Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1916-11-23
AV|ATORS FEAR
FLAMING ONIONS
British FIiers Describe PeriIs of
Exploding Shells From De-
fenSe Guns.
NOW have The SUPREMACY
Germans Seldom or Never Fly over
Allied Lines In France--Machine
Is Hit Eighty Times-Air
Gets in Way.

London.-"It's all right so long as
you can't see 'em or hear en-" said
Tommy" Brennan Of the Royal Fly.
ing corps, "but any man who tells you
he can fly over an Archie and get
flaming onion right ahead Of him
without Gucking and wishing they
wouldn't come so close or make So
much noise has never been up in an
aeropane. Take 1t from me-"
"Yes," put in Gilray, "and every time
you duck your old winger ducks with
you. AS 'Bren over there says, ii
wouldn't be so bad if you couldn't see
and hear 'em. Generally speaking you
don't hear them unless one happens to
break within 30 yards or so OF you. It's
when you get down close to them and
look right down at them splitting fire
at you, that you have got to have every
nerve in your body tuned to the
minute"
"Tll never forget the first time they
got close to me-" declared boy" Tylie.
"My only thought was that l would
never shoot pheasant again. l knew
exactly how bird must feel when
hunter opens fire.
Machine Hit Eighty Times.
Brennan wore upon his left sleeve
the gold stripe of the wounded. "Gil"
had been OF the official list of the
killed in action some weeks ago, but
somehow or other came back to life.
When Brennan was "hit" and finally
came down safely within his lines, it
was found there were no less than 81
perforations in the wings of his ma
chine.
Il was so interested in looking over
their trenches l guess got little too
low," he explained.
There is nothing more interesting in
all London than to sit through long
autumn evening talking to the young
sters of the wonderful aviation service
Great Britain has built up since the
war began.
"We've got the German now where
they have to fire blindly or shoot by
the map" these intrepid men of the
air will tell you. "Of what use are
their wonderful guns if they don't
know what they are shooting at?
They don't dare send plane over our
lines. They don't even dare approach.
The minute they show themselves we
have an overwhelming number Of ma
chimes to send after them and they
beat ii for home again as fast as they
can 90. They can't take photograph
of our new positions. Their batteries
have been driven from the heights and
they can't observe. 1t Is big diff
ference from the first days of the
war;"
Associating much with Britain's fly
ing men one will soon learn that an
"Archibald," usually called "Archle'
for short, is an anti-aircraft gun.
The Air Gets In the Way.
"'Archie' barks at you" said Bren-
nan. "He goes 'woof, woof! He isn't
comfortable to listen to either, but it's
when you get down little nearer to
earth and the machine guns get to
working that you feel you have got
to do what you set out to do right
quickly and get started to some quiet
er spot just as fast as the air will get
out of your way and let you through.
You can't imagine how much that Old
atmosphere gets in your way when you
are really In hurry.
"When you get on speaking terms
with a machine gun you know that 1T
talks with putt, putt, putt The
ordinary hand rifle, which often takes
a shot at you when you get too close
to the trenches, goes crack, crack,
crack, just as every one expects
rifle to do.
"A flaming onion? Well, that looks
for all the world like an eight-candle
power electric light bulb coming at
YOU. Then all of sudden 1t breaks
into nice little ribbons Of fire that dart
and float through the air like so many
blazing serpents. They are very dis
agreeable, these onions. Their one de-
sire in life is to set you ablaze and
exnlode your petrol tank"
One thing the American always has
to remember over here is that gasO-
line, or just plain "gas" as the motor
lists and flying men call 1t at home,
has no place in the English lexicon.
1t is "petrOl.'