DUELS IN MID-AIR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2752, 22 April 1916, Page 3

DUELS IN MID-AIR

THE WORK OP THE ARMY AIR.

SCOUTS.

An officer of the Royal Flying Corps describes orip. of hisS trips in a letter homoi He says: "More than twenty miles 'are covered without -unusual incident. Below there is no sign of war or the presence of an enemy. Nothing but complete familiarity with tho landscape features could ascertain the presence of the carefully disguised transport and. traffio. The German has exhausted his ingenuity to escape observation from the air. When'he mistrusts the efficiency of his measures (which is rare indeed), ho resorts to air combat to distract hostile observation from a movement of consequence. Tlie approach of a German machine, first observed as a tiny speck far away and below, gladdens the heart of any Allied machine. As the enemy aircraft sweeps round and round in his hnge upward spiral, the sun gradually shows'up the iron crosses on his npper planes. Now and then a series of,'spitfires' ' from his centre shows lie has opened tire with his machine-gun long before he has tho slightest chance of securing a hit. Presently) two'other, distant circling dots take form as they line upwards, for the German believes in numbers and rarely takes the air alone. Beyond seeing that one's arms are in working order, no attention is paid to the Hun until he nianagos to- struggle up to something of the same height. As he climbs he fairly pops off with his guns. When the first German is about our height we turn straight at him and.prepare to engage. He stands the ordeal until we come within about 500 yards, and then on the first few bursts of onr machine-gun he dives and makes for his aerodrome. His colleagues at a lower altitude swing round, loose off a few magazines, and follow his example. The reconnaissance continues on its course, making a special point of gathering an account of tho great move which the German had determined to hide; while the enemy aircraft return to report .'what not' and leave the enemy anti-aircraft guns to resume their futile efforts."