Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-13
LONDON. Jan. 90.

LONDON. Jan. 20.
ssJJOW did you enjoy your first nisht
II In the air." ! asked newly
arrived American officer IN London to-
day. lie had been taken for nip" in
an a!rplanr over the city
How dld I 'oy it?" he said. "Nen.
am one " thos. quiet individuals to
whom TIE affair seemed something OF an
adventure.
was frightened? Frankly. there
we're moments when | was.
"But I was much too Interested to he
reoliv frightened The whole business
was utterly and rantasticallv different
from anything had experienced before.
II wasn't an atom like autcmohilinc or
tobornrinC or ya Hhtinv or diving. And
this was the curious thing--it was still
les l,kn tlyinG.
"Thlt apunls absurd" he continued.
"IIorc IL what mean; The nlanc.
with myself In It's front soat and my
Milo, horribly unrcacN1h'e at the rear.
rushed forward in a roaring torrent OF
mir from its propeller, l"aN.d q little.
and then imporccp'ihlv left the ground.
'T saw the ground sinking. looked
,icvn on roofs. hrl then our motion
Seemed to slow and cease We hao
-.onncd Tying Th' proucl''r Tin roar"d
do7fcNlngly in front of my nose. IT,
wind stln tore at my cap and goggles
Eut we mad' no proTrcss. We were
only struggling, pctulant mechanism
in an adverse gale
'Tra. ! saw was my imp"o aston. For
Ncrea,h mo the ground was now so dis
tqnt that any object on which | fixed my
owe moved with extreme slowness across
. ;rf. iYI
7uponr to move at all It Is only by
watching objects passing that we gain
any idea Of speed
"Thcre are no objects passing YOU I'm
r,idajr. And there IS o fricti.n or
humping of whcc'3 - make one realize
'hat one Is travelling. as you realize II
ven when you shut your eyes In train
or car.
"The consequence is that when you
arc hurting through the air at a hum
lied miles an hour as | was, you are
,,ny,nccd that tho plane is remaining
s,ationary. but being fcrociously beaten
,,pon by n wind which g. trying to push
L hack and just falling
The awful devastating noise of the
engine is ones chief prcoccupation at
first and the tremendous lone mess, l
never felt SO intensely and utterly alone
in my ne. nlI dIbNlh i'''''''6
ness. And II this were the case when
the pygmy world was visible below how
much stronger was It when we rose
above the clouds and the earth and the
city of London were hlotted OUT That
white realm was a loneliness indeed
literally unearthly-beautiful, but APP
palling.
"It was just then that I felt qualnl
Ike seasickuess. My head seemed TO be
spinning round. ! did not realize 1t; bu'
II was not my head that was sp nnlng
round. It was the plane. Nose down
ward. round and round through the
clouds, Whirling mists encirclng us
Thus we ended our flight with thrill
at least It was "A thrill for me. though
doubtless a mere nothing to the pi ot
Lastly, long. slanting slide TO
earth, and the discovery, when ! tried
to step out of my seat that was
almost frozen "
GROUND STRAFING"
There is one expression that | hear
constantly from various airmen OF my
acquaintance, and that Is 'grouno
! stratlng."
Ground strafng" is becoming more
and more Il feature of air work on the
Allied fronts.
The Allies airplanes, low-hying, are