ACES HIGH.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 10, 11 January 1918, Page 5

ACES HIGH.

ROYAL AIB CARDS WIN GAME.

LONDON, January 1. Eeuter's correspondent on the British front in France telegraphs:— I have just heard a wonderful etory of adventure on the part of a young British airman. In thick weather, he landed and asked the'peasants his whereabouts. Immediately he beheld a troop of German cavalry. galloping towards jhim. He opened his engine full out, and just skimming the ground charged the advancing Germans. The leading officer fired his automatic pistol at the airman, J who opened fire with his Lewie gun, and ■hit the officer, as well as numerous men |and horses. The remainder bolted. The (airman intended leaving nothing to [chance, so he flew a great distance westward to ensure landing on the British side. When next he descended it was .needless to ask his whereabouts, for he 'recognised Paris a few miles away. I Router's correspondent in Paris states .that a correspondent on the British front I describes the exploits of an unnamed crack British airman, who in one day last I week brought down four enemy machines, and on the following day three jmore. Already he has 37 victories to his •credit—lo leea than Major Bishop, V.C., • the British super-crack. He is a fairhaired, slight, delicate youngster, aged 22, and was formerlj' a mechanic in the Flying Corps. To-day lie commands a unit.

I Major W. A. Bishop, V.C., D.S.O. (and jbar), M.C., Canada's famous 19-year-old , airman, has returned to hie native land. ,Oii his arrival he was asked to narrate some of his more extraordinary experlIcncee. "I haven't had.any," he eaid. I Bishop and the late Captain Ball stand unchallenged as the two most marvellous fighting pilots the British. Air Service jhas produced. Few people will be disposed to question the wisdom of giving i Major Bishop a respite from his marvellous exploits against the Hun. During .his last few weeks in France he had been a marked man, and only hie wonderful skill and fighting qualities brought him safely through.

A slight, fair-haired youth, with, a pleasant face, Bishop went to England 'with the 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles. He transferred into the Royal Flying Corps ehortly afterwards, and early in 1917 was made a flight-commander. Ever since then his progress has been meteoric. Up to date he haa 47 Hun machines to |hifl credit. His favourite pastime was to jdo a hawk-like sweep from the clouds, spray a column of Oerman troops marching along a road with his machine gun, land dash off again .before the panicstricken Hun had realised what was h&p|pening. He gained the V.C. for an astounding feat which caused the Germans Ito put a price on hie head.

This is the etory in hie own -words: "Went'over one morning by myself to jfind Hun aerodrome! Nothing doing there; nobody at home. Flew off to find | another; plenty of shrapnel buzzing round. Discovered fine, big 'drome; seven Hun machines lined up waiting to J move off. Swooped down, gave them dose from Lewie gun. One Hun started hie plane; gave, him broadside, and caw him crash. Another Hun made a move; let him have ten .rounds, and watched him crash into big tree. T.wo more rose, I with them. Gave one remainder of tray of cartridges; he disappeared. Put freeh tray on, fired it all at fourth Hun; 6aw him crash; flew.,home."

I These were but a few of the wonder[ful "stunts" which made this 19-year-old i airman famous along the whole of the jwestern front. With its proverbial mod[esty the Royal Flying. Corps wae loath to publish the deeds of any particular airman, but with the Germans eeintinu|ally boosting of their crack fighting pilots it was felt imperative that we too publish the deeds of our champion pilots. , ;

Earlier in the year Bishop accomplished some astounding things 'singlehanded. Once he encountered three Albajtross scouts. They separated and tried him. It eeemod that hie time had come, for the bullets were swishing and whining through hie machine, past his ears, and all around. Then hie marvellous luck saved him. One of the Huns came right across his line of fire; Bishop let the trigger of his Lewis gun go and the Hun crashed to earth, while the victorious Canadian flew homewards.

I Another exploit which tickled the flyting men immensely was hk finding among jthe clouds hie equally juvenile CO. havi'ing a fearful scrap with five Huns in ! brand new machines. Bishop dashed out jof the clouds, hie Lewis gun clattering J away for all it was worth. The first iHun crashed before he.knew what had Ihappened, a stream of bullets catching [-both pilot and observer from the rear. jThe next maehinn rjot a broadside and j went 'spinning "giddily to earth. The lother three, turned tail and ran, so jßishop and hie youthful commander flew home, "stunting" all the iwav..

A curious sequence of fatalities appears to overtake all the crack fighting pilots when their "bag" reaches the neighbourhood of fifty. Captain Guynemer, the most famous of the Frenchmen, is dead with 53 Huns to his credit. Captain Ball was killed with 47, and Boelcke, Immelmann, B.aron yon Richthofcn, and Voes, the best pilots the Germans have possessed, all went under when they had accounted for 50 machines. The whole .nation will rejoice that Major Bishop I has been given tho opportunity to rest on hie laurels for a time.

! Major Bishop will remain in Canada for some time, and may probably be put in charge of a school for training fighting pilots in America.