The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-05-10

five minutes. theoretically I should
have been right over the environs of
my objective.
There was only one way to check
up my calculations and that was to
descend and make 'look-and-
see''
glanced at my altimeter and saw
that it registered 5000 feet. Then
I shut off the engine and dove down
sharply.
After a drop Of some 500 feet those
smothering clouds-machine and I
were as wet as though we had just
bathed in the Channel-began to
tighten with a truly startling sudden
ness the whole panorama Of the
ground below burst into my vision.
Regains His Nerve.
Immediately under the clouds I
brought the machine back again to
the horizontal and wove my way into
the f1eecy off shots Of the clouds
above, straining my eyes for glimpse
of landmarks that would direct me to
my Observation-Disclosures that had
SO carefully memorized from our
maps.
Now I picked up the railroad track.
A second later spotted four ware
bouses forming a square and I knew
where I was.
The station was five miles to the
north and I wavered.
had not made more than a mile
toward my objective before Fritz saw
me again. 1t was devilishly unfortun-
ate that this of all the mornings that
I had been up in the air should prove
to be the one that Fritz spotted me
with so little delay. Other mornings
I had been out for more than two
hours over his line long after sunrise
| without discovery.
A very fair representation Of a
tropical volcano was brewed above,
around and over me in less than a
minute after I had been spotted. At
once I appreciated that the anti-air-
craft protective scheme Of Blanckem
had been worked out to almost per-
lection by Fritz.
For the whole ground literally
seemed to belch flashes and smoke. I
have seen Vesuvius IN action and I as
sure you that at the moment flying
over its top low down seemed to be a
safer proposition than flying over
Blanckem.
| I tried to remember where the guns
were but for the life of me could not.
But there was not a moments time to
lose. I must not return empty-hand-
| ed. The station must be located
There was no turning back without
| the information. And there was only
one thing to do and that was to get
down still lower.
|. So I tipped and dove. Once in
plain sight of the Fritzies mannin the
"archies' that veritable volcano in
tensifed.
Suddenly I sustained a EARRING
shock. I knew I had been hit. But
their was no occasion to feel for the
wound that my brain could not locate
in the dizzy spell that followed for a
few seconds.
He Spots the Station.
Recovering, months of training and
experience at home and back Of the
lines came to the fore and I worked
by sheer instinct. shot down.
must battle the "Archies.''
| Round and round I spirral1ed. They
had a dizzy time all Of their own IL
following me.
I called upon my entire repertoire
Of stunts-right and left-hand turns
zig-zags, straight dives and what not
Fritz was firing wide of me and
trembled with joy at the realization
Nearer and nearer came the supply
depot in my sight-2,000, 1900, 1000
500. 400 feet.
Now it was wonderfully clear.
saw fully two score of newly bull
sidfngs. Freight cars damned them
Freight sheds dotted the big yart
here and there. The tracks we-
TANNED with cars. Heaps Of goods o
all kinds were stacked around an,
!, about. made ammunition dumps
I found my hand reaching for tn
: bomb-releasing levers.
The main station was now neari
directly below me. One more tIri
round-300 feet only! I looke'
l through the observation glass, saw tn
station come into the field, and pulle,
all the levers at once.
Then I swung around sharply an,
watched the bombs falling. 1t wa
| at that moment that had been hi
as I noticed the blood streaming dow,
= my wounded arm and the pain in m
shoulder.
AS the bombs struck the roofs be
low there were two large flashes an
Immediately the whole Of the build
r ings seemed to collapse like a pac
OF cards. There was a veritable in
o ferno of flames and black smoke.
b felt confident that a big conhagratio
had been started as well rs the am
e n1unition stores blown up. Severe
days later my hasty impression wa
a confirmed.
The Getaway.
A wild elation gripped me. ha
disobeyed orders. Please bear wit
me in my poorly-concealed pride BIT
! had done the work that a whol
T squadron might have been proud /
accomplish in destroying that an
munition store single-handed instea
- of just bringing back a confrmatio
of the report of its having been Ell
tablished.
AS turned the plane west my prid
collapsed, so sick, dizzy and faint we
I from loss of blood. Luckily ha
:, enough strength to guide the machir
- and ztg-zag back up into the cloud
Once there, got the control stick b,