AIR SUPREMACY OF ALLIES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14689, 22 August 1918, Page 2

AIR SUPREMACY OF ALLIES.

at. CAURY FIGHT. FAR I>l_o J__«_i_lY- . TERRITORY. BOMB STATIONS ALL NIGHT, j THEN FIGHT ALL DAY.' With the British Annies m France, Jujy 11.~-Altie'd aviators apparently have attained absolute mastery of the air. . * ■ . '< Thsy are carrying the aerial warfare far behind the German' lines. Although ! 1 given the best weather of the whole war there is comparatively little ' battling done, due to the extreme caution of tho German airmen. Their- activities are confined to night bombing, while the ■ British bomb all night and fight all i day, when anything' can be seen. , The ( Bodies conduct their bombing .operations frorti , an; 'altitude of about teil thousand feet, owing to the belchi llvg fire from OW "archies." The-lirit- '■ ish bonibeis drop down to a height of \ 600 feet of even 00. feet before they let loose their high explosives. TUis > makes for extreme accuracy. I" . A- prisoner relates the" -trenieildoUs iiaVdc wrought oh the Batoaurrie' railway '■ and Matibii, whei'e a-; -,-• British . plane ■ wvooped lotv and dropped, a boihb m tlie • midst of troops waiting 7:to board ri • traili. . . ■ ... > The. British airmen are hut 'allowing j cobwebs to cover their.; machine's. One ' weli-knptfn. aviator has brought clown , 25 Bodies m the. .last 36 days, his total now nearly equalling' B*aro-ir von" Right- ] : hofen's. Another has mdre than 50 Gey- j • mans to ; his credit, a • doze'fi of . which ! • were downed during' -the 'past week. j The British have hounded hostile plots I i until the) greater "' part 'of 'their battles j s have occurred east of -the. German lines i • and m iiumerorts engagements great j • numbers of hostile 'mhchines have been ' destroyed.- '•••' ' :! " -.--'-•'.' • < • I The work of ■ bombing ' squadrons has i been growing and the British are reach- ' .mg 'further -and further into German back areas. Day and night squadrons i of .- British planes have kept up an'ali fllost endless bombardment of important i jiositieiis and their accuracy m bomb- '■ .-dropping is testified to _ ill scores of photographs of destructive hits. • '. Airdromes and other vital . objectives • have been effectually -ttombech The loss i. I>t life among German troops m cOilcentration camps has heeh heav-y'. Captured documents bear testimony to this' \ and prisoner^ admit it';-j - ; ■'■<"'. •■■ BRILLIANT WORK. I' The British sometimes, come within 50 ! feet of the ground to loose bombs. The " Germns seldom venture below 10,000 J feet because of anti-aircraft defences. ". .A pilot who attacked two German trains ! near Hermies obtained a direct hit on •' the first train and then blew up the track "m front. Diving on- another train, ho ". knocked two trucks; off . the tracks with explosives. Having- stalled these trains he. raked them .wjth .his machine gun. . " Incidentally he opened fire with his ' machine gun on seven other trains short- . .ly afterward with good resultsc An example" of the methods employed • was seen, south-east of Lammotten-Seh-l terre. Here a British pilot blew up a " German lorry and blocked a highway *" crowded with marching troops. He then - began a whirlwind of machine gun fire j k' against the unprotected riflemen, who ' • probably suffered more casualties m the 5 next few minutes ; thaii they did during 6 the rest of th« battle. > Tlie German airmen- .were doing a lot • of low flying that day,. as is their cus--1 torn during battle; ' aiid they wero thoroughly outflanked, many of their c planes being destroyed: c Out of scores of aerial combats ree cently, there have been some that pro- - duced unusual features. On July 4, a battle royal was -/fought between the..British > ..British aiid 20 hostile planes. Despite l> the fact that the -British were greatly • outnumbered, they. came out victorious. c Three of the enemy machines had boon - destroyed and another., driven down out 1 ,of control when .tlrfc fight ended, while . K;-all the British machines returned, safes' ly- .' ■-...*.- ""." -'■ , I On July 1, near Braye, a British cupr 4 : ' tain, wlio was leading an offensive t patrol, dived on a German biplane and pumped » stream of bullets into it* - while sitting directly on its tail. The l> enemy went down almost immediately - m flames. Tlie captain then iired at' - another German who went down verti* i cally, but what happened to the Hun ) was not determined. ! Then the captain with three other t planes attacked a great German fleet of j about 40 machines. I The captain so riddled one enemy i .scout that one of its' wings, fell off and j it crashed" lik« a stotie. He next wheel - . ed on another scout and ' shot it down out. of control with bursts from above. . , The_ captain being almost out ofamI munition, started 1 to.r eturn home alone, , when he was attacked by four German scouts. He did a v trini\and n\half roll and got on to the : .tail of the leadea-, /upon whom he pbured a yblley .from his machine gun until the German dropped m" a swirl of flames. This exhausted the Britisher's afnrdunition and he flew home. -%■■' . . On July 1, a British pilot, whilei on an offensive patrol about Estaires, was pounced tipon by. three 'German scouts.. As they swept 'down" toward himt two of them collided. The third opened fire on liim; but fled 1 when : the British man- . o&uvreck into position and offered battle. In. the meantime another of the- enemy- i planes had both of.- its win ga. torn off and' crashed. ' . •'■'■',— .-'. . I The other* was gointr>'' down m slow The British pilot followed and fired 100 rounds into the Bochb machine at-, close range. ' Thc^ enemy- dropped an- v other 300 feet smoking- -apd then burst into flames, which finished .it.' Another fatal » collision occurred the other day. A British. lieutenant with .0 ,patrol of six machines nvas flying ;oveiv Oerman teiTitory when- hei saw six enemy scouts making .'for Villers-Bretoii-, heuxi •-':--..' -V : < , '.', The British machines raced .into n> battle and the lieutenant tackled one of : the HiiUR at " close) ; range. Tin's «enemy , went down vortically after being_ badly, shot about. Another .liosti.le' aiimlanfe ■which waSi_close by turned •so suddenly that it 'smashed into, the German* leader and both machines .collapsed and went, down m tangled wreckage.