Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-05-12
A|RPLANE KNOCKED
AGAINST MOUNTAIN
Altman Drops $500 Feet Past
Clouds, and Returns
by Train.
THRILLING WORK OF R. N. A. S.
British Pilot, Single-Handed, At
tacks Seven Enemy Ma
chimes and Wins Out.
international News nureau.1


public knows little more than that
about our airplanes. and the deeds that
arc done BY the lads who handle them.
Yet TO the common stock each section
tions saturated with pluck. adventure
and self neutrality-suspicious. which. be-
cause the world still knows nothing
OF the exploits that gave them birth.
knowledge.
But now l am permitted to tran
scribe from Admiralty records the
story OF certain typical achievements.
occurring in different countries at diff
fercnt dates. OF the Il. y. a. S.
Those records read like a sort of
Arabian Flights Entertainment" The
various narratives readily lend them
selves to much the same sort Of titles
figure in the venerable Eastern
ella ssic.
There is. for example. the story
OF an Airman Who Tried TO Bomb the
Kaiser and Then Bu;tcd Into Noun
tain"
ton was paid TO Chanak. in consc-
qucnce OF information that the Kaiser
and his encourage were paying visit
there. Everything pointed 10 the
spectacular arrangements in honor of
the supreme War Lord. In the Oar
dancllcs there was abnormal enemy
activity. and our people detected clabo-
rate precautions for reporting the
movements OF British aircraft Sew
cral machines set forth on an adven-
turc certain TO be attended by con-
sidera bic risk The weather was
abominablc. Only one OF the machines
reached the town. on which. however,
the pilot dropped number OF bombs.
After this his luck changed. In re-
turning he struck the side OF a noun
tain in the darkness. and the machine
caught fire on crashing. But things
might have been worse. Although
severely injured, the heroic lad .was
able to climb out OF his machine, and
he was found next morning by a Greek
shepherd.
Postscript-.At dawn on the follow
Ing day, In extremely bad weather. and
In spite of heavy antiaircraft fire. seven
machines effectively bombed Chanak
The reader may now like 10 pcrusc
the Brief History OF an Airman Who
After a Tusy Day. Went Home by
Train"
In October. 1916 a number OF r. ~
y. S. machines were dispatches from
lmbros TO Bucharest. distance OF
$40 miles. Thunderstorms and thick
Inists were encountered. and all those
airmen had bad time But we have
to do merely with one of them. After
passing westward Of Adrianople he
got mixed up with shocking weather
and an electric storm cost him the cor
troll OF his machine. From 5000 feet
he fell 10 1000 feet. at which height
he emerged up2.dc down out of a cloud
Fortunately control was rcgained at
500 feet While in tho cloud he several
times looped the loop without wanting
TO. and his compass became useless.
He decided - land. with a view. IL
possible, an adjustment of fittings
Alas! he came down near a Bulgarian
camp. Having discovered his mistake.
he was "taxying' off. when a party O.:
Gu!garians opened fire upon him.
Turning. he charged his enemies. whom
he scattered with few rounds from his
machine gun. Presently our young
hero was following the course OF
Danube. Thirty Bulgarians on barge
opened fire on him with rifles. So he
swung round and cmpticd a tray of
ammunition into that barge, with the
result that all those Bulgarians were
soon In the water. But the day was
not yet over. After crossing the
Danube he ran into rain and fog, com
pletely losing his bearings: and ulti-
IN tSl1 ha
ritory. Thence he returned 10 Bukha-
rest by train.
Finally, ] should like to find room
for the case Of "A British Pilot Who
Did Not Mind Odds" Off Middlekerke
he encountered five hostile machines
at 1900 feet He attacked them
single-handcd. and four retrea,ed.
Into the fifth, Fokkcr. lie fired
steeply into the sea at Ostend. Then
he noticed. not far away, large
aviatfk that seemed to want something,
Then the aviatik likewise dived seeply. !
But that is not quite all. On his way
homo the British lad encountered an
other aviatik. and. diving at 1t from
$4,000 feet. he forced II to descend
A service which. although at the |
outlook Of war Included only some five !
or six dozen scaplancs and about
double that number OF officers, now
has To its credit two V. C's. twenty
nine ID. $. O.'s. the humiliation of three |
Icppclins. innumcrablc bonn bardments |
of Zeebrusgo and the docks of Ostcnd, |
the winging of nearly two dozen Lon
don raiders. the dropping OF 1850 |
pounds OF food and a quantity of medi-
cal stores in bcsiegcd IIut, and the |
winning of praise from Sir Douglas |
liaig for services rendered i'm the |
present prolonged and colossal battle. |
Movies on Board Ship.
LONDON. May 1l.-Eighty ships OF |
the British feet arc now cnuinnnd