Richmond times-dispatch. [volume], July 18, 1915, Image 42

About Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
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After the Smoke Had Cleared
Away. The Bodies of the
Two Occupants Can Be
Seen at the Left of
the Picture.
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iLivirmriut Cow
Perhaps the Most Remarkable Photograph Ever Taken?the Plunge of a French Aeroplane
Artsr Ut Ha^l Been Hit and Set on Fire by a German Anti-Aeroplane Gun. The
'* " Photograph Was Snapped from a German Plane Which had
Risen to Meet the French Plane.
By Lieutenant Aviator Julien Gerard,
Of the French Army Flying Corps.
The First
Photographs
Ever Shown
of the
Beginning
and End of
the Plunge of
an Aero
plane Shattered by "High Angle99 Guns?and the
Personal Story of One Who Has
So Far Escaped Them
Immediately After the Plane Hit the Ground. The Smoke from the Burning Machine
Obscures the Details.
Headquarters of the French
army, near Lille, May 9.
1AM permitted to write an account
of a day's active service in tho
aviation corps, omitting dates and
exact localities, in order that our
friends ma'y have an idea ?? t ihe use
ful and imp'.riant work that is being
done in tin.-, arm of tlie ucrvi.e.
One night 1 received orders from
The commanding officer of our section
to make observations as early as pos
sible :h?; next (lav a"? ? 11-_r a certain
part of the enemy's front not far
lram Lire.
The position was a ?? riti< a! one,
find u;">n o'ir observation- depended
largely the suce.-sful advance of a
division of our army
I was ilie aviator, while detailed to
serve with me as observing officer
was captain Beaumont, of the ar
tillery.
At the fir.-t .- red; of dawn we
made our a.-.cent, tor that hour was
favorable to n.: v..- ' behind.the
German line unobserved.
Passim-' ov<*i' tin- forw trd enemy
trenches in the s> :ui darkness we
readied an in'crestlng sedfon eight
miles i;. 'he rear. 1 ? neath me I
could se? putT.- ?'* whit- .ike monster
rlaisie- that faded awa and renewed
themselves. They w.-:.- the enemy's
Ions rani:' -muis aire;; y t;i Ins at our
positions by the ear r morning ight.
Through the long distance glasses
fitted in the botiom of the ear we
could see with full detail conditions
on the ground six thou-ond feet be
low us. There were eighty-inilliinet re
Bhrapne! guns, the poor rivals of our
*'7.Vs," concealed behind hushes and
,other natural obstructions that wou'd
hide them effectively from u man on
the ground.
Farther to the rear were grouped
many monster forty-two-centimetre
guns in their concrete pits. All of
them were more or less busily tiring
pway over the heads of their own in
fantry miles in front at our trenches
and gun emplacements.
As we had enjoyed immunity from
danger so far I circled slowly back,
ward and forward over this interest
ing section and dropped quickly to
within n few score feet of the
ground. My companion pushed an
instrument like a huge revolver over
the side of the car and began snap
ping it industriously at the people
ben.eath. He was taking photo
graphs of their gun positions, do
fences and other dispositions.
lie noted a peculiarly shaped sugar
loaf hill top that concealed a light,
gun, while hidden in a hollow behind
half a mile to tho rear was a German
bit; gun pit. A shell from our line
just clearing the top of the hill might
land in the gun pit. He sketched
these matters or made written notes
about them.
While we were still busy with this
useful work the ritle bullets began to
sing around us. We were, of course,
observed. It is not the lirst duty of
an army aviator to get killed, but to
go Just so near it that there may be
a fair chance of petting back alive
with useful information. Our In
structions lay down as a general
principle that our first duty is to
make observations of the enemy's po
sitions ?nd our second to do damage
to the enemy.
Fnless sent out on a special mis
sion to destroy works of the enemy
wo do not start fighting or destroy
ing until we have gathered all pos
K-ll>.e, useful information. After that
we may rain bombs to our heart's
content before returning to our own
lines.
The bullet? did not trouble me
greatly, for in ilys war where the.v
use 6hells that tear hundred-toot
holes out of mother earth we have
begun to look on rifle bullets as one
an Automobile.
might a pebble thrown by hand. One
or two of them popped through the
wings of my monoplane, making lit
tle pinholes.
They gavo me a hint, however, that
was worth heeding, for it. could not
he long before an anti-aircraft shell
would come at us, and that is a dif
ferent matter.
I whirled round and round like n
madman to upset, their aim, and at
the same time rose swiftly, for it is
the strongest point of our aeroplanes
that we can ascend faster than any
others. We can do ninety mllos an
hour at a pinch.
I was making tho best speed I
could when I became aware of an
immense circle of white just under
me. In the centre of it 1 saw a black
spot for a second. Then it widened
Into a blaze of yellow brighter than
the sun. After that It developed Into
the most fascinating thing I ever
. nw?a mass of changing colors and
patterns.
I had looked almost straight into
the. line of fire of a shrapnel shell.
They were making splendid prac
tise at me, but fortunately tho shell
burst just a tritle short or we should
have been torn to shreds.
All this time I (lew up and around
es fast as I could, for this was no
moment for observation or reflection.
Living fir dying was a matter of sec
onds, and it would be such a pity to
lose the excellent photographs my
observer had taken.
In less than a minhte another shell
hurst, but this one was farther from
us in point of direction, thanks to my
circling, although it was timed to
burst more effectively in the matter
of distance. One of the balls from
the shrapnel shell struck my observer
and put his left arm out of action.
He would have fallen from his seat
had he not. been strapped to It. Ho
turned white and fell forward on his
face, but in a few minutes he re
covered his composure and was ready
to go on with his observations.
H.v this time 1 was beyond prac
tical reach of anti-aircraft shrapnel
and could fly about at my leisure.
Seeing that I had learned all thnt
was worth knowing or possible to
learn in this section, I flew on calmly
in tho rear of the German lines, hop
ing that I would find some good op
portunity to make use of my eighteen
pond bombs before returning.
I was now beyond reach of any
thing on earth. Only aircraft could
attack me, and for some reason
none of them were at. leisure at the
moment to pursue me.
Copyright, 1916, by the Star Company. Groat Britain Rights Reserved.
Looking through the long distance
glasses I saw a train slowly coming
up twenty miles in the rear of the
German lines. Here was a great
piece of good fortune. There could
be no doubt that this train carried
reinforcements of men or ammuni
tion or both.
1 took a sudden dip that brought
me within a hundred feet of the head
of the train and then I let loose six
thirty-pound explosive bombs as fast
as 1 could work the trigger. The
engine exploded and the cars behind
piled into it, the whole train leaving
the rails and forming a mass of burn
ing wreckage. I could see the Ger
man soldiers piled up In heaps, tho
living and wounded striving to ex
tricate themselves from the dead.
What I did then may seem a hor
riblo thing, but it was only part of
war and was n performance in which
the members of the flying corps have
heen specially trained. I dropped
into this mass of burning wreckage
and living and dead one after an
other the incendiary bombs with
which we are furnished in order to
complete such a work of destruction.
These bombs contain a substance
that, when ignited produces a temper
ature of 6.000 degrees Fahrenheit
and burns up everything with which
it comes in contact, melting the steel
barrels of guns and cannon as if
they were so much butter.
A few rifle Bhots from the unin
jured occupants of the train whistled
harmleasjy by me. I could afford to
disregard them.
Feellug that I had done a good
morning's work from a military point
of view I ascended once more into
regions of comparative safety, and
turned homeward.
There remained one more duty of
importance to perform, and that was
to observe the advanced Gorman
trenches facing our positions. Ap
proaching those from the eastern end
my companion measured their length
by means of his stop watch and air
speedometer. There were three lines
of advanced trenches a milo in length
flanked by a river at the western end
and a wooded range of hills, affording
natural cover to troops, at the east
ern end. Ilehind the advanced posi
tions we noted entrenchments for the
reserves. From the extent, of these
entrenchments we could estimate ttie
number of men present.
While we were engaged in this
work we were pursued by two Ger
man aeroplanes, two enormous double
winged Taubes, with black cro sea
painted on them, of exceptional speed.
One of them had taken tlio precaution
to outflank me by flying in the direc
tion of our own lines, while the other
headed straight for me.
Our enemies were armed with
rapid firing guns, which gave them
an enormous advantage over us.
However, I was able to outmanoeuvre
my first antagonist and attack him
in the rear. I could use my auto
matic pistol occasionally, and my ob
serving officer, though having only
one effective arm, was able to aim a
rifle by resting it on tho framework.
Between us we put a bullet or two
through the pilot of rhe Ocrman
Taube. The machine capsized and
tumbled headlong to the ground with
its dead pilot and living observer.
In order to deliver my reports and
observations in good time there was
|tothing for me to do but make a
straight dneh for our lines, trusting
to the god of war to carry me
through.
Our enemy in the other Tflube
fought with coolness and determina
tion and took every advantage of hie
superior armament. They had their
gun trained accurately on us. Shots
ripped through my planes until they
were dangerously ragged. One bul
let tore off my cap and a handful of
hair. Another hit me in the right
leg.
Then the petrol tank was hit again
and again. Finally the propeller was
carried away.
There I was, a nearly helpless
wreck, in mid-air. My machine re
tained just a modicum of gliding
power and steerage way. I turned
toward a strip of woods near the
eastern end of our position, not
knowing whether it. was in our pos
session or that of the enemy.
As I fluttered down a stoim of
bullets rose up and hit our pursuer.
He staggered away and fell near the
German lines. When I alighted I
found that the woods were outside
our lines, but a party of our men had
rushed into them under fire when
they saw me coming and waited
there for me.
In our fight in the air my heroic
observation officer had been killed,
bis body pierced again and again by
bullets. But his photographs had
bene preserved and his written ob
servations and sketches were all in
"perfect order, held down bv a steel
clip on the Utile shelf provided for*
his use.
Our men carried his dead body and)
my disabled one out of the woods,
still under tire, back to our lines. The*
commanding officer congratulated me.
on having done an excellent morn
ing's work and I was sent to the hos
pital to recuperate. I afterward
loarned that our section of the lino
was able to advance its trenches
half a mile that day, while our ar
tillery put. four of the German big
guns out of action.
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