Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-02-02
CHAPTER III.
The Dover Patrol.

The Dover Patrol.
The narrow seas which spread their
troubled gray waters between England
and France have been crossed and
recroSSed since the dawn of recorded
history by mighty men whose hands
eripped their weapons while their fierce
eyes questioned the further shore.
Caesar came. and the Angles and the
SaXons and the Danes. William of
Normandy and Edward the Black
Prince. Deep-waisted CogS and car
racks bore their loads of Sussex men,
alarms and Hampshire archers. Ru-
PERT and Drake and Van Tromp and
Nelson sailed and fought their tower
ing white ships in the narrow water
way. The great Napoleon ga2ed across
these troubled waters. at the white
cliffs of Dover with vast dreams OF
conquest. Half the QuarrelS OF the
world have come TO this crowded strai:
for final adjudication: history has filled
many Of her pages with the tang Of
the SALTY breezeS that blow between
Girls Nez and the CinQue Ports. be-
tween Dover and Calais
That madness which afflicted the
world from 1al4 to 1918 was no eX-
ception 10 this historic habit. The
English Channel was churned deep by
the propellerS OF battleShipS. deStroverS
and cruisers. by transports packed
with human ammunition for the guns
in Flanders and by hospital ships re-
turning the wreckage of war.
For the first time. men struck be-
low the surface of the waters. Close
pent Teutonic crews struck hard blows
from their metal boxes swimming deep
below the waves-blows so hard and
so shrewd that they came within. a
hair of winning victory for their cause.
Our Nays Problem.
The chief problem of the American
Navy in the Summer OF 1918 was 10
hunt down German submarines in the
Channel and the North Sea and TO
harry their bases in conquered Bel
GUM. II was for this great purpose
that there came into being the Dover
Patrol. destined to write new pages
into the long and bloody history OF
the English Channel.
To help in combating the common
enemy. the United States Navy loaned
certain of its aviation personnel to the
ROYAL Air Force TO reinforce the hard
pressed English flyers. Among these
was David Sinton Ingalls, a Cleveland
boy of 10. who had enlisted in the Navy
as a machinist on the day this country
entered the war Young ingalls, had
undergone air training in this country
and in Europe Younger than Frank
Luke. ingalls, developed many OF the
characteristics of the famous Army ace
and startled the Flanders front with
a series Of remarkable air victories
at the same time that Luke's flaming
German balloons were lighting up the
St Mihiel and Argonne sectors.
Ingalls, Navy Filler.
Lieut.. ingalls, vas detailed to fy as
a pilot with Squadron 2l3 of the ROYAL
Air Force. From the beginning OF his
service with this English unit Young
ingalls, showed skill and daring In
air combat which was the admiration
Of many Older pilots Of much longer
experience
ingalls, first appearance in the COM
bat reports came on August IL. 1918.
just a few DAYS before Frank Luke
won his unconfirmed victory north OF
Chateau Thierry ingalls,. flying an
English Sopwith Camel. and accom-
panied by Lieut. c. p Brown Of the
ROYAL Air Force. met an Albatross
two-seater seven miles northeast OF
Dixmude. in Belgium. ingalls, dived to
the attack Brown following with a
weather eye out for possible German
rescuers The impetuous young Amer
.can and his English teammate swiftly
herded the German into a position un-
der their guns: the conclusion OF the
fight is we'll told in the following COM
bat report from the files of the British
ministry OF war:
AT 9 SIS. when al $4,000 feet. seven
miles northeast of Dixmude. sighted
enemy aircraft. iwo-seater. coming
towards our lines at 10000 feet. On
seeing our CameIs the enemy turned
and dived towards Ostende. Camels
attacked and leader fred about $50
rounds IN short bursts at $50 yards.
pursuing enemy aircraft down TO 5000
feet east of Westende. just after the
Camels broke of combat the enemy
went into a low spin. which became
faster and faster and was last seen
sim spinning about / 900 feet from the
ground. obviously out Of control:
Lieut.. r. A. r.
ID. s. INGALLS,.
Lieut.. u S N. r. r."
The report carries the following
notation
Confirmed destroyed by the Belgians.
"(Signed) r. GRAHAM.
Commanding 2i3 Squadron"
Shooting down a German airpare
was not such an unusual event in The
August Of 1918 that ingalls, first VIC
tory attracted any particular attention