The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1917-06-05
UNDER FIRE IN THE Alb
Canadians Story OF Thrilling Fight
With German Machines

kind of experiences the Allied air
fighters are undergoing daily is given
in a letter written by Capt. Eric Rob-
ertson. Of Walkerton, Canada, writ
ten to his sister, Miss Ruth Robert
son, superintendent of st. Lukes Hos
pital, in Richmond, Va. The letter is
published by the Richmond News
Leads and was as follows:
Somewhere in France,
April a. 1917.
I wrote you about my scrap on Eas-
ter Sunday, didn't 1? | had an even
more exciting time yesterday. We
were sent out in formation of six ma
chimes to bomb a certain point about
ten miles behind the German lines.
We got up to 10000 feet before going
over and then fell into our places
and made a dash for it. Of course, we
we're we'll above the clouds and had
to rely on our compasses to know
when we had reached the point where
We should come down through. We
followed our leader and when he gave
the signal to descend We all diyed. |
The clouds were very thick-about A.
600 feet thorugh-and when We came
out on the other side the formation
had ceased to exist In fact as far as
I could see We were the only machine
in the sky However, I did see our
objective, and dived down to 1000
feet to be sure of getting the bombs
on it. After dropping our pills 1 turn
ed and made for home with throttle
wide open. and climbing to the eX-1
treme limit of the old bus capacity
knowing that we would get mighty
hot reception and hoping to gain the
shelter of the clouds, Then came the
"Archie'-hotter than anything I have
ever seen before, three guns giving
their entire attention to poor insignih-
cant me. There are no anti-alrcraitI
guns or gunners. that can compare
with the Huns an dthey say they can
get direct hit on any machine at any
height in three shots if it does not
alter it's course. The natural result OF
course is that we never fly for more
than a few seconds without swerving
left or right or up or down. and as a
general rule We dodge them without !
much trouble-but with three guns 1t
is different and I was kelt pretty
busy. My observer stood up in front
and motioned to me as each she'll
burst so that I would know how to
steer. AS it was they knocked lot OF!
holes in my wings, some Of them big
enough to put your head in. Sud-
denly, it all stopped, and then l knew
we we're in for some real trouble.
stood up on my seat and looked over
the ton plane and sure enough. climb
ing I'D to us as fast as ar elevator N
a city office building We're our OIL
those hateful little beasts AlDatros
scouts. the Germans newest and fast
est single seaters. For the next half
hour I was too busy to be scared.
Fortunately only the first two Huns
alta cked us-why I don't know, unless
II was that the other two thought that
it was too small job for them all
and they had every right to think So
for the Albatros scout is practically
twice as fast as the machine I was
flying.
In An Aerial Hornets Nest.
NV observer. a man from South
Africa. was right on the job, as COOL
as a cucumber. and working his tWol
machine guns as though he were
shooting at a bulls eye in a shooting
gallery. One came up under our tail,
knowing, of course, that that is our
"blind" and defenseless quarter. The
other one did half circles around US
from one side to the other and both
kept pouring a continuous stream OF
lead into us at anywhere from ten TO
80 wards range. A half dozen or so
,f the first bullets put our engine out
of action. and after that it was just
a case of putting my machine into as
many funny positions as possible SO as
to hamper their aim. can assure
YOU it was ten times as exciting as
any game of croquet you ever played.
That ceaseless pop-pop-pop-pop on the
right, on the left, behind, underneath
and the corresponding phit-phlt-phlt
of the bullets as they went past us,
or pierced some part of the machine
never let either of us forget for mo-
ment that there was a war on, Delleve
me. l had no idea that you could de
so many things with an aeroplane. l.
tried them all think, my one thougnt
being to get that cid bus safe on terra
frma again. The thing that put them
off more than anything else was div
ing side slip, for we lost far more
height than the Bosche could in a nor
NAL dive. So I think probably three
quarters of our descent was made in
that position It's surprising how
quickly you can lose height that Wav.
The pilot tube REGISTERED up to lSo
miles an hour. and when l looked at
it, it had gone over the top. AT that
time had left my seat and was kneel-
ing on the instrument board in front.
Ny com panicn was hanging onto some
wires or something and managed 70
keep in the machine somehow
Never Out of Control
Thank God, none of my controls