Evening star., 1918-06-23
AMAZING RECORD
/ OF FIGHTERS IN AIR
French Bombers and Chasers
Formed Into Disciplined
"Groupement."
BECOME TERROR TO HUNS
By PAUL AYRES ROCKWELL.
Cablesram to The Sunday Star and
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1918.

By PAUL AYRES ROCKWELL.
Cablesram to The Sunday Star and
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1918.
WITH THE FRENCH ARMIES, June
is-The other day / spent several
hours at the camp of the most i'm
portant and widely famed aerial for
nation. composed of several groups
of bombing airplanes, which work
together under the leadership of Com
mandant Vuillemin. The French
Aviation Corps was reorganized some
time ago, and the highest unit now
is that known as a "groupemont."
corresponding in the army of the air
to regiment in the army of the land.
Each groupement comprises bombing
and chasing groups, each of which is
composed of a certain number of es-
cadrilles or squadrons.
The sroupement which I visited has
been busy day and night ever since
the Germans began their first offensive
on March q. AS the group is not at
tached to any special army corps. it
always hastens to any point along the
entire front where heavy fighting is
taking place.
When orders come to move to new
scene of activity no working hours
are lost while making the change OF
place. The groups equipment is
loaded into motor cars which go ahead
and install a new camp. Meanwhile.
every pilot loads his airplane with
bombs, flies over into the enemy lines.
drops his burden, comes back and
lands at the new field.
nF.L D.s5. Nk.l. - no1y1;erbf
Contrary to the practice of the Ger
man bobbing pilots almost never
crossing into French territory during
the day time, the French execute the
greater number of the raids in broad
daylight Orders come to lombard
certain railway stations and military
establishments where unusual activity
has been observed. The number of
airplanes needed for successfully
carrying out the raid undetermined.
every airplane going on the trip is
carefully overhauled, and all possible
precautions are taken to forestall the
danger of the motor giving trouble
over enemy territory and forcing the
machine to land and be captured, or OF
the machine gun going wrong during
a combat.
The bombs are of various sizes.
ranging from 20 to 120 pounds in
weight each. Lately French bomb
ing airplanes have been crossing the
lines in groups seventy or eighty
strong. The flight is divided into
squads of five to eight each. A squad
is led by a pilot selected because Of
his skill and experience and the other
pilots must follow him. The flight
rises into the air squad by squad and
all the airplanes meet over a pre-
arranged landmark within friendly ter
ritory, there forming a battle line"
for invading the enemy in the air.
Every pilot engaged in this work has
been thoroughly trained in group fly
ing. All the airplanes fly in COM
pact formation The machines in the
first row fly from fifteen to twenty
meters (forty-five to sixty feeD apart.
The other rows follow twenty-five or
thirty meters (seventy-five or ninety
feeD behind. 1t is therefore difficult
for the German airplane to attack.
Finds "swarms" Behind Lines.
over the French lines. but when the
French bombers cross into German
territory they always find swarms of
Teuton airplanes, who defend the pas
sage valiantly. Regular pitched bat
ties take place in which join French
chasing machines charged with ac-
companying the raiders to force a way
the bombing machines may continue
on their way and drop projectiles
on the desired objective. AS long as
a bombing airplane remains with it's
fellows in the formation it is fairly
secure. but should any machine lag
behind because of a defective engine
or other mishap it is singled out by
a number of enemy fliers. and its
chances of a safe return are small.
A fair idea of the enormity of the
work accomplished by the vuillemin
groupement may be gathered from the
fact that since June ] its pilots and
gunner bombarders have dropped
within the German lines more than
$50 tons of high explosive bombs. have
fired several hundred thousand car
tridges upon enemy troops and de-
stroyed eighteen German airplanes in
combats. And during the same period
Of time the loses of the groupement
have been small, as only six airplanes
have been shot down by enemy fiiers
r. r. Stations Objects of Attack.
All the railway stations occupied by
the Germans in the Disc and Somme
region have been bombed. while night
ly the principal enemy aviation fields
have been copiously sprinkled with
high explosives, burning or wrecking
many planes. Among the enemy air
camps attacked was that of the no.
torious tango" group, formerly led
by the Red Baron" Won Richtehofen
and his brother. A German COM
munique fecently claimed the 400th
victory for the tango band. Only yes
terday Vuillemin's bombers had a bat
tie with the tango chasers. downing
three Teuton machines and losing but
one themselves.
Another German chasing group fire.
quently encountered Is that commanded
by Capt. Berthold, an ace who Is cred
ited with thirty-one victims. All the
machines OF this group have painted
on the fuselage a checkerboard, but it's
pilots never succeed in checking the dar-
ing Frenchmen.
The airplane most used for bombing
purposes by the French is a new type OF
Breguet. 1t Is a two-seater 1t is SOL
Idly constructed for high speed despite
heavy load. Three machine guns are
mounted SO that they can be fred by the
pilot while the gunner bombarder uses
twin guns mounted on a pivot allowing
a wide range.
The German triplane Fokker is espe-
cially constructed for attacking the
Breguet. The Follker has no great div
ing ability. but climbs very rapidly and
can mount almost vertically. The only
dead" point from which Breguet may
be attacked with impunity is under the
tail Of the machine. The German pilots
know this and maneuver to get under
the tall thereby sometimes being able
TO approach within ten or fifteen meters
go to 45 fee) of their opponent The