Ripley County democrat., 1917-11-16
N LEAD
AS AIR FIGHTERS
american In French Service
Pays Tribute to Fliers From
| England.
REGARD WORK SERIOUSLY
osmans Ahead ~ Bulldsrs. but Brit.
ons Arc Best FiIers--one object
q to Bring Back Information
Required by the staff.

ls to Bring Back Information
Required BY the stafi.
London there's only one air serv
Ice In this war and lite the British
II that sounds like q bit Of British
swank, why, It merely Isn't. /
nv the precise statement Of the
case which was made the other day
BY IN 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 a highly creditable 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
nylng machines, observing repeatedly
that the procession Of German I'M
aprovements in planes and engines
moves 90 swiftly that the allies are
al 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.
3ter.
Work with Land Forcea
Equally important, be declares, the
British have much the most accurate
notion Of what the flying service is
iabout They coordinate 1t with their
military operations most effectively,
Thay have iess fear Of the dafiy 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 serp-
ice goes after the information.
I At the end Of the Day 1t may be
necessary to make report admitting
that more British than German ma.
chimes were lost; but what Of that I
The needed observation was taken, or
the highly important photograph was
secured.
'The British operate their service
mot with q view to saving their ma.
chimes, not with a notion Of avoiding
dangers as much as possible; especial.
ly not with the idea that to lose more
machines than the enemy loses is a
showing Of inferiority. q sign Of de-
feat.
'The British aviators are not spoiled
with laudation and heroicsL They re-
gard themselves very much as 80
many Tommies In the trenches do.
Their business is to 60 up when they
are told and get what they are sent
for; just as Tommy's business Is to
hang, on till hades freezes when he's
attacked, and to 90 over and never stop
when he's ordered to attack. Neither
tone Of them feels particularly enthu.
siastic about his Job as means to
winning honors or distinction; he
doesn't think much about that part Of
IL He attends strictly to the job.
ITS the sporting instinct that makes
these Britishers such good flying men.
They're the greatest daredevils In the
busihess, do anything, and get away
VIA things the Boche wouldn't think
Of trying. They don't look on their
work as . great series Of personal ad-
ventures but as part Of an organized
mechanism with objects q good deal
bigger and more important than the
interest Of any one man.
so the British don't take so much
interest In the individual feats Of PROV
ess Of favorable hlers. Air duelllng Is
not the object Of flying. The object
is to get the information ones sent
for and to get back with It.
As soon as fiier 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-
emy In the air and having to fight him.
Disregard Lossss.
@0f course oil 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
EnrIxe A.. k.l III thn hr.k - a.