The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1917-12-11
FLYER AWAKES
TO FIND Plane
IS UPSIDE DOWN
British Aviator Rights HIM
self After Faint and Downs
Foe.

BEHIND BRITISH LINES IN
FRANCE, Dec. Neutrality-suspicious.
OF The Associated Press) Stories OF
daring escapades of British aviators,
exciting aerial combats from which
the air-fighters escaped alive seem
ingly only by miracle and OF brilliant
ly executed raids upon German aero
dromes and troops behind the Ger
man lines are narrated in the reports
OF the Royal Flying Corps covering the
activities OF about one week.
Hair-raising incidents of fierce con-
flicts above the clouds or low over the
German communication lines are de-
scribed in these succinct report with
out bombast, as though these narrow
escapes from death were common
place and all in the days work OF the
air-fighter.
For example, there was the case Of
a British aviation officer, who, when
nearly a mile above the earth was at
tackled by two enemy aircraft. He
shot down one of them out of control
but was himself wounded and tainted
while still high in the air. Recover
ing consciousness he found his ma
chine upside down at an elevation OF
4 1000 feet with one enemy aircraft still
firing at him. The Britisher, however,
managed after a struggle to right MS
machine and land safely.
Foe Is Vanquished.
In a somewhat similar instance,
German scout attacked a British air
plane carrying pilot and observer.
One of the Germans bullets passed
through the gasoline tank OF the
British airplane ana seriously wound
ed the pilot. The British observer.
however, pumped full double drum OF
bullets at the enemy scout at very
close quarters and the German went
to the ground with crash.
Meanwhile the British pilot had
tainted and fallen against the steering
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 of 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-aircraft
fire and the engine damaged. Volplan-
ing, the machine landed 500 yards
from the British lines, the airplane
turned over and the aviators were
hurled out on the German side Of q
canal Running along the beach un-
der 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 reach the Brit
ish lines in safety
Tell of Daring.
Many instances illustrating the reck-
less. 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 EIeule aerodrome near
Lille and was fired upon by two ma
chine-guns. 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
uYan of 200 German infantrymen on
the road. A German two-seater air
plane was circling 500 feet above him
for an attack. II zoomed up under
its tail and fired into it." writes the