Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-05-12
GERMAN A|RMEN PAINT
CRAFT WITH MANY HuEs
British Flyers Find That Enemy Is
Decorating Ships With Gro
tcSQuc Patterns.
NOTHING SEEMS TOO GAuDY
Pilot Apparently Given Corte
Blanche With Brush-B @ or
Breakfast Exploits OF Single Nun
as Typical OF Adventures.

FRANCE. May 1.-THE fighting in the
air has taken on an entirely new in
tercst recently because OF the new Ger
man policy OF painting their machines
most HrotesGue patterns They seem
to have gotten this idea from the old
American Indian custom OF painting
their faces to brighten their opponents.
or else the spring fancies OF the Ger
man airmen hive been allowed to run
riot with vivid color effects. Each day
the British pilots bring home from
over the lines new reports of fan
tastic creations encountered amid the
clouds. The gayest feathercd song
sters that have come north with the
sprinS cannot hope TO rival the varie-
gated hues Of the harlequin birds that
rise daily from the German airdromcs.
Tho coming OF this fantastic order OF
things in the mir was first hcraldcd by
squadron OF scarlet German planes
met ten twelve days ago. II was
then noticed that some Of the enemy
machines were striped about the body
like yellowjackets.
Nowadays nothing appears too gaudy
10 meet the tastes Of the enemy airmen,
who seem to have been given carte
blanche with the paintbrush. There
are green planes with yellow noses.
coiored planes with greenish gray
wings. planes with rcd bodies, green
wings and yellow stripes. planes with
red body and wings OF green on top
OF blue, planes with light blue body
and red wings Virtually all the
Enudiest machines 20 in for red body
effects. with every possible comb!na-
ton OF colors on their wings. Some
have one green wing and one white.
Home have green wings tipped with
various colors.
LAVISH USE OF PAINT
DOES NOT STOP LOSSES
One OF the most fantastic in the last
few days had scarlet body. brown
tail. reddish brown wings. with white
maltese crosses against bright green
background. One machine looked like
pear fying through the air. 1t had
a pear-shapcd tail. and was painted a
ruddy brown. just II: e a larg. ripe
fruit.
One OF the picbald squadrons en-
countcred was made up OF wrtc. led
and green machines. There were still
others palpiably painted for what has
come TO be known as "camouneSe" pur-
poses. as guns. wagons and tents are
often painted 10 blend with tho land
This lavish use Of paint however.
has not reduced the heaN? daily loss
inflicted on the Germans by tho British
flyers. But II must not be imagined
that the German. are not putting up a
stalwart fight Just as their resist
encc has been strengthened on land. so
il has been III the air. Just Is the
Germans have thrown III new divisions
OF infantry and new batteries OF nrti!-
lcry 10 check the allies offensive. go
they have sent aloft hundreds Of new
machines TO contest for the mastery
OF the air. an important phase OF mod
ern war.
More than once the theory has been
put forward recently thai this stransss st
Of all wars may dircctl: or indirectly
be decided deep under the Sea or high
in the air.
FEW FIGHTS SEEN on
BRITISH SIDE OF LINE
The best evidences Of the way the
air battles are going is the fact that
virtually all of them take place miles
over the German lines. AL times the
German planes come over OH reconnols-
sance work. which they attempt to
carry out at height OF 5000 fee, or
more. II is tho rarcst thing. however.
of the line.
SO ii Is with bombing raids. We'd
ncsdey night enemy machines dropped
three bombs near railway station in
the British lines. but in OF the
ha!f-score OF raids carried our the same
night by the British. not less than fifty
six big bombs were dropped on n singh lie
German cncampment. \ tremendous
German ammunition dump was blown
up, the explosion being SO terrific that
one OF the British planes, 1000 feet
above It, was blown completely upside
down, and the surprised p!lo; had a
busy thirty seconds getting his boat
on an even keel again. one British
squadron had had its eyes on this dump
for some time. and the flyers were in
high Elee to-day over their success.
In the fighting yesterday the British
sent six Germans crashing, and drove
down eleven out Of control AS re-
suit OF bombing and lighting. only five
British machines were missing. The
toll OF machines brought down is no
index of the number of fights that
occur daily. Manfcstly these arc in
decisive. where brilliant pilots meet
md fight each other until exhausted
without either being able TO give the
other "the unlucky bullet" All the
fighters expect to get bullets through
their machines daily; 1t is only the
"unlucky one that counts"
FREE LANCE EXPLOITS
ARE DAILY ADVENTURES
1t is the custom OF all flying scr
vices now to permit the known
pilots to fly when and where they
will in search OF legitimate prey. The
before breakfast exploits of single
British pilot with such rowing COM
mission may he taken as typical OF
the daily adventures. and not unusual.
Talking the air about o'clock, no
cruised toward the morning sun. and
saw three British bombing machines
fighting five German alhatross scouts.
He dived at one of the scouts and be-
gan mancuverinG for position. when he
saw one OF the British bombers diving
steeply with hostile craft on his tail.
The British scout dived for this ma
a,t