Evening star., 1915-09-14
Some of Them Grumbled.


the same thing"
Some of Them Grumbled,
| One might comment on the qualities
of a temperament which can be bored
; enemy which is notably active with
his guns. on this raiding morning
fifty aeroplanes were ordered out to
make the flight. There are 100 and a
score of planes at this Nancy camp.
Seventy-two of them were wheeling
, o.ernead as We talked.
What did the others do who were
not allowed to fly" l asked
They stayed here said the OBJ
server, and grumbled. They were
very angry"
The raid-fight itself was matter
of pleasant routine. The airmen start
ed in four groups, just as they did
The machines are grouped for the con-
venience of the mechanics. Each shed
is equipped for the repair and mainte-
nance of from ten to twenty machines.
The groups differ in numbers accord
ing 10 the capacity of the hangers.
The orders were issued the night be-
fore. There had been no furry.
Did you say goodbye to each other.
or anything OF that sort?" 1 asked,
fully conscious of the folly of my ques-
ton.
But, no." said the observer I felt
the sneer he did not make visible.
Fifty A.eros Rise in the Dark.
So that the fifty chosen observers
came out of their tents that nippy
morning, yawnins. no doubt, and rub
bling their eyes. They had coffee and
bread for breakfast. Rather scanty
| diet for an American stomach about
to be transported over seventy miles
of air for the purpose OF dropping
bombs, but enough for the Gallic di-
gestion. The pilots probably began
the day by quarrelins with their me
chanics, quite in the accustomed fash
ion. The mechanics no doubt shrugged
their shoulders at one another n de-
rision of their superiors, as is the habit
of mechanics the world over. 1t was
lust light enough to see the men sit
iing on the hawkbills of the Voisins,
when the pistol gave the starting sig
nal. Inside the hangers work was
being done by the light of gasoline
flares.
Did you start in groups?" l asked
The observer nodded.
just as they did today" said he.
SO that some officer, unseen in the
i'gray of dawn. stood, watch IN hand,
until the appointed hour. Then he fired
The pilots of the first group touched
the buttons of their self-starters. Their
lively mounts began to trundle over the
grass. AS they leaped out of the hol-
low in which this aviation camp is
hidden the pilots could barely SEE one
another. They had ridden an hour on ihe
aerial road before the rising sun giided
the winstips of their machines
81 looked back" said the observer
"The air was filled with machines. all
flying high and straight. AS we neared
the city we began to spread out like a
fan"
It was too early for the town No
one there seems to have suspected that
death would come on the air at this
DEPRESSING hour of early morning. Per-
hans nay observer overvalues it's som =
noleut capacity Maybe hundreds of
frenzied men and women were Shrek
/ ing through it's streets and scores OF
soldiers were shooting with futile rifles
He thinks the city was still asleep
merely because no Shrapncl was then
clnking about him. The blatter of the
propeller would drown any minor noises
from below.
$50 we dropped our bombs" said the
observer, and flew home again"
| A Town in Flames.
There were fifty aeroplanes. Each
| carried eight bombs. Rumor has it that
the new bomb carries heavy charges OF
! high explosives. The Austrians, for ex-
| ample, are said to use a bomb OF
| twenty-five pounds of TINT. Many
| of the bombs dropped the other day
| were the new incendiary sort. They
are peculiarly satisfying to use, the OBJ
server said. By craning the neck over
| the side of ones car and staring down
some sickening thousands of feet one
can see the flames spring up where
| the fiery seed has been sown. AS each
man rid himself of his eighth bomb the
pilot wheeled the plane and the home
/ ward flight began.
My last sight of the town." said the
observer, was that of little twinkline
points of flame and tiny mounting pill.
! lars of smoke among it's roofs, as they
slittered in the rising SUM-"
/ OF the fifty machines that took part
in this flight forty-six returned to the
aviation camp. One man was internet
in Switzerland because he lost his way
and the others came down here ant
there, but not one life was lost. AS a
war flight it was perhaps the creates,
in point of numbers ever undertaken
In the first month of the war the Eng.
lish flew thirty-four planes across the
channel That held the record TO,
flock flying until recently. Now it has
hopelessly gone by the boards.
The thought of this raid rather TOOK
the edge off my enjoyment of this won.
derful show Ioday. Never before ir
the history of the world-to my knowl.
Iedge-have seventy biplanes and two
idouble-engined battle planes leaped VI