Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-04-10

feet below us pick a fight with nine
Hun machines.
l knew right then that we were
in for it, because / could see over
toward the ocean a whole flock OF
Hun machines which evidently had
escaped the attention of our scrappy
countrymen below us.
So we dove down on those nine
Huns. There were eight of us to
nine of them. But soon the other
machines which ! had seen in the
distance. and which were flying even
higher than we were, arrived on the
scene, and when they, in turn, dove
down on us, there was just twenty
of them to our eight!
Four Of them singled me out.
was diving, and they dove right
down after me, shooting as they
came. Their tracer bullets were
coming closer to me every moment.
These tracer bullets are balls OF
fire which enable the shooter to fol-
low the course his bullets are TAX
ing and to correct his aim according
ly. They do no more harm to pilot
If he is nit than an ordinary bullet,
but If they hit the petrol tank, good
night. When a machine catches fire
in flight there is no way of putting
for the fabric to, burn off the wings,
and then the machine drops like an
arrow. leaving a trail of smoke like
comet.
AS their tracer bullet came closer
and closer to me ] realized that my
chances of escape were nil. Their
very next shot, | felt must hit me.
Once, some days before. when |
was flying over the line / had watch
ed fight above me. A German ma
chine was set on fire, and dove down
through our formation in flames on
its way to the ground. The Hun was
diving at such a sharp angle that
both his wings came off, and as he
passed within few hundred feet of
me | saw the look of horror upon his
face.
Now, when | expected any mo-
ment to suffer a similar fate, l could
not help thinking of that poor Huns
last look of agony.
| realized that my only chance hay
in making an zimmerman turn. This
maneuver was invented by a Ger
man-onc of the greatest who ever
flew and who was killed in action
some time ago. Thus turn. which !
made successfully. brought one of
their machines right in front of me,
and as he sailed along barely ten
yards away, ! had the drop" on
him. and he knew it.
His white face, and startled eyes
/ can still see. He knew beyond
question that his last moment had
come. because his position prevented
his taking aim at me. while my gun
pointed straight at him. My FIRST
tracer bullet passed within a yard Of
his head, the second looked as If it
hit his shoulder. the third struck him
in the neck. and then | let him have
the whole works. and he went down
in a spinning nose dive.
All this time the three other Hun
machines were shooting away at me.
! could hear the bullets striking my
machine one after another | had
not the slightest idea that ! could
ever beat off these three Huns. but
there was nothing for me to do but
fight. and my hands were full.
In fighting, your machine is drop
ping, dropping all the time. |
glanced at my instruments. and my
altitude was between 5000 and 5000
feet While J was still looking at
the instruments. the whole blamed
works disappeared A burst of bull
let's went into the instrument board
and blew it to smithereens. another
bullet went through my upper lip,
and lodged in my throat, and the
next thing | knew was when | came
to in German hospital, the follow
ing morning at o'clock. German
time.
I Npte.