HEROES OF THE AIR.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 January 1916, Page 6

HEROES OF THE AIR.

STORIES OF GALLANT FIGHTS. SOME REMARKABLE DEEDS OF BRAVERY. London, November 19. The special correspondents at Headquarters this week refer to the exploits of the Army Wing of the Royal Flying Corps, and give some typical adventures, all of which havo been carried out within the last few weeks. In his last despatch on the Battle of Loos, Sir John French mentions that on one occasion a flying officer successfully beat off four enemy machines, and that on another occasion two officera engaged six hostile machines, and disabled at least one of them. In the records which the correspondents have been permitted to inspect there are many counterparts to those feats of gallantry. Here is a striking- example:— An airman and observing officer, when flying on October 28 at 10,000 ft in a llorane Parasol on escort duty to photographic reconnaissance, noticed an Aviatik 500 ft below them. As soon as they dived towards it and began to open fire, the Aviatik turned towards its own lines. The Morane was then at tacked from the rear by two more Aviatiks, which both opened fire at 150 yards. Their fire was returned, and the two German machines then dived in opposite directions, and made off. Meanwhile a fourth Aviatik opened fire on our airmen from above and glided 'into the German lines with its propellei stopped. Finally, as our men were returning home they met and chased a fifth Aviatik, which after about fifteen minutes was compelled to seek the safety of the German lines.

ONE AGAINST FOUR. Another brilliant fight against odds occurred on November 4, when one of our machines engaged in an artillery observation (light was attacked by a large 'pusher' machine and three tractors. The 'pusher,' after receiving one drum from our gun, flew off with two of its companions. Our men then manoeuvred for position, but the German machine i followed, dived under the British, and succeeded in wounding one.of the officers twice in the right arm, and in piercing the petrol tank. Meantime, another British airplane had noticed the engagement, and flew to the rescue. As this new antagonist swept down upon him, the German turned and (lew directly underneath at a distance of about 30 yards. The German airman made three circles round our machine, and then dived towards his own lines. Our men followed, firing at a range of about 80 yards, and the German airplane was then seen to turn right-handed with a steep bank, turn on its back, and plunge to the ground inside our lines. The pilot and observer were killed.

On the same day another engagement against odds was reported. The British machine first encountered an Albatross, which passed in front of it at about 200 yards range. Firing was then heard In the rear, and the British airman, turning sharply round, found that they were being attacked by another German machine of the same type. Simultaneously, a Fokker monoplane passed to the right of our men, firing a machine gun, This airplane, on receiving a drum from our machine gun, at once flew off. The two Albatrosses, however, manoeuvred round and fired on our men for nearly 20 minutes, before they finally disappeared. The British airplane was not hit, and apparently the two German machines were also undamaged.

AX ATTACK BY TWO MACHINES. A further example: A British aeroplane, escorting a reconnaissance, saw a hostile machine at about 5000 feet. In the pursuit they lost in the clouds both ,the enemy and their own friends. They turned back, and on the way home were attacked by two Fokker machines, which swooped down from 11,000 feet. The enemy kept in the rear and fired through their propellers. Our observer returned their fire, and after using about half a drum sum the leading pursuer tail-glide, and go to earth in a vertical nose dive. The pilot watched the machine go down several thousand feet in this way, and the observer could subsequently see the German aeroplane fall among some trees, whence what appeared to be a cloud of dust then arose. The second Fokker discontinued the combat. Some of the tight corners from which our men manage to escape rival anything which Henty imagined in his most lurid moments. The Germans have shown themselves to he very gallant airmen.

AIRMAN'S SUPERB NERVE. On another occasion a 'British airman sighted a hostile machine at a height of 7000 feet, and promptly attacked it. The German dived and turned away. But the British machine gained, and eventually our airmen were only 800 feet off the ground, with the enemy about 300 feet below them. At this point either the fabric of the hostile airplane was torn or two maps were thrown out; anyhow, the German machine flatted out its course, and went away, leaving our men directly above an anti-aircraft battery, and under fire of machine-guns near by. The pursuit had to be abandoned, and our airmen returned with some damage from rifle fire. The Germans can fight their machines very skilfully. Two of our officers were doing photography when they were attacked at a height of 7000' feet by a Fokker airplane. The British observer, while working his gun, was hit in the left hand, and incapacitated from using the weapon again. Some manoeuvring followed, and the British pilot was hit in the arm and shoulder, and lost consciousness. The machine began to spin, and the wounded observer, seeing that his comrade was actually hit, clambered over between the two back struts—the superb nerve of the men is almost incredible—and caught hold of the control lefer. He moved it about to no purpose, and so he tried to close the throttle. This again proved futile. Finally, he turned off the petrol, and getting the machine under control, brought it to earth. Tht machine turned over and the pilot was thrown out. The observer managed to assist his friend, and both men were soon aftei'wards attended to by men of the French Red Cross. Another airman, who happened to be near by, immediately crawled out to the airplane, under fire, and salved the machine-gun and instrument aboard. CAPTAIN LORAINE'S ACTION. Captain Robert Loraine, the wellknown actor, and Lieut, the Hon. Eric Lubbock have been awarded the Military Cross for a successful and plucky fight which they put up, in mid-air. A graphic description of the incident is given in the following extracts from letters sent to another old Etonian, by Lieut. Lubbocki

"Yesterday Loraine and I had an exciting adventure. We sighted a German about four miles oil', and attacked. We both opened lire at about 50yds. I fired again at about 25yds, firing twenty-six rounds, and then my gun janibed. I heard Loraine give ag real shunt, but felt neither fear nor tri-umph. Thru our machine turned downwards. As 1 had lived my last shot i had seen the German turn down. I knew that if In; got below us, my machine gun was tho only one that could fire at him. We were diving, standing almost on the front of the body. Then we turned level j finished my gun, but there was no Garman! But our guns (Loraine's and mine) had jambed at the same noment. I spent another five minutes at Loiaine's gun, and finally got both done. "We saw another enemy coming in the distance. Loraine went ad out to climb and attack, while. I pu<. my stiff and aching hands in my mouth, praying for sufficient life to come back to them —they were frozen. Then our engine stopped, and we were helpless, so we turned and glided homewards, ['liable to reach the aerodrorJe, we landed in a plough, a beautiful lan ling. Tiie luckless Boche fell twenty yards behind our front line trench. The pilot was shot through the stomach; the observer, a boy of seventeen, had his head- grazed. In'spite of his fall he will be all right, but yesterday he was crying and absolutely nerve-broken. No wonder, poor thing! The pilot was dead before they got him away.

"On the machine was found an old machine gun. It had been taken from the Canadians months ago, and now has come back to them. It is absolutely unfit for aeroplane work, being three times as heavy as the one we use, and having lots of other technical drawbacks."