The Washington times., 1921-09-25
A|RMEN WRECK
bATTLESH|P IN
NIGHT ATTACK
Three Of Four Bombs Launched
Hit AIabama-EHeot Of Gas
Shells Lasting.
BY RANDOLPH @. SHAW.
Universal Service.

cHESAPEAKE BAY, off Tangier
Island, via Seaplans to Norfolk, Va,
Sept. 26.-By air bomb attacks as sue
cessfuliy executed at night as by day.
the old battleship Alabama rests
aground here riddled from stem to
stern. .as.. .J,--., : .....
Another question Of the air vulner.
ability Of capital ships has been de-
cided. Darkness. II was proved. Of
fers no bar to the air attack against
which Fridays test showed the battle
ship TO be vulnerable.
Guiding their operations by recently
perfected parachute flares which paled
the moonlight by a brtlliance as
bright as the sun, q squadron OF Mar
tin bombers proceeded to the attack.
Themselves invisible In the glare shed
downward, the planes launched four
gigantic INT bombs and only the
drone of the motors gave warning Of
the fate which impended. Suddenly
even the brilliance Of the flares was
surpassed by the. geyser Of flame
which shot UP from the dark hulk OF
the Alabama. ,
Three Of Four Bombs Hit.
Three Of the four bombs reached
their mark. One hit directly on the
bridge, tho brain" Of the ship, and
rendered II q tangled mass Of steel
plates and wreckage. The other two
also exploded in the vitals Of the
ship. When army and navy boards
Of observers examined the results
they found q sad relif of the one
time pride of the American navy.
The effect Of the night bombs and
fat
been to rip the forward portion Of
the ship open as II the work had
been accomplished by q giant can
opener. A hit on the bow had raised
the armor plate and all the forward
superstrucure high in the air. In
the view Of Rear Admiral Fullam
that hit alone was sufficient to put
the vessel out OF action.
War Conditions Met.
Conditions of warfare were met In
the night bombing. the planes flying
without night bombing sights, the
first time II has ever been attempted
under such conditions.
OF tests carried out yesterday only
one phase proved unsuccessful. From
a height approximating 5000 feet.
Martin bombers attempted TO place
1. 1.10o-pound armor. piercing shells on
deck In such q fashion that the hull
would be torn open.
Six bombs were dropped, but all
missed by less than 100 feet. In view
OF the height from which launched
and the fact the Alabama presented
only q lengthwise target, that was
considered by air service observers q
remarkable example Of accurate place
ment.
One OF the most spectacular phases Of
Yesterdays operations was the attack
by squadrons OF speedy Sopwith Elm.
gle-seaters. Diving down from sew
eral thousand feet. these diminutive
air wasps raked the decks with ma.
chine gunfire and threw twenty-five
pound copper personnel" bombs all
over the Alabama One bomb car.
ried away the wireless antennae. An
other demolished the searchlights.
As evidencing the theoretical de-
moralizing effect on the ships per.
sonnei of the tear gas dropped yes
terday, the remains of the gas were
SO powerful late this afternoon that
all boarding the Alabama were
forced to wear gas masks.
Brigader General Mitchell, assist
ant chief of the army air service,
personally directed the attacks. Per-
feet weather favored the operations,