Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-12-17
BRITISH A|RMEN
ARE VERY DARING
THEY TAKE MOST DESPERATE
CHANCES THOUSANDS OF FEET
ABOVE GROUND IN FIGHTS WITH
THE GERMANS.

BEHIND THE BRITISH LINES IN
FRANCE, Dec. Histories of daring
escapades of British aviators, exciting
aerial combats which the air-tighters
esctped alive seemingly only by
miracle and of brilliantly executed
raids upon German aerodromes and
troops behind the German lines are
narrated in the reports of the Royal
Flying Corps covering the activities
Of about one week. Hair raising in
cidents of fierce conflicts above the
clouds or low over the German COM
munication lines are described in
these succinct reports without BON
bast, as these narrow escapes from
death were commonplace and all il
the days work of the air-fghter.
For example, there was the case of
a British aviation officer who, when
nearly a mile above the earth, was
attacked by two enemy aircraft. He
shot down one of them out of con-
troll but was himself wounded and
tainted while still high in the air. Re-
covering consciousness he found his
machine upside down at an elevation
of 1000 feet with one enemy aircraft
still firing at him. The Britisher,
however, managed after a struggle to
right his machine and land safely.
In a somewhat similar instance, a
German scout attacked British air
plane carrying a pilot and observer.
One of the Germans bullets passed
/ through the gasoline tank of the Brit
ish airplane and seriously wounded
the pilot The British observer, how
ever, pumped a double drum of bull
lets at the enemy scout at very close
quarters and the German went to the
ground with a crash
Meanwhile the British pilot had
tainted and fallen against the steer
stick" in such a fashion as to throw
the airplane into a spin. The British
observer climbed over the side and
forward along the plane to the pilots
cockpit, lifted the pilot to his seat
and, still standing on the wing Ct
the plane released the steering gear,
brought the machine out of the spin
and safely to the ground.
Two British officers were returning
from an expedition over the enemy
lines to locate hostile batteries when
their machine was hit by anti-air-
craft fire and the engine damaged.
Volplaning, the machine landed 800
yards from the British lines, the air
plane turned over and the aviators
were hurled out on the German side
OF a canal, Running along the beach
under heavy fire from rifles and ma
chine-guns, the aviators dived into
the canal only to find it full of barbed
wire but managed to reacl the Brit
ish lines in safety.
Many instances illustrating the
reckless daring of the British aviators
sent over the German lines to obtain
Information, destroy aerodromes and
harry the German reserves are con-
tanned in the official narratives. One
pilot who crossed the lines at Ypres,
threw off two attacking machines,
bombed the Heule aerodrome near
Lille and was fired upon by two ma
chine-gun He dived at one of them,
firing with both guns of the British
airplane, drove the Germans from
their guns, fired upon the aerodrome
again, attacked and scattered col
umn of zoo German infantrymen on
the road A german two-seater air
plane was circling 500 feet above him
for an attack. 81 zoomad up under
its tail and fired into it." writes the
British aviator 1T crashed down
onto the railway"
Another British pilot had fired a
hundred rounds on German troops on
the march when he was interrupted
by two enemy airplanes. He attacked
them and drove both down and then
finished the job of driving the German
infantry in trenches and she'l-holes
FLYING at the height of 200 feet a
British aviator engaged in revolver
duel with two German officers in
motor and while doing so ran into
some lines of telegraph wirns but
fortunately his machine cut them. A
few later he attacked a German III
fantry which escaped his gun only nv
diving into a pond