The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1916-08-24
A DEMON OF THE AIR.
dash to Death" of France Has Had
Many Morrow Escapes.


his tenth enemy aeroplane today,
says Paris dispatch of Tuesday.
Nungesser is great big heavy fel-
low, fat-faced and cumbersome OF
build.
He was a cavalryman in the Sec
ond Hussars when he started his
career, and the war was not a month
old before he distinguished himself.
His squadron was cut off and sur
rounded in the retreat from Char
leroi. The troop commander was ly>
ing helpless, badly wounded. Nun
gesser bore him to shelter. Getting
few stragglers together, he am
pushed a German staff motorcar,
killed it's occupants, put his wound
ed officer inside and, taking the
wheel, set off on a wild dash through
the enemy's lines. The car was a
powerful Mors, and the way Nunges-
ser let her all out and tore through
whole ranks of Germans earned for
him the epithet of Dash to Death. y
Nungesser was subsequently pro-
noted to quartermaster, awarded the
military medal, and permanently ap-
pointed army chauffeur. He later
handed in his resignation and declar-
ed that unless he was put into the
flying corps he would take his place
in the trenches. He already had a
pilots ticket, and after a week or
two's training was passed as good
for military aviation.
Between April and August, 1915,
he took part in SO bombarding ex-
peditions, three of which secured him
fresh mentions in dispatches. Re-
turning from the last, he espied a
German Albatross over Nancy, went
for it, despite the handicap of his
heavy, slow machine, insufficiently
armed for single combat, and shot
down the invader. This achievement
brought him into prominence and he
was promoted to the crack chasing
corps. Before the end of the year
he had been made chevalier of the
Legion of Honor.
A sideslip at Bue, however, when
trying a new type of machine, almost
cost him his life. He was picked up
for dead, with a fractured skull, a
broken jaw, nearly all his ribs brok-
en-, the muscles of the legs torn away.
Nungesser refused to accept the
doctors decision that he was perma-
nently disabled, he declined to take
three months convalescence-the
least he could do, said the surgeon,
if ever he wanted to be of any use
again-and, almost stealing a ma
chine, he scared aloft, and never
came down until he had accounted
for German aerop1ane.
After this he was allowed to have
his own way. He could scarcely talk
owing to the necessity of binding up
his jaw, his head was swathed in
bandages, he had to be lifted in and
out of his aeroplane, but he was a
perfect demon aleft. He then be-
came a sub-lieutenant.
This was at the end of March and
the beginning of April last. On April
Is, he engaged single-handed three
Fokkers, brought down one and gave
the others severe maulding. A
week later he was swooped down
upon by a flotilla of six Fokkers. He
had one down before they could get
his range almost, and then sailed at
full speed right into the middle of
the others.
They were unable to fire, for fear
of hitting one another, whereas he
pounded them hard until he had not
shot left, then by mastery airman-
ship he showed them clean pair of
heels. They were in such a state
that they did not dare follow him,
which was lucky, for he had not gone
mile or two before his engine. went
all to pieces. Seven balls had gone
through it, and only couple of cy-
linders still had any go to them. He
had dropped to under 5000 feet, and
was limping lamely as he crawled
back over the German trenches.
The storm of shells missed him all
the same and he made home safely.
One shot had gone through his he'll
met and grazed the top of his head,
another had carried away the heel
of the slipper, 27 had struck the
plane and don Z various kinds of
damage, without counting those in
the engine.
Her Proof.