PEEK'S AIR FIGHTING.

Colonist, Volume LX, Issue 14874, 24 September 1918, Page 6

PEEK'S AIR FIGHTING.

ASSAULTS CN RHINE COUNTRY

! (iNTTKn PrRoH \SSOCJVriON

VfcHmgton, September 23. The weekly official revieAv issued by the British Ministry of Information states: -

After five days' almost perpetual storm and iam the week's air war cui-miiifilo-1 in n remorknble burst of lighting on the ttntish Western I'ront lind '),(•!• C!c: r'?:i ny Tusclf. Notwithstanding ui)t'iMoi:r;;'!)k' ;;ir conditions from Tuesday to f^uvday night, the British airmen .seized every importunity to press inme f'v> ad\nntoj:os mined" in recent I'jo-'-wmr. "in \hv intervals of fine weather they took, mouy phonographs iiud (!r00.,(Ml v lU ::v lUmi 20 tons *of

••■»■• i.ii i^nciii- t vwv tj{>{.ioi.s behind the iines. <"^> t(".f.>ir:'-"r ]■;>(.'! 'jr.--.ri-.TOf] weather '!!< -c iin:hc;l sierial dei c'od•usnl^, uu! Inrg^ numbers of cnomv JUMchinfis wove encountered on the i-Jerman sick oi the lino. Considering ! their recent heavy losses, tha. enemy worked, in ./large formations and fought fitter combats. In two days' fighting Ts2 British machine-? were reported [mis-sine:, but 72 Germans were destroy ied, 27 brought down', and one Icifce'balloon -brought down .on fire, 'making a I total hfig of 100 enemy arreTaft in* 48 j hours.

Whiip, these heavy battles were■ proceeding.1 British liom'bmg squadrons were most active, dropoiug more than 70 tons of bombs on military objectives bs-hind the battle-line. ■"■ "

On vhf loth British reconnoitring nirvvhiiies established a record, bringing hack a largei^ number of aerial photo^ graphs-, than over previously, recorded in a siuglf! day's work.

The ftovnt Air Force's • independent foreo, oofcni<v in concert with tlie'French" and American attack on fclie St. Mihiel •salient, easily eurpnssed its mnx recor'ls. both m number of objectives attacked and in .weight cf bombs .dropped. Probably there'has never boor, a more formidable and mo.ro persistent air assault than the Rhino-country suffered from British airmen, during* the past week. Between the 13th and 16th 34 separate raids were made. Twelve went! ior the vital railway junction triangle at Metr-Sablons, four against Courcelles junction, seven agaiiisf railways at Arnavillt;, Ehrangce, Saarhrucken, Kaiserslnntern and Mainz, while heavy, attacks were also made on enemy aerodromes at Buhl, Boulay, Frescatv, and Hagenau. Such repeated attacks on the same places were necessary as uie'asiiros agaicst perpetually renewed 'yermau repairs and machine production. In addition, destructive raids plane factories at Mannheim, the Daimler works at Stuttgart, and dock sidmer works at Stuttgart, and dock sfdmgs af Karlsruhe., Fifty-nine tons of oombs were dropped during the five clays, v liich equals more than half the total weight of bombs dropped during trie whole prec- ''ng month. j The mater H results arc ciearly shown by pho' graphic and other reoords, and alar =;o-number of direct hits were obtained on all the objectives. British^ airmen continue to do successful work: in conjunction with the Allied offensive in the 'Balkans jtnd in Italy. Besides maintaining all - ;tlie usual patrols, they .attacked vigorously viaval;and:niilita?y -KQrks■ -at^Birucesf O?tendj-'Stahille;^Mariasaalter,4 ZevSck^ fer etc. pver one oh tno 16th no'^ fewer' than -ll :enemy ma--chines -were destroyed, with "7;':..m'ore driven down. Only 2 British machines failed to return. ■--'■' .