Evening star. [volume], October 20, 1939, Page A-4, Image 4

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
French Describe
Vicious Dogfight
With German Planes
Delighted With Curtiss
Ships' Superiority
Over Messerschmidts
By WALTER DURANTY.
AT BRITISH HEADQUARTERS
IN FRANCE, Oct. 20 (N.A.N.A.).—A
vivid picture of modem air fighting
was given to me yesterday by a
group of French pursuit pilots who
received their baptism of fire in a
recent battle over the Maginot and
Siegfried lines between Wissembourg
and the Karlsruhe region.
“We were flying in layers,” said
the commander. “Just as we crossed
the line there were three bursts of
anti-aircraft fire from Bien Forest,
through which runs the Siegfried
line. Even at that altitude we could
see a wide belt of about 500 yards
where the trees were cut down,
marking the line, and the whole
forest was full of anti-aircraft bat
teries.
"As if the salvos were a signal,
my lowest patrol reported that six
Messerschmidts were attacking in
front. Within 4 seconds, the fight
was engaged. I put a burst into one
enemy and thought I had hit him
because he dived steeply, but he
flattened out and rose again, ahd I
pursued him northward without
success. Another German was driven
to a forced landing, but one of our
men, who followed him down, was
attacked from above.
In Hail of Bullets.
"Then the enemy withdrew and
we reformed our formations, when
there was a signal that five more of
the enemy were ahead. Almost
simultaneously, I spotted and sig
naled a second five at a great height
from the direction of Karlsruhe, but,
before we met them, a third group of
five attacked us unexpectedly from
due east.
“For an instant, I was in a hail
of bullets, one of which hit my
propeller. I wheeled like a flash
and got out of the stream. Then
it was a real dog fight in all direc
tions. We brought down two Ger
mans and did not lose a man, al
though all our planes were hit.
“It was a funny thing—my radio
was still on. and. in the heat of the
fighting, the boys back at our land
ing field heard me swearing like a
drunken sailor, although I had no
idea of it myself.”
The pilots also expressed great
indignation over the earlier killing
of Capt. Claude, a French pilot, by
three German planes when he
jumped in his parachute.
"They riddled the chute with bul
lets, and put two through his head.”
one boy told me. “So any German
who jumps had better look out in
the future.”
Pleased at Result.
The Frenchmen were pleased that
this first combat was against the
crack German “circus,” the outfit
which Richthofen and Goering once
commanded. Their emblem is red
with a checkerboard.
The French belonged to one of
the groups whose original squadron,
founded in the spring of 1917, had
accounted for 35 Germans in the
World War and had never seen an
other air fight until now, although,
of course, it had seen active service
in Morocco, Syria and elsewhere.
They are a fine, stocky group of
youngsters, mostly in their early
20s, shorter and darker than the av
erage English pilot but. I would say.
a shade heavier. They are keen as
mustard and delighted with their
Curtiss planes, which carry a good
deal more gas than the Messer
schmidts and are much easier to
maneuver.
Air Minister Arrives.
The chief difference I could de
tect in a comparison with the air
fighting of the last war was the be
wildering speed at which it all hap
pened and—the whole combat lasted
less than 15 minutes—the immense
amount of interplane radio com
munication before and during the
action, and the fact that the planes
fire several machine guns simul
taneously—this is, of course, no
secret—by simply pressing a but
ton.
Britain's air minister, Sir Kings
ley Wood, arrived at air headquar
ters Wednesday afternoon on a tour
of inspection, which was concluded
yesterday despite an incessant rain.
He visited airfields, billets, half a
dozen villages and a group fif French
fighters in the British area.
Mail
(Continued From First Page.)
press claims for unjustified losses or
delays resulting to American citizens
through detention of money orders,
checks, drafts, notes and the like
contained in seized mails.
British Deny U. S. Moils
Censored and Returned
LONDON, Oct. 20 (IF).—'The minis
try of economic warfare said today
that mails of neutral nations, includ
ing the United States, passing
through British contraband control
bases were searched for contraband
and then “forwarded to their des
tinations.”
The ministry made its statement
when asked about reports in Wash
ington that American mail intended
for Germany had been seized, cen
sored and then returned to the
United States by the British.
“In no case have these (the mails)
been returned to their country of
origin unless there has been a spe
cial request from the dispatching
office,” the ministry declared.
The British ministry asserted ex
amination of mails was “fully
authorized under international law,”
and added that "letters may, for in
stance, contained money, which is
absolutely cpntraband, or essential
commodities may be packed in a
large number of parcels.”
Neutrality
(Continued From First Page.)
undimmed light of justice. Twenty
years ago we fought a great war
and our gradual entry into it in
many ways parallels the contest
that is on us today.”
Senator Johnson charged that
“the propaganda, cunningly written
and dissiminated, that seemed to
justify our action (then> is not un
like that we meet today.”
Notice to AM the World.
The Californian said the embargo,
adopted several years ago, was notice
to all the world of the course we
intended to pursue toward all na
tions. He added:
“It 4s claimed by those whose
sympathies WQuld lead them to vio
late our neutrality, and I confess the
urge is strong and I can forgive
those who permit their mentality to
be overwhelmed by k, ‘hat the Ger
mans have been preparing and have
great stores of arms and munitions,
while the allies have little. There is
nothing to justify this but the bald
statement of perfervid advocates.”
Senator Johnson said that in 1936
President Roosevelt “highly praised”
America's neutrality policy.
“Whence comes the mighty move
ment to repeal the arms embargo?”
Senator Johnson went on. "Surely
it cannot be to safeguard American
neutrality, and this was the rational
policy declared by the President. It
isn't to do naught to encourage the
contest, for the repeal would be just
the reverse. When then tne uproar?
It can have but one purpose—to
have us take sides in the war, in
methods short of war at first, but in
evitably in methods that will meas
ure our full strength as a partisan.”
Before the Senate met. Senator
Clark, Democrat, of Missouri, a re
peal opponent, expressed dissatis
faction with President Roosevelt':
action in banning belligerent sub
marines from American waters, and
said he would_ propose an amend
ment to the neutrality bill extending
the prohibition to armed merchant
men.
Both existing law and the bill give
the President discretionary power
in regard to submersibles and armed
liners. His proclamation did not
cover the latter.
Special Policy Expected.
Secretary of State Hull disclosed
yesterday that consideration is being
given tne question oi regulating
entrance of armed merchantmen.
Indicating a separate and special
policy may be pronounced for such
ships.
“I'm going to insist that armed
merchant vessels be treated as bel
ligerent warships," said Senator
Clark. "The only excuse Germany
gave for waging unrestricted sub
marine warfare in the last war was
that arming of merchant ships
makes them belligerent warships,
which was the proposition urged by
President Wilson.”
Senator Clark expressed the belief
the President might have barred the
submarines to prevent any incidents ,
on this side of the ocean in event
the arms embargo is repealed and
foreign ships begin taking munitions
back to Europe.
He said he also expected to raise
the question that there was nothing
in the bill which would prevent Ger
many from contracting in this coun
try' for construction of unarmed
submarines to take oil and other war
supplies back under the "cash-and
, carry” sections.
Changes Generally Favored.
Senator Clark and other opposi
tion Senators withheld comment on
the shipping amendments agreed on'
yesterday by Foreign Relations Com
mittee Democrats. Indications were
they would find little fault with
them.
Under the proposed changes, the
ban on American vessels carrying
any cargoes to belligerents would be
i rflaxed to permit continuance of
trade, except in armaments, with
possessions of warring nations in the
Pacific and the South Atltntic.
These armaments, along with one
forbidding arms sales on credit to
private firms or individuals in bel- j
ligerent countries, were expected j
to “shorten debate materially and
get more votes,” Senator Barkley
told reporters.
“But the object was not to get
more votes,” he added quickly. “The
changes were worked out because
we thought they were fair.”
Senator Connally, Democrat, of
Texas disclosed, meanwhile, that
there had been discussion among the
Democratic sponsors of the legisla
tion of possible action in the regular
session of Congress toward easing
losses of shipping companies by sub
sidies.
American vessels would be barred
from crossing the North Atlantic to
belligerent ports under the proposed
revised shipping section of the bill.
They would be allowed to carry
goods to neutrals and to belligerent
ports in the South Atlantic. Pacific
and Indian Oceans; China Sea, Bay
of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
They might be barred from any of
these ports, however, by presidential
decree establishing combat zones.
WARSAW.—PICKING OUT SOUVENIRS—German officers looking through the miscellaneous col
lection of articles of war which were abandoned by the Poles after the surrender of Warsaw. This
picture was passed by the German censor. —Wide World Photo.
i i
see”
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1
Russia Reported
Continuing to Give
China Assistance
Soviet Military Mission
Is Declared to Be
In Chungking
By the Associated Press.
HONG KONG, Oct. 20.—Russia
continues to give military aid tc
China, according to reports here, al
though Russia has negotiated a truce
with Japan on the Mongolian fron
tier.
No official or authoritative con
firmation has been received, eithei
here or in Chungking, however, oi
Japanese reports in Nanking and
Shanghai that a Russian militarj
mission has arrived at the provisiona!
Chinese capital.
According to these reports the
mission's purpose was to offer Gen
eralissimo Chiang Kai-shek con
tinued aid against the Japanese II
he would grant their demands foi
stationing of Russian troops in Sin
kiang (Chinese Turkestan) and free
dom to carry on Communist propa
ganda in Northwest China.
Similar Japanese reports a montt
ago were categorically denied ir
Chungking.
(Shanghai dispatches said
Japanese reported there that the
British Ambassador, Sir Archi
bald Kerr Clark Kerr, was
alarmed over the Russian devel
opments and was seeking reas
surances from Chiang.)
- Authoritative independent quar
ters in Chungking confirm that Rus
sian assistance recently was a con
siderable factor in revived Chines*
resistance. One observer arrlvinf
from Chungking today said las<
week’s air raid on Hankow and th*
Japanese airfield there was by Rus
sian airmen and planes.
An informed Chinese official hen
1 said an eleventh-hour reversal of i
decision of the Chinese high com
mand to abandon Changsha, Hunan
Province capital, in the face of a
large-scale Japanese offensive two
weeks ago was due to Russian advice.
The Japanese received a setback in
the offensive and were forced to
retire.
Russian military men have been
in Chungking for the past 18 months,
but their activity has been chiefly
technical.
Wounded by Japanese,
French Priest Charges
CHUNGKING, China, Oct. 20 OP).
—Father Louis Danion, French
Catholic priest, reached here yes
terday seeking hospital treatment
lor serious wounds he said he re
ceived October 13 when Japanese
destroyed or damaged two-thirds of
the City of Nanchuan on the border
between Szechwan and Kweichow
provinces.
China Denies Demands
Presented by Russia
CHUNGKING, Oct. 30 OP).—Chi
nese government spokesmen today
flatly denied Japanese reports that
a Soviet Russian military mission
had made demands upon the Chi
nese in return for continued aid in
the Sino-Japanese War.
"These reports are absolutely
groundless fabrications unworthy of
official notice,” one official said.
The Chinese also denied Japanese
assertions that American and Eng
lish diplomats were urging China to
halt hostilities.
Cyclists of Valparaiso, Chile, are
demanding the latest in American
bicycles.
London Audience
Cheers a Song
Jibing Lindbergh
LONDON, Oct. 30 (Canadian
Press).--The audience Interrupted a
performance at the Gate Theater
last night to cheer a song lampoon
ing Col. Charles A. Lindbergh and
others.
One verse of the song, which was
aimed at various prominent persons,
went like this:
“Then there’s Col. Lindbergh,
Who made a pretty speech.
He’s somewhere in America,
We’re glad he’s out of reach.”
The speech referred to apparently
was the one he made last Friday
criticising Canada's position in the
war.
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