The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-04-24


 I may not tell you the precise route by which we proceeded towards our objective, because that is a sec ret theAGermans would give much to know, but I can tell you that we reached Mainz in due course. That the Germans would give much not to know.
 AsSsoon as I reached the extreme limit of my own flight I turned to Hook back, and the sight saw was "a magnificent one. Below me was ;the town, will all the signs of activity Ito be expected in a great industrial iandscommercial. center, which is like wise~aA garrison town of some import lance. Our advent had been so sud ldenSthat apparently no@warnings had been given. Factory chimneys were sstilI Abelching forth smoke. Crowds ' istfll thronged the streets. and in the center of the city there appeared to sbo-a- tmarket insprogresS
 UNDERSTANDABLE
 Suddenly from down below many sirens shrtelsed shriI1y, followed by lShe roar of gunffre, and high up in eSAA IarOund us as our squadrons closed over the town Below all was-pan1c land. confusion. At the~z1tftndeaI was flying I could plainly see the people ShuErying for shelter, I could hear sk1eA sudden cessation of the noise Of It7reshau1narss In the yardS'below, and in the harrack squares I could see the hespaEadeSgroun denudede4of troops Even as these things were taking place buunbs were dropping. saw onetbornb fiuaSa billet in the infantry Sbmrracks, and saw flames rise up lwAEdsyas hurrying mensfell downward either to escape fragments or because they had been hit,
 Away to the north of the town tiny specks appeared in the sky.-1 guessed they were aeroplanes, but whether they were British or German I was ignorant. as, the man in the moon. As they came nearer'I SEW they were not British, and at that same moment l made a signal. From our bombing sQuadronS some machines were de- tatched- They spread across the sky fin the direction of the newcomers They began to spit out bullets from itheirtmachfnegguns The enemy came Sonsin spite of that, making brave ishow ase his six aviators~ returned the fire ofSour machines.
 Just when the opposing squadrons iwereyabout fifty yards4apart the Ger mans wheeled about and made off. EOur men pursued. Two of the Ger mans were soon in difficulties. One Iwho was being pressed very hard turned in his eagerness towards the spoint Iewas flying. had already irisen, to- greater altitude in antic- ipaGIonsofs something of the~kind.
 My machine gun was ready for just such an emergency. I fired. The German had his thumbs on his own Igun, ready to riddle me with bullets Even. as I fired expected to be rid dled, but instead the German feI back in his seat. His machine, out of control, passed close tonne, nearly upsetting me as it passed.
 From the throat of the dead mar came a strange cry that didn't sound like anything human Before the ma chine finally went to its doom the second man in it tried to take control I fired again. What effect the sho Ihad'I am not quite sure, but the ma chine spun round three times and the1 crashed down to earth, falling a fam ing mass, on the roof of a tall build ling, then gliding still further into thu street, apparently on the heads O terrified civilians.
 GOTHA NO. DOOMED
 The second German machine il dif6culties was overtaken by some o ours. After a brief flight the Hu1 went to earth, like a flaming bal withsits freight of two human beings EvenAas this machine fell there cam from below the roar of a great ex plosion, and after that a lhnge tongu of flame which appeared to reac within-a flew feet of our nearest mo chimes, which bounded upward, a Though the occupants were jumping avoid being scorched by the flames
 Bombs had fallen on the cheif mu milton factory of the town, and could be- seen in flames as I passe over on the way home. Over tc wards the river I could see also tn glare of many fires, and as we gc clear of tthe town there was a trai standing alongside, which appeared t be a huge shed for storinf ammun tion. I got over the mark, and lt fly a bomb. Train and shed scene to rise into the air and meet me thel The hit was a lucky one.
 The noise of the explosion was lii that of a great earthquake, and tt fire that followed reddened the cour tryside all the way back over tt Rhine to our lines.
 Behind us the noise of the enen machines in pursuit was carried C the breeze. The pursuing Huns ha mo terror for us. We took little n, tice, except that occasionally V turned to use our machine guns ( tlI0se whoagot too close They we mot game A few rounds suficed
 send emsbachsto4safety and we soc got to the point where we had
 crosssthe enemy lines. Here we we assai1ed by a furious fire, and clou of enemy planes dashedstowards us
 OUT AGAIN
 There was a-~slarp fight, in whiC our machines seemed to emerge f few minutes to be lost in the clou
 k,enemy- machines. Then they b