South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-04-21
Flight of Airn1e1 Who
Bomb Huns as Told by
Watcher at Aerodron,e

payne too, for somebody had just
received a promotion and was cele-
bratins very mildly with a quart Of
wine We chatted FOR few mir-
utes and the Massachusetts man
told a little OF how he had deserted
exhibition flying in America 20 join
the British forces.
This bombing business isn't war"
he volunteered. II am a chauffeur:
my car is my plane. and my passen-
gers are bombs. / take my passen-
gers over the line and discharge
them safe and sound. and then
come home" His eyes twinkled as
he said r., brave fellow
A siren began its uncanny wall
ing somewhere outside, and a ST.
lence fell over the hall II was the
call TO arms" one by one "A men
separated themselves from their
comrades and stole quietly from the
room. They said nothing; nothing
was said 10 them: but scores OF
friendly. anxious eyes looked "bonne
chance We followed shortly, for
we had come 10 see the getaway"
and the return.
1t was dark. A pale crescent moon
struggled bravely but inenectively
| 10 clear away the gloom below.
Strange. shadowy figures were fiitt-
ing noiselessly about the grounds,
and against the skyline could be
seen the blots which represented the
great machines that stood waiting
for their pilots and observers. off
toward the east the sky quiverej
and glOwed ftfully with the crimson
flashes from a myriad guns while
the shrapnel hurled vicious flashes
all along the line. 1t was toward
these ominous beacons that the
flight was going.
Little Delay.
There was no delay. Time was
valuable for there were signs that
mists might come at any time. With
in five minutes the throbbinS of a
powerful engine began, a machine
gun barked as the observer tested
the weapon, and then the plane
glided swiftly away across the field
and swept into the air, its little sig
nal lights cleaning like stars.
Another followed, ard another, I'M
I'll the twelve had ali embarked on
their perilous voyage whose ending
no one could prophesy.
Gradually the blinking eyes Of the
planes disappeared, and we stood
and counted the minutes as we
strained our eyes towards the battle
lines where the fights would cross.
Suddenly a stream of balls of fire
began TO mount high into the air
over the trenches. The airmen had
reached the land OF hate, and their
punishment began in earnest.
The deluge continued, and the
! shrapnel flashed in ever increasing
numbers. German searchlights went
peering through the clouds and we
| learned later that one ray rested
| squarely on a British plane. 1t was
a. heartbreaking moment for the
pilot and observer. Their chances
were small. but the light moved on
and upward and the plane was again
enveloped in darkness.
All the planes but one We're across
/ the line at last. The one machine
came wheeling back, flashing it's
| personal signal as it felt it's way to-
wards home. A signal from the
ground answered and the plane
| circled slowly down and came bob
bling across the field. Engine trouble
/ had forced a return, but there had
been no accident.
I II neared the hour for the other
planes to be coming back The
squadron commander was passing up
I and down the field like a Gag u
| tiger His nerves were strained al
most TO the breaking point, and he
made no effort 10 conceal it, His
/ boys. the lads whom he loved like
| a brother. were out there over the
/ boche guns. He himself had spent
f; many bitter days and nights in a
| lighting plane, and he knew the
hell the fight was going through
at the moment. And so he stamped
/ about unhappily. with his peering
/ eyes ever on the eastern horizon.
watching for the twin stars which
/ would herald the return of at least
one OF his wanderers.
Signal by Lights.
I Finally a set of lights appeared
and swung swiftly towards the west.
/ Dash. dot, dash dot-"went the
/ code.
It's Brown and Little" sighed
1 the commander and he was off
! post haste toward the landing place.
/ The machine circled and perchej.
/ That YOU Brown ." the comman-
/ der demanded anxiously. Every
/ thing all right?"
/ He didn't ask whether they had
! reached their objective or whether
/ they had dropped their bombs. Were
/ his boys all right2
Brown and Little. are all right,
! sir" came the reply.
Ten times more the same thing
| happened. the planes sometimes
arriving in groups. one pilot and
I his observer were still out. We
waited a long time and they lid not
appear. The commander took him
| self off to be alone. and the other
| officers whispered quitely among
1 tba~,carxae There MAS rauadv- IN