FIGHT BETWEEN SEAPLANES.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 16212, 17 August 1918, Page 7

FIGHT BETWEEN SEAPLANES.

BRITISH PILOT’S SUCCESS. The Admiralty announcements during the past week have indicated increased aerial activity on the part of tho German Naval Air Service in the North Sea, which has led to a number of combats between British and enemy sea planes. On the afternoon of June 4 five British seaplanes set out from one of our East Coast bases for patrol purposes, and for three hours failed to encounter any hostile craft. When, however, the patrol was some distance oft' Terschil--ling one of the seaplanes was forced to descend to the water owing |o a broken petrol pipe. While our machines wore circling the damaged craft five hostile seaplanes were sighted and pursued, but although in superior strength they avoided engagement. Our seaplanes then returned to the damaged machine, which was being repaired. A few minutes later two more hostile seaplanes were sighted and were chased off. Apparently the enemy had decided on a concentration of their forces, for half an hour later 10 hostile seaplanes were seen approaching our craft, which immediately went forward to give action. A sharp fight ensued between our four machines and the 10 enemy craft, in which two enemy seaplanes wore riddled with shot and crashed into the sea, one bursting into flames before it reached the water. A British machine was damaged, and eventually landed in Vlieland. During the fight two hostile seaplanes were detached from the main body and an engagement followed, in which ’one of our assistant pilots was killed. The chief pilot however, continued to navigate the machine, and was attacked from the rear and below by lour enemy machines bn the one side and by three on the other. The pilot nose-dived immediately and put up a running fight from the stern with all seven machines, and' eventually succeeded in forcing them to break off the pursuit.