The sun., 1918-10-11
AMERICANS IN WARS
GREATEST AIR RAID
More Than $50 Machines Bomb
Cantonments IL Miles
North Of Verdun.
AIR NAVY NEARLY READY
Operation Preliminary to At
tacks for Penetrating as
Far as Berlin Itself.
BY ne zssociofed Press.

! WITH THE AMEaicAN FORCES MONTH";
| WEST or vKRDUN, Oct. 10.---An American
bombing expedition consisting OF more
than $50 machines dropped thirty
tons OF explosives yesterday on German
cantonnents in the area between Wav-
| rifle and Damvillers, about twelve milee
north Of verdun.
The American bombing exploit marks
one OF the high spots in the air feet
! operations Of the war In the expedition
! were more than 200 bombing airpianes.
100 pursuit machines ana nifty tri-
planes.
| The bombing machines got splendid
| protection during the aerial battle which
took place during the operation. Twelve
| enemy machines we're destroyed. Only
one Entente plane failed to return.
/ In addition American airplan@s de-
stroyed or brought down yesterday I'VE
| German machines and one balloon. They
also took n number of photographs and
dropped newspapers to the American
| troops.
There was intense aerial activity over
\ the whole OF the American front yester-
| day Lieuts. Irwin and Easterbrook
while on a liaison mission, encountered
Boche plane near Exermont and
! forced II to retire. few minutes later
| they met German biplane and a mono
plane over Varennes and drove the BIZ
plane down out OF control.
The Americans next encountered two
biplancs and forced them TO retire
| Starting on again they met biplane,
Americans then finished their mission OF
| locating a certain unit. Returning home
they fought big Haverstradt but with
out fnai decision.
| WASHINGTON, Oct. 1o.-word OF the
first great American air raid against the
German camps north Of vcrdun sent a
thrill through War Department officials
! to-day. although no Official report OF
details Ia d been received.
| So far as could be learned. however,
| the participation OF $50 machines in this
one enterprise marks II as the greatest
air offensive yet undertaken on the
western front in point OF number OF
forces employed. No record could be
discovered hero tonight showing either
allied or German bombing raids on any
thing like a similar scale.
! No official comment could be obtained
! pending the receipt Of formal advices
There Ia every reason to suppose, how
ever. that a considerable portion OF the
bombing planes used were De Haviland
bonbers, built in the United States and
equipped with Liberty motors Ship
ments Of these machines 20 France have
| now reached considerable proportions
and recent performance reports from
France have been encouraging.
Triplanes Must he French.
! The language OF the account OF the
raid. permitted to pass by the American
military censor, is taken here TO indi-
cate that the operation was a joint en-
| terprise, with French and possibly Brit
ish airplanes aiding in the protection OF
the Americans. The reference to nifty
triplanes included in this great air feet
found no explanation here. II they were
operated by American pilots they are
French built machines. and no details
| OF the equipment obtained abroad by
Gen. Pershing have been released for
publication.
The fact that only thirty two tons OF
bombs were dropped by such a force
struck some air service officers as sur
| prisins The ordinary bomb capacity of a
feet OF the kind described for such a
short trip probably would be ten times
| that weight OF explosives. II was said.
! The most significant feature of the
| first great American RAID. outside OF its
|