Evening star., 1918-01-13
DESCRIBES ATTACK
! ON TEUTON b|P[ANE
David Mex. Peterson Writes
of Battle Three Miles Over
Firing Lines.
BALLOON FALLS IN FLAMES

0N.10ON ] HI.S NV U .EN"b.S
BY PAUL AYRES ROCKWELL.
Cable9ram to The Sunday Star and
Chicago Daily News. Copyright. 1918.
(, WITH THE FRENCH ARMIES. jan
uary 12.-David NICK. Peterson of
Honesdale. Pa. flying at the front with
the Lafayette squadron. writes: This
afternoon, with Ray c. Bridgman of
Lake Forest, ILL.,: James Norman Hall
of Colfax, Iowa, and Harry Sweet Jones
of Hartford, Conn.,, / started out over
the lines at 5000 meters (1.s miles)
altitude when the arches signalled
that German machine was in the next
sector. We turned and beat it. for
there. Hall and l had new machines
and were able to climb faster than
the others. We signalled the others to
stay below and catch the German as he
fell
I'VE started to climb and soon sight
ed two German biplanes over our heads.
They were about 5000 meters (3.6
miles) up and were evidently taking
hind them and in five minutes were
were within 100 meters (S2S feet) of
them. I never before saw one so high
up. Our altitude instruments showed
The Germans never saw US, SO we dived
simultaneously and came up sQuarely
under them, opening fire when we
were about seventy meters (230 feeD
away. We fired about 100 shots apiece.
The Germans at once turned and made
for home. Hall stayed below and /
went on top. We attacked the rear ma
chine at the same time from above and
beneath. while both the German ma
chine gunners were shooting at US
our guns stuck. 1 saw q German OBJ
server sink down in his cockpit, evil
IDENTIFY wounded, but the pilot was safe
and the machine still under control.
Bullet Hole in Helmet.
by maneuvering we managed to
keep them from getting too far into
Germany. When we were down to $500
meters (2.8 miles). Bridgman and Jones
turn. The machine gunner in the first
German machine was still at work, but
at the FIRST exchange of shots he was
put out Of commission. Something was
seen to fall out of his plane, and later
we found that it was his helmet which
fell in q field. The headpiece had a
bullet hole square through it and prob
ably the wearer was killed.
Now the guns used by Bridgman
and Jones also stuck and there we
were. four against two. with not gun
in the whole outfit working. All four
of US tried our best to make the Ger
mans land on our side, but the wind
was too strong. We followed them
down amidst a terrible storm OF bullets
from the machine guns on the ground.
right side up with care The
other landed about two-thfrds of q mile
farther back. safe and sound. Infantry
and artillery observers saw the tight.
but the machines will not be counted
because they landed normally.
Later a German machine was sig
nailed as coming over our lines. Bridg-
man and I started after him. and after
we had risen $500 meters 0our miles)
we spotted him 800 meters (about 1000
fee) below. We attacked him simul-
taneously from either side and immedi-
ately he wabbled and fell, nose down.
about 1000 meters (.62 mfles). We
followed him down and again attacked
at $500 meters (2.S miles). No return
fire came from the German, who con-
ably the observer was killed and the
machine SO badly damaged that the
pilot could not maneuver.
I'VE followed it down to 1900 meters
(0.9 mile) until we sighted patrol Of
seven German monoplanes headed in
home. believing that the Germans had
finally found an effective bulletproof
armor.
Balloon Falls in Flames.
Lieut. werdier Fauvety and Hall
went out to attack balloons. They found
q new one about seven kilometers 4.2
tackled 1t simultaneously, sending it
down in a mass of flames. The observers
jumped with parachutes and landed
safely. Coming back over the lines
Fauvety and Hall encountered two Ger
mans attacking our balloons. Some fun
followed. They were directly over the
trenches and only 1000 meters (62
mfles) from the ground, so that there
was storm of machine gun bullets
After five minutes Of scrapping one of
the Germans fell like a dead leaf for
about 500 meters (3 mile). Then he
righted himself and landed few hun
dred meters inside his own lines. The
other ran away.
That same afternoon Lieut.. Lufbery
was patroling the lines when he almost
ran into German biplane without see
Ing it. Catching himself in time and
realizing that he had not been seen, Luf-
berry dived a little and came up under
the German. ripping him open from
bullets. The German never knew what
hit him. The aeroplane tipped on it's
nose and fell 500 meters (2,624 feet),
and went over on its back with the
wheels up. The observer fell out of the
machine, which was still falling when
Lufbery lost sight of 1t. The infantry
reported seeing the fight. but claimed
that the machine righted itself when it
was 1000 meters (.62 mile) above the
ground. and landed OK. near the Ger
man balloons. So that is another that
does not count.
Perhaps some day we'will manage to
slip over few Teutons officially when
some one is not looking"