Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-10
FLIGHT LIEUTENANT, ALOFT,
DIRECTS CAPTURE OF U-BOAl
Squadron Swoops Down Submersible Guided by wire
less From Above-Volpanes to Sea in FLAMING AlrSnp'
Af1oat ID Hours-Thring Aerial Exploits
Bv ELLEN ADAIR
written spccidliy for the Evening Ledger

LONDON, May 27.-The flight lieutenant
follows the most daring of all professions
Such hairbreadth escapes high above the
clouds, such fierce duels in midair, where
a single slip would mean instantaneous
death And yet he loves his little gray
seaDlane and his strange career with love
that passes all understanding
was talking to the flight lieutenant only
] the other day In the pretty little seaside
| town which forms part of the English coast
| line he is helping to protect. He was paie
and worn, despite his sunburn, ana IN a
moment of expansiveness he explained the
reason of the cause and the wherefore OF
the why"
HAD a CHASTITY night of it, he said
II was scouting the heavens last evening
about 10000 feet up when blessed II the
machine didn't suddenly 20 on fire ana
blaze up! Twas an awful situation with
so many bombs on board. Luckily my OBJ
servers a level-headed sort of chap, ana
before I even had time TO give the order
he'd hurled the whole lot over the side of the
machine, II he'd hesitated an instant or II
the wire had caught we'd probably have
been blown in pieces right to the gates OF
heaven"
VoLPLANEs TO SAFETY.
"I volplaned down instantaneousy with
a frying, sizzling sensation all around me,
and praying that we'd hit the water before
the petrol tank exploded. As we were above
the clouds / might have been flying nearly
upside down for all l knew or even at an
angle of 45. 1t was impossible to tell di-
rectons.
after what seemed an eternity, but
must have really been only few seconds,
saw the sea rushing towards us at n
terrific pace. Here was another DANGER,
for it's difficult to tell the difference OF
few hundred feet or calculate the proximity
of the water, and one Is apt 10 mt the sea
so sharply that one would simply go
straight to the bottom and rise no more
/ had a great pal who did that, poor CHAP,
and we never found his body or trace or
his machine, either.
"But 1 was lucky and landed on the
crest of a great wave. The observer anu
tore our coats off and started crushing the
flames out, which now had reached the
petrol tank and were licking around 1t. The
best thing would have been to leap over
board, but as pilot l wouldn't leave the
machine, and the observer didn't want TO-
either. ,,,----
AT last we put the blaze out. Then more
trials began, For IA hours we drifted, |
helpless and incapacitated, on sea sum
GENTLY rough to send us to the bottom at
any moment. The wireless was broken, and |
| hadn't a rocket to send up for help We
lust missed hitting floating German mine'
which certainly would have blown us to
and my moor OLD observer was
so seasick that / believe he'd nave been
thankful If It had. Wish we could die
now and get it over" he kept groaning be-
.ween his paroxysms. He really was funny:
ia have been considerably more depressed
f 1t hadn't been for him.
"We'd lfebelts with us, of course, but
what use are lifebelts when one is halfway
,ver to Holland? l never really expected
o get back alive.
However after IA hours of it, cruiser
lighted us and towed us back to port. DID
remain in the machine all the way back?