AIRMEN’S ADVENTURE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 146001, 6 December 1917, Page 7

AIRMEN’S ADVENTURE.

HOW THEY WON THROUGH THE GERMAN LINES.

“Two of our follows had rather a startling adventure the other day,” said a wounded pilot. "They left the aerodrome for a patrol stunt over the Boche lines. They saw something doing in tho rear of the Hun lines, and flew down to have a closer look, and they cam© under the fire of some ■*Archies.’ Of course, they paid little attention to the fire until a direct hit smashed the engine, and the pilot had barely time to turn the ‘bus’ for homo when most of the engine fell clear. He didn’t lose control, but planed down as much in the direction of the British line as he could. They came to earth with a bit of a crash inside tho Boche lines, but neither tho pilot nor his observer was hurt. They nipped out of the ruined ‘bus’ pretty quick, and started running like blazes in the direction of the British trenches. “There didn’t seem to he any Bodies about where they cam© down, and after running for some time they dropped to have a breather. While they lay on the ground out of breath they spotted a sort of erection affair, banking and that sort of thing, covered with camouflage—looked like a big gun-pit. I hey crept up closer to the pit, and got neai enough to hear the Bodies talking, but not near enough to be spotted. It was a gun-pit, and a jolly big one at that, so they squatted there and then, and made a sketch map of it, with a bearing or two to get the proper range. A SWIM FOR LIFE. After that they crept, and ran, and crawled until they got to tho hank of the Canal. They bad to swim for it, and they took off as much dunnage as they could—stripped to their shirts —and one of them stuck the sketch in his tobacco pouch to keep it from getting soaked. Then they started off to swim for it. As they left the bank a couple of Boche snipers got a bead on them, and they had just time to locate the beggars biding in sunken barrels before they dived for it. They swam under water, coming up for a breather now and then, with the Boche snipers blazing away ail the time. “When they got to the other side there was a bit of a slope to get up, and then one of our own sentries started to fire at them. They didn’t want to kick up too much of a row and bo pipped bv the Boches after getting so far but"they managed by signals to show that the sniper chap had made a mistake, and they got through all first thing they did, while still dressed only m wet shirts, to got on the phone to our heavies, and by the help of the infantry O C.’s map to give the exact location of that lug "un-pit. as well as the two baiicls. Next thing that happened was a series of direct hits on that gun emplacement, and the two snipers’ barrels sent skyhigh. It was a complete wasu-out for the Boche.”