Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-09-24
De HAVILANB F0URS
Greatest Flyers ID All The Lists of
Air Machines.
SUPERIOR even TO GERMAN fOkKfa
Not Only Hold Their Own;
But Show to Great Advantage
They Are Bombing Enemy Towns
At Will, and Win Many Combats.

They Are Bombing Enemy Towns
! At Will, and Win Many Combats.
l. With the American infantry and ar
tillery having completed the task OF
establishing a strong new line after
wiping out the st. Mihiel salient.
writes Edwin l.. James from the
American 'front.' there has developed
] most intense aerial contest along this
new line. We have. as the enemy we'll
knows, one OF the greatest airplanc
concentrations In the history OF avia-
tion. and he is trying to equal II.
'rhc Germans have thrown their
rack sIuadrons on TO this front. and
air fights daily are counted by scores.
willie both sides are indulging in clab-
crate bombing activities.
In bombing We are doing perhaps
our biggest work. We are operating
both day and night bombcrs, and to
give an idea Of what we are doing one
NAY state that fiicrs attached 10 the
First American army have dropped
more than thirty tons of bombs in the
L last twcnty-four hours.
Gorze, CONTAINS and Longuyon are
favorite targets, and effective work is
also being done on the roads on both
sides of the Moselle river. especially
in harassing an enemy movement to-
ward Saarburg. Four tons Of bombs
were dropped on the railroad station
at CONTAINS in the morning.
British bombers in conjunction with
the First army dropped eleven tons OF
bombs in daylight on Karlsruhe.
American bombers reported good re-
suits at Bayonville, Frascatty and Sa-
blons. at the latter place three big
fires having been started.
De Haviand Fours Win.
American made De IIaviland fours
with Liberty motors continue to
arouse the greatest enthusiasm over
their performances. They give prom
ise of solving the problem of observa-
tlon and bombing planes, which need
no protection from chasse machines.
They have been developing n speed OF
ldrlrtcd) kilomcters an hour, whereas
the best Fokkers do about $50 kilo-
meters. These speeds are made at
5000 meters. Lower than that the
Fokkcrs have an advantage. but only
slight.
When attacked by German chassc
planes our De Haviland fours can get
away by simply running. which Is
what observation or bombing planes
are expected to do when attacked by
chasse. Monday afternoon for the
fifth time De Haviland four machines
made good their escape when attack,
ed by a heavy formation of Fokkers
and Albatross planes. This was done
by making height and then speeding
home.
Our De Haviland machines account
cd for bochc chasse, which was
brought down by the observers train
ing the rear-end gun on the pursuers.
do not mean to say that De Havi-
land machines are chasse machines.
Any De Haviland machine would
stand against one bochc chasse ma
chine. but 1t would fee from more
than one, for the reason that the De
Haviand Is not capable Of diving and
maneuvering. which Is necessary in
battle. But they are the fastest things
on wings on the western front today
ut n height of 5000 meters or more.
We still lack American chasse ma
chimes.
This strenuous air fighting Of course,
brings out many thrilling stories.
many OF which cannot be told because
our aviators are wounded, or have lost
their lives, and the censorship rules
bar talking about casualties. How
ever. the experience of Major (delet-
cd). of Gloversville, y. Y, commander
of an observation squadron, has some
thrill.
Attacked by Four Fokkers.
The majors outfit was asked to per-
form an especially important and dam
serous mission, to do the work him
self, flying in a Salmson, n Fench-
made machine. and taking a French
observer. he set out northward. Be
cause of atmospheric conditions he had
to fly very low. At a height Of 500
meters he was attacked from behind
by four Fokkers; they flew all around
the majors machine.
The major took the job Of getting
| back, and the French observer turned
himself into machine gunner. With
two guns he drove off. three Of the
four boches, crippling one, but mean
while one foe got beneath the tail of
the American machine, where the
gunner could not shoot.
Sweeping sharply the major gave
his gunner a line on the fourth bochc.
but both guns jammed. AS the Ger
man swept by he let loose a burst Of
bullets which took off the majors pro-
peller. Helpless. the American ma
chine began to glide to earth, while
the German got behind again and
poured bullets into the plane. follow
ing it to within twenty yards Of the
ground.
The observer was shot through the
head, but the major was uninjured.
BY now the majors plane was close
to the ground and going at breakneck
speed toward a line Of old trenches
with heavy wire entanglements. Just
ahead he saw about 200 Germans on
the ground, and having lost his direc-
tion in the flight, he thought he was
as good as a prisoner.
Then his plane hit wire line and
turned turtle. throwing the observer
twenty feet. The major climbed out
of the wreckage and stood up. to see
four American doughboys. They had
been guarding boche prisoners just
behind our first line. I have the ma :
jor's word that those four Americans
were the best looking men he ever
saw in his whole life. The major has