Evening star., 1918-08-09

flying at low attitudes, with conditions
| made as easy as possible, then they
are sent up to between 5000 and 1000
feet where they continue to practice
/, until they can hit the target.
The target Is a circle twenty -five
feet in radius, painted on the ground.
They pass over their target at a speed
of more than a mile a minute while
| they shoot"
Foreigners claim that Americans
are prone to exaggerate. but in this
case the proof is available at the
fields. Nine out of ten bombing crews
can score seven hits out of ten shots
| at this stage.
To Avoid Hun Anti-Aircraft.
You may read that the German anti
| aircraft batteries can pick OFF planes
| in the air at 1000 feet. They can
sometimes. but they score one hit for
| about 10000 shells at that altitude.
The next period of training takes
the men higher in the air. They ascend
to between 5000 and 1000 feet. Here.
| while in training. they do not have to
worry at all. They worry but little
more in action. for in the higher levels
| of these ranges. say 10000 to 1000
feet. the boche doesn't average better
than one hit to every $4,000 anti-craft
shots. So our bombers will be COM
! paratively safe enough at these
| heights.
| At the 1o.ooo-foot level, the same
sized target is used-differing from
! small arms practice here. 1t looks
like a diminutive fly speck on the
ground nearly two miles below. The
pilot is navigating the ship on an even
| keel, at a certain speed and SO that
| it will pass directly over the target.
The bomber, having taken into ac-
| nj no nf the chin n :
| ton and the wind. has set his sights
! and looked to his release and bombs.
| Now he peers intensely through the
sight. his finger on the release trigger.
AS the target below passes the cross
| wires in the sight he squeeZes the
trigger. "Tick" goes the release. For
| twenty-five seconds he watches the
| bomb travel on its course. until the
| white ball of smoke shows where 1t
has landed in relation to the target.
| These are plaster of Paris bombs.
balanced and weighed the same as the
real bombs. but not loaded"
Our bing crews have to be able
| to hit moving targets as well as still
ones, even moving trains and surprise
| targets. Incidentally they must hit
| the dummy train and not the neigh
| boring fields. Practice is also given
! them in diving upon moving target,
say the kaiser's auto, and putting a
| bomb in it. This is considered great
sport. There is plenty of action In
! this work at the front, even enough
| to suit the average American youth.
| Think of diving several thousand feet,
| through an anti-aircraft barrage
| probably, leveling of near the ground
at about 100 feet. placing your bomb
| and then lodging up and OF again
| with the angry "A. AS" firing at you
from all points.
Having passed these stages. the fne
| points of bombing are now, given to
the crews. They are taught how to
| get pictorial information Of enemy
country. In this and subsequent
stages, perfectly peaceful and inno-
| cent towns adjacent to the bombing
fields are subjected to bombardments
| A squadron goes out to map the
| proposed point to be destroyed. The
photos, maps and reports are COM
pleted. and the next day the bomb
raiding ships go out in formation, fly
ing by their maps directly to their
objectives. A camera obscura Is set
up in the town and the shots are re-
| corded as they are made. Instead OF
releasing the bomb the bomber fires a
Very pistol. the flash of which Is
plotted by the camera obscura and the
result Of his "shot" recorded.
| Besides these imaginary attacks
upon villages, real attacks with
bombs are carried out on dummy viii
| lagos.