The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-08-07
WONDERFUL WORK
OF FRENCH AIRMEN
Accounts of Their Operations Show the
Great Dangers They
Always Risk.

PARIS, July 26. = Correspondence
of The Associated Press During the
first year of war, so far as accounts
have been rendered to the public, 50
German flying machines, not including
dirigible balloons, were brought to
earth and destroyed by French airmen.
The day he was obliged to alight behind
the German lines and was taken prison
er, Roland Garros, the well-known civil
ian-aviator, held the record with three
machines to his credit. He has since
been surpassed by Lieutenant E
c., who has brought down four.
Garros used special armament
planned by himself with a machine gun
regulated to fire across the axis of the
propeller. In the first ten days with this
machine he brought down his three vic
Tins.
What a single airman is able to ac-
complish against land forces is
indicated by the case of AdjuA
tant v, reported by Jacques Nor
tame, sporting writer and a volunteer
in the aviation corps, as having in a
single day dropped II three and one
half-inch shells and 5000 steel darts
upon batteries of mortars that he de
stroyed at Norroy, eight shells and A.
at Thiaucourt, four shells and 1000
darts on Pagn-sur- Moselle, four shells
and 1000 darts at Pannes and four
shells and 1000 darts at Chambly-a
total of 80 shells and $4,000 darts.
1t is generally impossible for the air
man to know exactly what damage he
has done, except in the case where
bombs cause confagration. In various
ways, however, details of the results OF
some bombardments have become
known. At the headquarters of the Ger
man Crown Prince at Rivigny, Oct. %
Is men were killed and SO horses and
% men wounded. The men were most
~ officers. At the general headquartcr,
of Emperor William, Nov. l, two of the
Emperor s aides-de-camp were killed
In the destruction of n military traiI
at Zeebrugge, Dee. Il, 40 soldiers were
killed and 100 wounded. At the head
quarters of the Prince of Wurtumberg
General Garnereich and two lieutenant
generals were killed. On May 81, tht
airmen killed Al soldiers and wounded
80 at the German aerodrome at Con
trade.
Official details have been given o
over 100 air attacks upon German
camps, aerodromes, railway communi
cations, etc, but they are only a par
of what the attacking flying corps ha
done; it often happens that the raidc
does not come back to render account
How many French airmen have beer
brought down it is impossible to state
the French give out no figures of ther
losses. A number of accidents art
known, however, and among them som
that give vivid impression of tn
dangers run by the bombarding sectio
of the flying corps. Captain D. wa
about to take the air for raid and
the machine gun man with him, wa
preparing q shell at 1900 meters higl
when he awllwardly let it fall upon til
frame. The shock exploded the pre-
iectile and blew the apparatus and me
to pieces. ..
A similar accident occurred to tn
English aviator, Captain c.. Will
he was taking aboard his supply {
ammunition, a bomb fell to the groun'
exploded, destroying the machine, tt
pilot and II machinists who were stan'
ing by.
NJ P, caught in the clouC
on an exceedingly cold day, can
out at a height of 1900 yards, so b
numbed that he lost control of his M
chine and fell to his death.
Lieutenant N was rcconnoitcrir
with an observer whose scarf becan
uuwoumd in the wind and caught i'll Il
propeller, prccipitating the machine
tho ground