AIRMEN’ S ADVENTURE

Southland Times, Issue 17658, 16 February 1916, Page 2

AIRMEN’ S ADVENTURE

LANDING BY WOUNDED PILOT.

Flight Sub-Lieutenant Slade, of the Royal Naval Air Service, who was captured recently by the Germans, writing to a friend, gives details of his experience. He says; “The German officer’s first shot, unluckily for us, hit our petrol tank, and flames burst out behind, Darley. the pilot, shoved her nose dow*r, and the Gorman aviator followed us down, keeping behind and pouring lead into ns the whole time. Fortunately the tank did not explode I cannot understand why but went out. Darley had one bullet through his arm, one took the tip of his finger off, another smashed his thumb to smithereens. I amputated it with my penknife. I was untouched except my clothing. I could not set our machine on fire, as all the petrol had come out, and my efforts on the wing only ended in the waste of a box of matches. Darley did a ‘stunt’ landing with only his left hand extraordinarily plucky, I call it —and saved my life.”