STORY OF THE AIR.

Taihape Daily Times, 22 February 1918, Page 6

STORY OF THE AIR.

THE GREY GHOST.

A strange story comes from America relative to the well-known German racing cyclist, Walter Rutt, who some 12 years back raced with considerable success in Australia, and more recently has carried off some of the biggest events in America, including three New York “6-days” races. It appears that for many months last year, .he French lines were frequently visited by an enemy aviator, known as the “Grey Ghost,’ ’whose daring raids on the Western front caused much comment in the military camps. At las the identity of the “Grey Ghost has been unmasked and found to be none . other than our one-time visitor, Wa - , ter Rutt. The news of Butt’s death was cabled to America in November last. A letter from a member of the America Ambulance unit in France, written before Eutt was brought to j earth, gives the following Interesting j details of the German’s deatln “We ( have a peculiar —not to say weird j thing on this front. There is a Ger- j man aviator here who calls himself j “Fantomes,” or the ghost. His name j is Walter Rutt, and he used to be a 1 bicycle rider in the six-day races in j New York. Well, it appears from the j notes that he has dropped that he has had three brothers killed in the war, and to avenge them he has adopted the plan of strafing the French from an aeroplane. He never fights other planes or makes observations, but just flies over the French lines at a height varying from 30 to 400 feet, and everything he sees, even one poilu, or waggon or auto, he dives at it, ■hanging away with his macnine-gun. He attacks sentinel posts and supply trains, and once or twice he has even shot into aviation camps, winning a -unique place as a dangerous pilot, i You have no idea of the amount of j damage he does. He certainly has j the respect of the Frenchmen here In this sector, where he flies almost exclusively. He hovers around all day long, and although he has been shot at with machine-guns, rifles, and antiaircraft guns he never seems to be touched. It certainly is mysterious, because be often comes clo'se enough i'er us to hit him with a etoue. Tt was be who dropped the warning about the hospital being bombed, about which I to'd you in my last letter.”