The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1916-03-21
BRITISH SHOOT
ONE AIR RAIDER
Three Towns Attacked, 9 People
Killed, 81 injured.
IS BOMBS HURLED ON KENT

For First Time British Aviators Ap-
pear Able to Get Foes Birdmen
Who Drop Bombs-Pars Reports
Great Aeroplane Battle About Yer
dun-Seven Planes Are Brought
Down.
London, Mar. 2c-For the first
time definitely reported in the course
of the war, German aerial raiders paid
with their lives for an attack upon
the coast of England A daylight
tacular yet made upon England gave
the British aerial defense corps the OPP
portunity for which it has waited. and
a single British aviator pursued one
of the raiders thirty miles to sea,
and after a fifteen-minute battle,
brought down one of the
German machines. The observer was
killed and the pilot is presumed to
have lost his life.
Four German aeroplanes appeared
above the Kentish coast, leaving
trail of forty-eight bombs, many per-
sons killed and wounded and numer-
GUS ruined buildings in their wake be-
fore being driven away.
Though the death list Sunday was
only nine persons killed and thirty
one injured, considerably less than on
several previous raids, the attack was
one of the most serious of the war.
The admiralty admits the raid and
though giving no definite estimates of
the damage done indicates from the
points of attack mentioned that 1t
may have been serious.
British Official Report.
London, Mar. 20.-The war office is
sued the following statement:
-Four German seaplanes bombarded
East Kent today. They appeared over
Dover, flying at height Of between
ped six bombs on the harbor and then
went northwest, throwing bombs on
the town. The other, after passing
over Dover, appeared over Deal and
dropped several bombs. A second
pair bombarded Ramsgate. One went
a British aeroplane. One machine
dropped bombs on Margate. A second
over Westgate, where our
aeroplanes pursued 1t. No bombs
were dropped.
The casualties SO far are: Nine
ir,ir fnr
be ascertained, 488 bombs were drop
ped One bomb fell on the Canadian
hospital at Ramsgate, causing damage
but no casualties. Material damage
was done to several houses. Flight
Bonne pursued the raider
for thirty miles over the sea where
after an action lasting a quarter or
an hour the raider was forced to de-
scend. The observer was killed.
Seven Planes Brought Down.
Paris, Mar. 20.-The war office told
of one of the greatest aerial battles
Of the war in its afternoon report,
which says: "In Verdun region one OF
our aeroplanes brought down Ger
man machine which landed within our
lines near Mont-Seville.
"Five Of our double-motor aero
planes bonn barded the German balloon
station at Metz, the ammunition de-
pots near Chateau Salins and the
aerodrome at Dieuze. Thirty shells OF
large calibre were dropped during the
course Of this expedition Of which
twenty fell on the station at Metz.
Zone of our groups Of bombing
aeroplanes, composed of twenty-three
machines, dropped seventy-two shells
on the aviation camp at Habsheim
and the freight station at Mulhouse.
Enemy aeroplanes pursuing our air
men engaged them in an aerial bat
tie during which one French machine
and one German machine were forced
to descend by their reciprocal ma
chine gun fire. Two other German
aeroplanes fell in flames and three Of
ours were seriously damaged and
were obliged to descend In enemy ter.
ritory."