Evening star., 1939-10-23
Dutch Dawn PATROL
Has Tick|ish Job on
Neutrality Guard
Border Violated Almost
Daily by Either Nozi
Or British Planes
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
CRONINGEN, the Netherlands.
Oct. 23.-From a trim little airport
IN placid Northeastern Holland a
Netherlands dawn patrol is listening
and flying on the tough and ticklish
job of keeping the Netherlands out
of war.
I'VE get elephants ears In this
place" one tall flying officer said as
he paused to listen to high-pitcfred
motor.
This time 1t is only a car on the
highway. Other times it is those
fellows"
Nearly every day, usually early in
the morning, it is those fellows"
coming over the neutral Netherlands
land or sea frontiers which lie so
inconveniently between Britain and
Germany.
To the Netherlands dawn patrol
1t makes no difference whether
they are German or British planes
The Netherlands is neutral. It is
the job of the patrol to chase any
plane which violates the neutrality
of the Netherlands, catch it If they
can and intern the crew.
Catching Them Not Easy.
1--WE try to catch them but it is
not an easy thing to do," an officer
said.
If they are headed east they
are across the German border be-
fore we can get after them. If they
are going west sometimes we chase
them to the North Sea.
up in the waters of the Dollart
Gulf across from the German naval
base at Emden there is no frontier
line for flyer to see. Our terri
Uorlal waters are supposed to 60
3 miles from our shores but there
the Germans say the frontier is the
ebb tide mark. This is barely half
mile from our shore"
Last Tuesday Netherlands planes
went up on border patrol while Brit
ish raiders were over Emden. Some
planes were fired upon by German
anti-aircraft. talked to one young
Netherlands pilot who lodged two
shellbursts.
They thought we were English"
he said I'VE were about three
miles away. 1t was not very good
shooting
Plane Markings Changed.
The Netherlands is now marking
her planes with an orange triangle
instead of the tri-colored bulls
eyes" which resembled British and
French markings. However, it is
not always possible to see markings
from the ground.
Officers at the airport said they
thought both the German and
British planes were trying to avoid
the Netherlands.
But sometimes they are in a
hurry to get home the officers
added with shrug
These hurried belligerent planes
do not always fly high. One shot
| across the airport the other day
at about 10000 feet. Sometimes
clouds of British leaflets printed
in German come fluttering down
! on the Netherlands side.
Misplaced British Pamphlets.
One or two of the quiet little
villages near the dawn patrol air.
port literally have been buried in
misplaced British pamphlets cap
toned "Achtung. achtung" (warn.
ing, warning) and addressed to the
German people.
The Netherlands flying officers
pick them up and keep them for
souvenirs.
The men of the patrol are method
ical, patient and above all calmly
and strictly neutral. In the airport
sun lounge a few feet from their
planes they sip sherry and talk
casually of being there "for nine
years" They speak of the bellig-
erent flyers without rancor.
Asked about the crew of a Ger
man seaplane which was reported
forced down and interned, one officer
said:
Eyes, they were very angry about
1t. There was some shooting. Now
they are held on one Of our islands.
I 1t cannot be helped"