AIR-RAIDERS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 586, 27 December 1915, Page 6

AIR-RAIDERS.

ATTACK ON STUTTGART.

PILOT'S GRAPHIC STORY.

SIXTY-TWO MACHINES PAR-

TICIPATE.

JThe following is a reproduction of the srreater part of an article describin the French air raid on Stuttgart which is sent from Paris to the New York "Tribune" by its special correspondent,- Mr Gordon Bruce.)

"My friend, there is not much to tell." Not much to tell! He was an energetic young oflicer of the French Aviation Corps. All I had asked was a description of the most ambitious aeroplane raid in history—when (52 powerful machines swooped down upon Stuttgart of a September morning and dropped more than 200 bombs as a reprisal for the series of Zeppelin raids on London in the early part of the same month. The man who stood by my side had piloted one of the invading craft. "Then tell me 'not much,' whatever that may be," I urged. He glanced upwards, where dozens of the great white birds were speeding to and fro in the blue sky. All about was the deafening roar of high-powered motors. Talking in such a racket was difficult. 1 followed him to a hut.

"I suppose." he began, "that to us who have been flying hour after hour, day after day, since the war began, that raid was more or less of a routine proposition—all in the day's work, you would say. As you know, the flight took place in the early morning. It was very foggy and one had to come quite close to distinguish the face of another. "Fire was belching from the motors all down the line as the helpers, started the warming-up process. If there was the slightest foreign sound as a motor settled down to work, the machine was discarded and replaced by another. On such a trip one must not trust to luck, lie must know that his machine will bring him back—provided, of course, the enemy does not lind him with a few chunks of shrapnel."

The Start.

The flier then went into a description of the method of carrying and dropping bombs; then resuming his story, said;— "To get on—as they say in England—it wasn't long before everything was ready for the trip. At the last minute 1 remember seeing some of the flying men bolting down a roll as they climbed into their places. On my part, I was not hungry, but forced myself to eat a bit because the long flight in the cold morning would have left me ravenous otherwise.

"Two machines swept into the air. They were the pilots of the fleet. We were to follow them as they steered towards our objective. Of course, we all had instruments for navigation if the mist prevented our keeping together. The machines started at intervals of almost a minute owing to the thick weather. We knew that the air would be clearer as we climbed, and that the mist would vanish when the sun came up. ( Something like 12 machines were aloft when we started. It was a splendid sight as we rose above the haze that hung over the earth. To the east the sky was lighting up with the dawn, and before us the procession of big flighting birds was sweeping steadily into the growing light. "An occasional glance to the rear showed plane after plane pulling up out of the sea of fog below. They seemed to come from nowhere. It 'was as a magician pulling rabbits out of a hat. After all, I think I did enjoy that flight. Soon some of the machines ahead began to circle or climb a bit so as not to get too far in advance of the main body, and gradually we got into shape, flying in a flock, and at the same altitude—about 4000 ft, perhaps less. The noise of those GO big motors was like continuous thunder. We could not hear one another if we shouted, so there was nothing to do but'fly—flv —II v.

No Belief in Reprisals,

"I remember thinking then about our purpose. I don't think I believe in reprisals if it means the death of non-combatants. But the German methods in this war have been so brutal that it is hard to understand your own feelings. I wondered vaguely if any of my bombs would kill children. I hoped not, and determined to keep over railroads and military establishments, if possible.

"The air cleared with remarkable suddenness. It was as if an unseen hand had tinned on the light of the world by pressing a hidden switch. The earth was below us once more. Sure enough, there it was, neatly plotted out into the strange carpet that appears when great heights set the hills at naught, as a child's shovel levels an uneven pile of sand. And we were passing into—or over—the enemy's country. We left the battletorn regions for those that were still untouched. Perhaps the best illustration I can give is the comparison between a dirty blanket and a 1 gailypieced quilt. But there was no time to admire, for our work was at hand. "For there was Stuttgart. We were upon it almost before we realised the fact. It nestled in the heart of a soft green world. Lying down there like a toy city, it looked very peaceful. My craft sailed along like a flat-bottomed boat on a mill-pond. The air was still, and without swirls and 'bumps.' I looked out at the great wings on either side, and felt perfectly safe and secure. It is a fine thing to have a well-built airplane. "My partner was leaning forward. He was getting ready, and his eyes

were fixed on the wonderfully laidout town below. We were headed directly over the heart of the place, and it required no effort to keep her to her course; I nosed her down a little, and we descended perhaps 500 ft, which would bring us over at an altitude of approximately 3000 ft My observer indicated a cloud of smoke on the other side of the city. That meant the railroad yards, and there were the toy tracks stretching oft into the distance.

"Suddenly from the line of machines before us a score of black objects hurtled down. We looked as they fell, and dimly saw clouds of dust or smoke arise where they struck. It resembled the bursting of a lot of puff-balls such as we used to find in the fields when we were youngsters. No noise—just the same old beat of our motors. Then we saw other puffs—not where the bombs fell. That meant the Germans were after us with the antir aircraft guns. But in all my flying I never have worried about that, and never have tried to avoid bombardment from the ground. So I kept on. Explosives Dropped.

"The two machines on our left were exactly abreast of us as we came directly over the city. They passed over the Royal Palace, and let go half a dozen bombs at that point. I saw them drop, and wondered if they hit the palace. But I could not see, and it was afterwards that we learned that they had found their mark.

"Then my aide began his work. As wc boomed along toward the railroad yards, we passed over a group of factories and storehouses. It was there wc dropped our first explosives. Wc must have made some trouble, for it was a fair mark, and we let them have two explosives and two incendiaries. The balance we reserved for the railroad. "It was all over in a minute. As we reached the railroad my assistant was working the releasing device as fast as he could. As the last one went, he signalled me with his hand, and I looked for a chance to turn without colliding with my neighbours. I climbed rapidly for a little, and it was not until I banked her for the turn that I noticed three gaping and jagged holes in our wings. My observer. later told me that lie had seen the shrapnel tear one of the holes, but had felt nothing. "When we swung back and looked down, there were columns of smoke in at least 10 places. We could see that there was a lot of wreckage in the railroad yards, but did not know how much damage had been done. I could not see what had happened to the palace as we passed far to the west of it. The ugly little puffs of smoke told us that the guns were still at work, and as we drew out of range two airplanes started up, but after circling for a few minutes descended.

"It was rather weird in a way. We heard nothing and saw nothing very clearly. We had to wait for official reports to know exactly what had been accomplished. Certainly the raid was successful in that it seriously crippled the railroad connections, as we were informed afterwards.

"There is 110 more. Nothing happened on the homeward trip. A few of our men were wounded by bits of shrapnel, but none of them died. I was getting very hungry, and went for food as soon as we landed. Four machines had arrived when we came down, and with the exception of two all of tliem returned to the startingpoint. The two mentioned were forced to land at other points, within our own lines, however."