The Caucasian., 1919-02-23
HUNS UNNERvED i.
IN AIR ATTACKS
Net Many eeri's il sa3ds ca
England.
TRAPPED IN THE SKY NETS

TRAPPED IN The SKY NETS
Neshes Suspended From Balloons One
Of the Greatest oangers Aosti's
Machines Encountered - Became
More and More Difficult to Get Mea
Vor the Work->LondoD Always Given
- Objective Of RAID
Some interesting seve9ations AZ 60
ehe experiences of German airmen IN
theiS raids on England are given On
Daily Mail. 1T says that the story Of
these Gotha saids 10 the story Of the
Third German Bombing squadron e9
about 80 machines, which were sts-
toned in flights az st. Denis, Westfem,
Gontrode ana Mariaksrke. in Belgium
An insight into che character Of che
Gotha erews-the best pilots sefused
che work.>is gained FROM The fact that
when orders came through 4o1 an al
tack on England two hours before che
start sunners were sent posthaste 20
search che brOtheis and drinking shops
Of Ghent 20 warn che personnel. II
was common enough for several OF the
pilots % find az che moment Of start
ing . "defect" sufficient 20 send them
back 20 their Oeee. They seldom adj
iusted che machines themselves, az
though one pilot says ne fitted no few.
er than five new engines in the star
board nacelle before he found one to
work properly.
Of The machines which started, One'
fourth never yeached the English coast.
and Of those that crossed One-half
turned back before 4eaching London.
IondoR the Objective.
London was always given as the cb'
3ective, but the efficev-observer could
choose his own course and height
about 10000 to l7,OOO feet. which was
always the best the machines could
make. He communicated his orders q"
the pilot by means of crude press
button electrical device
With Ostend and the Belgian eOass
behind them, the crew were about h2lY-
way across the North sea when, 30
miles away, in the still moonlight. they
could see the dim, white line of the
Kentish cliffs. 1t was Nnmistakable,
they said, this difference between the
sea and land even at night, and they
had little difficulty ins picking up the
North Foreland, their favorite landfall
when heading for the Thames.
It was then that the cold dread OF
their adventure came upon them and
the rot set in. The stout hearts pushed
on; the less Injured at the first sound
of gunfire released their bombs pro-
miscuously and made for home. Until
German headquarters refused to ac-
cept the report they stated the bombs
'fell among hostile shipping"
The awful racket of the barrage Of
the outer London defenses unnerved
many of the best. The huge machines
rocked and lurched in the air storms
raised by the bursting shells, and once
clear tile pilots had only a moment to
brace themselves to face the greater
danger of the night-fghting scouts.
Many Last Their Heads.
Many a Goth;a. crew fought desper-
ately and well, bus. others completely
lost their heads. Ne back Of the
fuselage of one machinS was siddled
by it's own gunner SeSpg flames
squirting from the .aii, the CIV of an
other machine threw themselves over
board, while the scout slowly cixcled
around the blazing mass as it fell to
earth. Yet another machine dived
from 10000 to 5000 feet when engaged
by a scout whose machine gun jammed
when in q position to deal the death
blow from beneath the Gotha's tail.
This Hun, in his effort to escape,
dropped 10 bombs in q space Of 200
yards.
But even so, there was still another
terror to be faced before the city was
reached. AS all London knows, there
was suspended from balloons thou
sands Of feet above vast system of
nets which would have cut the most
powerful machine in two. The Huns
never knew quite where these nets
were and after every trip the danger
was magnifed.
Once in one OF the later Saids, when
the giant (Riesen) Gothas We're ssed,
the left wing tip Of one machine
grazed the anchor rope Of balloon,
spun half round and dropped sheer
600 feet before the pilot could recover.
machine was being Aotly
chased over London by scout when
a balloon net loomed before it. Che
pilots strained madly at che controls, |
and quarry and pursuer just cleared
the topmose strand in safety.
The tales the men cold on theip qe- |
turn led to one of the most striking |
orders ever issued in the German air |
force. During this raid (Whit Monday |
las) seven machines were brought |
down and three more crashed on land
ing. SO great was the moral effect ON
the crews that the order for further
raid was countermanded.
S840 More in Refuses House.
More wealth was unearthed at the
tumble home at Parkersburg, pa, of