New Britain herald., 1916-06-21
AMERICAN FLYERS
 IDOLS OF FRENCH
Their Daring ArouseS Admiration
 Of Men in JOffre'S Army

clOS6 race UelWe6U lIlS1il Io oSb tLI NuoN and to the fields at dawn.
 The nightingales were rioting in song this morning when the pilots of the Franco-Am erican Corps were making their way to the aviation camp and daylight had just peeped over the horizon when Captain H. -, commander of the group, ordered: Bring out the machines!'
 There was nothing new in this to the seven American pilots who have been flying in different groups on diff ferent parts of the front for upwards of a year All of them had been out with tho nightingale a. few hundred mornings but it announced their first expedition together as a separate unit of the French aviation corps over Ger man territory.
 Long planned machines resembling small sheds. and short-winged ma chimes which in compariso lwindled to the proportions of devil flies, rolled on the field and were pushed on the run to their places until twenty eight were lined up. Captain Ill.,. cazed at the low-lying clouds-excellent mask for fotilla crossing the enemy'a lines-and ordered: Tell the Americans to be ready" The Amer jeans, grouped behind their swift chasers, listened to final instructions from Captain T...., who commands the Franco-American f1otilla and is proud of it. The din was then too great for verbal orders to be heard, and a. soldier with a white signal flag ran into the field while pilots and machine gunners leaped to their seats. The flag was raised while the motors buzzed like a swarm of gigantic bum ble bees. The flag dropped and Cap tain H. IS big biplane rose to lead the column. The flag was raised and dropped at intervals of about thirty seconds, and each time a pair of the bigger machines followed unti! nine teen of them were filing towards the German lines.
 The big machines were gone but tho n oise increased as the propellers of the smaller but moro powerful and swifter biplanes were set in motion.
 It was time for the Americans specialists in speed The first big plane was approaching the clouds when, with a bound, Captain T. rose: then followed Lieutenant De- laage of the French Corps, Lieuten- ant William Thaw, Pittsburgh; Ser geant Elliot Cowdin and Corporal Vic- tor Chapman, New York; Sergeant Norman Prince, Brides Crossing Mass; Corporal Kiffen Rockwell At anta, Ga.; Corporal J. M. Mcconnell, Carthage, N. C.; and Sergeant Hall, Texas.
 Bound Into Skies.
 These little biplanes with powerful
 
 of aviation during the war-built to match the best German machines In speed, carrying only the pilot, a ma- chine gun and the minimum require ment in feul. Instead of rising gradu- ally like their predecessors, they bound upward with an ascensional power heretofore unattained. They are so dangerous in a fight that the pilot has to go into the adversary's territory to hunt an engaaement That was what the Americans, especially chosen for these machines, were to do.
 There were nine of these, together with nineteen of the big bombarding biplanes in sight together for an in stant; then the head of the line dis in the clouds. The hunt CTS" as the speedy machines are called, overhauled the last of the big ger fiers and went out of sight ahead of them. while Thaw's Iris" and Cap tain T....'s "Fram," the two pet dogs of the camp, were still bark ing after them.
 Even soldiers habituated to this spectacle for nearly two years never tire of it. They watch the last ma chine until 1t Is out of sight. then turn back without comment to the sheds to await the return The s- lence and solemnity of the camp after the bustle of the departure was de pressing. The seventy soldiers of the camp knew that some of those brave boys might be missing when the roll was called again.
 Time passes with marvellous rapid ity on fighting expeditions, aviators say. but the two hours maximum wait in camp to see if they all get ba ok is always long. Watches are out after ninety minutes and eyes are turned in the direction taken by the aiers. At the ninety-ninth minute, perhaps, speck appears high above the horizon.
 There they come," Is the word that passes around the camp and everyone is on the field. Its chaser" says one. Mum Der two Is q says another. Tn a few twenty seven specks are counted; then there is another wait and voices are hushed. A hunter" circles around the camp, dives down. ward at dizzy pace, skins along the field without slowing up, until break ing against the wind 1t comes to a stop.
 The eighth seems to flutter as 1t approaches, tips and dives fitfully. Field glasses are levelled st him Hes had his tail piece carried v crin