The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1918-05-13
Twelve Observers in One Day
Trust to Parachutes in
Leaps for Life.
PERIL IN BURNING GAS BAGS
Flames Likely to overtake the De.
scendlns observers-Many Mar
row Escapes From Deathone
|. " Relates Experiences. u

servers Of the British Royal Flying
corps to an Associated Press corre15
ipondent when he visited one of their
camps behind the lines few days ago.
A balloon ascent at the front Is new
er a light undertaking, and on one day
recently when the correspondent Wis.
tied station in fairly inactive part
of the line six balloons containing II
men were shot down by German air.
planes, all within sight Of one another.
One Of the ~ officers who were COM
PEELED to reach terra firma by the para
chute route told the story Of his trip,
1--WE were perched at $500 feet" he
said. land had been up only half an
hour when column Of smoke two
miles southwark attracted our notice.
| "There goes'No. 49," said my observer
"Two white fecks floating earthward
| told us that the two passengers Of the
balloon had got clear in time. Just
then two similar specks appeared sud
| denly from under, another balloon
warning US that the Boche was out for
a wholesale killing this time. Six
more white specks now appeared, and
since it was evident that the. entire
line was being attacked, gave the
order to haul down. H..
Sudden Attack by Airpiane. -"
AT 1000 feet, ordered the winch
stopped. No more balloons had been at
tackled, and although ours was now
the only one up, could see British
fighting planes ascending from the air
dromes behind us to chase away the
enemy. So I. decided to venture UP
again. I'VE assembled to S,oO9feet thss
time, and soon were at work again. S@s
"Then suddenly something happen
ed. 1t happened swiftly as in dream,
We. didn't even see the German Alba
tross approaching, but our ground Off
Ger and his scouts gave us the alarm
Just second or two before the hawk
4 was on us. 1 heard my observer, at
the telephone, say suddenly, What's
| that? Stand by - Good Heavens!
Then he turned calmly to me and said
with smile, Sorry, old man, we must
| get out at once He helped me over
the side first. r. ~ - =. d I .
IT dropped and heard a ,'wumph' as
the para chute left its case. This was
the last sensation attempted to ana
lyze as fell like stone for 300 feet.
saw the balloon shoot violently up
ward, and then my view was blotted
out by a large white umbrella which
suddenly appeared above my head, and
I realized that the parachute had OPEN
ed. I didn't look down, as I felt my
body swaying easily in the breeze. The
roar above told me that the Alhatross
had done it's work and the balloon was
J afire. You cannot, Of course, maneuver
a parachute, and there is always the
possibility of the burning balloon over
! taking you and burning your only
means Of escape.
"But before reached the ground !
! saw far in front the Albatross crash
Ing to earth minus wing. She had
been hit by cluster of antiaircraft
shells. :,
! "'rhe next thing I knew was that
was lying in the middle Of plowed
| field, while short distance off saw
my observer coming across toward
me-" -
Narrow Escape From Death. :
All - of the officers of the wrecked
balloons escaped safely on this Occa.
sion. They are not always so fortu'
nate. At this same station few days
before an officer was shot and killed
when dropping in his parachute. His
balloon had been set afire by Ger
man airplane, and, as usual, he and
! his companion took to their para
chutes They had hardly got clear Of
the balloon when the attacking air
plane swooped down on them, its ma
chine gun in full play. One of the Off.
GERS vas killed. and, although the 9TH
err escaped, his parachute was, torn by
a bullet
| The balloon commander told the
story Of an officer who had gone up
alone and whose balloon was shelled
when flying at 1000 feet. On these &C.
casions it is dangerous to haul down.
| for the position of the winch Is thereby
| given away to the enemy gunners. Al
| last, after a cloud of shrapnel smoke
had appeared almost under the basket
and no response came down the tele-
phone wire to inquiries as to whether
! everything was all right, the ground
officer gave the order to haul down.
Ten minutes later the car touched the
| ground, and the observer was found
lying at the bottom of the basket, I'M.
conscious but unhurt. 1t was a bad
case OF shell shock, from which the
officer was several months in recov.
ering.
A few days ago, at a nearby station.
a balloon suddenly caught fire, for no
apparent reason. The two observers
tried to escape in their parachutes, but
the blazing balloon overlook them, and
they were killed. Theories as to the
cause Of the disaster were numerous,
1 h,1f the one most generally accented