Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-05-26
French Aviators at Verdun
Claiming a Complete Mas
terry of the Air.
ARE EVER ON THE ALERT
FOR APPROACH OF FOE
Fighting Planes Wheeled Into Line
With Guns Prepared for In
slant Service.
Copyright 1861
BY HERBERT COREY.

BACK OF VERDUN. May 3-All day
long the French fiers have been pur
ring through the air over the battlefield.
During that time no German fiier has
shown so much as the tip of his wing.
The conclusion has been an obvious one.
The French have established COM
plete mastery of the air. This has
been done in face of the known fact
that the Germans have concentrated at
v.rdun every available flying man and
machine from their western front.
But what of the Fokker?" l asked.
TT is a good machine" was the re-
Ply. "a very good machine But our
Newport is a better"
Civilians. it seems. are prone to ghost
dancing. For some somths past the
newspap ers of the allies have been
filled with stories of the Fokkers eX-
cellence 1t has been able-in these
papers-to fly higher. mount quicker.
swoop more rapidly than any other ma :
chine known. We visited camp OF
aeroplanes back of Nerdun today quite
prepared to hear stories of Fokker mar
wells There We're no such stories. 1t
appears there are no such marvels.
1t is not advisable to enter too deeply
into the story of the French aerial de-
Tense of Eerdun. Such things. however.
as are known to the Germans may be
discussed with safety. The Germans
can hardly avoid knowing. for example.
tNar the French have a dozen or so war
balloons swinging safely at their an
ci-ors over the French lines. The Ger
mans have four-at least, I saw but
foIr-and they are stationed well back
80 their front and ringed about with
batteries. \ balloon is comparatively
ecsy game for fast hier. That French
Immunity from attack tells its own
story.
Ready to Act at Minutes Notice.
Well hidden behind the French lines
are various camps of aeroplanes. At a
guess the camp we saw today contains
fifty planes. The reader may make his
own guess at the number of machines
on this part Of the front. The fighting
planes have been wheeled out in front
Of their hangers. The clips of their
guns are filled with cartridges. The
fur and leather garments of the fiers
are folded neatly upon their seats.
These men respond to a call with the
rapidity of fremen when the alarm
strikes. They rise all along the line
when a Fokker is sighted.
And we either get him or he flies
away"
From what l saw today I judge the
French planes are of four general
classes. The Farman is used for OBJ
eervation purposes. 1t is safe. steady
old buggy. The great double m otored
Caudron. with it's tremendous lifting
power. may be very largely used for
bomb dropping. 1t can carry a huge
load. Then, there are two sorts of
Nieuports, fast as hawks and handy"
In the air as a canoe in still water
They are the fighters. although all war
machines carry guns.
Little chaps these Nieuports-mostly
power. The two-man machine could be
stored in a farmers barn. Some carry
two machine guns and some only one.
The one-man Newport would fit neatly
lengthwise in the dining room of a New
York fat Its wings are small, neat. of
a knifelike sharpness. The weight con-
sfsts principally of motor and propeller.
Such machine can rise 1000 meters in
seven minutes. 1t cork up in con-
stricted circles. There is not an ex-
press elevator in America which rises
at that rate of speed.
How do YOU fight the Fokkerso''
asked.
Perfectly simple. It appears one has
hut to rise above the Fokker Then
the man in the Newport turns his ma
chine in the air and swoops straight
at his prey. like a kingfsher at a fish
On the Prov of his machine is fixed an
automatic gun. which sends out a
stream of bullets. If he misses his
strike-if the Fokker does not crumple
and fdll-ne dives sidewise out of the
reach Of the Germans shot. 1t appears
that one does not try to hover with
these machines. If the man in the
Newport misses his aim he begins to
climb again. Then he repeats his dart.
But it is not always that way" said
one fIer