Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-02-07
German Aviator Tells Of
Great Battle of
Aeroplancs,
FRENCH DEFEATED
Three of Five French Ma
clines Were Sent Crash
ing to Earth.

Correspondence OF the Associated Press)
HANOVER, Germany, Jan. s.
One of the promising literateurs of
Germany, who is now an army avi-
ator. sends home some notes of life
' on the aerial fronts He writes:
"The weather has been abominable,
one series of changes from rain to
snow and fogs and high winds which
keep some of us almost continually
seasoc. Notwithstanding we keep up
our flying industriously.
"A few days ago had an en-
counter with French aeroplanists
which Of the many | had is the one
which | am least likely to forget Two
Of the French machines were shot
down and third we forced to land.
"ThOugh the French aViators have the
highest respect for our anti-aircraft
pieces, they have recently annoyed us
more than we thought necessary We
decided to organize a sort of aerial
outpost service, the purpose of which
Il was to inform us of the coming
of the French steel birds.
"One day we were told that a
squadron of five machines was com
ing from the direction of A
NDOSsiDlN AIIdS mere was q luSll
for our machines, soon the motors
snarled then hummed, and within
one-half minute of one another the
craft got under way.
Armed to the Teeth.
with the intention of teaching the
enemy a lesson we started for alt-
tude Everybody was armed to the
teeth and in addition to our bombs
iaJ MI fir, on, al
OF the machines
"Reachng the vicinity of A
we noticed that the French flyers had
begun to cruise about Double and
sngle-deckers bent here and there
studying the ground underneath.
I'VE were keeping in a single file
and for this reason the French must
have formed an erroneous conclusion
as TO our strength. At any rate they
. soon saw us, and with a few minutes
mauoeuvered for an attack on the
. first Of our machines, a Taube.
But its pilot made graceful curve
doWnwards then shot upon again,
keeping up the while fire which
must have put the propeller of one
Of the French machines out of COM
mission. OF a sudden the machine in
question took a headlong dive down
the ground
\ Strange Battle.
"Ntanwhilc we had deployed in
battle formation, and now began
batuc Of one machine against the
other The French made every ef-
fort to lombard us from above.
Higher and higher scared the oppos-
tng machines, trying for ever TO pass
over the other, but succeeding in lit
Tie more than keeping more or less
on the same level
"The wind being rather high and
. treacherous, sailing was none too
easv. The machines pitched and
swerved. buckcd violently as they hit
n wind-wave, and fell from under as
they struck an air-hole To the hum
ming and suffering of the motors
was added the noise of firearms. Our
motor made such a racket that we
could hear the rifles and machine
guns of our men and those of the
enemy only as we passed them closely
"On my left one of machines was
keeping up a heavy fire upon one Of
Tho French craft, the rattle of the
machine-gun keeping time with the
motor exhaust or a sudden man
fell from the French plane, shooting
towards earth like an arrow, follow
ed directly afterwards by the ma
chine with that the second OF the
enemys craft had been disposed Of
at now got to be the turn of our
machine. With a violent jolt 1t laid
Itself TO one side, and in the next
instant our machine-gun took the
third of the French machines under
fire. large double decker, which by
now was virtually cutting our planes
t. ribbons with murderous ma
chiuc-gun fire. For but a few sec
bnds did our antagonist manage to
keep this up-hls MACHINE began to
pitch and roll, and after a tremend-
ous buck upwards Il shot to the
ground headlong.
"Bv now the other two machines
considered 1t best to- retreat. but that
did not end our labors. We became
aware that we mad drawn the fire
Of tho enemy on the ground, and felt
n our duty to reply to thia So up
we SCARED again, returned to a
and began to drop bombs, with
spiepdid results. The gas plant ex-
pf0dcd and considerable damage was
done 10 the two railroad stations.
Unfortunately. one of our men
wac obliged to land, but our victory
over the French was complete
nevertheless
Tho writer for his share In the
episode treated, was given the iron
cross
Her Best Beau.