The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-07-11
SUPERB GRITTY OF
BRITISH AlRNEN
EST Abolished BY
RECENT FIGHTING
Work Of Bombing Squad
rons Growing Steadily
In Importance
CONDUCT RAIDS
AT Low LEVELS
Bombs And Machine Guns
Do Great Execution Be-
hind Enemy Lines
CONDUCT RAIDS
AT Low LEVELS
(By Associated Press.l


With the British Army in France.
July. 11.-Superiority in the air,
clean cut and upquestionable, rests
with the British flying men today.
There have been periods in times
past when it seemed that a very
Slight addition Of strength to either
one side or the other might tip the
balance temporarily. but no such
period exists now. British airmen
are supreme.
Not only have the Kings flyers
been maintaining g. decided upper
hand in the intense fighting in the
air. but the work of British bombing
sQuadrons has far exceeded that Of
the enemy in vigor and results. In
the more spectacular field of opera
tons, aerial fighting, the British
have pounded hostile pilots until the
greater part Of their battles have
occurred east Of the German line. In
numerous engagements, staged ev-
cry day when the weather permitted,
great numbers of hostile machines
have been destroyed. One British
aviator alone has sent % crashing
to the earth in the last few months
and others of his comrades are not
far behind in their total.
The work of bombing squadrons
has been growing steadily and the
British have been reaching further
and further into German back areas
in search of military detectives.
There has been no let up. Day and
night squadrons of British planes
have kept UP an almost endless bonn
bardment Of important positions and
j. the accuracy in bomb dropping is
testified to in scores Of photographs
OF destructive hits.
Loss of Life Heavy.
Not only have railways, airdromes
and other vital detectives been eff
fectively bombed. but the loss Of life
among German troops in concentra-
ton camps has been exceedingly
heavy. Captured documents bear
testimony to this and prisoners ad-
NIT 1t. The British have consistent
" conducted their raids from an ex-
ceedingly low height, sometimes com
Ing down to within fifty feet of the
ground to loose bombs. The Ger
mans on the other hand, seldom
venture below 10000 feet because of
their fear Of the British aircraft de-
fenses which reached a stage of per-
Tection never before achieved. The
difference in the accuracy of the two
services in bomb dropping thus has
an obvious explanation.
The straight shooting Of their
bombers is exsmplified by the work
OF one pilot who attacked two Ger
man trains near Hermies the other
day. He obtained a direct hit on the
first train and then blew up the
track in front of it. Diving on an
other train nearby. he knocked two
trucks off the track with explosives.
Having stalled these trains he pro-
ceeded to rake them viciously with
=
seven other trains shortly after
wards with good results.
There have been few battles Of
late on the British front in which
1rmen could play a striking part, but
In the combined Australian Ameri-
can attack south Of the Somme on
July 4, the British pilots did out
standing and invaluable work. Ger
man infantry columns, concentration
points, ammunition trains and bat
teries were heavily bombed through
Sout the engagement and numerous
machine gun and battery crews were
knocked out by these low flying ter
rors Even Individual infantrymen
were run down and shot by pilots who
sWooped and swirled over the fields
like dragon flies.
An example OF the methods en-
ployed was seen southeast Of Lam
pilot blew up a German lorry and
blocked a highway crowded bv
marching troops. He then began a
WhirlWind Of machine gun fire
against the unprotected riflemen who
probably suffered more casualties in
the next five minutes than they id
in all the rest Of the battle.
Germans oItfousht.
The German airmen were doing a
lot of low flying that day, as is their
custom during trouble and they were
outfought, many of their planes be-
ing destroyed
Out Of scores of aerial combats
recently, there have been some that
produced unusual features. On July
4, a battle royal was fought between
the British and twenty hostile planes.
DESPITE the fact that the British
We're greatly outnumbered. they came
out victorious Three of the enemy
machines had been destroyed and
another driven down out Of control
when the fight ended, while all the
British returned safely.
On July 1, near Braye, a British
captain, who was leading an often
stye patrol, dived on a. German biz
plane and pumped a stream Of bni-
lets into it, while sitting directly on
its tail. The enemy went down al
most Immediately in flames. The
captain then fired at another Ger
man. who went down vertically, but
what happened to the Hun was not
determined. Then the captain with
three other planes, attacked a great
German fleet of about forty ma
Chimes. The captain so riddled one
enemy scout that one of his wings
fell off and it crashed like . stone
He next wheeled on another scout
and shot it down out of control with
bursts from above. The captain be-
ing almost out of ammunition start
ed to return home alone, when he
was attacked by four German scents
He did a turn and a half roll and
got onto the tail of the leader. unon |
whom he poured a yolIey from his |
ped in a swirl of flame. This ex-
hausted the British captains arnnu-
milton and he flew home.