New-York tribune., 1918-06-15
Plane Motor Stops
Far Over Hun Line,
But Filler Escapes
New Yorker Tells of Thrill
ing Flight of
Miles
Teeth Break in Crash
That Is His Principal Injury,
Though His Machine
Is Wrecked

With his motor "dead" at an altitude
of $4,000 feet, his fight companions far
away in pursuit of enemy flyers, and as
sailed by German "circus" of half
dozen German combat planes, First
Lieutenant Frederick Dudley Doan, of
New York, was yet able to land safely
near the headquarters of his squadron,
unit Of the British air forces, on the
night of May 81. His machine was
completely wrecked, but the only per-
sonal damage he suffered, according to
a letter just received by his mother,
was the loss of q wisdom tooth, which,
apparently, was driven through his jaw.
Lieutenant Doan is twenty years old.
His grandfather was Brigadier General
Frederick T. Locke, chief of staff of the
9Th Corps of the Federal Army in the
Civil War. His father, until his death
ABOUT five years ago, was head Of the
classical department of Doan College,
Nebraska, which was named for his
family.
On account of his age and lack of
TOR service in any department of the
United States military establishment,
and enlisted in the British air forces
last summer He was trained at Toron-
to, became a second lieutenant last De-
cember and was promoted to his pres
ent grade in March The story of his
exploit is told in two letters to his
mother, Mrs. Adelaide Locke Doan. The
hrst, dated May 22, says:
"May %, 1918.
"Mother Dear. Your little boy is still
living, although the squadron had given
me up as missing or dead.
I'VE went over the lines at about
$4,000 feet last night at o'clock AS
soon as we got over the lines trouble
started. The Huns filled the air with
shells, and the black and white patches
OF bursting shells were all around the
machines. My motor was no good at
all and l lost the flight to which
belonged.
FINALLY, after fooling around by my
self for while ten miles in Hunland,
found another flight of our squadron,
to which tried to tack on. After
dodging shells for while the fight
dived on three Huns, and the last 1 saw
OF any of our machines was my tent
mate, whom passed about twenty feet
away. Then my motor died, and there
was l, ten miles behind the German
, lines, at $4,000 feet, with a dead en-
gine.
Shortly afterward the whole Ger
man air force attacked, and you could
not see for bullets. There must have
been forty or fifty of the Huns. As my
engine was going only once in a while
started out for our own lines, with
half dozen Huns hanging on to my
tail. finally got across our lines and
landed. But what landing!
"The first time l touched the ground
my right wheel came off and ran along
side of me. Then ali of a sudden
: everything went black, and the next
thing | knew some one was telling me
, the machine was not on fire and they
would get me out in time. The ma
chine was an absolute wreck, and had
three teeth broken, one of which was
split up and down. Otherwise not q
scratch. Well, they hauled me out and
took me down to headquarters, where
'phoned my safe p arrival They sent
over and packed my remains and
we returned twentyfour hours later.
The place where l landed furnished me
sheets and three good meals. So why
worry? 80
81 was mighty darn lucky. Of course
our men got three Huns IN the scrap.
That is understood.'
Lieutenant Doan continues the story
, Of his remarkable experience in a sec
ond letter May "a as follows:
Mother Dear: Just at present I
; am a pretty sight. My right cheek is
swollen out like balloon and I have
hole in my lower jaw you could put
, a house in. Also not allowed to fly for
| two days. I have left part of me some
good wisdom tooth. T all came from
that blamed crash I had recently. OF
course I was awfully lucky to get back
across the lines without being shot
down or landing in Germany, and still
more lucky to get out of the wreckage
without being killed, as the machine
was all in little bits, and l was under
meath, as usual.
Cali that got was this tooth, split
from top to bottom, and two others
Clipped. Yesterday | went to the hos
pital, took gas and had it out and then
caught cold in the excavation.
} "If you want to know how it feels 90
have your motor stop VIXEN you are
, ten miles behind the German lines Just
try it."
In a previous letter, penned just be-
fore his escape from death or capture,
, the young New York flyer, tells how
one of his companions killed German
> on whom he could not train his ma
chine gun.
ain ordinary times" he says, eve
do only one show a day. That is, one
two and half hour patrol into Hun
land. But when the push is on it
means three shows day.
,. Zone of the boys in this outfit was
, strating trenches. flying just over the
. tops, and up ahead he could see a Hun
aiming at him with rifle. He was too
near the ground to use his machine
gun, so he just dropped another six
inches and took the Huns head off
! with the axle of his under carriage.
: "The blow broke the axle and knocked