The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-10-19
BRITISH in Lead
AS AIR Fighters
American in French Service
Pays Tribute to Fliers From
England.
REGARD WORK SERIOUSLY
Germans Ahead as Builders, but Brit
ons Are Best Fliers-one Object
lie to Bring Back Information
Required by the Staff.

Required by the Staff.
London.-"There's only one air serv-
ice In this war and it's the British.
If that sounds like bit of British
swank, why. 1t merely isn't.
It's the precise statement of the
case which was made the other day
by an American airman who has been
during most of the war attached TO
the French air service. He knows all
about the air business, has taught
other men to fly and to fight and has
himself highly credltable record Of
bringing down Hun planes. He knows
all the stars OF the French service and
many Of the British.
He paid high tribute to the German
flying machines, observing repeatedly
that the procession of German Inn
provements in planes and engines
moves so swiftly that the allies are
all compelled to hustle constantly to
keep from being outdlstanced. When
ever the French and British catch up
with German construction the Germans
produce something new and still bet
ter.
Work With Land Forces.
Equally important, he declares, the
British have much the most accurate
notion of what the flying service is
about. They coordinate 1t with their
military operations most effectively.
They have less fear of the daily report
Of comparative losses on both sides.
They use the. aircraft for certain spe-
cific purposes; when the bit Of infor-
nation that is wanted is accounted OF
more value than the chance of losing
some machines, why the British serv-
ice goes after the information.
At the end Of the day it may be
necessary to make report admitting
that more British than German ma
chimes were lost; but what of that?
The needed observation was taken, or
the highly important photograph was
secured.
'srhe British operate their service
not with view to saving their ma
chimes, not with a notion of avoiding
dangers us much as possible; especial
ly not with the Idea that to lose more
machines than the enemy loses is a
showing of inferlority, a sign of de-
feat.
1.-THE British nvlators are not spoiled
with laudatlon and herolcs. They re-
gard themselves very much as so
many Tommies In the 'trenches do,
Their business is to go up when they
are told and get what they are sent
for; just as Tommys business is to
hang on till hades freezes when he's
attacked, and TO go over and never stop
when he's ordered to attack. Neither
one of them feels particularly enthu-
slastic about his job as a means TO
winning hOnors or distinction; he
doesn't think much about that part OF
It. He attends strictly to the job.
"Its the sporting instinct that makes
these Brltlshers such good flying men.
They're the greatest daredevlls in the
business; do anything, and get away
with things the Boche wouldn't think
Of trying. They don't look on their
work as a great series of personal adj
ventures but as part OF an organized
mechanism with objects good deal
bigger and more important than the
interest of any one man.
$50 the British don't take so much
interest in the Individual feats of Prov
ess Of favorable filers. Air duelling is
not the object of flying. The object
is to get the information ones sent
for and to get back with 1t.
"As soon as a fller crosses the line
he must count on the great danger of
being shot down by these guns as well
as on the chance of meeting an en-
envy in the air and having to fight him.
Disregard Losses.
"Of course all this means losses, and
when they've toted up at the end of
the day or week or month this part of
the showing may indicate that the
Boche has had all the best Of 1t.
But If there could be pitched into
the scale on the side of the British
service the results gained, the value
of information gained about the en-
emy and of information he has been
prevented from gaining about our own
lines, the showing of movements &C.
curately planned because of superior
information, of positions taken or ar
tillery fire accurately placed, of SOL
diers' lives saved because Of better In
telllgence about the enemy's weak
places-then the showing would be a
lot different.
Suppose set of photographs is
needed by the staff showing some Sec
ton Of the enemy's line perhaps con-
siderable distance back of the front.
To have those. photographs may decide
whether a parf ocular move is to be I'M