The evening leader., 1917-08-08
BRITISH A|RMAN
MADE GOOD
WITH MACHINE
THRILLING FEAT ILLUSTRATES
HUNS LOSS OF AIR
SUPREMACY

| LOHuOu, Aug. I'LL ilO uIdIlCu VI
the British army does personal inita-
tive count more. than in the flying
corps. In no branch of the service has
it been more encouraged. The British
pilot held the German in check by
sheer inherent man-power when ma
chine supremacy was undeniably Ger
man. Now that this supremacy has
been neutralized by the increasing ef-
fectiveness of the British airplane,
British pilots are given still greater
liberty of action, and many of them
act in what might be called '''free
lance" capacity, says British official
statement.
One of those rowing airmen was
over the battle line early one morning
with no other purpose than that Of
sending to destruction any hostile
plane which he might chance to meet,
when the singular scarcity of possible
opponents decided him to push further
afeld.
Then the German gunners concen-
trated their attention on him. Clouds
of anti-aircraft shrapnel festooned
his course, and flaming onions"-in-
fammable shells designed to set fire
to an airplane-groaned up from be-
low and burst in groups. But all
the efforts of the German gunners
were in vain. Now nose-diving and
side-slipping, now soaring skyward,
fthe British airman pirouetted his way
through the poisonous, fame-starred
mist, and broke clear to the fresh
| cloudy heavens out of range.
Safe past this "zone of the Arch'
ies," he spied German aviator high
above watching for chance to
"come down on the tail" of an unsus-
pecting pilot, favorite method of at
tack with Hun airmen. The Briton
decided to rid himself of the menace
without more ado.
Descending 1000 feet or so, he de-
liberately slid under a bank of clouds
and there circled slowly, waiting for
the German to drop on him. Like a
yacht driving through the spindrift
of breaking wave the hostile air.
plane broke through the encircling
mist and drove straight down on his
antagonist. Down went the nose of
the British machine. AS if held to-
gether by an invisible stay, these two
giant hawks dashed earthward. Sud-
denly the foremost machine swooped
upward and the famous side-loop man
euver was performed. Ere the Ger
man realized what had happened, his
intended victim had reversed the order
of the dive, and a well-directed burst
of machine-gun fire sent the one-time
pursuer crashing to the earth.
Rid of his adversary, the British
airman ascended and few eastward.
Through the cloud patches he saw the
German aerodome which was his OBJ
jective. Earthward he swooped.
The Germans saw him coming and,
frantic airmen tried to get aloft be-
fore his arrival. One left the ground,
but splash of machine-gun bullets
killed it's pilot and it slipped to de-
struction. Another made the attempt,
but ere it had risen so feet, it shared
the fate of the other machines.
A group of mechanics struggled
with third plane. A spray of bullets
swept over them and they struggled
no longer.
There was silence in that aero
drome, and a stiffness, and no living
man was to be seen. The British ma
chine droned lazily up above while its
pilot rectifed a jammed machine gun.
Then it swept over the hangers, rid
ding them and the aeroplanes within.
Content with his work, the Briton
turned homeward.
More than 10 miles away were the
British lines. One German attempted
to intercept him. He boldly volplaned
down, the German machine gun began
to stutter, then the German pilot bank
ed and dived. He was afraid to fight
alone.
Again the "Archie" clusters blurred
the sky, but the range was oogreat
for them to be dangerous. A few
minutes later the adventurous voyage
ended and the Briton was safe. The
results of this sole effort were three
hostile aeroplanes destroyed, and the
whole squadron, with its aerodome,
wiped off the German fighting
Istrength for days to come.