Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-10-18
FIGHTING FROM THE AIR.
What Pilot Did to the German
Eorces Recently

forceS recently
London, October l2.-During an at
tack it is Of vital importance that a
regular supply Of ammunition and
other necessaries should reach the men
in the trenches. and these. together
with reserves. are usually brought up
as close TO the lines as possible by
motor transport. Consequently during
an attack il is one Of the chief duties
Of the Royal Air Force to locate these
streams of transport behind the Ger
i man lines and either hamper their
movements by means Of bombs and
machine gun fire, or signal TO our gun
ners and let them do the work. Troops
on the march are also attacked and
many piece of German line has been
lost through the non-arrival of sup
porting troops who have been scatter
ed by an aeroplane's machine guns. a
pilot recently patrolling on the other
side of the German line noticed on one
particular road convoy of lorries and
long column Of hurrying troops.
It was the work Of few moments
TO send out a zone CALI to the gum
ners behind our lines, and shortly aft
erward shells began to fall amidst the
convoy. Through the smoke and dust
the pilot could dimly discern q strug-
Cling mass. and when the pail cleared
the torn road, Uttered with shattered
lorries and dotted with motionless
bodies, showed that the shells had been
effective.
As the pilot gazed upon the scene of
his handiwork. anti-aircraft guns took
up the tale. dotting the sky with brown
and white puffs of high explosive
shrapnel. Ignoring these, he COM
menced to count the damaged lorries.
but in the midst of his calculations
another convoy came into view. Once
more he sent out call to all the bat
teries within reach and again the
smoke OF destruction descended over
the country. Before the shellfire ceas-
ed yet third stream of motor wagons
hove i'm sight.
Fearing that another signal to the
guns before the second target had been
effectively dealt with. might cause
confusion. he put down the nose OF his
machine and flew along the line of the
latest arrivals, scattering his bombs
impartlally down the string. One of
hn hS inn L. l.; nd
the resulting explosion showed that at
least some Of the lorries carried am
munition.
a flame leaped high into the air, a
deafening roar reached the ear of the
pilot and mass Of tangled iron and
woodwork ascended heavenward. And
when the cloud cleared away he saw
that the road was blocked and that 1t
would be some considerable time be-
fore any of the undamaged transport
could return.
He then decided to liven matters up
a little. and turning about dropped to
within a couple of hundred feet OF the
ground and turned his machine gun
against the harassed survivors. 1t was
only the sight of still better target,
a battalion Of infantry, which made
him give up his work. Placing fresh
drum of ammunition on his gun, he
raked the close ranks of the marching
troops until they broke their forma-
ton and scattered in all directions
The pilot then searched out isolated
groups, and contemptuous of the rifle
fire of the remainder, continued to at
tack the enemy until his suprts-5f am
munition was exhausted.
Then and not until then did he re-
turn to his aerodrome and count the
holes in his planes. There were forty
in all, but as he had also counted at
least half that number of wrecked lor-
ries he felt that he had done a good
mornings work in the air.