THRILLING STORY OF THE AIR.

Otago Witness, Issue 3195, 9 June 1915, Page 82

THRILLING STORY OF THE AIR.

EXCITING EXPERIENCE OF AN

AVIATOR,

THE RAID ON HOBOKEN.

(Fiiou Our. Own Correspondent.} PALMERSTON N., May 26. Thp Rev. 11. G. Kosher, of Palmerston iSorth, has just received a letter written by his nephew. Flight Lieutenant Kosher, who has proved himself an intrepid aviator. The letter contains a thrilling story of the air, the narrative being connected with the British airmen’s raid on Hoboken, a riverside suburb of Antwerp. His account is dated March 24. Five aviators were chosen to go, but only two reached the objective, the other three having to come back owing to engine troubles and to losing their way in the clouds. The narrative is a very modest one, considering that several Gorman submarines were destroyed and much damage done to the enemy’s stores and works. OVER THE CLOUDS. Lieutenant Rosher says: “This morning; we got up about 2.30. Thank goodness the weather was warm. Breakfast followed, ■and it is very hard to got down to eggs and bread and butter at that hour. We cut for the order of starting, but decided to keep as near one another as possible. I wont off last but one, at 5.50 a.m., and streaked off straight across the sea. Wo were pretty heavily loaded, but my bus would not climb much. I saw one machine (go ahead' of me, but lost it almost immediately in the clouds, which wore very low (2500 ft), and it was also very misty. Our course was right up the coast past Zeebrugge, and then in across the land at the mo-nth of the Scheldt. I got clear of some of the clouds and saw behind me and 2QOOft above me, my machine being about 5000 ft up. He rapidly overtook mo, and from then on I followed him over the clouds. Unfortunately, over Antwerp there were no clouds. was about five or six minutes in front of mo, and I saw him volplane out of sight. I had to go on srVna little way before I saw the yards mvself. HOT WITH SHRAPNEL. “ I next saw very low down, flying away to the coast, with shrapnel bursting around him. He came down to under 500 ft, and dropped his bombs before ho was fired on, being there first. As the wind was dead against mo, I decided to come round in a semi-cirole to cross the yards with the wind, so as to attain a greater speed. I -was only 5500 ft up, and they opened fire on mo with shrapnel as soon as I got within range. It began to get a bit hot, so before I got quite round I shut off my petrol and camq down with a steep volplane until I was 2500 ft up, when I turned on my petrol again and continued my descent at a rate well over a hundred miles an hour. I passed over the yards at about 1000 ft only, and loosed all my bombs over the place. The whole way down I was under fire from two anti-air craft in the yards, guns from the forts on either side, rifle fire, mitraileuses, machine guns, and most weird of ail, great bunches (15 to 20) of what looked like green rockets, but I think they were flaming bullets.. The excitement of the moment was terrific.’ I have never travelled so fast before in my life. AMID FLAMING BULLETS.

“My chief impressions -were the great speed, the flaming bullets streaking by, the incessant rattle of the machine guns and rifle fire, and one or two shells bursting close by, knocking my machine all sideways and pretty near deafening me. On my retu’n I found that my machine was only hit twice —rather wonderful. There was one bullet hole through the tad and a piece of shrapnel buried in the main ‘spar of one wing (I have now got it out). I found myself "across the yards and felt a mild sort of surprise. _ EYES STICKING OUT LIKE SHRIMPS.

My eyes must have been sticking out of my head like shrimps. I know I was gasping for breath and crouching down in the fusillade. I was, however, by no means clear, as shrapnel was still bursting around me. I jammed the rudder first one way and then the other. I banked first on the one wing tip and then on the other, now clipping outwards and now up and now down, "l was literally hedged in by forts (and only 1000 ft up), and had to run the gauntlet before getting away. I was under rifle hre right up the frontier, and even then the Dutch potted at me. A SURPRISE FOR THE GERMANS.

“ My return journey was trying, as most of the time I had to fly at under 500 ft, as I ran into thick clouds and mist. I pottered o-aily right over Flushing and within a few hundred yards of a Dutch cruiser and two torpedo boats. I got back home in about a quarter of an hour, after having been very nearly four hours in the air, and having covered, I suppose, getting on for 250 miles. I have not heard what damage was done. My engine gave mo several anxious moments. Our surprise of the-Germans was certainly complete.