Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-10-30
Mistellaneuus Reaaing,
ADVENTURE OF AIRMEN
How British Officers Destroyed Great
Zeppelin Sheds.
New York World.

Zeppelin oheoe.
New York World.
London, Oct. 19.-During the las
few days a good many of the officers
and men of the Royal Navy Air SER
vice who have been at work in Bel
GUM, have come back to this country
for new machines and spare parts. sc
that one is now able to get something
like a connected narrative Of the sue
cessful raid on the airship shed a,
Dusseldorf. Taking all its circum'
stances into consideration, 1t is ont
of the finest performances put up in
any war by aviators.
The three officers told off for the
Job, as stated in the official report
were Squadron Commander SpenseI
Grey, Flight Lieutenant Mark and
Flight Lieutenant Sippe. When the
three of them, with a squad of ma
rines and air machines, went to look
after the machines at the Belgian
flying corps ground. to the east OF
Antwerp, they found that the Ger
man heavy guns were already at
work, and were actually firing over
the aerodome at the forts behind. so
that they had to land practically
under fire. At that time, however
the guns were not troubling them
selves about the aerodome or the
buildings near it.
Flew High to Avoid Guns.
Close to the aerodome they dis
covered a chateau belonging to a
German, which had been vacated by
it's owner, and here they installed
themselves to wait for the morning.
First thing on the next morning they
started off, Squadron Commander
Grey and Lieut.. Mark each on one of
the little Sopwith biplane scouts,
which are commonly known among
aviators as "tabloids," and Lieut..
Sippe on a B. E. biplane of the Royal
Aircraft factory design. The little
scouts do about ninety-five miles per
hour and the B. Els about seventy
five.
Owing to all the German artillery
being to the east Of them the pilots
had to start off toward the west. in
the direction of Antwerp, and climb
up a great height in order to get
above the range of the German guns.
especially the high angle guns, COM
monty called anti-aircraft guns
which throw shrapnel to anything up
to 5000 feet
Before they had got very far. the
engine of Lieut. Sippe's machine,
which had been sulky for several
days, retired from business altogeth-
er. and he had to give up the chase
Of the faster machines and returned
TO the aerodome. The other two
meanwhile went on their way.
Steered Separate Courses.
For part of the journey they were
flying through a thick fog, and at one
point, Lieut.. Mark, going down low
to try and find out exactly how far he
had got, found himself only few
feet over tree tops, when at last he
sighted the ground. However, fur
ther eastward they ran into clearer
air and they started off on different
courses, Lieut.. Mark going to Dues
seldorf and Squadron Commander
Grey to Cologne.
On arriving at Dusseldorf, Lieut..
Mark proceeded to do violent spiral
dive, coming down at such speed
that, according to the German ac-
count, the onlookers thought he had
been hit by guns mounted to pro-
tect the shed. When one realizes
that these little scouts pick up a
speed of 140 miles an hour within a
few seconds of having their noses
pushed down steeply. one can easily
imagine the onlookers being thus de-
ceived.
AS matter of fact, the manoeuvre
was thoroughly sound, for dropping
at such a pace the machine would
be very much more difficult to hit
with rifle fire. and it's altitude would
alter so quickly that it would be prac-
tically impossible for the anti-air-
craft guns to vary their range to
suit.
He came down this way to height
of about 500 feet and then released
his bombs. Exactly where they fell
he could not make sure, but one, at
any rate, went through the roof of
the shed. and in a few seconds the
flames were shooting out through it
as high as the place where he himself
had passed over the shed.
Treaehery Suspected.
Relieved of the weight of the
bombs, and forced far beyond her
best normal climbing speed by the
impetus of the dive. the little scout
shot up into the air again like a
rocket, and in a very few minutes,
was so far out of range of the guns
that the pilot had leisure to turn
round and admire the flames pouring
up through what had been one of
Germany's best new sheds
Whether the airship inside the shed
was actually a Zeppelin or not cannot
of course. be ascertained, but evident
ly the loss upset the Germans very
much. for a German paper the next
day stated that the British pilot must
have been informed by treachery that
the airship had been removed only a
day or so before into the new shed
from the old shed which had been
previously damaged by Flight Lieut..
Collet.
Having thus accomplished the mis-
sion on which he had started, the
pilot returned toward Antwerp but
ran out of petrol about ten miles
away. and had to roam about till he
discovered one of the Belgian armored