The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-12-15
Closeup of an Air Fight Such as
u. S. Filters Soon Will
See
See
BY K. w. PAYNE.

With the British Armies in the
Field, France.-(By Mail.)-The scene
is near Ypres. Every road, village,
field and railway line is in turmoil
OF military activity. ..
Yet the activity in the skies is far
more absorbing than that on EARTH
The whole trench line with all its
curves is there charted out by a line
Of great golden-brown sausage bal
oons extending both north and south
out of sight into the haze.
British planes are necessarily dron.
ing u pand down among the balloons.
Suddenly this dreamy aerial peace
is interrupted by an unearthly up
roar. ''.' -,
Out of "a sunny cloud-bank a num-
Der of slow British airplanes come
winging their way homeward rather
low Black shellbursts from Ger.
man anti-aircraft guns are blossom
ing out under them. High up behind
them, apparently in pursuit and as yet
mere glistening silver specks, a host
Of Germany's fast fighting planes are
coming over. Their part of the, sky
is Enthusiastically busted with the, white
puffs from British shells. 1t is the
crash of these rival Archie shells
which first makes the heavens rever-
brate.
But machine gun fighting soon
breaks out also, and the chase rapid
ly becomes regular riot. It's like
huge aerial dog fight with new
participants continually showing up
from nobody knows where. This is
no private scrap. Anybody can get
into it and everybody within earshot
tries to. From up and down the line
and from each side of it new planes
continually put in an appearance,
spelling for a fight. The British air
men violently resent the Huns cheek
in actually daring to come over their
lines, something they have long since
forbidden him to do.
The sky is now cracking with ma
chine gun interchanges, and thunder
GUS with echoing explosions of the
Archie shells. We suddenly become
aware of dozen Boche planes right
over head, so high up as to be hardly
visible flashes of silver. Nobody
how they got there. Off to the north
two or three mere are lowering, and
ane lone daredevil is actually closing
in on us far below the usual German
safety altitude. To the south another
flight is heading in toward US. The
heavens seem suddenly to have be-
come positively stiff with German
fighters, flying generally highr than
the British and outnumbering them.
Successive groups of British Arches
close behind us open sharply on the
invading Hun planes overhead. which
are promptly pillowed in a cloud of
| feathery shell-puffs.
BY this time the battle has become
full-fledged riot and the innocent
bystander on earth can't make head
or tail of the rumpus.
Despite the confusion of friend and
foe in one vast rough-and-tumble up
road, certain features of the melee re-
main clear. The fast, fighting Eoche
planes are still closing in from above
| on the slower British planes.
Suddenly we hear low down close
ehind US the thunder of powerful en-
gines. A big flight of fast British
fighters has been tuned up at neigh
boring airdrome. It is rising now to
the fray. In perfect formation evil
IDENTIFY en- business bent, this air
squadron climbs.
And the Hun planes have seen
what's coming. No sooner are the
British fighters we'll off the earth and
headed into the heart OF the scrap,
than the Germans turn tail, every
last one of them and beat it for safe
ty. The whole hue and cry then goes
veering off eastward after them.
Flock after flock disappears into the
clouds where the row started. The
machine gun fighting grows fainter
and fainter and fades away.
NO SUGAR SHORTAGE.