IN THE AIR.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 February 1916, Page 5

IN THE AIR.

AVIATORS BUSY, RAIDS IN THE WEST. Bif BRITISH AND FRENCH FLEETS. London, Feb. 2-. Sir Douglas Haig reports that twentysix aeroplanes attacked the depots at Don, on the La Bassee-Lille railway, and did extensive damage to the stores and the railway. Enemy aircraft recently made several night attacks on various towns in our area, but without any military results. A few civilians were killed. Communiques show that yesterday was a recordbreaker in aeroplane attacks. Apart from the destruction of a Zeppelin and the great raid on Don, air raids and fighting were reported in the theatres, including Austrian raids on Brescia and Milan, which did small damage. There were also Russian raids on Buszacz and Manasterjisk. The French brought down a Fokker, an Albatross, and a third machine in various sectors. Seven machines also fought four aeroplanes at Hatton Chatel. Two were brought down and the others fled. A French chaser squadron attacked fifteen German machines and forced a squadron fight at Revigny. They brought down one. A squadron of seventeen dropped seventy bombs of heavy calibre on the aerodrome at Habsheim and the goods station at Mulhouse. A Bquadron of twenty-eight bombed the enemy's munition factory at Pagny-sur-Mozelle. AH the machines returned safely. The Zeppelin reported to be in flames at Brabant-le-Roi was shot through by an incendiary shell. Paris, Feb. 22. Reports in Swiss papers state that a hurricane partly demolished the Zeppelin sheds at Friedrichshafen, BRITISH AIR SERVICE, * London, Feb. 22, Lord Derby is likely to be chairman of the committee to co-ordinate naval and military air service, »Ir. David Henderson assisting, AN ALLEGED BLUNDER. London. Feb. 22. Mr. Bennett Golding related in the House of Commons that during a raid on Kent in January a British aeroplane mistook a seaplane for the enemy, and a battle ensued. Anti-aircraft gunners, witnessing the fight, turned their guns upon both, and damaged the tower of Warmer church, and injured some men in the barracks there. > . . i NEW INCENDIARY SHELL. London, Feb. 22. Apropos of the loss of Zeppelins, it is stated that it is possible to make an incendiary non-explosive shell which will render a Zeppelin plainly visible at night during its whole flight. The shell develops such terrific heat that it will inevitably set fire to the Zeppelin if it is struck BOMBS ON AUSTRIAN STAFF. Basle, Feb. 22. It is authoritatively stated from Vienan sources that a Russian aeroplane dropped bombs on the Austrian staff headquarters. GERMAN AIR FLEET. A 810 ORGANISATION. London, Feb. 22. The Daily Telegraph, in an authoritative review of the, German air service, points out that until the summer of 1915 the British and French aeroplanes had a clear ascendancy, owing to the superiority of their pilots and the fact that their machines were better adapted to the stress of a protracted campaign. Since then the Germans, by the lavish use of more powerful aeroplanes and the concentration of the flower of their air service in the West, have contrived to reconquer the highway of the air. Six hundred and fifty-one German machines are now In active commission, and oven more are in reserve. Their aviation establishment consists of 9.1 squadrons, each of seven aeroplanes, of which 79 are held squadrons. One is allotted to every army corps. Eight squadrons have been specially detailed for artilleryobservation and four as fortress squadrons. Each German field squadron consists of three aeroplanes for observing artillery fire, which are unarmed and provided with n wireless installation, usually Aviatiks or Albatrosses, two fighting machines, armed but without wireless, which are mostly Fokkers. one heavilyarmed armored machine fitted with wireless, and one machine to carry reserve ammunition, which varies from six hundred to a thousand rounds. The wireless weighs 451b. The organisation includes many training centres, and each army has a complete aviation park with stores, a reserve machine, spare parts and workshops. Official reports for 1915 placed the Austro-Gernran losses for IMS at 210 aeroplanes and 17 captive balloons, but .!s}*. **9} J2"»S! were au«li Wih&