THRILLING AIR DUEL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 9162, 5 December 1917, Page 8

THRILLING AIR DUEL.

MASTER AIRMEN F3GHT.

.(Authorised by the War Office for publication, per medium of the Royal . Colonial Institute.) There is a greater sporting spirit in. the German Flying Corps than in any other branch of ihc German Army, and tlie result is Uial individual German fliers on occasion outstep the bounds <ir" regulation £a\d engage in little ad- J ventures on their own initiative. 'Sometimes ihi-.>' (>V<MI uai'O 7 their individuality 10 thY extent of accepting the challenges which British pilots frequently drop into their aerodromes. One such incident arose out of a squadron flight some time ago over the Somme area. .Four British machines were engaged on the one side against 'about 20 Gorman aeroplanes. l/l\ ui^; to the excellence of the British 'planes the pilots were able to put up a splen-, did fight in spite of the odds against them, and the appearance of a French squadron on the way home from a bombing raid completed the rout of the Huns. They luirriedly broke off, the fight aud dived for home; . One pilot throughout the whole tight had be^n engaged .with the same adversary, a German flying a. large black machine. IJoth had proved themselves master-airmen.*> Each had pitted his best skill against the other, climbing and diving, "stalling" and .looping, with such excellence of craftsmanship lhat neither one nor the .other could claim the slightest advantage. A Written Challenge. When the Gt-rmau flight commander called oi'i his machines the two had perforce to separate. But the British pilot was far irom satisfied. He wrote out a note challenging the German to meet him tit a certain time and place in order to finish the fight. The British machines had been bombing an aerodrome when they were attacked, so the pilot wa& able to drop his challenge when he- was reasonably certain of it being picked up and delivered. The message reached tin; 'person, inXeiided. for when our pilot approached the rendezvous on the morning he had fixed for the fight the black aeroplane was waiting -or him. He had .been doubtful as to whether the German would accept the challenge, but when he saw his adversary coming to meet him he realised that a worthy antagonist was confronting him — a man as sportsmanlike* as himself. , The light which followed is still ' .spoken of appreciatively by the infantry who were lucky enough to observe it. Every irk'k of airmanship waf tried, all the usual and unusual " stunts ',' reproduced in rapid succession. The mists of the morning were wreathing the ridge tops. The line was bathed in the calm of the early day And these two aeroplanes, like giani .mayflies, called oy the dawn to a life which would close with the twilight danced the dance of death together ir the rays of clv- rising sun. The Ger.uian gained an early advantage. Th< first encounter left the Briton with a bullet wound m the shoulder, his chic and throat sprayed with glass fragments from a broken instrument. Bui he was unconscious of his wounds, lie grimly countered every move of his adversary and waited for the chances which he knew would come to him. The possibility of defeat never entered into his mind. Yet he was steadily weakening from the loss of blood. He .did not realise this himself. But the ■Germaiv quickly recognised the signs, .and began to take liberties with the Briton. His swerves became less incisive. He grew careless about the distance he allowed his opponent. A spray of bullets through his planes ■: taught him that his adversary was still dangerous, and he determined to .bring the fight to a speedy end. The Dramatic Ending. Gaining altitude he dived down on ;his enemy. The Briton saw him coming and side looped into the rear position. The German flattened out and turned, but ere he could get away our pilot had checked him dive and "stalled" his machine right underneath. For ,a moment the British aeroplane seemed to .stand on its tail, while the German passed overhead. Then the nmehine-gun rattled out. The bullets .slashed into the heart of the 'plane •and the light was over. The black rnaohine lurched as if struck by a blow, recovered, and lurched again. Down went, its nose. Like the bladed seed of the plane tree detached by an Hiitunin gale, the machine dived, ■whirling to the earth. In an almost fainting condition, the Briton wore his machine round and flew, painfully li'omovvard.