Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1918-06-27
A scout. sometimes called a fighting


you are expected to pick fights ant
not wait until they come to your
4 When bon.b troopers go out ovel
the lines in the daytime a scout squad
ron usually conveys them. The bomt
choppers fly at about twelve thousand
feet, and scouts thousand feet or SO
above them.
! If at any time they should be at
tackled, ii is the duty of the scouts to
! dive down and carry on the fight. the
orders of the bomb troopers being to
go on dropping bombs and not to fight
unless they have to. There is seldom
I a time that machines go out over the
/ lines on this work in the daytime that
they are not attacked at some time or
other, and so the scouts usually have
plenty of work to do. In addition to
these attacks, however, the squadron
is invariably under constant lombard
ment from the ground, but that doesn't
worry us very much, as we know pref
ty well how to avoid being hit from
that quarter.
On my first flight, after joining the
squadron, was taken out over the
lines to get look at things, map out
my location in case I was ever lost,
locate the forests, lakes and other
landmarks and get the general lay of
the land.
One thing that was impressed upon
me very emphaticalIy was the location
Of the hospitals, so that in case I was
ever wounded and had the strength to
pick my landing 1 could land as near
as possible TO hospital. All these
things new pilot goes through DUR
ing the first two or three days after
joining squadron.
Our regular routine was two flights !
a day, each of two hours duration. !
After doing our regular patrol, it was !
our privilege TO go off on our own hook
If We wished, before going back to
the squadron.
l soon found out that my squadron
was some hot squadron, our flyers be-
ing almost always assigned TO special
duty work, such as shooting I'D
at height of fifty feet from
the ground.
l received my baptism into this kind
Of work the third time 1 went out over
the lines, and 1 would recommend it
to anyone who is hankering for excite
nent. You are not only apt TO be at
tackled by hostile aircraft from above,
but you are swept by machine-gun fire
from below. have seen some of our
machines come back from this work
sometimes SO riddled with bullets that
wondered how they ever held to-
sether. Before we started out on one
If these jobs, we were mighty careful
% see that our motors were in perfect
because they told us the
war bread was bad in Germany"
One morning, shortly after l Joined
he squadron, three of US started over
he line of our own accord, We soon
Observed four enemy machines, two
coming toward US. This type
# machine is used by the Huns for
rtiliery work and bomb dropping, and
re knew they were on mischief bent
ZACH machine had a machine gun in
ront, worked by the pilot, and the OBJ
erver also had a gun with which he
ould spray all around.
When we first noticed the Huns, our
were about six miles back
the German lines and we were lying
Ugh up in the sky, keeping the sun
ehind US, so that the enemy could not
ae US.
We picked out three of the machines
Id dove down on them. l went right
J the man ! picked for myself and
IS observer in the rear seat kept
lmping at me to beat the band. Not
lie of my shots took effect as 1 went
ght down under him, but l turned
Id gave him another burst of bullets,
Id down he went in spinning nose
We, one of his wings going one way
Id one another. As saw him crash
the ground knew that had got my
st hostile aircraft. One of my COM
her two German machines got away. al
e chased them back until things got in
o hot for US by reason of the appear sy
ce of other German machines, and tn
en- we called it a day. &C
This experience whetted my appetite m
r more of the same kind, and l did W
( have long TO wait. VI
It may be well to explain here just
at spinning nose bend is. A few tn
lrs ago the spinning nose dive was co
lSidered one of the most dangerous tr.
ngs pilot could attempt, and di
ny men were killed getting into this tn
n and not knowing how to come as
Of it. In fact, lots of pilots pa
ught that when once you got into Blu
spinning nose dise there was no all
Y of coming out of it. 1t is now fir
d, however, in actual flying. ST.
he machines that are used in hu
nee are controlled in two ways, fla
h by hands and feet, the feet In
king the yoke or rudder bar
oh controls the rudder; that steers gr
machine. The lateral controls tbs
, and aft, which cause the ma tbs
lie to rise or lower. are controlled &c