The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-07-25
AMERICANS WORKING
WITH BRITISH FLYERS
Tricks OF Expert Air Squadron
in Flanders
SPECIALISTS IN zEEBRUGGE
Our Men Have Not Participated in
Amy Night Raids on U-Boat LARS
Yet But Have Been UP During Day
in Giant Handley-Paige Machines.

British Front. July 24.-Haif a
dozen American naval officers are
Temporarily working with the British
specializes in bombing Zeebrugge,
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-Paige machines which car
ries enough explosives to blow O
small town completely off the map.
The Americans have sat in as pilots
on the huge biplanes. they have
handled the various machine guns
on board--and the Handley-Paige
fairly bristles with Lewis guns--and
they have practiced bomb dropping
not with real projectiles however
merely with dummies until they be-
come more accurate in releasing the
deadly missiles.
1t 10 one of the elite sauadrons OF
the royal air forces which has been
granted the coveted assignment OF
pcppering Zeebrugge mole and the
harbor, Ostend channel and the basin
and the Bruges canals and dry docks
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
undo all the work that the patient
boches have accomplished during the
day toward reopening their blocked
exists to the sea.
The innumerable submarines and
fourteen large high-speed destroysrs
which were trapped in the Belgian
ports when the vindictive and her es-
corts sealed up the entrances are sui
there, and although whole regiments
of German pioneers have been work
ing like tro1ans for nearly TWO
months, the sea outlets are more ell
fectually blocked than ever and the
damage to the German naval station
at Bruges grows apace.
Just recently certain young man
plotting a HandleyPaige machine de-
scended to a very low altitude in the
teeth of a murderous fire from Ger
man ANTI aircraft guns OF all cah-
bres and In the center of a vortex OF
score OF searchiights, and dropped
bombs on the lock gates at Bruges
blowing them and the concrete blocks
TO bits, as photographs taken from
an aeropiane next day prove conclu-
sively.
Let Fly Large Bomb.
pilto swooped to the feeblest 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
Photographs taken later showed the
place a wreck and the effect was thai
400 German workmen were killed OF
injured and all OF the machiner,
smashed to junk by the bomb.
The enemy has doubled, quad
rupied and Occupied his aerial de.
lenses at zeebrugge. Ostend anc
Bruges, during the last six weeks aae
| has conferred most of his heavies
anti aircraft guns and searchlights =
! Bruges, evidently hopeless OF ever he
! ing able to free the two ports again
| but anxious to safeguard the fnlanc
| town, which Ii connected by canal
with both the ports.
| In exasperation al the damage in
nicted on 2eehrugge, ostend an
! Bruges. the Boches tried TO play
havoc at Dunkirk and Calais, but tbs
| British aviation nipped that scheme
| In the bud by the simplest tactics
ed their attention On the asrodrcmes
from which the enemy raiders started
and smashed, and disorganazed tas
entire German bombarding aviation
| service in Flanders,
The huge British rafding machine;
were not called off their allotted tasl
OF keeping the Belgian ports bottles
| to break up the enemys aviation
plains however. That Job was con
| fded to other British squadrons o.
smaller machines and carrying les
weighty bombs az the huge projectile'
used against steel and stone. and con
crete are not necessary, agairs
hangers OF lightwood and canvas
| One may not state how many. hd
a very Largo rumber OF the enemy
lates, model Gotha and Friedrich
shafen lonE-radius bombing machine:
were smashed or burned by British
aviator In their daily and nightly at
| lacks on the enemy aerodromes u
Flanders Their activities are ons
reason why the enemy has not raid
ed London and. Paris more often re
Gently. He has not the machines Il
spare for these spectacular affairs
| Many Of the long radius bombing
machines which escaped the British
| bombs have been transferred to shoie
range bombing trips to points JUS