The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1916-10-26
AIRMEN'S SENSATIONS
IN BATTLE
(Lewis R. Freeman, in November
Popular Mechanics Magazine)
sHTho most striking thing to me

(Lewis R. Freeman, in November
Popular Mechanics Magazine)
The most striking thing to mt
about being under gun fire in al
aeroplane is the unreality of it," saiC
British aviator who has been fly
ing in Flanders since the outbreal
of the war. "The roar of your owl
engine browns the sound of the gun:
on the earth, and even the detona
tions of the shells which do not burs
very close at hand are rarely heard
Shrapnel bullets fly in broad cone
straight ahead-that is, in the same
direction as that in which the shell
| itself is moving-SO that practically
the only shell that ever does any
harm to you is the one which bursts
directly beneath your machine, anC
which, therefore, you do not see ex
plode. The little puff balls of smoke
which blossom out around you are
perfectly harmless. At the worst 8
few of their spent bullets may show
er back upon you, sometimes sc
gently that you can see, and even
reach hand and catch them. A shell
bursting even Immediately over you
is not dangerous in itself, but rather
ominous as indicating the fact that
the Arches have you well ranged.
The back kick from the shell casing
might stun you if it hit you on the
head, but the chance of that is al
most negligible.
'Ordinary heavy artillery is rarely
used against air craft, but occasions
ally ones work takes him into an
air zone in which some of the big
shells are travelling. This is one of
the most remarkable experiences
that can fall to the lot of an airman;
in fact, the weirdest sensations of
my whole flying experience are con-
nected with the occasion on which l
blundered into the road of a pass
ing '42.'
LAS you doubtless know, the Ger
mans have used their 17-in. guns for
the intermittent bombardment of
Dunkirk, and other points Is or 20
miles behind the lines, right down to
the present time. Well, l was at
an altitude of about 5000 feet one
day, and climbing higher at an easy
angle, when one of these big fellows,
almost at the end of it's long flight,
came plowing along in the opposite
direction. First a dark little blur
appeared in the air ahead, and at an
angle of about 35 degrees-a little
sleeper than the one at which l was
climbing me. At first it
seemed to be coming right at me, ,and
l swerved to the left in an instinc-
tive effort to dodge the threatenda
blow. Then a sort of droning hum
became audible, even above the roar
of my engine, and this sound increas-
ed during the two or three seconds
that elapsed before the big misseI
came even with and swept by me. 1t !
was probably several hundred yards
away, at its nearest, but the dis
tance seemed less.
"A few faint STRINGS of air began
to rock my machine even before the
she'll went by, but the full force of I
the .air wash was not felt for "A
fraction Of a second later. Then 3fk
almost solid wall OF afr nearly thzSsK
me on my beam ends, and was
really hard put to get the reeling ma
chine back on an even, keel For
the next mile or two thesair was like
the water in the wake of big side
wheeler-all chopped to pieces-and
the machine rocked like springless
motor lorry going over cobbles. The
air was disturbed for some seconds
after a big roar astern told me the
'42' had come to earth"