavy bombs on Metz railway station. All returned. AIR RAIDS ON GERMAN TOWNS. AN AWAKENED GERMAN. AMSTERDAM, May 22. The “Volzs Zeitung” states that Keichoff, a member of th e Reichstag, questioned the Chancellor regaTding better protection for air raids, and asked if he were prepared to end this senseless murder of women and children by international treaties. THE LONDON RAID. 44 KILLED, 179 INJURED. LONDON, May 22. The Press Bureau states the casualties due to the raid in all districts totalled: killed 44; injured 179. THE COLOGNE RAID. 35 KILLED, 87 WOUNDED. AMSTERDAM, May 22. Thitry-five were killed and eighty, seven injured in the British air raid on Cologne. A VICTORIOUS WEAPON IF PROPERLY USED.

LONDON, May 22. Mr. Kelleway, ir> a speech at Whitechapel, said it was now clear that we had reached material and personal superiority in the air. If we only exploited that arm properly and used it ruthlessly, without limitation, except the limitation of humanity, he believed we would bring The war to a triumphant conclusion. GERMANS BOMB HOSPITALS. HUNDREDS KILLED AND WOUNDED. LONDON, May 23 The United Press correspondent says: German airmen bombed a largo number of hospitals in the latest raid j.n France, killing and wounding some hundreds of nurses, patients and attendants. More than a score of Gothas participated in the raid, dropping numerous bombs of enormous size. One half of :a hospital where there was the greatest death-roll, was almost entirely demolished < Eye-witnesses describe the wonderful courage of the nurses during the raid. They refused to go to dug-outs, but remained soothing and cheering patients, many of whom were bad cases, unable to move. A Prussian squadron commander who was brought down and wounded, is now being attended by women, whose sisters he killed. He claims that he saw no red cross but these hospitals had never been before been bombed.