Arizona republican., 1918-05-15

appeared high in the air and sank slowly earthward- signal that the aeroplanes had been seen and under stood. Almost coincidentally with their first bombs came the first shells, whooping up from the moni- tors at sea. The surprise part of the attack was sprung. The surprise, de- spite the Germans watchfulness, seems to have been complete. Up until the moment when the torpedoes of the motor boats exploded there had not been shot from the land only occasional routine star shells.
 Launches Work We'll The motor launches were doing their work magnificently. These per feet warships, manned by officers and men of the royal naval volunteer re- serve, are specialists at smoke pro- duction. They built to either hand of the Vindictives course the likeness of dense sea mist, driving landward with the wind. Star shells paled and were lost as they sank in it; the beams of searchlights seemed to break off short upon its front It blinded the observers in the great batteries, Which suddenly, upon the warning of the explosions of guns, roared into action.
 There was tremendous uproar. The coast about Ostend. is ponderously equipped with batteries, each with a name known and identified as von Tirpitz, von Hindenburg, Deutschland, Cecilia and the rest. They register from six inches to monsters of 15-inch naval piece in land turrets, and the royal marine artillery fights a war long duel with them. These now opened fire into the smoke and over it at the monitors and marines. And the monitors replied.
 Guns Search for AirpIanes
 Meanwhile, the airplanes were bombing methodically and anti-air- craft guns were searching the skies for them. Star shells spouted up and l floated down, lighting the smoke banks with spreading green fires, and those string of luminous green balls, which the airmen call flaming onions,' scared up, to lose themselves in the | clouds.
 Through all this blaze of conflict, the old Vindictive, still unhurrying was walking She lighted waters to- ward the entrance. It was then that those on the destroyers became aware that what seemed to be merely smoke was wet and cold; that the rigging was beginning to drip, and that there were no longer any stars. A. sea fog had come on.
 ''The destroyers had to turn on their lights and use their sirens to keep in touch with each other. The air attack was suspended, and the Vindictive, with some distance yet to go, found herself in gross darkness. There were motor boats on either side of her escorting her to the entrance. These were supplied with what are called Dover flares, enormous lights capable of Illuminating square miles of sea. At once every pistol was fired as a signal to light these, but the fog and smoke together were too dense for even flares.
 Finds Entrance With Difficulty
 "The Vindictive then put her helm over and started to cruise to find the entrance. Twice she must have washed across, and at the third turn, upon reaching the position at which she first lost her way, there came a rift in the mist, and she saw the en- trance and the piers on either side and an opening dead ahead.
 "The motorboat U. P. 22, command ed by Acting Lieutenant Guy L. Cock burn, raced on into the opening under heavy and momentarily growing fire and planted a flare on the water be- tween the piers. The Vindictive steamed over it and on. She was in
 'The guns found her at once. She was hit every few seconds after she entered, her scared hull broken afresh in score of places, her decks and upper works swept by machine guns.
 After her control was demolished by shell which killed all the occu- pants, including Sub-Lieutenant An gus H. MacLachan, who was in con- mand of 1t, the upper and lower bridges and the chart room, swept by bullets, Commander Godsal ordered the officers. to go with him to the coming tower. They observed through the observation slit in the steel wal of the coming tower that the eastern pier was preached some 200 yards from the seaward end. as though al some time a ship had been in collision with it. They saw the front of the town shilouetted again and again ir the light of the guns that blazed al them. The night was patchwork ol fire and darkness.
 Immediately after passing the breach in the pier, Commander Gpdsal