The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1918-07-24
BOMBING GERMAN
NAVAL DEPOTS
American Officers Are Working With
the British in Their Destructive
Airplane Attacks on Zeebrugge,
Ostend and Bruges-Thcse
Raids Have Done Immense
DANCE to U-Boat Sta
tions in Flanders

! oSlSltu dltu bTuSeS-l NCSc
Raids Have Done Immense
| DANCE to U-Boat Sta
tions in Flanders
British Front, July 22.-Half a doz-
en- American naval officers are tenn
porarily working with the British air
squadron in Flanders which special
ICES in bombing Zeebrugee, Ostend
and Bruges.
So far these Americans have not
participated in any of the night raids
on the U-boat lairs, but they have
been up during the day in the giant
Handley-Page machines, which carry
! enough explosives to blow small
town completely off the map.
The Americans have sat in as pilots
on the huge biplanes, they have han
died the various machine guns on
brlstles with Lewis guns-and they
have. prscticed bomb dropping, not
with real projectiles, however, merely
with dummies, until they become more
accurate in releasing the deadly mis-
siles.
1t is one of the elite squadrons of
he Royal Air force which has been
granted the coveted assignment Of
:noering Zeebrugge mole and the
rbor, Ostend channel and the basin
and the Rruges canals and drydocks
continually since the British navy
plugged the two entrances to the
North sea some weeks ago. The raid
ing airplanes go out by night and un-
do all the work that the patient
boches have accomplished during the
day toward reopening their blocked
exits to the sea.
Belgian Ports Blocked
The innumerable submarines and
IA large high-specd destroyers which
were trapped in the Belgian ports
when the Vindictive and her escort
sealed up the entrances are still there
and although whole regiments of Ger
man pioneers have been working like
trojans for nearly two months, the sea
outlets are more effectively blocked
than ever and the damage to the
German naval station at Brugges
grows apace.
Just recently certain young man
plotting Handley-Pagc machine de-
scended to a very low altitude in the
teeth Of a murderous fire from Ger
man anti-arcraft guns of all calibers
and in the center of vortex of
score of powerful searchlights, and
dropped three giant bombs on the lock
gates at Brugges, blowing them and
the concrete blocks to bits, as photo
graphs taken from an aeroplane next
day proved conclusively.
pilot swooped to the fecblest altitude
and let fly one of his largest bombs
, fair and square on a large factory
which the Germans had converted into
a munitions making plant. Photo
graphs taken later showed the place
| a wreck and the effect was that 400
German Workmen were killed or in
jured, and al of the machinery
smashed to junk by the bomb.
| Smashed German Aviation Service
The enemy has doubled, quadrupled
and octupled his aerial defenses at
Ieebrugge, Ostend and Brugge during
the last six weeks, and has centered
most Of his heaviest anti-aircraft guns
and searchlights at Bruges, evidently
hopeless Of ever being able to free the
two ports again but anxious to safe
guard the inland town, which is con-
nected by canals with both the ports.
In evaporation at the damage in
fflicted on ,Zeebrugge,, ostend and
Bruges, the boches tried to play havoc
ish aviation nipped that scheme in
Unable. They merely concentrated at
tention on the aerodromes from which
the enemy raiders started and smash
ed and disorganized the entire German
bombarding aviation service in Flan-
ders.
The huge British raiding machines
were now called off their allotted task
of keeping the Belgian ports bottled
to break up the enemy's aviatios
plans, however. That job was confided
to other British squaGrons of smaller
machines and carrying less weighty
bombs as the huge projectiles used
against steel and stone and concrete
are not necessary against hangars of
light wood and canvas.
Prevents Raiding London
One may not state how many, but
very large number OF the enemy's
latest model Gotha and Briedrick-
shafen long-radius bombing machines
were smashed to matchwood or burned
by British aviators in their daily and
nightly attacks on the enemy aero
dromes in Flanders. Their activities
are one reason why the enemy has not
raided London and Paris more often
recently. He has not the machines to
spare for these spectacular affairs.
| Many of the lonp-radius bomhino, ma.