BRITISH IN VENETIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16761, 30 January 1918, Page 5

BRITISH IN VENETIA.

FIRST ENGAGEMENT IN AIR.

FOUR 'PLANES AGAINST TWELVE. Writing from Sir Herbert Plumer's headquarters in Italy on December 3, Mr. G. Ward Price says the first shots exchanged between the British Expeditionary Force and the Germans on the Italian front have brought success to our arms. It was an encounter in the air, and the Royal Flying Corps opened this new campaign with an achievement of good augury, for the very first day that our airmen crossed the enemy lines they shot a German machine to pieces,-'and sent it crashing to. earth on the banks of the Piave. Four of our machines crossed over to the German side of the river fcr a flight along the northern sector of the plain. The little squadron had not gone five miles before they were attacked by five German Albatross scouts. One of these enemy machines was immediately driven down in a vertical dive, but at 5000 ft it flattened out again. Meanwhile the flight went on with the rest. After 20 minutes of continual manoeuvring and occasional bursts of fire another of the enemy was driven down. His British antagonist followed him in his ' drive, and as tlie German flattened out again the English pilot got a burst of 80 rounds into him at close range. That ended the fight. The right wing of the German machine collapsed and fell tack' along the fuselage. At once the Albatross turned over and fell, the rest of the rignt wing breaking loose as it crashed to earth. By this time the enemy had' received reinforcements, but for all that another of his aeroplanes was driven down out of control below 5000 ft. Then the four British machines returned, having encountered in this first outing of theirs 12 German adversaries, of which they had smashed up one and seriously damaged two. Flying conditions here will be very different for our airmen from those to which they were accustomed in France, Mr. Price remarks. For one thing they will probably have to carry out reconnaissance flights above high mountains. Good landing places are very scarce, even in the plain. However hard conditions may be here, those pilots and observers who have "bad experience of Flanders believe that there ir no chance that their work will prove more arduous than it was in France.