Omaha daily bee., 1918-09-29
IGHT AIR RAID
EXPLOIT FULL
! OF GREAT Peril
Daring Pilots Of the Sky Risk
i Life to Bomb Defensive
Works Of the Ger.
man Foe.

rlan submarine base in Belgium, are
- graz hically described by Capt. Paul
Bew Usher, D. S. C., of the British
, Roy u air force. Bruges has been
1)gao cited 10 air attacks 50 often
f}}fhat i is now considered one OF
I The hes. defended cities on the west
"Th%piot and observer OF q
BritNlight bombing machine pro-
ceekng to Bruges have usually no
difficulty in finding their way, as q
hJze Of light from the searchligh,s
en- be seen 20 or 80 miles off, the
captain writes. As they draw near
FER they see maze OF IS or 10
4 searchlighis moving restlessly over
the town, looking for some ma.
chimes whose engine has been
heard. Suddenly. they see the red
fash OF a bursting bomb and then
another and another. A, once
chains OF brilliant emerald -colored
balls Of FIRE pour upwards in cease
less lines. filling the sky with green
bubbles OF light. The machine is
NOT picked up, howver, and gradu-
ally. the. lights and shell fire die
away.
At Ease 10000 Feet Up.
Nov they are drawing nearer
and the observer crawls through a
little door into the nose OF the ma
chine, examines his bomb-handle.
and adjusts the bomb dropping
sigh, As he kneels. heavily muf-
fed figure. in his little wooden cock
pit 10000 feet over nothing, he is
80 absorbed in watching the ground
that his surroundings seem to him
perfectly normal; he is entirely At
his ease
"Below he sees the black line OF
the canal which he is using as a
guide. He turns the pilo, TO the left
with a wave OF his hand, and then
again to the right. and stops him
with an uplifted arm.
"Ahead he can see the dark mass
OF the town. and to the lett the long
basins OF the docks. Far to the left
lies the dark line OF the Belgian
coast. and over Os,ende and Zee
brugge move the sen,inel search
lights. Bruges lies dark and dim.
snatching brief rest from its
tumultuous night.
Dives Toward. Target.
"The observer waves his hand,
and the roar OF the ,engines dies
away into silence, as the machine
dives toward its target. He I'M
straps his bomb handle and leans
far over the front, looking down
to the shining water OF the dock,
Y absorbed in following the course Of
1.-The little metal bar OF the sight 1t
@Sches the docks and crosses
With quick gesture, he
Il rthe pilot 10 the lett, and the
bar sweeps round and crosses the
section OF the quay he wishes to
attack.
HE checks the pilot and holds
his bomblever in readiness. Hun.
dreds OF Germans stand waiting at
their guns, machine guns. search
4 lights and green ball machines. but
he thinks OF nothing save the pas
sage oil the metal ar across the
black mass between the two SHIN
ing strips OF water.
Drops Fourteen Bombss
Suddenly his sight registers the
range. He pushes the lever for
ward slowly. pulls it back again.
and again pushes it forward. and
again and again. From behind there
comes The click and cla.ter OF four
teen dropping bombs.
lie shouts TO the pilot to turn,
and one huge wing climbs toward
the stars and the machine sweeps
around and away from the weller
OF shells and searchlights that the
explosion OF the bombs will bring
Gazing downward, the observer
sees at the edge OF a quay a red
squirt of flame which slowly dies
away Two others follow, in the
water where lie destroyers and sub
marines. and then more and more
burst on the sheds in the middle.
A white sheet OF flame bursts IRON
one shed, and fading slowly leaves
red glare. An ammunition store
has been blown up. The other
bombs burs, across the wharves and
crowded basins. leaving huge clouds
OF white smoke where they have
wrought destruction,
simultaneously, with the burst.
ing OF the first bomb, hundreds OF
green balls come streaming in
swaying curves from the ground.
and pour upwards past the wings
on both sides. Like a handful of
ribbons the searchIights have been
thrown up. and fill the sky with
wards OF light which weave q
strange pattern all around the ma
chine. .Gunhre flashes around the
town, and close to the machine now
bursts the clamorous barrage.
Ut was an awe-inspiring din. but
through it the observer has heard
the thud OF the bursting bombs be-
low. He scrambles back to the
pilot and laughs. ,Searchlights
sweep to and fro, fantastic strings
OF green balls bubble upwards, and
the fash of the shells seems to fill
the whole sky.
"The machine roar. on home.
wards through a maelstrom OF
fame and FIRE. The attack has been
pressed home. and on the docks OF
Rruges the ammunition sheds are
shattered and in flames. and water
Is pouring into the battered sides
OF the submarines. The airmen
fly home. well content with theh
consciousness Of duty we'll done,
and leave far behind, the search
lights still vainly securing every
quarter Of the heavens--too ate"